Authorizes the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship to spend money, hire staff, and utilize personnel from other government entities, setting specific expense limits and guidelines for the periods between March 1, 2025, and February 28, 2027. It also outlines how the Select Committee on Intelligence will manage its expenses and agency contributions.
Joni Ernst
Senator
IA
This resolution authorizes the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship to spend money from the Senate's contingent fund, hire staff, and utilize personnel from other government departments or agencies from March 1, 2025, through February 28, 2027. It sets specific expense limits for the committee during different periods, including allocations for consultants and staff training. The resolution also outlines how the committee will handle its expenses and agency contributions, with payments made from the Senate's contingent fund and Inquiries and Investigations expense account.
Senate Committee on Small Business Gets Funding Approved: Budget Breakdown for 2025-2027
The Senate just greenlit a new spending bill for the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, covering everything from staffing to training through early 2027. Here’s the breakdown of what they can spend and how it might affect small businesses.
Cash Flow for the Committee
This bill basically gives the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship the go-ahead to spend money, hire people, and even borrow staff from other government agencies. The key here is making sure the committee has what it needs to oversee and support small businesses across the country.
Budget Breakdown
The bill sets specific spending limits for different periods, ensuring the committee doesn't go over budget:
- March 1, 2025 – September 30, 2025: Up to $2,769,908, with $50,000 earmarked for consultants and $10,000 for training.
- October 1, 2025 – September 30, 2026: A bigger chunk of $4,748,413, keeping the same limits for consultants and training.
- October 1, 2026 – February 28, 2027: $1,978,505, again with the same caps on consultant and training expenses.
For example, if you're a small business owner hoping for new policies to ease regulations, this funding allows the committee to bring in experts (consultants) to explore those possibilities. Or, if you're running a tech startup, the committee could use training funds to better understand the challenges you face in that fast-moving industry.
Keeping Tabs on Spending
Section 3 of the bill makes it clear how expenses are handled. The committee's bills get paid from the Senate's funds, with the chairman's okay, except for a few regular expenses like annual salaries and phone services, which are handled separately.
One potential challenge is ensuring that consultant money is used efficiently. The bill allows up to $50,000 for consultants in each period, which could lead to great insights or, if not managed well, could be money down the drain. It authorizes payments from a specific Senate expense account for contributions related to compensating committee employees, divided into three periods that mirror those described in section two.
The bill helps to ensure the committee has the resources to operate effectively, but also gives rise to concerns about potential abuses, such as overspending within allocated limits. It is important to keep an eye on how these funds are used to ensure they directly benefit the small business community.