Military Spouse Entrepreneurship Act of 2025
- Bill Number
- S. 2639
- Origin Chamber
- Senate
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 1
- Policy Area
- Commerce
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2025-07-31: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
- Last Updated
- 2025-09-18T19:52:16Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose
The Military Spouse Entrepreneurship Act of 2025 aims to support military spouses in starting, running, and expanding small businesses by addressing the unique challenges they face due to military life, such as frequent relocations, deployments, and workforce absences. It requires the Small Business Administration (SBA) to create or extend a dedicated program to provide accessible assistance.
Key Provisions
- Program Establishment: The SBA Administrator must set up a program (or extend an existing one if it meets the bill's goals) focused on helping military spouses form, operate, and grow small businesses. Assistance must be available through online services that can be accessed remotely.
- Types of Assistance:
- Guidance on legal and operational requirements for starting and running a small business, including handling relocations.
- Training to build skills for creating sustainable businesses despite military-related disruptions (e.g., deployments, long absences from work, or frequent moves due to duty station changes).
- Mentorship programs through partnerships with nonprofit organizations and volunteer business groups, including cooperative agreements.
- Any other support the SBA deems suitable.
- Survey and Reporting: The SBA must conduct a survey, in consultation with nonprofits and stakeholders, to identify barriers military spouses face in entrepreneurship, such as accessing capital, resources, education, mentoring, and training. An analysis of these challenges is required. Within 180 days of enactment, the SBA must submit a report with survey results to the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and the House Committee on Small Business.
- Implementation and Outreach: The program must incorporate survey findings and include an outreach effort to raise awareness. The SBA may consult with the Secretary of Defense as needed.
- Definitions: "Small business concern" refers to a business qualifying as small under the Small Business Act (generally, independently owned businesses with limited employees and revenue, varying by industry).
Significant Changes to Existing Law
This bill introduces a new mandate for the SBA to prioritize military spouses in entrepreneurship support, which was not specifically required before. It allows flexibility to build on existing SBA programs (like general small business training initiatives) but requires tailoring them to this group. No direct amendments to prior laws are specified, but it adds reporting and survey obligations to enhance SBA's role in supporting military families economically.
Potential Impacts
- Government Agencies: The SBA will need to allocate resources for program development, online tools, partnerships, a survey, and a congressional report, potentially increasing administrative workload and budget needs. Consultation with the Department of Defense could foster inter-agency collaboration.
- Citizens: Military spouses (estimated at over 1 million in the U.S.) gain targeted, remote-accessible resources to pursue entrepreneurship, potentially reducing economic instability from military relocations and improving financial independence for military families.
- International Relations: Minimal direct impact, though it indirectly supports U.S. military readiness by aiding family stability, which could benefit troop morale during global deployments.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- Military Spouses: Primary beneficiaries, receiving specialized assistance to overcome barriers in business ownership.
- Small Business Administration (SBA): Responsible for program execution, surveys, reporting, and outreach.
- Nonprofit Organizations and Business Volunteers: Partners for mentorship and support services.
- Military Families and Department of Defense: Indirectly affected through enhanced family economic support.
- Congressional Committees: Receive reports and oversee implementation (Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee; House Small Business Committee).
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal: The bill aligns with existing SBA authority under the Small Business Act to promote entrepreneurship but adds specific requirements without conflicting with federal laws. It emphasizes voluntary partnerships and consultations, avoiding mandates on other agencies.
- Constitutional: No apparent issues; it promotes equal economic opportunity for a specific group (military spouses) without discriminating against others, fitting within Congress's commerce and spending powers.
- Political: Bipartisan introduction (by Senators Klobuchar and Tillis) signals broad support for military family issues. It could enhance political goodwill toward veterans' affairs but may face scrutiny over added SBA costs without specified funding.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Cosponsors (1)
Recent Actions
- 2025-07-31: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
- 2025-07-31: Introduced in Senate
Bill Versions
- Military Spouse Entrepreneurship Act of 2025 — issued 2025-07-31 — PDF (5 pages)