Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (NH-02), Congressman Tony Wied (WI-08), and Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) introduced the Office of Rural Affairs Enhancement Act, bipartisan legislation to strengthen resources available for rural small businesses. Specifically, this legislation will strengthen the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Rural Affairs (ORA) by expanding its outreach and improving interagency coordination to better serve rural small businesses.
“Small businesses are the backbone of New Hampshire’s economy and our communities – that is especially true in rural areas. Congress must do everything we can to support our rural small businesses and equip them with the resources they need to thrive,” said Congresswoman Goodlander (NH-02). “I am proud to introduce the Office of Rural Affairs Enhancement Act to do just that by cutting red tape and making government work better for hardworking small businesses.”
“As a former small business owner in Northeast Wisconsin, I know firsthand how crucial small businesses are to serving rural communities,” said Congressman Wied (WI-08). “This bipartisan legislation ensures that we continue to support rural small businesses and provide them with the resources they need to be successful. This is a common sense bill that puts Main Street first and delivers the type of targeted support the Office of Rural Affairs was designed to provide.”
“Small businesses are the lifeblood of rural communities across the country, yet the Office of Rural Affairs — one of the departments most explicitly tasked with helping them — is effectively dormant,” Congressmen Jared Golden (ME-02) said. “This is necessary bipartisan legislation to make the government do its job and make lives better across rural America.”
“Whether it’s updates on new programs, grants, or local initiatives, the onus so often falls on individuals to seek out what’s available to them. While the information may technically exist—buried in a newsletter, a municipal notice, or an unadvertised webpage—it remains inaccessible unless someone makes a deliberate, and sometimes exhaustive, effort to find it,” said Hannah Campbell, President, North Country Chamber of Commerce. “We support this bill because it builds on systems that do not wait for people to come knocking, but instead reach out with clarity and regularity, transforming how rural communities and business owners engage with available resources. Making resource sharing intentional and accessible strengthens the fabric of rural life, empowering business owners and residents alike to act, innovate, and grow.”
The Office of Rural Affairs Enhancement Act will deliver for rural small businesses through:
- Leadership Requirements: The Office must be led by an Assistant Administrator with relevant experience or education in rural affairs and rural small business development.
- Expanded Duties: The ORA must promote—not just provide information about—federal small business programs relevant to rural communities.
- It must coordinate with the National Travel and Tourism Office and other federal entities to support rural tourism and business.
- The Office is newly required to host webinars and outreach events targeting rural small businesses.
- Outreach Mandate: The Assistant Administrator must organize regional events across the U.S., involving SBA district offices, federal/state agencies, and resource partners.
- Annual Reporting: Within 180 days of enactment and annually thereafter, the SBA must report to Congress on ORA’s operations.
- Reports must include staffing, budget, outreach activities, loan program performance in rural areas, and findings from outreach events.
- New Definitions: Clarifies that “rural small business concern” refers to a small business concern located in a rural area, as defined elsewhere in the Small Business Act.
- Defines “resource partners” to include small business development centers, women’s business centers, SCORE chapters, and veteran business outreach centers.
Read the full text of this legislation here.
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