Congressional Research Service

Small Business Administration: a Primer on Programs and Funding Congressional Research Service

Publisher Marketing: The Small Business Administration (SBA) administers several types of programs to support small businesses, including loan guaranty and venture capital programs to enhance small business access to capital; contracting programs to increase small business opportunities in federal contracting; direct loan programs for businesses, homeowners, and renters to assist their recovery from natural disasters; and small business management and technical assistance training programs to assist business formation and expansion. The Small Business Administration (SBA) administers several types of programs to support small businesses, including loan guaranty and venture capital programs to enhance small business access to capital; contracting programs to increase small business opportunities in federal contracting; direct loan programs for businesses, homeowners, and renters to assist their recovery from natural disasters; and small business management and technical assistance training programs to assist business formation and expansion. This report provides an overview of the SBA's business loan guaranty programs (including the 7(a) loan guaranty program, the 504/Certified Development Company (CDC) program, International Trade and Export Promotion Loan programs, and the Microloan program); venture capital programs (including the Small Business Investment Company program and the New Markets Venture Capital program); entrepreneurial development programs (including Small Business Development Centers, Women's Business Centers, and SCORE); government contracting and business development programs (including the 8(a) Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership Development Program, the Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones) program, the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program, and the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contract program); and capital access programs (including the Surety Bond Guarantee Program). The report also discusses programmatic changes resulting from the enactment of P. L. 111-5, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, P. L. 111-240, the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, P. L. 112-239, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, and P. L. 113-235, the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015. In addition, it provides an overview of the SBA's budget and references other CRS reports that examine these programs in greater detail.