Regional Innovation Clusters enjoyed bipartisan support for 15 years. Then Elon Musk’s group canceled awards and left backers of the tech startup initiative searching for answers.
SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler and House Small Business Committee Chair Roger Williams, R-Texas, participate in House Republicans’ daily government shutdown news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 27, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The House Small Business Committee advanced a bill requiring the SBA to deliver an annual report on its AI use, weeks after the GAO revealed issues with…
People walk past the headquarters of the Small Business Administration in the Southwest Federal Center area on March 24, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., speaks at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 14, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Funding for the SBIR and STTR programs lapsed five months ago. The Senate this month passed a bipartisan bill to fund the programs through Sept. 30, 2031.
The watchdog also encouraged the SBA to address inefficiencies in the Disaster Loan Program by pursuing a new legal authority to secure taxpayer consent for applications.
The Small Business Artificial Intelligence Advancement Act tasks the NIST director with developing a suite of AI resources aimed at helping Main Street, lawmakers say.
Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, chair of the House Small Business Committee, speaks at a press conference with members of House Republican leadership in Washington, D.C., on May 6, 2025. (Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
A binary code and Palantir logo are seen in this multpiple exposure illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on February 21, 2024. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
People walk past the headquarters of the Small Business Administration in the Southwest Federal Center area on March 24, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The legislation from Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., is a companion to a House bill that passed out of committee late last year.