Press Releases

Washington, DC – Last night, as first reported by The Missouri Times, the House of Representatives unanimously passed the SBA Rural Performance Report Act. This legislation, introduced by Congressman Mark Alford (MO-04) on August 25, 2023, will require two reports from the Small Business Administration (SBA).

The first is a report on the Office of Rural Affairs (ORA) within the SBA and will include:

• The name of the Director of the ORA and the number of staff assigned to the Office.
•  How the ORA is promoting financial assistance available from the SBA for small businesses in rural areas.
• Statistics compiled by the ORA from rural areas on population, poverty, job creation and retention, unemployment, business failures, and business startups.
• How the ORA is providing information to industries, organizations, and governments on resources available to rural small businesses from the SBA and other Federal agencies.
• How the ORA is providing information to industries, organizations, educational institutions, and governments about programs that improve economic opportunities for rural citizens.
•  How the ORA is working with the National Travel and Tourism Office within the Commerce Department to assist rural small businesses with tourism promotion and development. 

The second is a report on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) entered into by the SBA and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and will include:

• How many working groups convened by the MOU the SBA was part of and if the SBA is still part of any of the working groups.
• How many staff employed by the SBA were and are still involved with the working groups.
• The findings of capital access and investment in rural America, as outlined in the MOU.
• The findings of assisting business in rural America, as outlined in the MOU.

Congressman Alford issued the following statement:

“Entrepreneurship is the lifeblood of this nation and right now, the Small Business Administration (SBA) is not doing enough to support rural small business owners. That is exactly why we wrote The SBA Rural Performance Report Act.

Last summer the House Committee on Small Business held a hearing with rural entrepreneurs, including a constituent of Missouri's 4th Congressional District, Jennifer Cassady, where the witnesses testified that they had never heard of the SBA’s Office of Rural Affairs. This problem is not a new one. 

In 2018, the SBA and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to help both the SBA and the USDA better serve rural communities. This legislation would require reports from the SBA’s Office of Rural Affairs and from the SBA and USDA on their 2018 MOU. This is crucial step in the right direction to making the federal government work for Main Street, and I'm proud to see our bill pass the House of Representatives."

Media inquiries for Rep. Alford should be directed to Austin Higginbotham at Austin.Higginbotham@mail.house.gov.