Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Veteran Entrepreneurship Empowerment Act”.
Veteran Entrepreneurship Empowerment Act
A BILL
To waive the guarantee fee for certain business loans made to veterans and spouses of veterans, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Findings
Congress finds the following:
According to the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families August 2025 report entitled “A Framework for Advancing and Strengthening the Veteran Entrepreneur Ecosystem”—
veterans are more likely to own businesses than non-veterans;
veteran-owned businesses are less likely to close or fail than non-veteran owned businesses; and
the top barrier to entrepreneurship listed by veteran and military spouse entrepreneurs is a lack of access to capital or financing.
According to the Federal Reserve’s 2025 Small Business Credit Survey—
only 48 percent of majority veteran owned firms reported having sufficient financing for their businesses, compared to 57 percent of non-veteran owned firms; and
25 percent of majority veteran owned firms, and 29 percent of partially veteran owned firms, were denied financing compared to 20 percent of non-veteran owned firms.
According to the Government Accountability Office’s 2025 report entitled “Financial Literacy and Small Business Lending, Resources Available to Military-Affiliated People”—
frequent moves, transition from active duty, and difficulties establishing credit and forming business relationships present barriers to accessing capital for veteran entrepreneurs; and
veteran entrepreneurs often lack personal startup funds or sufficient business income necessary for accessing capital.
Sec. 3 Fee waiver
in paragraph (18)—
in subparagraph (A), in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking “With respect” and inserting “Except as provided in subparagraph (C), with respect”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(C) Exception
“(i) In general—Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the Administration may not collect a guarantee fee under subparagraph (A) with respect to a loan guaranteed under this subsection if—
“(I) the loan is not made under paragraph (36) or (37);
“(II) the loan is made to a small business concern owned by a veteran or spouse of a veteran; and
“(III) the deferred participation share of the total loan amount is not more than $1,000,000.
“(ii) Definition—In this subparagraph, the term veteran or spouse of a veteran means—
“(I) a veteran;
“(II) an individual who is eligible to participate in the Transition Assistance Program established under section 1144 of title 10, United States Code;
“(III) a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces named in section 10101 of title 10, United States Code;
“(IV) the spouse of an individual described in subclause (I), (II), or (III); or
“(V) the surviving spouse (as defined in section 101 of title 38, United States Code) of an individual described in subclause (I), (II), or (III) who died while serving on active duty or as a result of a disability that is service-connected (as defined in such section).”
in paragraph (31)—
by striking subparagraph (G); and
by redesignating subparagraph (H) as subparagraph (G).
Small Business Investment Act of 1958—
in subsection (b)(7)—
by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively;
by striking “with respect” and inserting “(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), with respect”;
in clause (i)(II), as so redesignated, by striking “clause (i)” and inserting “subclause (I)”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the Administration may not assess or collect any ongoing guarantee fee under subparagraph (A) with respect to a loan guaranteed under this title if the loan is made—
“(i) by the Administration;
“(ii) to a small business concern owned by a veteran or spouse of a veteran; and
“(iii) for not more than $1,000,000.”
in subsection (d)(3)—
by striking “The Administration shall” and inserting “(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the Administration shall”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the Administration may not assess or collect any ongoing guarantee fee under subparagraph (A) with respect to a loan guaranteed under this title if the loan is made—
“(i) by the Administration;
“(ii) to a small business concern owned by a veteran or spouse of a veteran; and
“(iii) for not more than $1,000,000.”
in subsection (i)—
by striking “Two-Year Waiver of Fees—The” and inserting the following: “Waiver of Fees.—
“(1) Two-Year Waiver of Fees—The”
by adding at the end the following:
“(2) Waiver of Fees for Veterans—For a loan of not more than $1,000,000 made by the Administration to a small business concern that is owned by a veteran or spouse of a veteran, such small business concern shall be exempt from any up front guarantee fee, as detailed in section 120.971(d)(1) of title 13, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.”
Conforming amendments— The Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 661 et seq.) is amended—
in section 103 (15 U.S.C. 662)—
in paragraph (19), by striking “and” at the end;
in paragraph (20), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(21) the term veteran or spouse of a veteran means—
“(A) a veteran;
“(B) an individual who is eligible to participate in the Transition Assistance Program established under section 1144 of title 10, United States Code;
“(C) a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces named in section 10101 of title 10, United States Code;
“(D) the spouse of an individual described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C); or
“(E) the surviving spouse (as defined in section 101 of title 38, United States Code) of an individual described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) who died while serving on active duty or as a result of a disability that is service-connected (as defined in such section).”
in section 503(b) (15 U.S.C. 697(b)), as amended by paragraph (1)—
in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking “unless—” and inserting “unless the following criteria are met:”;
by striking the semicolon each place it appears and inserting a period;
in paragraph (1), by striking “such debenture” and inserting “Such debenture”;
in paragraph (2), by striking “necessary” and inserting “Necessary”;
in paragraph (3), by striking “the interest rate” and inserting “The interest rate”;
in paragraph (4), by striking “the aggregate” and inserting “The aggregate”;
in paragraph (5), by striking “the amount” and inserting “The amount”; and
in paragraph (6)—
by striking “the Administration” and inserting “The Administration”; and
by striking “and” at the end.
Sec. 4 Equity injection
Small Business Act— Section 7(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(38) Equity injection requirements
“(A) Equity injection defined—In this paragraph, the term equity injection means an investment by a borrower in the applicable small business concern, in the form and amount determined appropriate by the Administrator.
“(B) Equity injection requirements for veterans
“(i) In general—For a startup or change of ownership loan with a deferred participation share of the total amount that is not more than $1,000,000 to a veteran or spouse of a veteran, the minimum equity injection percentage required under Standard Operating Procedure 50 10, version 8, effective on June 1, 2025, or any successor guidance, shall be reduced by not less than 5 percentage points.
“(ii) Required percentage—If the guidance described in clause (i) does not list an exact percentage, the Administrator shall include a requirement to reduce the percentage, as calculated under the method used in the guidance, for veterans or spouses of veterans in accordance with clause (i).
“(C) Equity injection requirements generally—The Administrator shall encourage lenders to lower equity injection requirements for loans to veterans or spouses of veterans with a deferred participation share of the total amount that is not more than $1,000,000.”
Small Business Investment Act of 1958—
Section 502(3)(C) of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 696(3)(C)) is amended—
by redesignating clauses (i) through (iv) as subclauses (I) through (IV), respectively, and adjusting the margins accordingly;
by inserting before subclause (I), as so redesignated, the following:
“(i) for a small business concern that is not owned by a veteran or spouse of a veteran—”
in subclause (III), as so redesignated, by striking “clauses (i) and (ii)” and inserting “subclauses (I) and (II)”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(ii) for a loan to a small business concern owned by a veteran or spouse of a veteran—
“(I) at least 5 percent of the total cost of the project financed, if the small business concern has been in operation for a period of 2 years or less; or
“(II) at least 5 percent of the total cost of the project financed, in all other circumstances, at the discretion of the development company.”
Sec. 5 Reports
Definitions— In this section:
Budget justification materials— The term budget justification materials has the meaning given that term in section 3(b)(2) of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (31 U.S.C. 6101 note);
Covered person— The term covered person means any individual described in section 7(a)(18)(C)(ii) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)(18)(C)(ii)).
Lending reports— The Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall collect and publish on the website of the Administration data on the participation of covered persons in the loan programs under section 7(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)) and title V of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 695 et seq.).
Entrepreneurial development— The Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall collect and include in budget justification materials submitted by the Administrator data on the participation of covered persons in—
the Service Corps of Retired Executives established under section 8(b)(1)(B) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)) (15 U.S.C. 637(b)(1)(B));
small business development centers, as defined in section 3 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 632);
women’s business centers described in section 29 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 656); and
Veteran Business Outreach Centers described in section 32 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 657b).