SPARK Act

This bill would create a Spark Program at the Small Business Administration (SBA) to fund incubators, accelerators, and similar organizations through 5-year cooperative agreements that can be renewed for 3-year periods. Funded projects would provide free one-on-one counseling and mentorship to startup and growing small businesses, and must work with groups such as women, veterans, people with disabilities, rural businesses, tribal members, and people who have completed prison terms. Each funded organization would receive at least $500,000 per year. The bill would also create a Spark Financing Program, under which the SBA gives organizations up to $1,000,000 or $500,000 per year to make grants of up to $20,000 or lower-cost loans to small businesses owned by members of these groups or located in economically distressed areas. The SBA would examine funded projects each year, report to Congress annually, and write rules that include clawbacks for fraud.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• Ayanna Pressley Democrat sponsor
• 1 cosponsors