STEP Improvement Act of 2026

This bill changes the Small Business Administration's State Trade Expansion Program, which gives grants to states to help small businesses export. It sets yearly deadlines for publishing grant information, accepting applications, and announcing winners, and it limits how much a state's grant can drop from the prior year, generally to no less than 80 percent. When yearly funding is at least $30 million for two years in a row, grants would be awarded by a formula based on minimum shares and performance measures such as export sales and new businesses served. The bill also adds reporting, survey, and reimbursement processing requirements, limits the employee information the agency can collect from states, and extends funding authorization to fiscal years 2027 through 2031.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• Jeanne Shaheen Democrat sponsor
• 0 cosponsors