US Federal Senate Bill SB1499

US Federal 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 4/28/25
• Refer: 4/28/25

Caption

New Start Act of 2025

Summary

The New Start Act of 2025 would direct the Small Business Administration to create a five-year New Start Program that awards competitive grants to organizations providing entrepreneurial development services to currently incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals. The bill defines eligible programming broadly to include business training, financial literacy, one-on-one coaching, mentorship, business planning, and access to startup capital or seed investment. It also contemplates services for people still in federal custody, including those in minimum-, low-, or medium-security facilities or residential reentry centers, so long as they meet SBA offense-eligibility guidance. The program would be established within 180 days of enactment and would require the SBA to coordinate with the Bureau of Prisons, small business development centers, women’s business centers, SCORE chapters, and other local partners. Grants would be awarded to organizations or partnerships that can demonstrate community ties, a viable curriculum, and a plan to connect participants to capital and federal small-business resources. The bill also requires geographic distribution of awards and seeks an equitable split between programs serving formerly incarcerated people and those serving currently incarcerated people. The bill would amend the Small Business Act by inserting a new section 49 and by making conforming changes to the section numbering. It would authorize grants of more than $100,000 and less than $500,000 annually per recipient over the five-year program period, and it specifies that grants to women’s business centers under this program would not count against the separate statutory cap for those centers. It also authorizes such sums as necessary to carry out the program, meaning implementation would depend on appropriations. The bill’s broader policy impact is to expand federal small-business support into reentry and prison-based entrepreneurship programming, with the goal of reducing recidivism and improving post-release economic outcomes. It would also require annual reporting to Congress on participant demographics, attendance, retention, loan activity, and program outcomes, plus a later GAO evaluation of oversight and effectiveness. The bill expressly states that it does not alter the existing SBA microloan program under section 7(m). Because there are no committee transcripts or votes provided, sentiment is inferred from the bill’s structure and sponsors rather than recorded debate. The measure appears generally supportive of rehabilitation, workforce reintegration, and small-business formation for justice-impacted people. Likely points of contention include whether federal funds should support services for currently incarcerated individuals, how eligibility should be limited by offense type, whether the SBA should take on this role, and whether the grant amounts and reporting requirements are sufficient to ensure accountability and measurable outcomes.

Impact

The bill would amend the Small Business Act by adding a new section establishing the New Start Program and by renumbering the existing section 49 as section 50. It would create a new federal grant program administered by the SBA for entrepreneurial training and support targeted to formerly incarcerated and currently incarcerated individuals, while leaving the existing section 7(m) microloan program unchanged. The bill would also affect participating organizations such as small business development centers, women’s business centers, SCORE chapters, Community Advantage lenders, and other nonprofit or community partners that could receive grants or collaborate in program delivery.

Sentiment

No votes or committee transcript excerpts are available, so there is no recorded legislative debate to summarize. Based on the bill text, the measure is framed positively around reentry, second chances, entrepreneurship, and reducing recidivism, and it is sponsored by Senators Markey and Booker. The overall tone of the legislation is rehabilitative and pro-small-business, with an emphasis on economic opportunity for justice-impacted individuals.

Contention

The main potential points of contention are policy and administrative rather than partisan in the provided record. Supporters would likely emphasize reduced recidivism, employment barriers faced by formerly incarcerated people, and the value of entrepreneurship as a path to self-sufficiency. Critics may question the use of federal grant funds for prison-based programming, the practicality of coordinating with the Bureau of Prisons, the sufficiency of offense-eligibility screening, and whether the SBA should prioritize this population over other small-business needs. There may also be debate over grant size, geographic allocation, reporting burdens, and the requirement to connect participants to capital and lending partners.