Chair Shaheen will become Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in the 119th Congress.
(WASHINGTON, DC – January 3, 2025) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship (SBC), today issued the following statement on her tenure as Chair of the committee.
“As Chair, I brought New Hampshire voices to Washington to share their insight on key challenges faced by Granite State—and America’s—small business owners, moving key legislation through the negotiation process and out of committee,” said Chair Shaheen. “I will remain a senior member of the committee and will continue to fight for bipartisan support on issue areas like reauthorizing the State Trade Expansion Program (STEP), promoting legislation that helps lower costs for small business owners, and addressing the challenges small businesses face with child care, including the challenges small business child care providers themselves face.”
As Chair of the committee, Shaheen fought for New Hampshire’s—and America’s—small businesses. Shaheen was laser-focused on addressing some of the biggest challenges small business owners face, reporting key legislation out of committee that included critical STEP improvements and access to federal contracting opportunities for small businesses.
Fighting for Granite State Small Businesses
Shaheen included $4.5 million for individual projects supporting small business development across the Granite State in Fiscal Year 2025 funding that passed the Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously, in addition to more than $100 million in Congressionally Directed Spending in the fiscal year 2024 government funding bills to address New Hampshire needs including housing, health care, and education.
Lowering Costs for Small Businesses
Shaheen hosted a state field hearing and resource fair at the University of New Hampshire at Manchester on historic investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act that can help small businesses lower their energy costs, transition to the clean energy economy, and build resilience. Small companies participated in a resource fair following the field hearing and met with federal agencies and state business support programs.
Shaheen also worked with Senator Cassidy (R-LA) to introduce the bipartisan Helping Small Businesses to Hedge Risk and Insure against Volatile Expenses (Helping Small Businesses THRIVE) Act. The bill directs the Small Business Administration (SBA) to create a program that helps small businesses lock in the cost of commodities, like gasoline or lumber, to protect against inflation.
Addressing Child Care Workforce Issues
Shaheen convened a hearing featuring expert witnesses’ testimony on the childcare industry’s broken business model and what Congress can do to support small business childcare providers, employees, and families. In the New Hampshire Business Review, Shaheen highlighted the importance of ensuring women entrepreneurs’ access to affordable and high-quality child care. Shaheen continues to call for Congress to pass legislation that addresses America’s child care crisis, including her Right Start Child Care and Education Act to improve the tax code to help make child care more affordable and accessible for working families, as well as her bipartisan Expanding Access to Child Care for Military Families Act. She also highlighted an SBA issue brief that clearly shows the many small business challenges that increase childcare costs for working families.
Improving Support for Rural Small Businesses
Shaheen joined U.S. Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) to introduce bipartisan legislation that improves support for rural small businesses and convened a hearing to hear from witnesses who discussed the challenges that rural small businesses face and how federal efforts to streamline services can help their firms grow.
Expanding Export Opportunities for Small Businesses
Shaheen hosted a field hearing and resource fair at the University of New Hampshire on programs and resources, including STEP, available for Granite State small businesses to compete in the global marketplace. Shaheen later celebrated the first cohort of graduates from the New Hampshire Export Accelerator, a program funded through STEP, and highlighted a $500,000 STEP award from the SBA to help Granite State small businesses tap into international markets.
Supporting Veteran Entrepreneurs
Shaheen introduced legislation to expand access to credit for veteran entrepreneurs and convened a hearing on the state of veteran small business ownership. In the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025, Shaheen worked to include several provisions that support small businesses, including codifying SBA’s Boots to Business program, which offers entrepreneurial training to service members, military spouses, veterans, and National Guard and Reserve members.
Bringing New Hampshire Voices to Washington and Increasing Access for Disabled Entrepreneurs
In her first three months as Chair, Shaheen invited Granite State small businesses to Washington for their testimony on America’s outdoor recreation economy and small business succession planning. Shaheen also worked across the aisle to introduce bipartisan legislation that expands support for disabled entrepreneurs.
Shining a Spotlight on Small Businesses in the Outdoor Recreation Economy
In her first hearing as Chair, Shaheen highlighted the key role small businesses in New Hampshire and around the country play in America’s outdoor recreation economy. The outdoor recreation economy supports 5 million jobs and generates $1.2 trillion in economic output, according to the most recent data published by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). That data is collected thanks to Shaheen’s bipartisan Outdoor Recreation Jobs and Impact Act of 2015 with former Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) that was signed into law in 2016.
