{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://taylor.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-taylor-introduces-bill-improve-small-business-services-appalachia", "Congressman Taylor Introduces Bill to Improve Small Business Services in Appalachia", "2025-12-10", "2025", "2025-12", "Republican", "House", "OH", "David J. Taylor", "T000490", "taylor.house.gov", "taylor", "https://taylor.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Congressman Dave Taylor (OH-02) and Congressman Brad Finstad (MN-01) today introduced the bicameral Main Street Lending Improvement Act of 2025, which would require a study on the Small Business Administration\u2019s (SBA) loan-making process to collect data on its current operation in Appalachia and ultimately streamline the process for Appalachian businesses. Senator Jim Justice (R-WV) introduced a Senate companion to this bill today.\n\n\u201cFor too long, small businesses across the Appalachian region have struggled to access services provided by the Small Business Administration. My bill, the Main Street Lending Improvement Act of 2025, will work to improve SBA efficiency and ensure all businesses have access to vital SBA services,\u201d said Congressman Taylor. \u201cAs a third-generation small business owner, I\u2019ve seen firsthand where the federal government has failed to provide resources for our small businesses, and I am committed to addressing these issues in Congress so Ohio families and communities can thrive.\u201d\n\n\u201cSmall businesses are the backbone of local communities in southern Minnesota. Too often, government red tape and inefficiency make it difficult for entrepreneurs to access the tools they need to grow,\u201d said Congressman Finstad. \u201cThe Main Street Lending Improvement Act identifies where the government has fallen short in the loan-making process and works to address these delays, ensuring small businesses across the country have timely financing to build stronger futures.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m a business guy at heart, and I\u2019ve always said I want to help our small businesses because they\u2019re the ones that keep our state and our country moving. This bill gets us under the hood of the SBA\u2019s loan programs so we can accelerate the time it takes to get resources out the door of Washington and onto the storefront of Main Street. President Trump and Administrator Loeffler have already done fantastic work to strengthen the Small Business Administration \u2013 this bill builds on that momentum to make sure these loan programs truly work for the folks who need them most,\u201d said Senator Justice.\n\nSpecifically, the Main Street Lending Improvement Act of 2025 will instruct the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a two-year study and produce recommendations on how the SBA can:\n\nIncrease the availability of SBA loans;\n\nDecrease the average length of time from when a small business loan application is submitted to disbursement;\n\nIncrease the availability of information to an applicant for a small business loan regarding the status of their application, including whether any additional information is needed from the applicant to continue processing the application, and an estimated time frame as to when the funds will be disbursed; and\n\nIdentify ways to reduce government inefficiency in the loan-making process.\n\nThe Main Street Lending Improvement Act of 2025 would require the GAO to acquire data on the SBA services provided within SBA regions to Appalachian and non-Appalachian areas.\n\nThe GAO would be required to provide an update on the study one year after its enactment. After the study is completed, the results will be used to legislate changes to the SBA loan process to make it more accessible and efficient for Appalachian business owners.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://taylor.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-taylor-introduces-bill-improve-small-business-services-appalachia"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8445410057902336, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}