What This Bill Does
This bill creates an Office of Native American Affairs inside the Small Business Administration (SBA) and gives it a dedicated Assistant Administrator. The new office would work with Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian Organizations to help expand small businesses, improve access to SBA contracting and capital programs, and support economic development in Indian country. It also authorizes the office to provide assistance such as grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, and other financial aid for training, counseling, outreach, and supplier events. The office would sunset 7 years after enactment.
- Creates an Office of Native American Affairs inside the Small Business Administration.
- Names an Assistant Administrator for Native American Affairs to lead the office.
- Targets SBA entrepreneurial development, contracting, and capital access programs to Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian Organizations.
- Authorizes grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, or other financial assistance for training, counseling, outreach, and supplier events.
- Requires an annual report to Congress and ends the authority 7 years after enactment.
Who This Bill Affects
For Native American entrepreneurs, Tribal governments, Native Hawaiian Organizations, and tribal-serving nonprofit groups, the bill could make SBA help easier to access and better tailored to their needs. It creates a specific office and leader inside the SBA to focus on contracting, capital access, training, counseling, workshops, and supplier events, and it authorizes the office to use grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, or other financial assistance to deliver that help. For most other people, the bill has little direct day-to-day effect beyond the possibility that SBA resources are more formally directed toward these communities.
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- Bill
- HR 7396
- Congress
- 119th Congress
- Official title
- Native American Entrepreneurial Opportunity Act
- Policy area
- Economy & Finance
- Latest action
- Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection. (June 23, 2026)
- Last updated
- June 24, 2026
CBO Cost Estimate
February 26, 2026As reported by the House Committee on Small Business on February 17, 2026
Full CBO report →Who Supports & Opposes This
- Native American small business owners They would gain a dedicated SBA office focused on culturally tailored business development assistance, contracting help, and capital access. Supporters would argue this can reduce the practical barriers that keep many tribal entrepreneurs from using federal programs effectively.
- Tribal governments The bill gives tribes a clearer channel to consult with the SBA and to push for policies that better fit tribal economies. Supporters can point to the bill’s requirement for Tribal consultation and its focus on economic development in Indian country.
- Native-serving nonprofit organizations Organizations that already provide training and outreach may welcome a federal office that can fund or coordinate their work through grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements. That could expand workshops, supplier events, and counseling in communities that are often underserved.
- Fiscal conservatives They may object to creating a new office and new leadership position inside the SBA when the agency already has existing programs. Their concern would be added administrative costs and overlap with current SBA functions or other federal tribal initiatives.
- Small-business policy skeptics They may argue the bill risks adding bureaucracy without guaranteeing better outcomes for entrepreneurs. Even with reporting requirements, critics could say the measure does not include specific funding levels, performance targets, or enforceable service guarantees.
- Groups worried about program fragmentation Some stakeholders may prefer consolidating support through broader SBA programs rather than building a separate office for one set of constituencies. Their concern is that specialized offices can create uneven access or complicate coordination across federal agencies.
Key Implications
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““There is established within the Administration the Office of Native American Affairs””
This creates a permanent SBA office focused on Native American and Native Hawaiian business issues, rather than leaving that work spread across different programs or offices.
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““targeting programs … relating to entrepreneurial development, contracting, and capital access””
The office is meant to help tribes and Native Hawaiian Organizations navigate the SBA’s core business tools, especially financing and federal procurement opportunities.
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““provide assistance, including grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, or other financial assistance””
The office could fund outside groups or tribal entities to deliver training and outreach, which may expand service capacity beyond SBA staff alone.
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““annual basis until the termination date, the Assistant Administrator shall submit to Congress a report””
Congress would receive yearly data on clients served, consultations, and trainings, which creates a built-in oversight mechanism and a record for judging whether the office is working.
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““shall terminate 7 years after the date of the enactment””
The office is temporary unless Congress acts again, so its long-term existence depends on future legislative decisions after the 7-year period.
Latest Status
June 23, 2026
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
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