Small business centers now required to connect with vocational schools

What it does

This bill amends the Small Business Act to require small business development centers and women's business centers to provide information and make connections between small businesses and career and technical education (CTE) programs. Specifically, it directs these centers to educate small business owners about hiring CTE graduates, inform CTE programs about entrepreneurship resources available to their students, and facilitate networking between businesses and educational programs. The bill benefits both small business owners (by connecting them to trained workers) and CTE students and graduates (by expanding their access to business development resources and job opportunities).

Why we flagged it

The bill's operative mechanism is to expand the statutory duties of existing small business support centers to include information-sharing and networking between small businesses and career and technical education programs. It is a straightforward mandate to broaden the scope of public business-development services.

What the text implies

• Implementation depends on existing SBA funding for small business development centers and women's business centers; the bill does not appropriate new money, so centers may need to reallocate existing resources to meet the new requirements.
• The bill's effectiveness depends on the willingness and capacity of CTE programs to participate in the networking and information-sharing; no enforcement mechanism or incentive is specified.
• By linking small business support to CTE programs, the bill may indirectly elevate the profile and demand for career and technical education, potentially affecting state and local education policy and funding.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill expands free or low-cost services available to small business owners and CTE students without restricting anyone's rights or imposing new costs on ordinary people. It creates a bridge between workforce education and entrepreneurship support, potentially improving job placement for CTE graduates and helping small businesses access trained workers.

Named in the bill

Small Business Administration (SBA), Small Business Development Centers, Women's Business Centers, Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006

Where it stands

5 cosponsors: 3 Democrats, 2 Republicans.

• Feb 26, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Feb 26, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Small Business and Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Small Business”
• Mar 5, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Mar 5, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported by the Yeas and Nays: 25 - 0”
• Jun 3, 2025 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 396 - 5…”
• Jun 3, 2025 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Williams (TX) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $1,400,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 42 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.

Roger Williams, the sponsor, reported $529,851 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Associated Builders and Contractors Inc — $1,400,000 on 2 filings

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.