SBA blocked from issuing rules that cost small businesses anything
H.R. 2965 — Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act of 2025 · Filed by Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) · 5 cosponsors · Introduced Apr 17, 2025 · Passed chamber
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What it does
This bill requires the Small Business Administration to ensure that new SBA rules impose zero net cost on small businesses starting in fiscal year 2026. It also mandates annual reporting on the regulatory costs that OTHER federal agencies impose on small businesses, broken down by agency. The bill does not appropriate new money and does not restrict other agencies' rulemaking authority—only the SBA's own rules.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a zero-cost mandate on SBA rulemaking, paired with a reporting requirement on other agencies' regulatory costs. It is not a deregulation bill per se—it does not repeal rules—but a cost-containment constraint on future SBA rules.
What the text implies
- A zero-cost mandate may prevent the SBA from issuing rules that protect small businesses from fraud, discrimination, or unsafe practices if compliance costs are unavoidable—the bill does not distinguish between protective and burdensome rules.
- The reporting requirement on other agencies' regulatory costs may create political pressure to weaken rules issued by EPA, OSHA, CFPB, and other agencies, even though the bill does not directly restrict their authority.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
small businesses (reduced compliance costs from SBA rules); industries subject to SBA oversight (if the zero-cost mandate prevents protective rulemaking)