Senator Ben Cardin, chair of the Senate Small Business Committee, has introduced his NEW START Act, which is legislation aimed at creating reentry programs with the SBA, awarding grants for business counseling and entrepreneurial development training to justice-impacted individuals.
The bill would establish a five-year pilot program providing award grants of $100,000 to $500,000 to organizations annually over the five-year period. Participating organizations would execute entrepreneurial development training for formerly incarcerated individuals, and organizations seeking grants would partner with lenders in the SBA Microloan and Community Advantage programs. This would provide qualifying program participants the ability to obtain loans to build their businesses.
The new guidance covers enforcement activity in general industry, agriculture, maritime and construction industries.
