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HR 3496
Passed House Re-checks Congress.gov for new actions and updates the bill's status, and fills in any sponsors, committees, or related bills that are missing. It does not re-pull sponsors/cosponsors/committees/related — those rarely change — and it skips all work if nothing has changed upstream, so it's cheap to click.

Northern Mariana Islands Small Business Access Act

Introduced May 19, 2025

Latest action (Jan 26, 2026) Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

Referred to
Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee Small Business Committee
Policy area
Commerce
Issues
Economy & Taxes
Legislative subjects (5)
Administrative remediesGovernment lending and loan guaranteesNorthern Mariana IslandsSmall businessSmall Business Administration

Summary

This bill amends the Small Business Act to include the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in the Small Business Administration's microloan program. Previously, the microloan program extended to Guam and other U.S. territories, but the Northern Mariana Islands were not explicitly included. The bill adds the Northern Mariana Islands to the list of eligible territories that can participate in the SBA microloan program, allowing small businesses in the territory to access microloans. It also makes technical corrections to related provisions in the Small Business Act.

AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.

Sponsor (1)
3 cosponsors

Actions (13)
  1. Jan 26, 2026 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. · senate
  2. Jan 20, 2026 Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection. · house
  3. Jan 20, 2026 On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H929) · house
  4. Jan 20, 2026 Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H929)
  5. Jan 20, 2026 DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 3496. · house
  6. Jan 20, 2026 Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H929-930) · house
  7. Jan 20, 2026 Mr. Williams (TX) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended. · house
  8. Dec 12, 2025 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 350. · house
  9. Dec 12, 2025 Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Small Business. H. Rept. 119-402. · house
  10. Nov 18, 2025 Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 27 - 0. · house
  11. Nov 18, 2025 Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held · house
  12. May 19, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on Small Business. · house
  13. May 19, 2025 Introduced in House

More bills on these subjects (8)

Other bills that carry the most legislative subjects in common with this one (topical discovery — distinct from the procedural related bills above).

  • S 2232 — Expanding the Surety Bond Program Act of 2025 (shares 4 subjects)
  • HR 7006 — Financial Services and General Government and National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2026 (shares 4 subjects)
  • HR 191 — Inflation Reduction Act of 2025 (shares 4 subjects)
  • HR 1163 — Prove It Act (shares 3 subjects)
  • S 495 — Prove It Act of 2025 (shares 3 subjects)
  • S 2659 — 504 Credit Risk Management Improvement Act of 2025 (shares 3 subjects)
  • S 2662 — 504 Modernization and Small Manufacturer Enhancement Act of 2025 (shares 3 subjects)
  • HR 5166 — Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2026 (shares 3 subjects)

Similar bills (6)

Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.

  • HR 8343 — Territorial Small Business Development Act of 2026 · Introduced Apr 16, 2026 · Cong. 119 78%
  • HR 8534 — Small Business Territories Support Act · Introduced Apr 27, 2026 · Cong. 119 72%
  • HR 5960 — Territorial De Minimis Exemption Act · Introduced Nov 7, 2025 · Cong. 119 60%
  • HR 6063 — Designating the Guam and Western Pacific USDA Rural Development Office Act · Introduced Dec 2, 2025 · Cong. 119 58%
  • HR 4549 — Office of Rural Affairs Enhancement Act · Passed House Dec 2, 2025 · Cong. 119 56%
  • HR 6494 — Territories Health Equity Act of 2025 · Introduced Dec 5, 2025 · Cong. 119 56%

Text versions (4)
  • Referred in Senate · Jan 26, 2026
  • Engrossed in House · Jan 20, 2026
  • Reported in House · Dec 12, 2025
  • Introduced in House · May 19, 2025

Full text

AN ACT

To amend the Small Business Act for microloan eligibility for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Northern Mariana Islands Small Business Access Act”.

SEC. 2. INCLUSION OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS IN THE MICROLOAN PROGRAM.

(a) In General.—Section 7(m)(7)(B) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(m)(7)(B)) is amended—

(1) by inserting “, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands” after “Guam” each place it appears; and

(2) in clause (i)(I)(bb), by striking “\1/55\” and inserting “\1/56\”.

(b) Technical Amendment.—Section 7(m)(11)(C)(ii) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(m)(11)(C)(ii)) is amended by striking “rural” and all that follows through the end of the clause and inserting “rural; and”.

Passed the House of Representatives January 20, 2026.

Attest:

Clerk. 119th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 3496

AN ACT

To amend the Small Business Act for microloan eligibility for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and for other purposes.

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