CEASE Act of 2025

Where This Stands

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

Signed

Currently in_committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.

Last action

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.Jun 9, 2025

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

The Frame

What this does

This bill would cap the total number of for-profit entities permitted to participate in federal small business lending programs, potentially limiting the number of available lenders for small business owners seeking government-backed loans.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Small business lending companies

For-profit lenders are subject to a new federal cap on the total number of authorized participants in the program.

Small business owners

Business owners seeking government-backed loans may have a restricted pool of for-profit lenders available to them.

Small Business Administration

The agency must manage and enforce the new cap on the number of authorized for-profit lenders.

What changed

Current stage: in_committee.

What's next

Floor Vote.

Summary

The CEASE Act proposes a federal limit on the number of for-profit small business lending companies (SBLCs) authorized to issue loans under the Small Business Act. If passed, the Small Business Administration (SBA) would be restricted to authorizing no more than 16 for-profit lenders at any given time.

Key Facts

The bill establishes a hard cap of 16 for-profit small business lending companies (SBLCs) authorized to make loans under section 7 of the Small Business Act.
The limitation applies specifically to for-profit entities, excluding nonprofit organizations from the 16-company cap.
The Administrator of the Small Business Administration is tasked with enforcing this limit.
The bill amends Section 23 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 650).
The bill is formally titled the 'Capping Excessive Awarding of SBLC Entrants Act' or the 'CEASE Act'.

Why It Matters

This bill would cap the total number of for-profit entities permitted to participate in federal small business lending programs, potentially limiting the number of available lenders for small business owners seeking government-backed loans.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this bill affect nonprofit lenders?

No, the proposed limit of 16 companies applies only to for-profit small business lending companies.

Who is responsible for enforcing this limit?

The Administrator of the Small Business Administration is required to ensure the number of authorized for-profit lenders does not exceed 16.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Voting Record

Outcome not reportedhouse6/5/2025voteview

Total

412

Yes

214

No

198

Present

0

Not Voting

0

Abstain

0

How they voted (412)

+ 388 more

Full roll-call analysis →

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Regulatory tightening of lending participants

The bill represents a shift toward limiting the number of private-sector participants in federal small business lending programs.

Small Business Administration

Connected Entities

organizationSmall Business Administration“The agency responsible for administering the lending limits.”Map →

personMr. Bresnahan“The House Representative who introduced the bill.”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.congress.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance45
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy20
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment5
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz15
Current news / social attention level