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SRES 71

An original resolution authorizing expenditures by the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

119th Congress Introduced by Joni Ernst

Gives the Senate Small Business Committee a two-year authority to spend from the contingent fund and hire staff, with access to other federal personnel for hearings.

Introduced in Senate
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Bill Summary · SRES 71

Summary: SRES 71 – Original Resolution authorizing expenditures by the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Overview

SRES 71 is an original Senate resolution introduced on February 11, 2025, that authorizes the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship to incur expenditures and engage personnel for its official functions. The resolution covers a two-year period (March 1, 2025, through February 28, 2027) and relies on existing Senate rules governing committee operations and budgeting. The primary sponsor is Senator Joni Ernst.

Purpose and intent

  • To provide the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship with discretionary authority to finance its activities related to its constitutional and statutory duties, including hearings, reporting, and investigations authorized under the Senate’s Standing Rules.
  • To ensure the committee can operate effectively by enabling staffing and access to other government personnel services when necessary.

Key provisions

  • Authorization to make expenditures from the contingent fund of the Senate.
  • Authorization to employ personnel.
  • Authorization to use, with prior consent, the services of personnel from any government department or agency on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis.
  • Availability window: March 1, 2025, through February 28, 2027.
  • Conditions: Use of government personnel requires prior consent of the relevant department or agency and the Committee on Rules and Administration.
  • Basis: The authority is framed within the committee’s powers, duties, and functions under the Standing Rules of the Senate, including Rule XXV (jurisdiction) and rules governing hearings and investigations (Rules XXVI).

Timing and procedural status

  • Introduced: February 11, 2025.
  • Legislative actions: Referred to the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration; the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee reported the measure to the Senate (by Senator Ernst) without a written report.
  • Classification: Original Senate resolution (non-binding in the sense of creating expenditures authorities within Senate procedure rather than enacting public law).

Funding, personnel, and operations

  • No specific dollar amounts are listed in the text provided.
  • Funding mechanism: Expenditures from the contingent fund of the Senate.
  • Staffing: Authority to employ personnel directly under the committee.
  • Interagency support: Ability to obtain services of personnel from other government departments or agencies, contingent on prior consent from the respective department/agency and the Rules and Administration Committee, and on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis as agreed.

Sponsors

  • Primary sponsor: Senator Joni Ernst (and the committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship introducing the measure).

Potential impact

  • Provides formal, two-year financial and operational flexibility for the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship to conduct hearings, investigations, and related activities.
  • Enables hiring and interagency support to support committee work, potentially enhancing oversight and examination of small business and entrepreneurship issues.
  • Keeps expenditures within the Senate’s established contingency fund framework and requires coordination with relevant departments/agencies and the Rules and Administration Committee.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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