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H.R. 6431 119th Congress House

New Opportunities for Business Ownership and Self-Sufficiency Act

Official title: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the rules governing the State administration of self-employment assistance programs.

Introduced: December 4, 2025 Introduced by: Mike Carey Republican · Ohio See on congress.gov
Taxation Employment taxesSelf-employedState and local government operationsUnemployment
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 Everywhere this bill has been 13 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Apr 28, 2026
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Apr 27, 2026 · 4:48 PM EDT
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H3114-3115)
Apr 27, 2026 · 4:48 PM EDT
Mr. Carey moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
Apr 27, 2026 · 4:56 PM EDT
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H3114)
Apr 27, 2026 · 4:48 PM EDT
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 6431.
Apr 27, 2026 · 4:56 PM EDT
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
Apr 27, 2026 · 4:56 PM EDT
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H3114)
Feb 20, 2026
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Ways and Means. H. Rept. 119-509.
Feb 20, 2026
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 435.
Jan 14, 2026
Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by the Yeas and Nays: 41 - 0.
Jan 14, 2026
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Dec 4, 2025
Introduced in House
Dec 4, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
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What's happening now April 28, 2026

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

New Opportunities for Business Ownership and Self-Sufficiency Act

This bill increases the percentage of individuals who may participate in a Self-Employment Assistance (SEA) program, generally expands eligibility for such programs, and modifies certain SEA program requirements.

As background, an SEA program provides an individual with an SEA allowance, rather than regular unemployment compensation benefits, if such individual is (1) eligible for unemployment compensation benefits and identified as likely to exhaust such benefits, (2) participating in self-employment assistance activities which include entrepreneurial training, business counseling, and technical assistance and are approved by the state, and (3) working full-time on establishing a business and becoming self-employed. Under current law, the number of individuals participating in an SEA program may not exceed 5% of the individuals receiving regular unemployment compensation benefits in the state.

The bill

  • increases the percentage of individuals who may participate in a state SEA program to 10%,
  • eliminates the requirement that an individual be determined likely to exhaust unemployment compensation benefits (generally expanding individual eligibility for an SEA program), and
  • requires individuals to certify (at least weekly) that they are working full-time on establishing a business and becoming self-employed.

Finally, the bill allows individuals to meet the requirement to participate in state-approved self-employment assistance activities if such activities either (1) include entrepreneurial training, business counseling, and technical assistance (permitted under current law); or (2) are performed pursuant to a state-approved business plan and market feasibility study.

 Bill text 4 versions

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
 Lobbying activity 10

Registered lobbyists who named this bill in their disclosure filings. Source: federal Lobbying Disclosure Act filings.

Bodies those filers lobbied

A filing lists the bills it worked on and the parts of government it contacted in separate sections, so these are the bodies those filers named anywhere in the filing, not a per-bill breakdown.

See all 10 filings →
 Cosponsors 6
All 6 Democratic 2 Republican 4
D
Vindman, Eugene Simon
Virginia · Dec 17, 2025
 R
Feenstra, Randy
Iowa · Dec 4, 2025
 D
Landsman, Greg
Ohio · Dec 4, 2025
 R
Miller, Max L.
Ohio · Dec 4, 2025
 R
Moran, Nathaniel
Texas · Dec 4, 2025
 R
Yakym, Rudy
Indiana · Dec 4, 2025
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 6431: New Opportunities for Business Ownership and Self-Sufficiency Act. 119th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-6431/
MLA
"H.R. 6431: New Opportunities for Business Ownership and Self-Sufficiency Act." 119th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-6431/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 6431, 119th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-6431/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 6431: New Opportunities for Business Ownership and Self-Sufficiency Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-6431/)
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