H.R. 7622 would require Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) to help small businesses establish and improve work-based learning opportunities, pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs, and job training programs. Under current law, the SBDC program, administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA), awards grants to centers that counsel and train current and prospective small-business owners. In 2022, the Congress appropriated $138 million for the SBDC program.
Using information from the SBA, CBO expects that the SBA would award grants to lead SBDCs to support an additional 63 counselors annually (at a cost of $160,000 per employee) to manage work-based learning opportunities at each lead center. Based on historical spending patterns, and accounting for anticipated inflation, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 7622 would cost $46 million over the 2023-2027 period, assuming appropriation of the estimated amounts.
The costs of the legislation, detailed in Table 1, fall within budget function 370 (commerce and housing credit).
