A new bipartisan bill would authorize the Department of Commerce (DoC) to work with the Small Business Administration (SBA) to create and distribute AI training resources and tools to help small businesses leverage AI in their operations.
The legislation – Small Business AI Training and Toolkit Act of 2024 – was introduced on June 12 by Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and committee member Jerry Moran, R-Kan.
“Small businesses are the foundation of the U.S. economy, making up 99 percent of all businesses,” said Sen. Cantwell – who is also a member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. “They drive economic growth and innovation. It is essential that all American entrepreneurs – especially our small businesses – have access to AI training and reskilling in the 21st-century marketplace.”
“This bill gives small businesses a boost with new tools to thrive as we step into this innovative era,” she added.
The Small Business AI Training and Toolkit Act of 2024 would task the DoC, in coordination with the SBA, to develop AI training resources and toolkits for small businesses. According to the legislation, the new trainings would include how to use AI or emerging technologies to improve: financial management and accounting; business planning and operations; marketing; supply chain management; government contracting; and exporting.
The bill also directs specific AI training for small businesses in rural and Tribal communities, and small businesses involved in advanced manufacturing.
The senators’ bill would provide new DoC AI training resources to small businesses through SBA resource partners, including Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, Veteran Business Opportunity Centers, among others.
The Small Business AI Training and Toolkit Act of 2024 authorizes the secretary of Commerce to create a grant program for organizations providing AI training developed under the new bill. It allows gift authority to use private sector and philanthropic donations to support these grants, with at least 25 percent of any grant funds going toward small businesses located in rural or underserved communities.
It also requires the secretary of Commerce to update AI training materials and toolkits at least every two years and requires biannual reporting to Congress on the impact of AI training and toolkits developed and distributed under this bill.
