BRAVE Act of 2025

Senate Bill

S. 609

119th Congress

BRAVE Act of 2025

In Committee

Introduced:Oct 8, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Richard Blumenthal

Senator

Democratic

CT

Cosponsors

0

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Commerce

Summary

The BRAVE Act of 2025 establishes a pilot program that provides entrepreneurship training and microloans to formerly incarcerated individuals. It requires the Small Business Administration to award grants to organizations that offer these services, with the goal of helping former inmates start their own businesses.

Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

SponsorRichard Blumenthal (D-CT)

Introduced10/8/2025

StatusRead twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

ChamberSenate

Data from Congress.gov

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Vote Prediction

BRAVE Act of 2025

The BRAVE Act of 2025 establishes a pilot program that provides entrepreneurship training and microloans to formerly incarcerated individuals. It requires the Small Business Administration to award grants to organizations that offer these services, with the go

Community Breakdown

Pass

0%

Fail

0%

0 predictions

The BRAVE Act of 2025 establishes a pilot program that provides entrepreneurship training and microloans to formerly incarcerated individuals. It requires the Small Business Administration to award grants to organizations that offer these services, with the goal of helping former inmates start their own businesses.

Bill Number: 609
Sponsor: Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
Introduced: 10/8/2025
Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Policy Area: Commerce

Data from Congress.gov

AI-generated summary

Fact Sheet

Title: BRAVE Act of 2025
Bill Number: 609
Sponsor: Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Introduced: 10/8/2025
Summary: The BRAVE Act of 2025 establishes a pilot program that provides entrepreneurship training and microloans to formerly incarcerated individuals. It requires the Small Business Administration to award grants to organizations that offer these services, with the goal of helping former inmates start their

Data from Congress.gov

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

The BRAVE Act of 2025 establishes a pilot program that provides entrepreneurship training and microloans to formerly incarcerated individuals. It requires the Small Business Administration to award grants to organizations that offer these services, with the goal of helping former inmates start their own businesses.

Last updated: 12/29/2025

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Necessary Entrepreneurship Workshops via the SBA to Transform and Assist Re-entry Training Act of 2023 or the NEW START Act of 2023 This bill establishes a pilot program for providing entrepreneurial development assistance to formerly incarcerated individuals. Specifically, the bill requires the Small Business Administration to establish a pilot program whereby it awards grants to organizations or partnerships that create or support entrepreneurship programs for providing assistance to formerly incarcerated individuals. Such assistance shall be in the form of entrepreneurial development programming that may include the disbursement of microloans. The Government Accountability Office must submit a report evaluating the (1) services that grant recipients provide to formerly incarcerated individuals, (2) oversight of the pilot program by the SBA, and (3) overall performance and impacts of the pilot program.

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Establishes a pilot program for providing entrepreneurial development assistance to formerly incarcerated individuals
Requires the Small Business Administration to award grants to organizations that offer entrepreneurship programs and microloans to former inmates
Directs the Government Accountability Office to evaluate the services provided, oversight of the program, and overall performance and impacts

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

If passed, this bill would directly impact formerly incarcerated individuals by giving them access to entrepreneurship training and financial support to start their own businesses. This could help reduce recidivism and provide economic opportunities for a marginalized group, potentially leading to broader societal benefits.