Search

Search bills, members, committees and pages...

Sign In

H.R. 6431

U.S. House•In Senate Committee

Summary

H.R. 6431, the New Opportunities for Business Ownership and Self-Sufficiency Act, was introduced in the House on Dec 4, 2025 by Rep. Mike Carey (R) with 6 co-sponsors. It was referred to Finance, and last saw action on Apr 28, 2026: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Record

Text

H.R. 6431 has 6 co-sponsors.

hb6431/engrossed-in-house.txt
119 HR 6431 EH: New Opportunities for Business Ownership and Self-Sufficiency Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 IB
 119th CONGRESS  2d Session
 H. R. 6431
 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 AN ACT
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the rules governing the State administration of self-employment assistance programs.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   New Opportunities for Business Ownership and Self-Sufficiency Act  .
2.
Modification of rules governing State administration of self-employment assistance programs
(a)
Elimination of requirement that participants are likely to exhaust regular unemployment compensation
 Section 3306(t)(3)  of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking subparagraph (B) and by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as subparagraphs (B) and (C), respectively.
(b)
Modification of requirement To participate in self-Employment assistance activities
Section 3306(t)(3)(B) of such Code, as redesignated by subsection (a), is amended to read as follows:
(B)
are participating in self-employment assistance activities which are approved by the State agency and either—
(i)
include entrepreneurial training, business counseling, and technical assistance; or
(ii)
are performed pursuant to a business plan and market feasibility study submitted by the individual and approved by the State or an agency designated by the State; and
 .
(c)
Weekly certification requirement
Section 3306(t)(3)(C) of such Code, as redesignated by subsection (a), is amended by inserting  and are certifying such activities on at least a weekly basis to an agency designated by the State  before the semicolon at the end.
(d)
Adjustment of limitation on number of individuals participating
Section 3306(t)(4) of such Code is amended by striking  5  and inserting  10 .
(e)
Effective date
The amendments made by this section shall apply beginning on the date that is 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, except that nothing in this section shall be interpreted to prevent a State from amending its law before the end of the 2-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(f)
Issuance of regulations
The Secretary of Labor shall, after public notice and comment and subject to approval by the Office of Management and Budget, adopt regulations to administer this Act.
(g)
Issuance of guidance
The Secretary of Labor shall provide guidance to State workforce agencies that includes—
(1)
a model list of self-employment assistance activities that fulfill requirements of the program under  section 3306(t)  of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and
(2)
best practices for verification of completion of such activities.
     Passed the House of Representatives April 27, 2026.  Kevin F. McCumber,  Clerk.

Tracker

The tracker indicates the progress of this legislation as it moves through the legislative process.

  1. Introduced2025-12-04
  2. Passed House2026-04-27
  3. Passed Senate
  4. Conference
  5. To President
  6. Became Law

CRS Summary

The summaries are the Congressional Research Service’s, one per stage. Read them in full.

Introduced in House Dec 4, 2025

hb6431/introduced-in-house.md

Shown Here:
Introduced in House (12/04/2025)

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.

Sponsors

Rep. Mike Carey (R) sponsors H.R. 6431, and 6 members have co-sponsored it, 5 of them from the day it was introduced.

Committees

H.R. 6431 went before 2 committees: Finance and Ways and Means.

Finance
Finance
Referred To · Apr 28, 2026 · 902 Bills
Ways and Means
Ways and Means
Reported By · Feb 20, 2026 · 1,160 Bills

Reports

1 committee report has been filed on H.R. 6431, the latest H. Rept. 119-509.

  • H. Rept. 119-509 — NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR BUSINESS OWNERSHIP AND SELF-SUFFICIENCY ACT

Actions

H.R. 6431 has taken 13 actions since Dec 4, 2025, the latest on Apr 28, 2026.

ChamberAction
Apr 28, 2026
Senate
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.Finance Committee
Apr 27, 202616:48
House
Mr. Carey moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
Apr 27, 202616:48
House
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H3114-3115)
Apr 27, 202616:48
House
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 6431.
Apr 27, 202616:56
House
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H3114)

Votes

H.R. 6431 has not gone to a roll call.

1 bill is related to H.R. 6431.

Titles

H.R. 6431 goes by 7 titles, 4 of them short titles.

  • New Opportunities for Business Ownership and Self-Sufficiency Act — Display Title
  • New Opportunities for Business Ownership and Self-Sufficiency Act — Short Titles from RFS (Referred to Senate) bill text
  • New Opportunities for Business Ownership and Self-Sufficiency Act — Short Title(s) as Passed House
  • To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the rules governing the State administration of self-employment assistance programs. — Official Titles from EH (Engrossed in House) bill text
  • New Opportunities for Business Ownership and Self-Sufficiency Act — Short Title(s) as Reported to House
  • New Opportunities for Business Ownership and Self-Sufficiency Act — Short Title(s) as Introduced
  • To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the rules governing the State administration of self-employment assistance programs. — Official Title as Introduced

Cost estimate

The Congressional Budget Office has filed 1 estimate for H.R. 6431, the latest on Mar 3, 2026.

Lobbying

3 clients hired 3 firms and 7 registered lobbyists who named H.R. 6431 in 7 quarterly filings, 2025 to 2026. Reported under the Lobbying Disclosure Act; a filing’s income covers everything its registrant worked that quarter, so the amounts below are the filings’, not this bill’s.

Filed under Small Business, Computer Industry, Consumer Issues/Safety/Products, Financial Institutions/Investments/Securities, Taxation/Internal Revenue Code, Trade (domestic/foreign), Unemployment, Accounting.

Clients

Who paid to be heard, by how many filings named the bill.

ClientBusinessStateFirmsFilingsReported
SHOPIFY INC.Commerce platformOntario13$150K
SMALL BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP COUNCIL (SBE COUNCIL)—Virginia13—
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE SELF-EMPLOYED (NASE)—Texas11—

Firms

Registrants who filed on the bill, by filings.

RegistrantClientsFilingsReported
INVARIANT LLC13$150K
SMALL BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP COUNCIL (SBE COUNCIL)13—
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE SELF-EMPLOYED (NASE)11—

Lobbyists

Named on the filings that cite the bill.

LobbyistFirmsClientsFilings
ERIC ROSEN113
JENNIFER HAYNES113
JOEL RICHARD113
KAREN KERRIGAN113
RAYMOND KEATING113
KATIE VLIETSTRA111
THEODORE TANZER111

Filings

The documents themselves, on the Senate’s Lobbying Disclosure site, largest reported first.

ClientRegistrantPeriodReportedDocument
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE SELF-EMPLOYED (NASE)NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE SELF-EMPLOYED (NASE)2026 second_quarter$100K2nd Quarter - Report
SHOPIFY INC.INVARIANT LLC2026 second_quarter$50K2nd Quarter - Report
SHOPIFY INC.INVARIANT LLC2026 first_quarter$50K1st Quarter - Report
SHOPIFY INC.INVARIANT LLC2025 fourth_quarter$50K4th Quarter - Report
SMALL BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP COUNCIL (SBE COUNCIL)SMALL BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP COUNCIL (SBE COUNCIL)2026 second_quarter$45K2nd Quarter - Report
SMALL BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP COUNCIL (SBE COUNCIL)SMALL BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP COUNCIL (SBE COUNCIL)2026 first_quarter$35K1st Quarter - Report
SMALL BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP COUNCIL (SBE COUNCIL)SMALL BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP COUNCIL (SBE COUNCIL)2025 fourth_quarter$30K4th Quarter - Report

Classification

The Congressional Research Service files H.R. 6431 under Taxation, one of its 31 policy areas, and gives it 4 legislative subjects.

CRS Subjects

CRS assigns every bill one policy area from its 31; H.R. 6431’s is Taxation.

hr6431/policy-areas.txt
TaxationAgriculture and FoodAnimalsArmed Forces and National SecurityArts, Culture, ReligionCivil Rights and Liberties, Minority IssuesCommerceCongressCrime and Law EnforcementEconomics and Public FinanceEducationEmergency ManagementEnergyEnvironmental ProtectionFamiliesFinance and Financial SectorForeign Trade and International FinanceGovernment Operations and PoliticsHealthHousing and Community DevelopmentImmigrationInternational AffairsLabor and EmploymentLawNative AmericansPublic Lands and Natural ResourcesScience, Technology, CommunicationsSocial WelfareSports and RecreationTransportation and Public WorksWater Resources Development

Legislative Subjects

H.R. 6431 carries 4 of CRS’s legislative subjects, from Employment taxes to Unemployment.

hr6431/subjects.txt
Employment taxesSelf-employedState and local government operationsUnemployment

Constitutional authority

The clause the sponsor cites as Congress’s power to enact H.R. 6431, as entered in the Congressional Record.

[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 203 (Thursday, December 4, 2025)][House]From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]By Mr. CAREY:H.R. 6431.Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuantto the following:Article 1 Section 8[Page H5051]

Source: congress.gov · legiscan.com