II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5063 

To require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to establish a program to allow small business concerns to purchase certain 

commodities futures, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself and Mr. CASSIDY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business 

and Entrepreneurship 

A BILL 

To require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to establish a program to allow small business 

concerns to purchase certain commodities futures, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Helping Small Busi5 nesses To Hedge Risk and Insure against Volatile Ex6 penses Act’’ or the ‘‘Helping Small Businesses THRIVE 

7 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis4 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Small Busi5 ness Administration. 

6 (2) COMMISSION; COMMODITY; COMMODITY

7 POOL; COMMODITY TRADING ADVISOR; FUTURE DE8 LIVERY; FUTURES COMMISSION MERCHANT.—The 

9 terms ‘‘Commission’’, ‘‘commodity’’, ‘‘commodity 

10 pool’’, ‘‘commodity trading advisor’’, ‘‘future deliv11 ery’’, and ‘‘futures commission merchant’’ have the 

12 meanings given those terms in section 1a of the 

13 Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1a). 

14 (3) COVERED COMMODITY.—The term ‘‘covered 

15 commodity’’ means a commodity that the Adminis16 trator, under section 4(b), determines is eligible to 

17 be the subject of an agreement entered into under 

18 section 4(a). 

19 (4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti20 ty’’— 

21 (A) means a small business concern; and 

22 (B) does not include a small business con23 cern that— 

24 (i) is, or is owned or controlled by an 

25 entity that is, a financial institution (as deVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:28 Sep 20, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5063.IS S5063

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1 fined in section 509 of the Gramm-Leach2 Bliley Act (15 U.S.C. 6809)); 

3 (ii) is, or is owned or controlled by an 

4 entity that is, with respect to any financial 

5 activity, subject to the jurisdiction of the 

6 Commission under the Commodity Ex7 change Act (7 U.S.C. 1 et seq.); 

8 (iii) is, or is owned or controlled by, 

9 an investment adviser (as defined in sec10 tion 202(a) of the Investment Advisers Act 

11 of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b–2(a))) that is re12 quired to register with the Securities and 

13 Exchange Commission under section 203 

14 of that Act (15 U.S.C. 80b–3); 

15 (iv) is, or is owned or controlled by, a 

16 broker (as defined in section 3(a) of the 

17 Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 

18 U.S.C. 78c(a))); 

19 (v) has been in operation for less than 

20 1 year, as of the date on which the small 

21 business concern submits an application 

22 under section 3(b); or 

23 (vi) the Administrator otherwise de24 termines should be excluded in order— 


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1 (I) to preserve the integrity of 

2 the Program; and 

3 (II) to ensure that the focus of 

4 the Program remains on small busi5 ness concerns desiring to participate 

6 in the Program to maximize stability 

7 with respect to the direct operating 

8 costs of those small business concerns. 

9 (5) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 

10 the Helping Small Businesses Thrive Program es11 tablished under section 3(a). 

12 (6) RESOURCE PARTNERS.—The term ‘‘re13 source partners’’ means— 

14 (A) small business development centers; 

15 (B) women’s business centers described in 

16 section 29 of the Small Business Act (15 

17 U.S.C. 656); 

18 (C) chapters of the Service Corps of Re19 tired Executives established under section 

20 8(b)(1)(B) of the Small Business Act (15 

21 U.S.C. 637(b)(1)(B)); and 

22 (D) Veteran Business Outreach Centers 

23 described in section 32 of the Small Business 

24 Act (15 U.S.C. 657b). 


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1 (7) SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN; SMALL BUSI2 NESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER.—The terms ‘‘small 

3 business concern’’ and ‘‘small business development 

4 center’’ have the meanings given those terms in sec5 tion 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632). 

6 SEC. 3. HELPING SMALL BUSINESSES THRIVE PROGRAM. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.—Not later than 

8 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Admin9 istrator shall, in consultation with the Commission, the 

10 Secretary of the Treasury, and such other Federal officials 

11 determined appropriate by the Administrator, establish 

12 within the Small Business Administration a pilot pro13 gram— 

14 (1) which shall be known as the ‘‘Helping Small 

15 Businesses Thrive Program’’; and 

16 (2) the purpose of which shall be to assist eligi17 ble entities in limiting the risk faced by those eligible 

18 entities with respect to rising input costs from com19 modities. 

20 (b) APPLICATION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity seeking to 

22 participate in the Program shall submit an applica23 tion— 


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1 (A) at such time, in such manner, and con2 taining such information as the Administrator 

3 determines to be necessary; 

4 (B) that shall include information nec5 essary to establish that the entity submitting 

6 the application is an eligible entity; and 

7 (C) that may include additional informa8 tion to ensure that the Administrator, through 

9 the Program, is able to properly assist the eligi10 ble entity in determining whether entering into 

11 an agreement under section 4(a) would be bene12 ficial for the eligible entity, including a descrip13 tion of expenses incurred by the eligible entity 

14 relating to commodities. 

15 (2) GUIDANCE.—The Administrator shall de16 velop guidance, which shall be posted on a publicly 

17 available website of the Small Business Administra18 tion, to assist an eligible entity in determining 

19 whether the eligible entity should submit an applica20 tion to participate in the Program and whether en21 tering into an agreement under section 4(a) would 

22 be beneficial for the eligible entity, including infor23 mation regarding— 

24 (A) the purpose of the Program, the prod25 ucts the Program offers, and how those prodVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:28 Sep 20, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5063.IS S5063

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1 ucts can reduce exposure to price volatility for 

2 eligible entities with respect to covered commod3 ities; 

4 (B) determining the cost of covered com5 modities; 

6 (C) the expenses of eligible entities relating 

7 to each covered commodity, including when ex8 penses for covered commodities incurred by an 

9 eligible entity reach a level such that it might 

10 not be beneficial for the eligible entity to par11 ticipate in the Program; 

12 (D) the percentages of commodity-related 

13 expenses for the eligible entity that are most 

14 likely beneficial to offset through participation 

15 in the Program; and 

16 (E) the impact of the type of revenue of an 

17 eligible entity, such as a cost-plus or highly 

18 variable pricing model for revenue or long-term 

19 recurring revenue. 

20 (c) OUTREACH AND CONSULTATION.—In carrying 

21 out the Program, the Administrator shall conduct out22 reach to small business concerns, including small business 

23 concerns that are not eligible entities by operation of sec24 tion 2(4)(B)(v), to share information regarding the Pro25 gram and the benefits of the Program, including by— 


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1 (1) providing informational materials to the 

2 small business centers of the Small Business Admin3 istration, small business stakeholders and trade as4 sociations, and resource partners for distribution to 

5 small business concerns; 

6 (2) conducting webinars or in-person events 

7 with small business concerns regarding the Program; 

8 and 

9 (3) operating a website and telephone line 

10 that— 

11 (A) offers additional information regarding 

12 the Program; and 

13 (B) allows a small business concern to ask 

14 questions and obtain assistance in determining 

15 whether the small business concern would ben16 efit from participating in the Program. 

17 (d) ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM.—In carrying out 

18 the Program, the following shall apply: 

19 (1) The Administrator may— 

20 (A) issue such rules as may be necessary; 

21 and 

22 (B) in consultation with the Commission, 

23 form a commodity pool and apply for registra24 tion as a commodity pool operator under the 

25 Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1 et seq.). 


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1 (2)(A) The Administrator may not take delivery 

2 of any physical commodity except in extreme and ex3 igent circumstances. 

4 (B) The Administrator shall conduct such pur5 chases and sales to close positions with respect to 

6 covered commodities as are necessary to ensure that 

7 the Administrator remains in compliance with the 

8 prohibition under subparagraph (A). 

9 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator 

11 such sums as may be necessary to establish and operate 

12 the Program, which shall remain available until expended. 

13 SEC. 4. ASSISTING SMALL BUSINESSES TRANSACTING IN 

14 COMMODITY FUTURES MARKETS. 

15 (a) AGREEMENTS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in ac17 cordance with the other provisions of this subsection, 

18 shall enter into agreements with eligible entities that 

19 have been accepted for participation in the Program 

20 for the purpose of assisting those eligible entities in 

21 transacting in commodity futures markets with re22 spect to any commodity selected by the Adminis23 trator under subsection (b). 

24 (2) REQUIREMENTS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara2 graphs (C) and (D), an eligible entity may 

3 enter into 1 or more agreements under this 

4 subsection under which the eligible entity 

5 agrees to purchase a covered commodity (or a 

6 derivative, the price of which is related to a cov7 ered commodity) at a price established by the 

8 Administrator for the duration of the agree9 ment. 

10 (B) AGREEMENTS OFFERED.—In deter11 mining which agreements to offer to an eligible 

12 entity under this subsection, the Administrator 

13 shall consider— 

14 (i) how closely the agreement cor15 relates with the actual costs of the eligible 

16 entity and whether an agreement already 

17 offered under this subsection provides simi18 lar benefits; 

19 (ii) how to minimize complexity for 

20 the eligible entity; 

21 (iii) how to reduce friction in trading 

22 costs with respect to covered commodities; 

23 and 

24 (iv) how to minimize the number and 

25 type of market positions of the Program in 


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1 order to reduce costs and the potential for 

2 errors. 

3 (C) OFFERED AT COST.—An agreement 

4 under this subsection shall offer to the applica5 ble eligible entity the covered commodity (or de6 rivative, as applicable) that is the subject of the 

7 agreement at cost, including any fees and com8 missions incurred by the Administrator in pro9 curing the covered commodity or derivative. 

10 (D) TYPES OF AGREEMENTS.— 

11 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 

12 through the Program, may offer to enter 

13 into any of the following types of agree14 ments with an eligible entity: 

15 (I) A futures purchase agreement 

16 under which the direct cost of the ap17 plicable covered commodity is estab18 lished and maintained for the dura19 tion of the agreement. 

20 (II) A call option purchase agree21 ment to protect the eligible entity in 

22 any case in which the price of the ap23 plicable covered commodity increases 

24 by more than 10 percent. 


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1 (ii) PAYMENT.—Each agreement 

2 under this subsection shall clearly state 

3 that— 

4 (I) the applicable eligible entity 

5 shall be responsible for all costs asso6 ciated with the agreement; and 

7 (II) any initial costs shall be paid 

8 at the time that the applicable eligible 

9 entity enters into the agreement. 

10 (E) DURATION.— 

11 (i) IN GENERAL.—An agreement en12 tered into under this subsection shall be 

13 for a duration of not less than 60 days and 

14 not more than 3 years. 

15 (ii) REQUIREMENT.—The Adminis16 trator shall ensure that the majority of 

17 agreements entered into under this sub18 section shall be for a duration of not less 

19 than 120 days. 

20 (b) COVERED COMMODITIES.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

22 the Administrator shall determine which commod23 ities shall be eligible to be the subject of agreements 

24 entered into under subsection (a). 


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1 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out para2 graph (1), the Administrator— 

3 (A) shall ensure that gasoline and diesel 

4 gasoline are covered commodities; 

5 (B) may offer agreements under subsection 

6 (a) relating to not more than 3 covered com7 modities in addition to gasoline and diesel gaso8 line during the 1-year period beginning on the 

9 date on which the Administrator establishes the 

10 Program, of which only 1 covered commodity 

11 may be intended for specific industry use; 

12 (C) may remove a commodity from being 

13 eligible to be the subject of an agreement en14 tered into subsection (a) only after providing 

15 not less than 90 days notice to participants in 

16 the Program; and 

17 (D) shall use contracts available through 

18 entities regulated by the Commission, such as 

19 designated contract markets, to the maximum 

20 extent practicable. 

21 (3) FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION.—In deter22 mining additional commodities that can be the sub23 ject of agreements entered into under subsection (a) 

24 (beyond the commodities that are required to be in25 cluded for that purpose under paragraph (2) of this 


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1 subsection), or in removing a commodity that is eli2 gible to be the subject of an agreement entered into 

3 under subsection (a), the Administrator, in consulta4 tion with the Commission, shall— 

5 (A) take into consideration— 

6 (i) feedback from eligible entities and 

7 stakeholders, including survey data that 

8 the Administrator may collect, relating to 

9 demand from eligible entities for the Ad10 ministrator to add to the list of covered 

11 commodities (beyond the commodities that 

12 are required to be classified as covered 

13 commodities under paragraph (2) of this 

14 subsection), including whether certain com15 modities may see higher demand from eli16 gible entities in specific industries, even if 

17 demand is not as widespread across all in18 dustries; 

19 (ii) demand and transaction volume in 

20 particular commodities; 

21 (iii) available liquidity in new com22 modity markets; and 

23 (iv) the capacity of the Program with 

24 respect to funding and staff expertise re25 lating to commodities; and 


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1 (B) give particular consideration to 

2 classifying standard utilities, such as electricity 

3 and natural gas, as covered commodities. 

4 (c) COMMODITY TRANSACTIONS BY ADMINIS5 TRATOR.—The Administrator— 

6 (1) shall conduct or facilitate such transactions 

7 in commodity derivatives markets as the Adminis8 trator determines to be necessary to fulfill the obli9 gations of the Program under agreements entered 

10 into with eligible entities under subsection (a); and 

11 (2) may enter into an agreement with a com12 modity trading advisor or futures commission mer13 chant to carry out paragraph (1). 

14 (d) USE OF PROCEEDS.—The Administrator shall— 

15 (1) use any proceeds earned by the Program in 

16 a fiscal year to offset the operating costs of the Pro17 gram for that fiscal year; and 

18 (2) return any proceeds beyond the proceeds re19 quired to carry out paragraph (1) to the general 

20 fund of the Treasury. 

21 SEC. 5. REPORTS. 

22 (a) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after 

23 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

24 submit to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepre25 neurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small BusiVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:28 Sep 20, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5063.IS S5063

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1 ness of the House of Representatives a report, which shall 

2 include— 

3 (1) a description of the structure of, and proce4 dures for, the Program, including how covered com5 modities are selected; 

6 (2) a plan for management of the Program; and 

7 (3) a description of the merit-based review 

8 process to be used in selecting eligible entities to 

9 participate in the Program. 

10 (b) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

13 thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to the 

14 Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

15 of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business 

16 of the House of Representatives a report regarding 

17 the Program, which shall include, for the period cov18 ered by the report— 

19 (A) the number of applications submitted 

20 by eligible entities for participation in the Pro21 gram; 

22 (B) the number of agreements entered into 

23 under section 4(a); 

24 (C) the total notional value of the covered 

25 commodities that were the subjects of the 


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1 agreements described in subparagraph (B), 

2 which shall be disaggregated by covered com3 modity; and 

4 (D) the effect of the Program on the eligi5 ble entities participating the Program, including 

6 feedback from those eligible entities on any 

7 costs and benefits of the Program with respect 

8 to the business operations of those eligible enti9 ties, in particular with respect to expansion and 

10 growth plans. 

11 (2) LIMITATION.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

13 subparagraph (B), in collecting information 

14 from eligible entities for the purpose of carrying 

15 out paragraph (1)(D), the Administrator may 

16 not require an eligible entity to report to the 

17 Administrator more frequently than upon the 

18 termination of an agreement under section 4(a) 

19 to which the eligible entity is a party or annu20 ally, whichever is less frequent. 

21 (B) EXCEPTION.—For the first 2 fiscal 

22 years after the fiscal year in which an eligible 

23 entity enters into an agreement under section 

24 4(a), the Administrator, for the purpose of car25 rying out paragraph (1)(D), may not require an 


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1 eligible entity to report to the Administrator 

2 more frequently than upon the termination of 

3 an agreement under section 4(a) to which the 

4 eligible entity is a party or annually, whichever 

5 is more frequent. 

Æ 


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