I 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6597 

To require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to conduct 

a study on the state of blockchain technology and its use in consumer 

protection, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 3, 2022 

Ms. SALAZAR (for herself, Mr. KHANNA, Mrs. KIM of California, Mr. SOTO, 

Mr. BUDD, Mrs. CAMMACK, Mr. DONALDS, Mr. WALTZ, Ms. TENNEY, 

Mr. EMMER, Mr. ROSE, Mr. DAVIDSON, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. AUSTIN

SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. STEIL, Mr. TIMMONS, Mr. CAWTHORN, Mr. 

STEUBE, and Mrs. WAGNER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business 

A BILL 

To require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to conduct a study on the state of blockchain 

technology and its use in consumer protection, 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 ‘‘Blockchain Solutions 

5 for Small Businesses Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Blockchain or distributed ledger technology 

4 allows computers connected by a peer-to-peer net5 work to reach agreement over a shared ledger of 

6 data. Changes to the shared ledger can only be ef7 fected if the majority of the computers in the net8 work verify the validity of the change and agree to 

9 its inclusion in the ledger. 

10 (2) The Connected Commerce Council found 

11 that 72 percent of small businesses increased their 

12 use of digital tools during the COVID–19 crisis, and 

13 48 percent utilized a new digital tool. 

14 (3) As small businesses increasingly move their 

15 operations online, it is critical that any and all infor16 mation relevant to the business is protected and se17 cure. Blockchain technology is an additional tool 

18 that small businesses can leverage to ensure that the 

19 operation is adequately protected from cyberattack. 

20 (4) Blockchains are decentralized and distrib21 uted across peer-to-peer networks that are contin22 ually updated and kept in sync. Because these net23 works are not contained in a central location, they 

24 do not have a single point of failure and cannot be 

25 changed from a single computer operating within the 

26 network. These features of blockchain technology 


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1 make stealing data or engaging in fraud significantly 

2 more difficult. 

3 (5) Blockchain technology has the ability to bol4 ster trust and efficiency. All participants in the 

5 blockchain networks have access to the same infor6 mation, which is not only immutable but also up7 dated in real time, which means that information 

8 sharing and verification is streamlined and accessible 

9 to all relevant parties. 

10 SEC. 3. STUDY ON BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY AND ITS 

11 USES AT THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRA12 TION. 

13 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Administrator of the 

14 Small Business Administration, in consultation with any 

15 other Federal agency the Administrator determines appro16 priate, shall conduct a study on— 

17 (1) the current and potential uses of blockchain 

18 technology to carry out the requirements of sub19 sections (a) and (b)(2) of section 7 of the Small 

20 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636); and 

21 (2) the potential uses of blockchain technology 

22 to— 

23 (A) minimize fraud in the lending pro24 grams established under such subsections; and 


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1 (B) improve the provision of services under 

2 such lending programs. 

3 (b) ELEMENTS.—The study required under sub4 section (a) shall include the following: 

5 (1) An assessment of trends in the use of 

6 blockchain technology in the financial sector. 

7 (2) A description of best practices to facilitate 

8 partnerships between private entities and the Ad9 ministration to use blockchain technology to carry 

10 out the requirements of subsections (a) and (b)(2) of 

11 section 7 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

12 636), minimize fraud in the lending programs estab13 lished under such subsections, and improve the pro14 vision of services under such lending programs. 

15 (3) With respect to carrying out the require16 ments of subsections (a) and (b)(2) of section 7 of 

17 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636), a descrip18 tion of— 

19 (A) the potential benefits and risks of 

20 using blockchain technology; 

21 (B) how blockchain technology can be used 

22 to maximize efficiency of the Administration; 

23 and 

24 (C) how blockchain technology can be used 

25 to reduce fraud and increase the security of the 


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1 lending programs established under such sub2 sections. 

3 (4) Any other relevant information or rec4 ommendations related to the use of blockchain tech5 nology by the Administrator. 

6 (c) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

7 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 

8 Small Business Administration shall submit to the Com9 mittee on Small Business of the House of Representatives 

10 and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneur11 ship of the Senate a report on the results of the study. 

12 (d) BLOCKCHAIN DEFINED.—In this Act, the term 

13 ‘‘blockchain’’ means a digital ledger or database which is 

14 chronological, consensus-based, decentralized, and mathe15 matically verified in nature. 

Æ 


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