The Northern Mariana Islands Entrepreneurship Act of 2023 amends federal small business law to expand access to the microloan program by officially including U.S. territories in the definition of "State." Under current law, the microloan program—which provides small loans to entrepreneurs and small businesses—only applies to the fifty states and Washington, D.C. This bill adds the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa to the program's coverage. The legislation essentially clarifies that entrepreneurs and small business owners in these U.S. territories can now access the same federal microloan assistance as those in the states, helping promote economic development and entrepreneurship in these island communities.
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