H.R. 6600 — Main Street Lending Improvement Act of 2025

This section directs the Comptroller General of the United States to study the disbursement process for small business loans—defined as loans under SBA section 7(a) (15 U.S.C. 636(a)), section 7(m) (15 U.S.C. 636(m)), or title V of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 695 et seq.), excluding COVID-19 response programs—for small business concerns in SBA regions (i.e., "covered regions") that include any part of the Appalachian region. For each year from 2021 through 2024, and comparing the Appalachian portion versus the non-Appalachian portion of each covered region, the study must determine: (1) average time from loan application submission to disbursement and for each process step; (2) number of loans disbursed per 1,000 small business concerns; (3) number of loans approved per 1,000 small business concerns; (4) average and median loan amounts; and (5) total loan dollars disbursed per 1,000 small business concerns. The Comptroller General must provide Congress an interim briefing within one year of enactment and a full report with recommendations within two years. Recommendations must address increasing loan accessibility, decreasing average disbursement time, improving applicant status information (including additional data needs and estimated timelines), and identifying agency-internal mechanisms to reduce processing inefficiencies.