Bill · H.R. 6492· House(119-HR-6492)
ESOP Act
- Introduced
- 12/5/2025
- Last activity
- 12/5/2025 — Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
- Sponsored by
- Cory Mills
- Cosponsors
- None
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
This bill, known as the "Empowering Small-business Ownership Participation Act" or the "ESOP Act," proposes changes to a pilot program. The goal is to incentivize contracting with employee-owned businesses within the Department of Defense. It modifies the requirements regarding the percentage of outstanding stock held through an employee stock ownership plan. Specifically, it seeks to replace the requirement of being "wholly-owned" with a new standard. This new standard would require the business to be owned by a certain percentage through an employee stock ownership plan.
Yes· 3 of 5
Does this make it easier to run a small business?+5
The bill makes it easier for employee-owned businesses to access Department of Defense contracts by reducing the required ESOP ownership percentage.
Would business owners be better off under this?+4
The bill benefits business owners of employee-owned companies by expanding their eligibility for federal defense contracts.
Is this likely to create jobs?+3
By lowering the ownership threshold for the DOD pilot program, more employee-owned businesses can qualify for government contracts.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
- Increased access to Department of Defense contracts: By changing the requirement from "wholly-owned" to "not less than 30 percent" (Section 2), more employee-owned businesses may qualify for the pilot program designed to incentivize contracting with them.
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- No negative impacts are explicitly stated in the text: The provided text focuses solely on the legislative changes to the percentage requirements for the pilot program.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Economy And Finance
- Improves Small Business Support+5Increases Job Creation+3
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Business Owners+4Good For Union Workers+2
- National Security And Foreign Policy
- Improves Veterans Benefits+1
- 12/5/2025
- Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
- Introduced in House