The Lame-Duck Session Checklist for Small Business Lenders
The majorities are decided, but the current Congress is not done. The Democrats are in back control of both the House and Senate in the 120th Congress, whose term begins Jan. 3, 2027. Those calls do not officially certify every race. The Republican-led 119th Congress still handles the lame-duck session, with a short list of deadlines that touch business lending, from SBA loan approvals to the CFPB and state registration.
Here are the dates funders, brokers, and SBA lenders should have on the calendar before year-end.
Nov. 9: The Senate is back
The Senate is scheduled to return for substantive business on Nov. 9. Its tentative 2026 calendar also lists breaks on Nov. 11–13, Nov. 23–27 and Dec. 21–31. That leaves parts of five working weeks before the holiday recess, though leaders can change the schedule.
Nov. 20: Comments close on SBA's size standards overhaul
SBA proposed new size standards for 338 industry groups and industries in August, then extended the comment period to Nov. 20, 2026. SBA estimates the number of businesses that count as small would rise about 1.8%, or roughly 115,000 firms, as summarized by the Congressional Research Service.
Size standards help determine which businesses qualify for SBA programs, so the proposal could expand the pool of size-eligible 7(a) and 504 borrowers. It is not yet a final rule, and other loan requirements would still apply. Lenders that want a say have until Nov. 20 to comment.
Dec. 9: The Fed's last rate decision of the year
The Federal Open Market Committee meets Dec. 8 and 9, with a press conference at 2:30 p.m. Eastern on Dec. 9. Minutes follow on Dec. 30. For where rates stood heading into the election, see our Oct. 30 coverage of the Fed's last decision.
Dec. 11: Government funding runs out
The stopgap that keeps the government open, signed Sept. 2 as Public Law 119-103, covers all 12 regular appropriations bills through Dec. 11, 2026. None of the full-year fiscal 2027 bills has been enacted. As of early October, the House had passed three of the 12 and the Senate had completed floor action on none, according to Holland & Knight.
The stopgap lets SBA spend at the rate needed to meet demand for 7(a), 504 and SBIC commitments. A funding lapse beginning Dec. 12 could interrupt approvals, depending on the funding and shutdown arrangements then in place. The 43-day shutdown that ended Nov. 12, 2025, illustrates the risk: SBA said it halted 7(a) and 504 approvals and estimated that the interruption kept $5.3 billion from reaching 10,000 small businesses.
"Based on this volume, the agency estimates it was unable to deliver $5.3 billion to 10,000 small businesses during the 43-day shutdown." SBA, Nov. 13, 2025
For brokers and lenders with SBA deals that need an approval in mid-December, the funding deadline is a timing risk worth flagging to borrowers now. Flood insurance program authority and surface transportation programs expire the same day.
Before the session ends: The next CFPB director
Brian Johnson's nomination to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau cleared the Senate Banking Committee 13 to 11 on party lines on Sept. 17. As of Nov. 4, it remains on the Senate's pending executive calendar as PN1079, Calendar No. 922. Mark Paoletta has been the CFPB's acting director since Aug. 1, according to the bureau.
The Senate held pro forma sessions during the election break, so the absence of regular business did not by itself trigger the return of nominations under Senate Rule XXXI. Pending nominations are returned at the end of a Congress; a nominee not confirmed would need to be nominated again for consideration in the next Congress. With Republicans still holding the Senate majority during the lame duck, the question is whether they schedule and complete Johnson's confirmation before the Democratic-led Senate takes over.
Dec. 31: Texas registration deadline
For commercial sales-based financing providers and brokers already operating when Texas HB 700 took effect on Sept. 1, 2025, the law sets a Dec. 31, 2026 registration deadline. Chapter 398 otherwise requires covered firms to register before doing business. Applications have been available through NMLS since Sept. 1, 2026, and the OCCC administers and enforces Chapter 398. Our Nov. 2 guide covers who has to register.
Further out
Several dates sit beyond the lame duck but drive planning now.
Vermont's Act 142 (H.648) brings covered sales-based financing and factoring providers, brokers and other third-party solicitors under licensing requirements beginning July 1, 2027, subject to exemptions.
California AB 2116's principal commercial-financing provisions become operative Jan. 1, 2028, while its provider and broker licensing requirement becomes operative July 1, 2028. The California framework covers specified financing offers of $500,000 or less to qualifying small businesses, subject to exemptions.
The CFPB's revised Section 1071 rule sets Jan. 1, 2028 as the initial compliance date for institutions that remain covered and excludes merchant cash advances from its data-collection and reporting requirements.