To amend the Small Business Act with respect to Offices of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, and for other purposes.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Small Business Advocate Act of 
2012''.

SEC. 2. OFFICES OF SMALL AND DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS UTILIZATION.

    (a) Appointment and Position of Director.--Section 15(k)(2) of the 
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(k)(2)) is amended by striking ``such 
agency,'' and inserting ``such agency to a position that is a Senior 
Executive Service position (as such term is defined under section 
3132(a) of title 5, United States Code), except that, for any agency in 
which the positions of Chief Acquisition Officer and senior procurement 
executive (as such terms are defined under section 44(a) of this Act) 
are not Senior Executive Service positions, the Director of Small and 
Disadvantaged Business Utilization may be appointed to a position 
compensated at not less than the minimum rate of basic pay payable for 
grade GS-15 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of such title 
(including comparability payments under section 5304 of such title);''.
    (b) Performance Appraisals.--Section 15(k)(3) of such Act (15 
U.S.C. 644(k)(3)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``be responsible only to, and report 
        directly to, the head'' and inserting ``shall be responsible 
        only to (including with respect to performance appraisals), and 
        report directly and exclusively to, the head''; and
            (2) by striking ``be responsible only to, and report 
        directly to, such Secretary'' and inserting ``be responsible 
        only to (including with respect to performance appraisals), and 
        report directly and exclusively to, such Secretary''.
    (c) Small Business Technical Advisers.--Section 15(k)(8)(B) of such 
Act (15 U.S.C. 644(k)(8)(B)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and 15 of this Act,'' and inserting ``, 
        15, and 44 of this Act;''; and
            (2) by inserting after ``of this Act'' the following: 
        ``(giving priority in assigning to small business that are in 
        metropolitan statistical areas for which the unemployment rate 
        is higher than the national average unemployment rate for the 
        United States)''.
    (d) Additional Requirements.--Section 15(k) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 
644(k)) is amended by inserting after paragraph (10) the following:
            ``(11) shall review and advise such agency on any decision 
        to convert an activity performed by a small business concern to 
        an activity performed by a Federal employee;
            ``(12) shall provide to the Chief Acquisition Officer and 
        senior procurement executive of such agency advice and comments 
        on acquisition strategies, market research, and justifications 
        related to section 44 of this Act;
            ``(13) may provide training to small business concerns and 
        contract specialists, except that such training may only be 
        provided to the extent that the training does not interfere 
        with the Director carrying out other responsibilities under 
        this subsection;
            ``(14) shall carry out exclusively the duties enumerated in 
        this Act, and shall, while the Director, not hold any other 
        title, position, or responsibility, except as necessary to 
        carry out responsibilities under this subsection; and
            ``(15) shall submit, each fiscal year, to the Committee on 
        Small Business of the House of Representatives and the 
        Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate 
        a report describing--
                    ``(A) the training provided by the Director under 
                paragraph (13) in the most recently completed fiscal 
                year;
                    ``(B) the percentage of the budget of the Director 
                used for such training in the most recently completed 
                fiscal year; and
                    ``(C) the percentage of the budget of the Director 
                used for travel in the most recently completed fiscal 
                year.''.
    (e) Requirement of Contracting Experience for OSDBU Director.--
Section 15(k) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(k)), as amended 
by this Act, is further amended, in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 
by striking ``who shall'' and insert the following: ``, with at least 
10 years of experience serving in any combination of the following 
roles: federal contracting officer, small business technical advisor, 
contracts administrator for federal government contracts, attorney 
specializing in federal procurement law, small business liaison 
officer, officer or employee who managed federal government contracts 
for a small business, or individual whose primary responsibilities were 
for the functions and duties of section 8, 15 or 44 of this Act. Such 
officer or employee''.
    (f) Technical Amendments.--Section 15(k) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 
644(k)), as amended, is further amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``be known'' and inserting ``shall 
                be known''; and
                    (B) by striking ``such agency,'' and inserting 
                ``such agency;'';
            (2) in paragraph (2) by striking ``be appointed by'' and 
        inserting ``shall be appointed by'';
            (3) in paragraph (3)--
                    (A) by striking ``director'' and inserting 
                ``Director''; and
                    (B) by striking ``Secretary's designee,'' and 
                inserting ``Secretary's designee;'';
            (4) in paragraph (4)--
                    (A) by striking ``be responsible'' and inserting 
                ``shall be responsible''; and
                    (B) by striking ``such agency,'' and inserting 
                ``such agency;'';
            (5) in paragraph (5) by striking ``identify proposed'' and 
        inserting ``shall identify proposed'';
            (6) in paragraph (6) by striking ``assist small'' and 
        inserting ``shall assist small'';
            (7) in paragraph (7)--
                    (A) by striking ``have supervisory'' and inserting 
                ``shall have supervisory''; and
                    (B) by striking ``this Act,'' and inserting ``this 
                Act;'';
            (8) in paragraph (8)--
                    (A) by striking ``assign a'' and inserting ``shall 
                assign a''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``the 
                activity, and'' and inserting ``the activity; and'';
            (9) in paragraph (9)--
                    (A) by striking ``cooperate, and'' and inserting 
                ``shall cooperate, and''; and
                    (B) by striking ``subsection, and'' and inserting 
                ``subsection;''; and
            (10) in paragraph (10)--
                    (A) by striking ``make recommendations'' and 
                inserting ``shall make recommendations'';
                    (B) by striking ``subsection (a), or section'' and 
                inserting ``subsection (a), section'';
                    (C) by striking ``Act or section 2323'' and 
                inserting ``Act, or section 2323'';
                    (D) by striking ``Code. Such recommendations 
                shall'' and inserting ``Code, which shall''; and
                    (E) by striking ``contract file.'' and inserting 
                ``contract file;''.

SEC. 3. SMALL BUSINESS PROCUREMENT ADVISORY COUNCIL.

    (a) Duties.--Section 7104(b) of the Federal Acquisition 
Streamlining Act of 1994 (15 U.S.C. 644 note) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (2) by striking ``authorities.'' and 
        inserting ``authorities;''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) to conduct reviews of each Office of Small and 
        Disadvantaged Business Utilization established under section 
        15(k) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(k)) to determine 
        the compliance of each Office with requirements under such 
        section;
            ``(4) to identify best practices for maximizing small 
        business utilization in Federal contracting that may be 
        implemented by Federal agencies having procurement powers; and
            ``(5) to submit, annually, to the Committee on Small 
        Business of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
        Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate a report 
        describing--
                    ``(A) the comments submitted under paragraph (2) 
                during the 1-year period ending on the date on which 
                the report is submitted, including any outcomes related 
                to the comments;
                    ``(B) the results of reviews conducted under 
                paragraph (3) during such 1-year period; and
                    ``(C) best practices identified under paragraph (4) 
                during such 1-year period.''.
    (b) Membership.--Section 7104(c)(3) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 644 
note) is amended by striking ``(established under section 15(k) of the 
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(k))''.
    (c) Chairman.--Section 7104(d) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 644 note) is 
amended by inserting after ``Small Business Administration'' the 
following: ``(or the designee of the Administrator)''.
                                                 

Summary: Small Business Advocate Act of 2012 - Amends the Small Business Act to require the Director of the Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization to be compensated at least at the GS-15 rate and allows such position to be compensated at up to a Senior Executive Service level. Includes as additional duties of each Director: (1) reviewing and advising on decisions to convert an activity performed by a small business to an activity performed by a federal employee. (2) providing advice and comments on acquisition strategies, market research, and justifications related to small business, (3) providing training to small businesses and contract specialists. (4) carrying out exclusively the duties enumerated under the Act and, while Director, not holding any other title, position, or responsibility, except as necessary to carry out such duties. And (5) reporting annually to the congressional small business committees on the provision of small business and contract specialist training. Amends the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 to require the Small Business Procurement Advisory Council to: (1) conduct reviews of each Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization to determine compliance with Small Business Administration (SBA) requirements, (2) identify best practices for maximizing small business utilization in federal contracting, and (3) report annually to the small business committees on such reviews and best practices.