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Union Calendar No. 274 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5078 

[Report No. 116–344] 

To amend the Small Business Act to provide re-entry entrepreneurship counseling and training services for incarcerated individuals, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 13, 2019 

Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ (for herself and Mr. CHABOT) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Small Business 

DECEMBER 12, 2019 

Additional sponsors: Mr. SPANO and Ms. KENDRA S. HORN of Oklahoma 

DECEMBER 12, 2019 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 

and ordered to be printed 


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A BILL 

To amend the Small Business Act to provide re-entry entrepreneurship counseling and training services for incarcerated individuals, and for other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prison to Proprietor5 ship Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. RE-ENTRY ENTREPRENEURSHIP COUNSELING AND 

7 TRAINING FOR INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS. 

8 The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating section 49 as section 50; 

11 and 

12 (2) by inserting after section 48 the following 

13 new section: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 49. RE-ENTRY ENTREPRENEURSHIP COUNSELING 

15 AND TRAINING FOR INCARCERATED INDIVID16 UALS. 

17 ‘‘(a) SERVICES REQUIRED.—The Administrator, in 

18 coordination with the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, 

19 shall require women’s business centers and small business 

20 development centers identified under the plan described in 

21 subsection (b) to provide entrepreneurship counseling and 

22 training services to covered individuals. 

23 ‘‘(b) PLAN.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in con25 sultation with an association formed to pursue matVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5078.RH H5078

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1 ters of common concern to women’s business centers 

2 and an association of small business development 

3 centers formed pursuant to section 21(a)(3)(A), 

4 shall develop a plan, which shall be updated annu5 ally, to match women’s business centers and small 

6 business development centers with covered individ7 uals in Federal prisons who are eligible to receive 

8 services under this section. 

9 ‘‘(2) MATCHING.—In determining matches 

10 under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall 

11 prioritize matching the women’s business center or 

12 small business development center in closest prox13 imity to the applicable Federal prison to provide 

14 such services. 

15 ‘‘(3) ASSOCIATION RESPONSIBILITIES.—If the 

16 women’s business center or small business develop17 ment center identified under the plan in paragraph 

18 (1) is unable to provide such services to covered in19 dividuals in such Federal prison, another women’s 

20 business center or small business development cen21 ter, an association of women’s business centers, or 

22 an association of small business development centers 

23 shall provide such services in accordance with the re24 quirements of this section. 


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1 ‘‘(c) GOALS.—The goal of the services provided under 

2 this section is to provide covered individuals with the fol3 lowing: 

4 ‘‘(1) Assistance and in-depth training on how to 

5 start or expand a small business concern. 

6 ‘‘(2) Tools, skills, and knowledge necessary to 

7 identify a business opportunity, including how to— 

8 ‘‘(A) draft a resume, business plan, and 

9 transition plan; 

10 ‘‘(B) identify sources of capital; and 

11 ‘‘(C) connect with local resources for small 

12 business concerns. 

13 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—The services 

14 provided under this section shall include— 

15 ‘‘(1) a presentation providing exposure to the 

16 opportunities involved in self-employment and own17 ership of a small business concern; 

18 ‘‘(2) a self-study course manual focused on the 

19 basic skills of entrepreneurship, financial literacy, 

20 the language of business, and the considerations and 

21 life skills relevant to self-employment and ownership 

22 of a small business concern; 

23 ‘‘(3) five two-day sessions of in-depth classroom 

24 instruction introducing the foundations of self-em25 ployment and ownership of small business concerns, 


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1 including guided discussions to explore personal en2 trepreneurial development interests; 

3 ‘‘(4) in-depth training delivered through one-on4 one mentorship, including individual support in the 

5 development of a business plan, entrepreneurial 

6 skills, and strategies for starting up a small business 

7 concern; and 

8 ‘‘(5) upon completion of the counseling and 

9 training, a presentation of a certificate. 

10 ‘‘(e) PRIORITY.—The Administrator shall, to the ex11 tent practicable, ensure that women’s business centers and 

12 small business development centers prioritize providing en13 trepreneurship counseling and training services to covered 

14 individuals who will be released from Federal custody not 

15 later than 18 months after the date on which such a cov16 ered individual begins to receive such services. 

17 ‘‘(f) CONTINUATION OF SERVICES.—A covered indi18 vidual receiving services under this section may continue 

19 to receive such services after release from Federal custody. 

20 ‘‘(g) GRANT AUTHORITY.—In carrying out this sec21 tion, the Administrator may award a grant to an associa22 tion formed to pursue matters of common concern to wom23 en’s business centers or small business development cen24 ters to coordinate the services described under this section, 

25 including to develop curriculum, train mentors and inVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5078.RH H5078

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1 structors, and establish public-private partnerships to sup2 port covered individuals and identify opportunities to ac3 cess capital. 

4 ‘‘(h) CURRICULUM.—The Administration shall print 

5 and make available to women’s business centers, small 

6 business development centers, an association of women’s 

7 business centers, or an association of small business devel8 opment centers any curriculum or course materials devel9 oped pursuant to this section. 

10 ‘‘(i) SURVEY.—Each women’s business center or 

11 small business development center that provided services 

12 under this section shall survey covered individuals who re13 ceived such services to assess the satisfaction of such cov14 ered individuals with such services. 

15 ‘‘(j) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

16 of the enactment of this section and annually thereafter, 

17 the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Small 

18 Business of the House of Representatives and the Com19 mittee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the 

20 Senate a report on the performance and effectiveness of 

21 the services provided under this section, which may be in22 cluded as part of another report submitted to such com23 mittees by the Administrator, and which shall include— 

24 ‘‘(1) the number of covered individuals coun25 seled or trained under this section; 


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1 ‘‘(2) the number of hours of counseling pro2 vided by each women’s business center and each 

3 small business development center under this sec4 tion; 

5 ‘‘(3) the number of certificates presented under 

6 subsection (d)(5); 

7 ‘‘(4) the demographics of covered individuals 

8 who received services, including age, gender, race, 

9 and ethnicity; 

10 ‘‘(5) the level of understanding of business con11 cepts of covered individuals upon completion of the 

12 counseling and training described under this section; 

13 ‘‘(6) a summary and analysis of surveys con14 ducted under subsection (i); and 

15 ‘‘(7) any additional information the Adminis16 trator may require. 

17 ‘‘(k) COVERED INDIVIDUAL DEFINED.—In this sec18 tion, the term ‘covered individual’ means an individual in19 carcerated in a Federal prison that the Director of the 

20 Bureau of Prisons has designated as a minimum, low, or 

21 medium security prison. 

22 ‘‘(l) FUNDING.—Subject to the availability of appro23 priations, the Administrator shall reimburse women’s 

24 business centers, small business development centers, an 

25 association of women’s business centers, or an association 


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1 of small business development centers for the costs relat2 ing to the services provided under the section.’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 274 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5078 

[Report No. 116–344] 

A BILL 

To amend the Small Business Act to provide reother purposes. services for incarcerated individuals, and for entry entrepreneurship counseling and training 

DECEMBER 12, 2019 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS