I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4322 

To clarify the prohibition on affiliation under the Mentor-Protege Program 

of the Department of Defense, to amend the Small Business Act to 

improve cooperation between the mentor-protege programs of the Small 

Business Administration and the Department of Defense, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 6, 2016 

Mr. KNIGHT (for himself and Ms. JUDY CHU of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and 

in addition to the Committee on Small Business, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To clarify the prohibition on affiliation under the MentorProtege Program of the Department of Defense, to 

amend the Small Business Act to improve cooperation 

between the mentor-protege programs of the Small Business Administration and the Department of Defense, and 

for other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mentor-Prote ́ge ́ Co3 operation Reform Act of 2016’’. 

4 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE MENTOR-PROTEGE PRO5 GRAM OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ON 

6 AFFILIATION. 

7 Section 831 of the National Defense Authorization 

8 Act for Fiscal Year 1991 (Public Law 101–510; 104 Stat. 

9 1607; 10 U.S.C. 2302 note) is amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (d)— 

11 (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 

12 follows: 

13 ‘‘(1) prior to the approval of that agreement, 

14 the Administrator of the Small Business Administra15 tion had made no finding of affiliation between the 

16 mentor firm and the protege firm;’’; 

17 (B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

18 paragraph (3); and 

19 (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

20 following new paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(2)(A) the Administrator of the Small Busi22 ness Administration does not have a current finding 

23 of affiliation between the mentor firm and protege 

24 firm; or 

25 ‘‘(B) the Secretary, after considering the regu26 lations promulgated by the Administrator of the 


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1 Small Business Administration regarding affili2 ation— 

3 ‘‘(i) does not have reason to believe that 

4 the mentor firm affiliated with the protege firm; 

5 or 

6 ‘‘(ii) has received a formal determination 

7 of no affiliation between the mentor firm and 

8 protege firm from the Administrator after hav9 ing submitted a question of affiliation to the 

10 Administrator; and’’; and 

11 (2) in subsection (n), by amending paragraph 

12 (9) to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(9) The term ‘affiliation’, with respect to a re14 lationship between a mentor firm and a protege 

15 firm, means a relationship described under section 

16 121.103 of title 13, Code of Federal Regulations (or 

17 any successor regulation).’’. 

18 SEC. 3. IMPROVING COOPERATION BETWEEN THE MENTOR19 PROTEGE PROGRAMS OF THE SMALL BUSI20 NESS ADMINISTRATION AND THE DEPART21 MENT OF DEFENSE. 

22 Section 45(b)(4) of the Small Business Act (15 

23 U.S.C. 657r(b)(4)) is amended by striking subparagraph 


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1 (A) and redesignating subparagraphs (B) and (C) as sub2 paragraphs (A) and (B), respectively. 

Æ 


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