II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 64 

To amend the Small Business Act to spur entrepreneurial ecosystems in 

underserved communities. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 27, 2021 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Ms. HIRONO) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

A BILL 

To amend the Small Business Act to spur entrepreneurial 

ecosystems in underserved communities. 

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 ‘‘Ushering Progress by 

5 Leveraging Innovation and Future Technology Act of 

6 2021’’ or the ‘‘UPLIFT Act of 2021’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds the following: 

9 (1) Studies have found that incubators, accel10 erators, and other similar models are effective at inVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S64.IS S64

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1 creasing revenues, the number of employees, and the 

2 likelihood that the business venture will be success3 ful for participants. 

4 (2) According to the Kauffman Foundation— 

5 (A) minority-owned and women-owned 

6 businesses are half as likely to employ people 

7 than nonminority-owned and men-owned busi8 nesses; and 

9 (B) if minorities started businesses at the 

10 same rate as nonminorities, approximately 

11 9,500,000 jobs would be added to the economy 

12 of the United States. 

13 (3) The Kauffman Foundation also found that 

14 the percentage of startups in rural communities has 

15 dropped from 20 percent in the 1980s to 12.2 per16 cent. 

17 (4) According to the Martin Prosperity Insti18 tute, less than 1 percent of all venture capital fund19 ing goes to businesses located in rural areas. 

20 (5) According to PitchBook, around 2 percent 

21 of all venture capital funding goes to businesses with 

22 women founders. 

23 (6) According to Crunchbase, less than 3 per24 cent of all venture capital funding goes to businesses 

25 with Black and Hispanic founders. 


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1 (7) Historically Black colleges and universities, 

2 minority-serving institutions, and community col3 leges are anchor institutions that serve populations 

4 that tend to be underrepresented in entrepreneur5 ship, particularly in high-growth sectors. 

6 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of the Innovation Centers Program es8 tablished under section 49 of the Small Business Act, as 

9 added by this Act, are to— 

10 (1) spur economic growth in underserved com11 munities by creating good paying jobs and pathways 

12 to prosperity; 

13 (2) increase prospects for success for small 

14 business concerns in underserved communities, 

15 which often suffer from higher business failure rates 

16 than the national average; 

17 (3) help create a pipeline for small business 

18 concerns in underserved and rural markets into 

19 high-growth sectors, where they are generally under20 represented; 

21 (4) help address the multi-decade decline in the 

22 rate of new business creation; 

23 (5) close the gaps that underserved small busi24 ness concerns often have in terms of revenue and 


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1 number of employees, which represent lost oppor2 tunity for the economy of the United States; and 

3 (6) encourage collaboration between the Small 

4 Business Administration and institutions of higher 

5 learning that serve low-income and minority commu6 nities. 

7 SEC. 4. INNOVATION CENTERS PROGRAM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Small Business Act (15 

9 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended— 

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

11 and 

12 (2) by inserting after section 48 the following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 49. INNOVATION CENTERS PROGRAM. 

14 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 ‘‘(1) ACCELERATOR.—The term ‘accelerator’ 

16 means an organization— 

17 ‘‘(A) that— 

18 ‘‘(i) works with a startup or growing 

19 small business concern for a predetermined 

20 period; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) provides mentorship and instruc22 tion to scale businesses; and 

23 ‘‘(B) that may— 


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1 ‘‘(i) provide, but is not exclusively de2 signed to provide, seed investment in ex3 change for a small amount of equity; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) offer startup capital or the op5 portunity to raise capital from outside in6 vestors. 

7 ‘‘(2) FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED AREA OF ECO8 NOMIC DISTRESS.—The term ‘federally recognized 

9 area of economic distress’ means— 

10 ‘‘(A) a HUBZone, as that term is defined 

11 in section 31(b); or 

12 ‘‘(B) an area that has been designated 

13 as— 

14 ‘‘(i) an empowerment zone under sec15 tion 1391 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

16 1986; 

17 ‘‘(ii) a Promise Zone by the Secretary 

18 of Housing and Urban Development; or 

19 ‘‘(iii) a low-income neighborhood or 

20 moderate-income neighborhood for pur21 poses of the Community Reinvestment Act 

22 of 1977 (12 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.). 

23 ‘‘(3) GROWING; NEWLY ESTABLISHED; START24 UP.—The terms ‘growing’, ‘newly established’, and 

25 ‘startup’, with respect to a small business concern, 


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1 mean growing, newly established, and startup, re2 spectively, within the meaning given those terms 

3 under section 7(m). 

4 ‘‘(4) INCUBATOR.—The term ‘incubator’ means 

5 an organization— 

6 ‘‘(A) that— 

7 ‘‘(i) tends to work with startup and 

8 newly established small business concerns; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(ii) provides mentorship to startup 

11 and newly established small business con12 cerns; and 

13 ‘‘(B) that may— 

14 ‘‘(i) provide a co-working environment 

15 or a month-to-month lease program; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) work with a startup or newly es17 tablished small business concern for a pre18 determined period or an open-ended pe19 riod. 

20 ‘‘(5) INDIVIDUALS WITH A DISABILITY.—The 

21 term ‘individuals with a disability’ means more than 

22 1 individual with a disability, as defined in section 

23 3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 

24 U.S.C. 12102). 


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1 ‘‘(6) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en2 tity’ means— 

3 ‘‘(A) an institution described in any of 

4 paragraphs (1) through (7) of section 371(a) of 

5 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

6 1067q(a)); or 

7 ‘‘(B) a junior or community college, as de8 fined in section 312 of the Higher Education 

9 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058). 

10 ‘‘(7) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘rural area’ has 

11 the meaning given the term in section 7(m)(11). 

12 ‘‘(8) SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVAN13 TAGED INDIVIDUALS.—The term ‘socially and eco14 nomically disadvantaged individual’ means a socially 

15 and economically disadvantaged individual within the 

16 meaning given that term in section 8(d)(3)(C). 

17 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after 

18 the date of enactment of the Ushering Progress by 

19 Leveraging Innovation and Future Technology Act of 

20 2021, the Administrator shall develop and begin imple21 menting a program (to be known as the ‘Innovation Cen22 ters Program’) to enter into cooperative agreements with 

23 eligible entities under this section. 

24 ‘‘(c) AUTHORITY.— 

25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may— 


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1 ‘‘(A) enter into cooperative agreements to 

2 provide financial assistance to eligible entities 

3 to conduct 5-year projects for the benefit of 

4 startup, newly established, or growing small 

5 business concerns; and 

6 ‘‘(B) renew a cooperative agreement en7 tered into under this section for additional 3- 

8 year periods, in accordance with paragraph (3). 

9 ‘‘(2) PROJECT REQUIREMENTS.—A project con10 ducted under a cooperative agreement under this 

11 section shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) include operating as an accelerator, 

13 an incubator, or any other small business inno14 vation-focused project as the Administrator ap15 proves; 

16 ‘‘(B) be carried out in such locations as to 

17 provide maximum accessibility and benefits to 

18 the small business concerns that the project is 

19 intended to serve; 

20 ‘‘(C) have a full-time staff, including a 

21 full-time director who shall— 

22 ‘‘(i) have the authority to make ex23 penditures under the budget of the project; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) manage the activities carried out 

2 under the project; 

3 ‘‘(D) include the joint provision of pro4 grams and services by the eligible entity and 

5 the Administration, which— 

6 ‘‘(i) shall be jointly developed, nego7 tiated, and agreed upon, with full partici8 pation of both parties, pursuant to an exe9 cuted cooperative agreement between the 

10 eligible entity and the Administration; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) shall include— 

12 ‘‘(I) one-to-one individual coun13 seling, as described in section 

14 21(c)(3)(A); and 

15 ‘‘(II) a formal, structured 

16 mentorship program; 

17 ‘‘(E) incorporate continuous upgrades and 

18 modifications to the services and programs of19 fered under the project, as needed to meet the 

20 changing and evolving needs of the business 

21 community; 

22 ‘‘(F) involve working with underserved 

23 groups, which include— 

24 ‘‘(i) women; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) socially and economically dis2 advantaged individuals; 

3 ‘‘(iii) veterans; 

4 ‘‘(iv) individuals with disabilities; or 

5 ‘‘(v) startup, newly established, or 

6 growing small business concerns located in 

7 rural areas; 

8 ‘‘(G) not impose or otherwise collect a fee 

9 or other compensation in connection with par10 ticipation in the programs and services de11 scribed in subparagraph (D)(ii); and 

12 ‘‘(H) ensure that small business concerns 

13 participating in the project have access, includ14 ing through resource partners, to information 

15 concerning Federal, State, and local regulations 

16 that affect small business concerns. 

17 ‘‘(3) CONTINUED FUNDING.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that 

19 enters into an initial cooperative agreement or 

20 a renewal of a cooperative under paragraph (1) 

21 may submit an application for a 3-year renewal 

22 of the cooperative agreement at such time, in 

23 such manner, and accompanied by such infor24 mation as the Administrator may establish. 


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1 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION AND APPROVAL CRI2 TERIA.— 

3 ‘‘(i) CRITERIA.—The Administrator 

4 shall develop and publish criteria for the 

5 consideration and approval of applications 

6 for renewals by eligible entities under this 

7 paragraph, which shall take into account 

8 the structure and the stated goals of the 

9 project. 

10 ‘‘(ii) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 

11 60 days after the date of the deadline to 

12 submit applications for each fiscal year, 

13 the Administrator shall approve or deny 

14 any application under this paragraph and 

15 notify the applicant for each such applica16 tion. 

17 ‘‘(C) PRIORITY.—In allocating funds made 

18 available for cooperative agreements under this 

19 section, the Administrator shall give applica20 tions under this paragraph priority over first21 time applications for cooperative agreements 

22 under paragraph (1)(A). 

23 ‘‘(4) LIMIT ON USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts re24 ceived by an eligible entity under a cooperative 

25 agreement under this section may not be used to 


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1 provide capital to a participant in the project carried 

2 out under the cooperative agreement. 

3 ‘‘(5) SCOPE OF AUTHORITY.— 

4 ‘‘(A) SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATIONS.—The 

5 authority of the Administrator to enter into co6 operative agreements under this section shall be 

7 in effect for each fiscal year only to the extent 

8 and in the amounts as are provided in advance 

9 in appropriations Acts. 

10 ‘‘(B) SUSPENSION, TERMINATION, AND

11 FAILURE TO RENEW OR EXTEND.—After the 

12 Administrator has entered into a cooperative 

13 agreement with an eligible entity under this sec14 tion, the Administrator may not suspend, termi15 nate, or fail to renew or extend the cooperative 

16 agreement unless the Administrator provides 

17 the eligible entity with written notification set18 ting forth the reasons therefore and affords the 

19 eligible entity an opportunity for a hearing, ap20 peal, or other administrative proceeding under 

21 chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code. 

22 ‘‘(d) CRITERIA.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) establish and rank in terms of rel25 ative importance the criteria the Administrator 


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1 shall use in awarding cooperative agreements 

2 under this section, which shall include— 

3 ‘‘(i) whether the proposed project will 

4 be located in— 

5 ‘‘(I) a federally recognized area 

6 of economic distress; 

7 ‘‘(II) a rural area; or 

8 ‘‘(III) an area lacking sufficient 

9 entrepreneurial development re10 sources, as determined by the Admin11 istrator; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) whether the proposed project 

13 demonstrates a commitment to partner 

14 with core stakeholders working with small 

15 business concerns in the relevant area, in16 cluding— 

17 ‘‘(I) investment and lending orga18 nizations; 

19 ‘‘(II) nongovernmental organiza20 tions; 

21 ‘‘(III) programs of State and 

22 local governments that are concerned 

23 with aiding small business concerns; 

24 ‘‘(IV) Federal agencies; and 


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1 ‘‘(V) for-profit organizations with 

2 an expertise in small business innova3 tion; 

4 ‘‘(B) make publicly available, including on 

5 the website of the Administration, and state in 

6 each solicitation for applications for cooperative 

7 agreements under this section, the selection cri8 teria and ranking established under subpara9 graph (A); and 

10 ‘‘(C) evaluate and rank applicants for co11 operative agreements under this section in ac12 cordance with the selection criteria and ranking 

13 established under subparagraph (A). 

14 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The criteria established 

15 under paragraph (1)(A)— 

16 ‘‘(A) for eligible entities that have in oper17 ation an accelerator, incubator, or other small 

18 business innovation-focused project shall include 

19 the record of the eligible entity in assisting 

20 growing, newly established, and startup small 

21 business concerns, including, for each of the 3 

22 full years before the date on which the eligible 

23 entity applies for a cooperative agreement 

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1 cused project has been in operation for less 

2 than 3 years, for the most recent full year the 

3 accelerator, incubator, or other small business 

4 innovation-focused project was in operation— 

5 ‘‘(i) the number and retention rate of 

6 growing, newly established, and startup 

7 business concerns in the program of the el8 igible entity; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the average period of participa10 tion by growing, newly established, and 

11 startup small business concerns in the pro12 gram of the eligible entity; 

13 ‘‘(iii) the total and median capital 

14 raised by growing, newly established, and 

15 startup small business concerns partici16 pating in the program of the eligible entity; 

17 ‘‘(iv) the number of investments or 

18 loans received by growing, newly estab19 lished, and startup small business concerns 

20 participating in the program of the eligible 

21 entity; and 

22 ‘‘(v) the total and median number of 

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1 ticipating in the program of the eligible en2 tity; and 

3 ‘‘(B) for all eligible entities— 

4 ‘‘(i) shall include whether the eligible 

5 entity— 

6 ‘‘(I) indicates the structure and 

7 goals of the project; 

8 ‘‘(II) demonstrates ties to the 

9 business community; 

10 ‘‘(III) identifies the resources 

11 available for the project; 

12 ‘‘(IV) describes the capabilities of 

13 the project, including coordination 

14 with local resource partners and local 

15 or national lending partners of the 

16 Administration; 

17 ‘‘(V) addresses the unique busi18 ness and economic challenges faced by 

19 the community in which the eligible 

20 entity is located and businesses in 

21 that community; or 

22 ‘‘(VI) provides a proposed budget 

23 and plan for use of funds; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) may include any other criteria 

2 determined appropriate by the Adminis3 trator. 

4 ‘‘(e) PROGRAM EXAMINATION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) develop and implement an annual 

7 programmatic and financial examination of 

8 each project conducted under this section, 

9 under which each eligible entity entering into a 

10 cooperative agreement under this section shall 

11 provide to the Administrator— 

12 ‘‘(i) an itemized cost breakdown of ac13 tual expenditures for costs incurred during 

14 the preceding year; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) documentation regarding— 

16 ‘‘(I) the amount of matching as17 sistance from non-Federal sources ob18 tained and expended by the eligible 

19 entity during the preceding year in 

20 order to meet the matching require21 ment; and 

22 ‘‘(II) with respect to any in-kind 

23 contributions that were used to satisfy 

24 the matching requirement, verification 


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1 of the existence and valuation of those 

2 contributions; and 

3 ‘‘(B) analyze the results of each examina4 tion conducted under subparagraph (A) and, 

5 based on that analysis, make a determination 

6 regarding the programmatic and financial via7 bility of each eligible entity. 

8 ‘‘(2) CONDITIONS FOR CONTINUED FUNDING.— 

9 In determining whether to continue or renew a coop10 erative agreement under this section, the Adminis11 trator— 

12 ‘‘(A) shall consider the results of the most 

13 recent examination of the project under para14 graph (1); and 

15 ‘‘(B) may terminate or not renew a cooper16 ative agreement, if the Administrator deter17 mines that the eligible entity has failed to pro18 vide any information required to be provided 

19 (including information provide for purpose of 

20 the annual report by the Administrator under 

21 subsection (m)) or the information provided by 

22 the eligible entity is inadequate. 

23 ‘‘(f) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The 

24 Administrator— 


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1 ‘‘(1) shall provide in person or online training 

2 and technical assistance to each eligible entity enter3 ing into a cooperative agreement under this section 

4 at the beginning of the participation of the eligible 

5 entity in the Innovation Centers Program in order to 

6 build the capacity of the eligible entity and ensure 

7 compliance with procedures established by the Ad8 ministrator; 

9 ‘‘(2) shall ensure that the training and tech10 nical assistance described in paragraph (1) is pro11 vided at no cost or at a low cost; and 

12 ‘‘(3) may enter into a contract to provide the 

13 training or technical assistance described in para14 graph (1) with 1 or more organizations with exper15 tise in the entrepreneurial development programs of 

16 the Administration, innovation, and entrepreneurial 

17 development. 

18 ‘‘(g) COORDINATION.—In carrying out a project 

19 under this section, an eligible entity may coordinate 

20 with— 

21 ‘‘(1) resource and lending partners of the Ad22 ministration; 

23 ‘‘(2) programs of State and local governments 

24 that are concerned with aiding small business con25 cerns; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) other Federal agencies, including to pro2 vide services to and assist small business concerns in 

3 participating in the SBIR and STTR programs, as 

4 defined in section 9(e). 

5 ‘‘(h) FUNDING LIMIT.—The amount of financial as6 sistance provided to an eligible entity under a cooperative 

7 agreement entered into under this section shall be not 

8 more than $400,000 during each year. 

9 ‘‘(i) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity shall con11 tribute toward the cost of the project carried out 

12 under the cooperative agreement under this section 

13 an amount equal to 50 percent of the amount re14 ceived under the cooperative agreement. 

15 ‘‘(2) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—Not more than 

16 50 percent of the contribution of an eligible entity 

17 under paragraph (1) may be in the form of in-kind 

18 contributions. 

19 ‘‘(3) WAIVER.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Administrator 

21 determines that an eligible entity is unable to 

22 meet the contribution requirement under para23 graph (1), the Administrator may reduce the 

24 required contribution. 


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1 ‘‘(B) PRESUMPTION.—An eligible entity 

2 shall be presumed to be unable to meet the con3 tribution requirement under paragraph (1) if 

4 the eligible entity has— 

5 ‘‘(i) long-term debt in an amount that 

6 is less than $10,000,000; 

7 ‘‘(ii) an invested market endowment 

8 in an amount that is less than 

9 $15,000,000; or 

10 ‘‘(iii) total net liquid assets in an 

11 amount that is less than $15,000,000. 

12 ‘‘(4) FAILURE TO OBTAIN NON-FEDERAL FUND13 ING.—If an eligible entity fails to obtain the re14 quired non-Federal contribution during any project, 

15 or the reduced non-Federal contribution as deter16 mined by the Administrator— 

17 ‘‘(A) the eligible entity shall not be eligible 

18 thereafter for any other project for which it is 

19 or may be funded by the Administration; and 

20 ‘‘(B) before approving assistance for the 

21 eligible entity for any other projects, the Ad22 ministrator shall specifically determine whether 

23 the Administrator believes that the eligible enti24 ty will be able to obtain the requisite non-Fed25 eral funding and enter a written finding setting 


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1 the forth the reasons for making that deter2 mination. 

3 ‘‘(5) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The dem4 onstrated inability of an eligible entity to meet the 

5 contribution requirement under paragraph (1) shall 

6 not disqualify the eligible entity from entering into 

7 a cooperative agreement under this section. 

8 ‘‘(j) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity may 

10 enter into a contract with a Federal department or 

11 agency to provide specific assistance to startup, 

12 newly established, or growing small business con13 cerns. 

14 ‘‘(2) PERFORMANCE.—Performance of a con15 tract entered into under paragraph (1) may not 

16 hinder the eligible entity in carrying out the terms 

17 of the cooperative agreement under this section. 

18 ‘‘(3) EXEMPTION FROM MATCHING REQUIRE19 MENT.—A contract entered into under paragraph 

20 (1) shall not be subject to the matching requirement 

21 under subsection (i). 

22 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL PROVISION.—Notwith23 standing any other provision of law, a contract for 

24 assistance under paragraph (1) shall not be applied 

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1 ness, woman-owned business, or socially and eco2 nomically disadvantaged business contracting goal 

3 under section 15(g). 

4 ‘‘(k) PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity may not 

6 disclose the name, address, or telephone number of 

7 any individual or small business concern receiving 

8 assistance under this section without the consent of 

9 such individual or small business concern, unless— 

10 ‘‘(A) the Administrator is ordered to make 

11 such a disclosure by a court in any civil or 

12 criminal enforcement action initiated by a Fed13 eral or State agency; or 

14 ‘‘(B) the Administrator considers such a 

15 disclosure to be necessary for the purpose of 

16 conducting a financial audit of an eligible enti17 ty, but a disclosure under this subparagraph 

18 shall be limited to the information necessary for 

19 such audit. 

20 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATION USE OF INFORMATION.— 

21 This subsection shall not— 

22 ‘‘(A) restrict Administration access to pro23 gram activity data; or 

24 ‘‘(B) prevent the Administration from 

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1 mation described in subparagraph (A)) to con2 duct client surveys. 

3 ‘‘(3) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator shall 

4 issue regulations to establish standards for requiring 

5 disclosures during a financial audit under paragraph 

6 (1)(B). 

7 ‘‘(l) PUBLICATION OF INFORMATION.—The Adminis8 trator shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) publish information about the program 

10 under this section online, including— 

11 ‘‘(A) on the website of the Administration; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(B) on the social media of the Adminis14 tration; and 

15 ‘‘(2) request that the resource and lending part16 ners of the Administration and the district offices of 

17 the Administration publicize the program. 

18 ‘‘(m) ANNUAL REPORTING.—Not later than 1 year 

19 after the date on which the Administrator establishes the 

20 program under this section, and annually thereafter, the 

21 Administrator shall submit to Congress a report on the 

22 activities under the program, including— 

23 ‘‘(1) the number of startup, newly established, 

24 and growing small business concerns participating in 

25 the project carried out by each eligible entity under 


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1 a cooperative agreement under this section (in this 

2 paragraph referred to as ‘participants’), including a 

3 breakdown of the owners of the participants by race, 

4 gender, veteran status, and urban versus rural loca5 tion; 

6 ‘‘(2) the retention rate for participants; 

7 ‘‘(3) the total and median amount of capital 

8 accessed by participants, including the type of cap9 ital accessed; 

10 ‘‘(4) the total and median number of employees 

11 of participants; 

12 ‘‘(5) the number and median wage of jobs cre13 ated by participants; 

14 ‘‘(6) the number of jobs sustained by partici15 pants; and 

16 ‘‘(7) information regarding such other metrics 

17 as the Administrator determines appropriate. 

18 ‘‘(n) FUNDING.— 

19 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

20 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

21 as may be necessary to carry out this section. 

22 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the 

23 amount made available to carry out this section for 

24 any fiscal year, not more than 10 percent may be 


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1 used by the Administrator for administrative ex2 penses.’’. 

3 (b) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator of the Small 

4 Business Administration shall promulgate regulations to 

5 carry out section 49 of the Small Business Act, as added 

6 by subsection (a). 

Æ 


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