I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2043 

To provide for the establishment of a Commission on the Advancement of 

Social Enterprise. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 17, 2013 

Mr. CICILLINE (for himself, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. ENYART, Mr. 

WELCH, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. HANABUSA, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. NADLER, 

and Mr. CONNOLLY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

A BILL 

To provide for the establishment of a Commission on the 

Advancement of Social Enterprise. 

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 ‘‘Social Enterprise Eco5 system and Economic Development Commission Act of 

6 2013’’ or as the ‘‘SEEED Commission Act of 2013’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. COMMISSION ON THE ADVANCEMENT OF SOCIAL 

2 ENTERPRISE. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com4 mission to be known as the Commission on the Advance5 ment of Social Enterprise (referred to in this section as 

6 the ‘‘Commission’’). The purpose of the commission is to 

7 examine and make recommendations with respect to ways 

8 the Federal Government can support and utilize the trans9 formative power of social enterprises. 

10 (b) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The 

11 Federal Advisory Committee Act does not apply to the 

12 Commission established under this subsection. 

13 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—The membership of the Commis14 sion shall be composed of the following or their designees: 

15 (1) The Administrator of the Small Business 

16 Administration. 

17 (2) The Administrator of the Economic Devel18 opment Administration. 

19 (3) The Director of the Office of Social Innova20 tion and Civic Participation. 

21 (4) The Chief Executive Officer of the Corpora22 tion for National and Community Service. 

23 (5) The Assistant to the President for Domestic 

24 Policy. 

25 (6) The Director of the Office of Management 

26 and Budget. 


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1 (7) The Commissioner of Internal Revenue. 

2 (8) The Secretary of Labor. 

3 (9) The Director of the Census. 

4 (10) The Director of the National Economic 

5 Council. 

6 (11) The Attorney General. 

7 (12) The Secretary of State. 

8 (13) The Secretary of Education. 

9 (14) The Secretary of the Treasury. 

10 (15) The Secretary of Health and Human Serv11 ices. 

12 (16) The Commissioner of Social Security. 

13 (17) The Secretary of Agriculture. 

14 (18) The Secretary of Commerce. 

15 (19) The Secretary of Housing and Urban De16 velopment. 

17 (20) The Chair of the Council of Economic Ad18 visors. 

19 (21) The Administrator of the General Services 

20 Administration. 

21 (d) OPERATION.— 

22 (1) CHAIRPERSON.—The Director of the Office 

23 of Social Innovation and Civic Participation shall 

24 serve as the Chairperson of the Commission. 

25 (2) MEETINGS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

2 meet at the call of the Chairperson. 

3 (B) INITIAL MEETING.—The initial meet4 ing shall take place not later than 30 days after 

5 the date of enactment of this Act. 

6 (3) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 

7 the Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a 

8 lesser number of members may hold hearings. 

9 (4) RULES.—The Commission may establish, by 

10 majority vote, any rules for the conduct of Commis11 sion business, in accordance with this Act and other 

12 applicable law. 

13 (e) DUTIES.— 

14 (1) DEFINING SOCIAL ENTERPRISE.—Not later 

15 than 1 year after the initial meeting of the Commis16 sion, the Commission shall establish criteria for 

17 identifying social enterprises for purposes of Federal 

18 programs. The Commission will draw upon existing 

19 leading research and scholarship in this area as well 

20 as the input of practitioners and policy experts with21 in the social enterprise field. 

22 (2) STUDY ACTIVITIES.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

24 identify opportunities for the Federal Govern25 ment to more effectively engage social enterVerDate Mar 15 2010 19:33 May 24, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2043.IH H2043

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1 prises in creating jobs and strengthening local 

2 economies while achieving optimal outcomes in 

3 addressing policy challenges at the national, 

4 state, and local level. The Commission shall re5 ceive and consider reports and testimony from 

6 individuals, government departments, State and 

7 local elected officials, community-based organi8 zations, nonprofit organizations, faith-based or9 ganizations, foundations, and other public and 

10 private organizations statewide and of national 

11 significance on the following: 

12 (i) How social enterprise can accel13 erate progress on social issues. 

14 (ii) How social enterprises work in a 

15 cross-sector manner. 

16 (iii) How social enterprise can ad17 vance social and economic development 

18 goals. 

19 (B) AREAS OF STUDY AND RECOMMENDA20 TION.—The areas studied and potential rec21 ommendations offered by the Commission under 

22 this paragraph shall include the following: 

23 (i) The role of social enterprises in the 

24 United States economy. 


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1 (ii) The role of social enterprises in 

2 addressing economic, social, and environ3 mental policy challenges across all levels of 

4 government. 

5 (iii) The role of social enterprises as 

6 community support and development enti7 ties. 

8 (iv) A statistical and qualitative exam9 ination of social enterprise within the 

10 United States and its contribution to the 

11 social and economic development of the 

12 United States. 

13 (v) Means through which the Federal 

14 Government can assist in enhancing the 

15 capacity of social enterprises. 

16 (vi) Corporate legal structures that 

17 foster or impede the development of social 

18 enterprises. 

19 (vii) How to reform the Internal Rev20 enue Code to reduce obstacles that social 

21 enterprises face when addressing social 

22 issues and creating economic value through 

23 innovative methods. 

24 (viii) How to reform Federal securi25 ties laws to encourage impact investing. 


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1 (ix) How the Federal Government can 

2 leverage existing Community Development 

3 Financial Institutions programs. 

4 (x) How various sectors (including but 

5 not limited to philanthropic, for-profit, and 

6 non-profit sectors) and levels of govern7 ment currently interact with social enter8 prises. 

9 (xi) Review of the current process 

10 through which social enterprises—both for11 profit and nonprofit organizations—can 

12 obtain Federal loans, grants, and contracts 

13 and offer recommendations for improving 

14 these processes in light of the special needs 

15 and contributions of social enterprises. 

16 (xii) Review of the current process, 

17 policies, and procedures through which so18 cial enterprises—both for-profit and non19 profit organizations—can access Federal 

20 contracting opportunities and offer rec21 ommendations for improving the access of 

22 social enterprises to Federal procurement 

23 opportunities. 

24 (xiii) How the Federal Government 

25 can play a role in developing a purchasing 


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1 directory of social enterprises within the 

2 United States that can be supported by 

3 citizens, businesses, and government. 

4 (xiv) Opportunities for the Federal 

5 Government to develop and expand re6 search and the collection and analysis of 

7 longitudinal data on social enterprises. 

8 (xv) Barriers to social enterprise 

9 growth. 

10 (xvi) Opportunities for the develop11 ment of an entity or initiative to support 

12 intermediaries that will promote and invest 

13 in social enterprise. 

14 (xvii) Identification of the appropriate 

15 entity within the Federal Government that 

16 shall be charged with the responsibility of 

17 preparing an annual report to Congress on 

18 the impact of social enterprises in the 

19 United States and the extent to which the 

20 Federal Government interacts with, sup21 ports, and invests in social enterprises. 

22 And, where appropriate, this entity shall 

23 monitor and update the areas of study list24 ed in this subparagraph. 

25 (f) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.— 


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1 (1) The Commission may hold such hearings 

2 and collect such information as appropriate for car3 rying out this section. 

4 (2) Except as otherwise prohibited by law, the 

5 Commission may secure directly from any Federal 

6 department or agency information the Commission 

7 considers necessary to carry out this section. Upon 

8 the request of the Commission, the head of the any 

9 Federal agency shall furnish information requested 

10 under this paragraph to the Commission. 

11 (3) The Commission may enter into contracts 

12 for research to inform the deliberations of the Com13 mission. 

14 (4) The Commission may use the United States 

15 mails in the same manner and under the same con16 ditions as other agencies of the Federal Government. 

17 (g) COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.— 

18 (1) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the 

19 Commission shall be allowed travel expenses, includ20 ing per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates author21 ized for an employee of an agency under subchapter 

22 I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while 

23 away from the home or regular place of business of 

24 the member in the performance of the duties of the 

25 Commission. 


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1 (2) DETAIL OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—On the 

affirmative vote of 2 2 ⁄3 of the members of the Com3 mission and the approval of the appropriate Federal 

4 agency head, an employee of the Federal Govern5 ment at GS–13 level or higher may be detailed to 

6 the Commission without reimbursement, and such 

7 detail shall be without interruption or loss of civil 

8 service status, benefits, or privileges. 

9 (3) STAFF.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.— 

11 (i) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSA12 TION.—The chairperson, in accordance 

13 with rules agreed upon by the Commission, 

14 may appoint and fix the compensation of a 

15 staff director and such other personnel as 

16 may be necessary to enable the Commis17 sion to carry out its functions, without re18 gard to the provisions of title 5, United 

19 States Code, governing appointments in 

20 the competitive service, and without regard 

21 to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub22 chapter III of chapter 53 of such title re23 lating to classification and General Sched24 ule pay rates, except that no rate of pay 

25 fixed under this subsection may exceed the 


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1 equivalent of that payable for a position at 

2 Level V of the Executive Schedule under 

3 section 5316 of title 5, United States 

4 Code. 

5 (ii) PERSONNEL AS FEDERAL EM6 PLOYEES.— 

7 (I) IN GENERAL.—Any personnel 

8 of the Commission who are employees 

9 shall be employees under section 2105 

10 of title 5, United States Code, for 

11 purposes of chapters 63, 81, 83, 84, 

12 85, 87, 89, and 90 of that title. 

13 (II) MEMBERS OF THE COMMIS14 SION.—Subparagraph (I) shall not be 

15 construed to apply to members of the 

16 Commission. 

17 (B) VOLUNTEER SERVICES.—Notwith18 standing section 1342 of title 31, United States 

19 Code, the Commission may accept and use vol20 untary and uncompensated services as the Com21 mission determines necessary. 

22 (4) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTER23 MITTENT SERVICES.—On request of the Commis24 sion, the Attorney General shall provide to the Com25 mission, on a reimbursable basis, reasonable and apVerDate Mar 15 2010 19:33 May 24, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2043.IH H2043

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1 propriate office space, supplies, and administrative 

2 assistance. 

3 (h) CONTRACTS FOR RESEARCH.— 

4 (1) RESEARCHERS AND EXPERTS.—On an affirmative vote of 2 5 ⁄3 of the members of the Commis6 sion, the Commission may select nongovernmental 

7 researchers and experts to assist the Commission in 

8 carrying out the duties of the Commission under this 

9 section. 

10 (2) OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.—Nothing in this 

11 subsection limits the ability of the Commission to 

12 enter into contracts with any other entity or organi13 zation to carry out research necessary to carry out 

14 the duties of the Commission under this section. 

15 (i) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the Com16 mission establishes criteria by which to identify social en17 terprise, the Commission shall submit to the President and 

18 Congress a report on the Commission’s findings, conclu19 sions, and recommendations. The report shall identify the 

20 Federal programs recommended and shall include— 

21 (1) reports on all matters studied as described 

22 in subsection (b); and 

23 (2) how existing Federal Government programs 

24 can be expanded to take advantage of the social and 

25 economic benefits of social enterprises. 


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1 (j) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate 

2 90 days after the date on which the Commission submits 

3 the report of the Commission under subsection (i). 

4 (k) AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Funds ap5 propriated to the Commission shall be available for the 

6 duration of the Commission. 

Æ 


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