II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2586 

To establish a 2-year pilot program to develop a curriculum at historically 

Black colleges and universities, Tribal Colleges, and Hispanic serving 

institutions to foster entrepreneurship and business development in underserved minority communities. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 6, 2006 

Mr. KERRY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

A BILL 

To establish a 2-year pilot program to develop a curriculum 

at historically Black colleges and universities, Tribal Colleges, and Hispanic serving institutions to foster entrepreneurship and business development in underserved minority 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 ‘‘Minority Entrepre5 neurship and Innovation Pilot Program of 2006’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds— 


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1 (1) the 2005 ‘‘State of Black America Report’’ 

2 issued by the National Urban League finds a signifi3 cant level of ‘‘equality gaps’’ between African Ameri4 cans and Whites, with the median net worth of an 

5 African-American family is $6,100, compared with 

6 $67,000 for a white family; 

7 (2) in 2005, the African American unemploy8 ment rate was 9.5 percent and the Hispanic unem9 ployment rate was 6 percent, well above the national 

10 average of 4.7 percent; 

11 (3) African Americans account for 12.3 percent 

12 of the United States population and only 4 percent 

13 of all United States businesses, Hispanic Americans 

14 represent 12.5 percent of the United States popu15 lation and approximately 6 percent of all United 

16 States businesses, Native Americans account for ap17 proximately 1 percent of the United States popu18 lation and .9 percent of all United States businesses; 

19 (4) entrepreneurship has proven to be an effec20 tive tool for economic growth and viability of all 

21 communities; 

22 (5) fostering minority owned businesses is a key 

23 ingredient for economic development in the minority 

24 community, an effective tool for creating lasting and 


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1 higher-paying jobs, and a source of creating wealth 

2 in the minority community; and 

3 (6) between 1987 and 1997, revenue from mi4 nority owned businesses rose by 22.5 percent, an in5 crease equivalent to an annual growth rate of 10 

6 percent, and employment opportunities within mi7 nority owned firms increased by 23 percent. 

8 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act— 

10 (1) the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad11 ministrator of the Small Business Administration; 

12 (2) the term ‘‘Hispanic serving institution’’ has 

13 the meaning given the term in section 502 of the 

14 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1101a); 

15 (3) the term ‘‘historically Black college and uni16 versity’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘part B in17 stitution’’ in section 322 of the Higher Education 

18 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061); 

19 (4) the term ‘‘small business concern’’ has the 

20 same meaning as in section 3 of the Small Business 

21 Act (15 U.S.C. 632); 

22 (5) the term ‘‘small business development cen23 ter’’ has the same meaning as in section 21 of the 

24 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648); and 


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1 (6) the term ‘‘Tribal College’’ has the meaning 

2 given the term ‘‘tribally controlled college or univer3 sity’’ in section 2 of the Tribally Controlled College 

4 or University Assistance Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 

5 1801). 

6 SEC. 4. MINORITY ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION 

7 GRANTS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall make 

9 grants to historically Black colleges and universities, Trib10 al Colleges, and Hispanic serving institutions, or to any 

11 entity formed by a combination of such institutions— 

12 (1) to assist in establishing an entrepreneurship 

13 curriculum for undergraduate or graduate studies; 

14 and 

15 (2) for placement of small business development 

16 centers on the physical campus of the institution. 

17 (b) CURRICULUM REQUIREMENT.—An institution of 

18 higher education receiving a grant under this section shall 

19 develop a curriculum that includes training in various skill 

20 sets needed by successful entrepreneurs, including— 

21 (1) business management and marketing, finan22 cial management and accounting, market analysis 

23 and competitive analysis, innovation and strategic 

24 planning; and 


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1 (2) additional entrepreneurial skill sets specific 

2 to the needs of the student population and the sur3 rounding community, as determined by the institu4 tion. 

5 (c) SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER RE6 QUIREMENT.—Each institution receiving a grant under 

7 this section shall open a small business development center 

8 that— 

9 (1) performs studies, research, and counseling 

10 concerning the management, financing, and oper11 ation of small business concerns; 

12 (2) performs management training and tech13 nical assistance regarding the participation of small 

14 business concerns in international markets, export 

15 promotion and technology transfer, and the delivery 

16 or distribution of such services and information; 

17 (3) offers referral services for entrepreneurs 

18 and small business concerns to business develop19 ment, financing, and legal experts; and 

20 (4) promotes market-specific innovation, niche 

21 marketing, capacity building, international trade, 

22 and strategic planning as keys to long-term growth 

23 for its small business concern and entrepreneur cli24 ents. 


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1 (d) GRANT LIMITATIONS.—A grant under this sub2 section— 

3 (1) may not exceed $1,000,000 per fiscal year 

4 for any 1 institution of higher education; 

5 (2) may not be used for any purpose other than 

6 those associated with the direct costs incurred to de7 velop and implement a curriculum that fosters entre8 preneurship and the costs incurred to organize and 

9 run a small business development center on the 

10 grounds of the institution; and 

11 (3) may not be used for building expenses, ad12 ministrative travel budgets, or other expenses not di13 rectly related to the implementation of the cur14 riculum or activities authorized by this Act. 

15 (e) EXCEPTION FROM SMALL BUSINESS ACT RE16 QUIREMENT.—Subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 

17 21(a)(4) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(4)) 

18 do not apply to assistance made available under this sec19 tion. 

20 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

21 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

22 $24,000,000, to remain available until expended, for each 

23 of fiscal years 2007 and 2008. 

24 (g) REPORT.—Not later than November 1 of each 

25 year, the Associate Administrator of Entrepreneurial DeVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:25 Apr 08, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2586.IS S2586

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1 velopment of the Small Business Administration shall sub2 mit to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepre3 neurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Busi4 ness of the House of Representatives, a report evaluating 

5 the award and use of grants under this section during the 

6 preceding fiscal year, which shall include— 

7 (1) a description of each entrepreneurship pro8 gram developed with grant funds, the date of the 

9 award of such grant, and the number of participants 

10 in each such program; 

11 (2) the number of small business concerns as12 sisted by each small business development center es13 tablished with a grant under this section; and 

14 (3) data regarding the economic impact of the 

15 small business development center counseling pro16 vided under a grant under this section. 

17 (h) LIMITATION ON USE OF OTHER FUNDS.—The 

18 Administrator shall carry out this section only with 

19 amounts appropriated in advance specifically to carry out 

20 this section. 

Æ 


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