I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1803 

To amend the Small Business Act to establish a Veterans Business Center 

program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 31, 2009 

Mr. NYE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Small Business 

A BILL 

To amend the Small Business Act to establish a Veterans 

Business Center program, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Business 

5 Center Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. VETERANS BUSINESS CENTER PROGRAM. 

7 Section 32 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

8 657b) is amended— 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS
2 

•HR 1803 IH

1 (1) in subsection (f), by inserting ‘‘(other than 

2 subsections (g), (h), and (i))’’ after ‘‘this section’’; 

3 and 

4 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(g) VETERANS BUSINESS CENTER PROGRAM.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es7 tablish a Veterans Business Center program within 

8 the Administration to provide entrepreneurial train9 ing and counseling to veterans in accordance with 

10 this subsection. 

11 ‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The Administrator shall ap12 point a Director of the Veterans Business Center 

13 program, who shall implement and oversee such pro14 gram and who shall report directly to the Associate 

15 Administrator for Veterans Business Development. 

16 ‘‘(3) DESIGNATION OF VETERANS BUSINESS

17 CENTERS.—The Director shall establish by regula18 tion an application, review, and notification process 

19 to designate entities as veterans business centers for 

20 purposes of this section. The Director shall make 

21 publicly known the designation of an entity as a vet22 erans business center and the award of a grant to 

23 such center under this subsection. 

24 ‘‘(4) FUNDING FOR VETERANS BUSINESS CEN25 TERS.— 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS
3 

•HR 1803 IH

1 ‘‘(A) INITIAL GRANTS.—The Director is 

2 authorized to make a grant (hereinafter in this 

3 subsection referred to as an ‘initial grant’) to 

4 each veterans business center each year for not 

5 more than 5 years in the amount of $150,000. 

6 ‘‘(B) GROWTH FUNDING GRANTS.—After a 

7 veterans business center has received 5 years of 

8 initial grants under subparagraph (A), the Di9 rector is authorized to make a grant (herein10 after in this subsection referred to as a ‘growth 

11 funding grant’) to such center each year for not 

12 more than 3 years in the amount of $100,000. 

13 After such center has received 3 years of 

14 growth funding grants, the Director shall re15 quire such center to meet performance bench16 marks established by the Director to be eligible 

17 for growth funding grants in subsequent years. 

18 ‘‘(5) CENTER RESPONSIBILITIES.—Each vet19 erans business center receiving a grant under this 

20 subsection shall use the funds primarily on veteran 

21 entrepreneurial development, counseling of veteran22 owned small businesses through one-on-one instruc23 tion and classes, and providing government procure24 ment assistance to veterans. 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS
4 

•HR 1803 IH

1 ‘‘(6) MATCHING FUNDS.—Each veterans busi2 ness center receiving a grant under this subsection 

3 shall be required to provide a non-Federal match of 

4 50 percent of the Federal funds such center receives 

5 under this subsection. The Director may issue to a 

6 veterans business center, upon request, a waiver 

7 from all or a portion of such matching requirement 

8 upon a determination of hardship. 

9 ‘‘(7) TARGETED AREAS.—The Director shall 

10 give priority to applications for designations and 

11 grants under this subsection that will establish a 

12 veterans business center in a geographic area, as de13 termined by the Director, that is not currently 

14 served by a veterans business center and in which— 

15 ‘‘(A) the population of veterans exceeds the 

16 national median of such measure; or 

17 ‘‘(B) the population of veterans of Oper18 ation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring 

19 Freedom exceeds the national median of such 

20 measure. 

21 ‘‘(8) TRAINING PROGRAM.—The Director shall 

22 develop and implement, directly or by contract, an 

23 annual training program for the staff and personnel 

24 of designated veterans business centers to provide 

25 education, support, and information on best pracVerDate Nov 24 2008 20:42 Apr 01, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1803.IH H1803

jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS
5 

•HR 1803 IH

1 tices with respect to the establishment and operation 

2 of such centers. The Director shall develop such 

3 training program in consultation with veterans busi4 ness centers, the interagency task force established 

5 under subsection (c), and veterans service organiza6 tions. 

7 ‘‘(9) INCLUSION OF OTHER ORGANIZATIONS IN

8 PROGRAM.—Upon the date of the enactment of this 

9 subsection, each Veterans Business Outreach Center 

10 established by the Administrator under the authority 

11 of section 8(b)(17) and each center that received 

12 funds during fiscal year 2006 from the National 

13 Veterans Business Development Corporation estab14 lished under section 33 and that remains in oper15 ation shall be treated as designated as a veterans 

16 business center for purposes of this subsection and 

17 shall be eligible for grants under this subsection. 

18 ‘‘(10) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

19 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

20 this subsection $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and 

21 $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2011. 

22 ‘‘(h) ADDITIONAL GRANTS AVAILABLE TO VETERANS

23 BUSINESS CENTERS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) ACCESS TO CAPITAL GRANT PROGRAM.— 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS
6 

•HR 1803 IH

1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the 

2 Veterans Business Center program shall estab3 lish a grant program under which the Director 

4 is authorized to make, to veterans business cen5 ters designated under subsection (g), grants for 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(i) Developing specialized programs 

8 to assist veteran-owned small businesses to 

9 secure capital and repair damaged credit. 

10 ‘‘(ii) Providing informational seminars 

11 on securing loans to veteran-owned small 

12 businesses. 

13 ‘‘(iii) Providing one-on-one counseling 

14 to veteran-owned small businesses to im15 prove the financial presentations of such 

16 businesses to lenders. 

17 ‘‘(iv) Facilitating the access of vet18 eran-owned small businesses to both tradi19 tional and non-traditional financing 

20 sources. 

21 ‘‘(B) AWARD SIZE.—The Director may not 

22 award a veterans business center more than 

23 $75,000 in grants under this paragraph. 

24 ‘‘(C) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA25 TIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS
7 

•HR 1803 IH

1 to carry out this paragraph $1,500,000 for each 

2 of fiscal years 2010 and 2011. 

3 ‘‘(2) PROCUREMENT ASSISTANCE GRANT PRO4 GRAM.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall es6 tablish a grant program under which the Direc7 tor is authorized to make, to veterans business 

8 centers designated under subsection (g), grants 

9 for the following: 

10 ‘‘(i) Assisting veteran-owned small 

11 businesses to identify contracts that are 

12 suitable to such businesses. 

13 ‘‘(ii) Preparing veteran-owned small 

14 businesses to be ready as subcontractors 

15 and prime contractors for contracts made 

16 available through the American Recovery 

17 and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public 

18 Law 111–5) through training and business 

19 advisement, particularly with respect to the 

20 construction trades. 

21 ‘‘(iii) Providing veteran-owned small 

22 businesses technical assistance with respect 

23 to the Federal procurement process, in24 cluding assisting such businesses to comply 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS
8 

•HR 1803 IH

1 with Federal regulations and bonding re2 quirements. 

3 ‘‘(B) AWARD SIZE.—The Director may not 

4 award a veterans business center more than 

5 $75,000 in grants under this paragraph. 

6 ‘‘(C) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA7 TIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated 

8 to carry out this paragraph $1,500,000 for each 

9 of fiscal years 2010 and 2011. 

10 ‘‘(3) SERVICE-DISABLED VETERAN-OWNED

11 SMALL BUSINESS GRANT PROGRAM.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall es13 tablish a grant program under which the Direc14 tor is authorized to make, to veterans business 

15 centers designated under subsection (g), grants 

16 for the following: 

17 ‘‘(i) Developing outreach programs for 

18 service-disabled veterans with respect to 

19 the benefits of self-employment. 

20 ‘‘(ii) Providing tailored training to 

21 service-disabled veterans with respect to 

22 business plan development, marketing, 

23 budgeting, accounting, and merchandising. 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS
9 

•HR 1803 IH

1 ‘‘(iii) Assisting service-disabled vet2 eran-owned small businesses to locate and 

3 secure business opportunities. 

4 ‘‘(B) AWARD SIZE.—The Director may not 

5 award a veterans business center more than 

6 $75,000 in grants under this paragraph. 

7 ‘‘(C) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA8 TIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated 

9 to carry out this paragraph $1,500,000 for each 

10 of fiscal years 2010 and 2011. 

11 ‘‘(i) VETERANS ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT

12 SUMMIT.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Vet14 erans Business Center program is authorized to 

15 carry out an event, once every two years, for the 

16 purpose of providing networking opportunities, out17 reach, education, training, and support to veterans 

18 business centers funded under this section, veteran19 owned small businesses, veterans service organiza20 tions, and other entities as determined appropriate 

21 for inclusion by the Director. 

22 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

23 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

24 this subsection $450,000 for fiscal years 2010 and 

25 2011.’’. 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS
10 

•HR 1803 IH

1 SEC. 3. REPORTING REQUIREMENT FOR INTERAGENCY 

2 TASK FORCE. 

3 Section 32(c) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

4 657b(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—The Administrator shall submit 

6 to Congress biannually a report on the appointments 

7 made to and activities of the task force.’’. 

Æ 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with BILLS