II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1000 

To strengthen resources for entrepreneurs by improving the SCORE program, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 16, 2015 

Mr. RISCH (for himself and Mr. COONS) introduced the following bill; which 

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

A BILL 

To strengthen resources for entrepreneurs by improving the 

SCORE 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 ‘‘SCORE for Small 

5 Business Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SCORE REAUTHORIZATION. 

7 Section 20 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 

8 note) is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating subsection (j) as sub10 section (f); and 


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

2 ‘‘(g) SCORE PROGRAM.—There are authorized to be 

3 appropriated to the Administrator to carry out the 

4 SCORE program authorized by section 8(b)(1) such sums 

5 as are necessary for the Administrator to make grants or 

6 enter into cooperative agreements in a total amount that 

7 does not exceed $10,500,000 in each of fiscal years 2016, 

8 2017, and 2018.’’. 

9 SEC. 3. SCORE PROGRAM. 

10 Section 8 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637) 

11 is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (b)(1)(B), by striking ‘‘a Serv13 ice Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE)’’ and in14 serting ‘‘the SCORE program described in sub15 section (c)’’; and 

16 (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(c) SCORE PROGRAM.— 

19 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

20 ‘SCORE program’ means the SCORE program au21 thorized by subsection (b)(1)(B). 

22 ‘‘(2) VOLUNTEERS.—A volunteer participating 

23 in the SCORE program shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) based on the business experience and 

25 knowledge of the volunteer— 


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1 ‘‘(i) provide at no cost to individuals 

2 who own, or aspire to own, small business 

3 concerns personal counseling, mentoring, 

4 and coaching relating to the process of 

5 starting, expanding, managing, buying, 

6 and selling a business; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) facilitate low-cost education 

8 workshops for individuals who own, or as9 pire to own, small business concerns; and 

10 ‘‘(B) as appropriate, use tools, resources, 

11 and expertise of other organizations to carry 

12 out the SCORE program. 

13 ‘‘(3) PLANS AND GOALS.—The Administrator, 

14 in consultation with the SCORE Association, shall 

15 ensure that the SCORE program and each chapter 

16 of the SCORE program develop and implement 

17 plans and goals to more effectively and efficiently 

18 provide services to individuals in rural areas, eco19 nomically disadvantaged communities, and other tra20 ditionally underserved communities, including plans 

21 for electronic initiatives, web-based initiatives, chap22 ter expansion, partnerships, and the development of 

23 new skills by volunteers participating in the SCORE 

24 program. 


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1 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL REPORT.—The SCORE Associa2 tion shall submit to the Administrator an annual re3 port that contains— 

4 ‘‘(A) the number of individuals counseled 

5 or trained under the SCORE program; 

6 ‘‘(B) the number of hours of counseling 

7 provided under the SCORE program; and 

8 ‘‘(C) to the extent possible— 

9 ‘‘(i) the number of small business con10 cerns formed with assistance from the 

11 SCORE program; 

12 ‘‘(ii) the number of small business 

13 concerns expanded with assistance from 

14 the SCORE program; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) the number of jobs created with 

16 assistance from the SCORE program. 

17 ‘‘(5) PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Neither the Adminis19 trator nor the SCORE Association may disclose 

20 the name, address, or telephone number of any 

21 individual or small business concern receiving 

22 assistance from the SCORE Association with23 out the consent of such individual or small busi24 ness concern, unless— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the Administrator is ordered to 

2 make such a disclosure by a court in any 

3 civil or criminal enforcement action initi4 ated by a Federal or State agency; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) the Administrator determines 

6 such a disclosure to be necessary for the 

7 purpose of conducting a financial audit of 

8 the SCORE program, in which case disclo9 sure shall be limited to the information 

10 necessary for the audit. 

11 ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATOR USE OF INFORMA12 TION.—This paragraph shall not— 

13 ‘‘(i) restrict the access of the Adminis14 trator to program activity data; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) prevent the Administrator from 

16 using client information to conduct client 

17 surveys. 

18 ‘‘(C) REGULATIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

20 shall issue regulations to establish stand21 ards for— 

22 ‘‘(I) disclosures with respect to 

23 financial audits under subparagraph 

24 (A)(ii); and 


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1 ‘‘(II) conducting client surveys, 

2 including standards for oversight of 

3 the surveys and for dissemination and 

4 use of client information. 

5 ‘‘(ii) MAXIMUM PRIVACY PROTEC6 TION.—The regulations issued under this 

7 subparagraph shall, to the extent prac8 ticable, provide for the maximum amount 

9 of privacy protection.’’. 

10 SEC. 4. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

11 (a) SMALL BUSINESS ACT.—The Small Business Act 

12 (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended— 

13 (1) in section 7(m)(3)(A)(i)(VIII) (15 U.S.C. 

14 636(m)(3)(A)(i)(VIII)), by striking ‘‘Service Corps 

15 of Retired Executives’’ and inserting ‘‘SCORE pro16 gram’’; and 

17 (2) in section 22 (15 U.S.C. 649)— 

18 (A) in subsection (b)— 

19 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking 

20 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 

22 (ii) in paragraph (3), by striking 

23 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 


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1 (B) in subsection (c)(12), by striking 

2 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and in3 serting ‘‘SCORE program’’. 

4 (b) OTHER LAWS.— 

5 (1) Section 621 of the Children’s Health Insur6 ance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (15 

7 U.S.C. 657p) is amended— 

8 (A) in subsection (a), by striking para9 graph (4) and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(4) the term ‘SCORE program’ means the 

11 SCORE program authorized by section 8(b)(1)(B) 

12 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

13 637(b)(1)(B));’’; and 

14 (B) in subsection (b)(4)(A)(iv), by striking 

15 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and in16 serting ‘‘SCORE program’’. 

17 (2) Section 337(d)(2)(A) of the Energy Policy 

18 and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6307(d)(2)(A)) is 

19 amended by striking ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Ex20 ecutives (SCORE)’’ and inserting ‘‘SCORE pro21 gram’’. 

Æ 


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