S5386 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 25, 2012 

calls are made indoors and more than 

26 percent of U.S. households have 

‘‘cut-the-cord,’’ relying solely on cell 

phones to make voice calls. On the 

data side, Cisco’s Virtual Network 

Index reports approximately 60 percent 

of mobile Internet use is done inside— 

either at home or at work. Consumers 

are also utilizing Wi-Fi more frequently—more than 80 percent of 

smartphone users prefer Wi-Fi connections over cellular for mobile data 

usage, and approximately 75 percent of 

tablet users use Wi-Fi connections 

only. In addition, several new tablets, 

such as the Microsoft Surface, Google 

Nexus 7, and Samsung Galaxy Tab, 

were introduced as Wi-Fi only versions. 

As the FCC’s National Broadband 

Plan highlights, most smartphones 

sold today have Wi-Fi capabilities to 

take advantage of the growing ubiquity 

of Wi-Fi routers and devices. According 

to a May 2011 report from comScore, 

approximately 48 percent of all iPhone 

traffic was transported over Wi-Fi/LAN 

networks. So installing more mini-base 

stations, such as femtocells, DAS, and 

Wi-Fi hotspots will improve indoor 

coverage and wireless network capacity. It will also increase battery life of 

phones and tablets since the indoor signal will be stronger so devices will use 

less power. 

The increasing importance of wireless communications and broadband 

has a direct correlation to our nation’s 

competitiveness, economy, and national security and therefore demands 

we make the appropriate changes to 

current spectrum policy and management to avert a spectrum crisis and 

continue to realize the boundless benefits of spectrum-based services. Congress has taken some steps but more 

must be done. That is why I sincerely 

hope that my colleagues join Senator 

WARNER and me in supporting this important legislation. 

By Ms. LANDRIEU: 

S. 3442. A bill to provide tax incentives for small businesses, improve programs of the Small Business Administration, and for other purposes; to the 

Committee on Finance. 

Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I 

come to the floor today to discuss the 

importance of small businesses in the 

United States. It cannot be stated 

enough that small businesses are the 

economic engines of our country. 

Small businesses also represent the essence of the American Dream. They are 

creators of new jobs and innovative 

technologies. In fact, over the last 15 

years, businesses employing less than 

500 people have created 93 percent of all 

new jobs and employed 58.6 million 

workers. Businesses employing less 

than 20 people alone employed 21.3 million workers. In my home state of Louisiana, small businesses make up about 

98 percent of businesses. As Chair of 

the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I remain focused on the needs of these small businesses. That is why I am here today to 

introduce a bill that I believe will help 

spur job creation among small businesses. 

As you know, right now our country 

is still mired in an historic economic 

downturn. This economic downturn is 

disproportionately affecting small 

businesses and, in turn, stifling opportunities for them to generate economic 

growth for the country. Sadly, since 

November 2008 80 percent of the job 

losses have come from small businesses. 2.16 million jobs were lost in 

the private sector from July to February 2008—nearly half from businesses 

with less than 50 employees. While corporate layoffs get the headlines, small 

business layoffs increase the breadlines. Ten jobs lost here and five jobs 

there add up. These are the job losses 

that hurt our economy, our communities and our families. 

With this in mind, I was proud to 

lead Congressional efforts to enact the 

Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, Public 

Law 111–240. President Obama signed 

this legislation into law on September 

27, 2010. This legislation focused on the 

three ‘‘C’s’’ important to small businesses: Capital, Contracting, and Counseling. 332 community banks in 47 

states have received $4.01 billion in 

funding from the Small Business Lending Fund in the bill, which is $9.3 billion in leverage potential for small 

businesses. Furthermore, a total of 54 

states/territories applied for funding 

through the Small Business State 

Credit Initiative Program to support 

State-run small business lending programs. Approximately, $1.3 billion for 

47 states and territories has been approved. Lastly, $30 million of Round 1 

of State Trade and Export, STEP, export grant funding was awarded in the 

Fall 2011 to 52 states and territories to 

promote small business exports. To 

date, the Small Business Jobs Act has 

provided an important boost to small 

businesses looking to get credit or open 

new markets overseas. 

Given the importance of small businesses to our economy, I believe that 

there is no better time than now for 

Congress to build off the success of the 

Small Business Jobs Act. But the key 

question is how to best assist our country’s 28 million small businesses? This 

is complicated because Federal law defines a small business as ‘‘those having 

500 employees or less.’’ They may all 

fit under the same broad category of 

small business, but they are not all the 

same. So it makes no sense for the Federal government or Congress to have a 

‘‘one size fits all’’ policy for helping 

them grow. We must put a special focus 

on maximizing strategies to help those 

small firms that have the capacity to 

grow in the near term. 

The approach I have taken is to focus 

on the entrepreneurial ecosystems in 

our communities. This is because an 

ecosystem is defined as ‘‘a system 

formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their environment.’’ I am particularly interested in 

the relationship between entrepreneurs, the current environment for 

entrepreneurship, and how we can 

make them more robust. In my view 

strengthening these ecosystems is an 

avenue to spur small business growth, 

create jobs, and grow our economy. 

Babson College, one of the country’s 

top colleges for undergraduate/graduate entrepreneurship programs, has 

looked into what makes up an entrepreneurial ecosystem. Babson has identified the ‘‘six domains’’ of any entrepreneurial ecosystem: a conducive culture that rewards innovation, creativity and experimentation; enabling 

policies and leadership that provide 

regulatory and capital support; availability of appropriate finance, including micro-loans, private equity and 

public capital; quality human capital 

that include both skilled and unskilled 

workers from at home and abroad; venture-friendly markets for products by 

creating distribution channels and entrepreneurship networks; and a range 

of institutional and infrastructural 

supports, including incubation centers 

and legal and accounting advisers. 

Building off this research and with 

feedback from other stakeholders, late 

last year my committee began preparations to conduct a series of roundtables 

on strengthening the entrepreneurial 

ecosystem for small businesses. The 

goal of these roundtables, which were 

conducted between February and April 

2012, was to take the ideas that come 

out of these discussions and use them 

as the foundation for a major piece of 

legislation to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The first roundtable 

on February 1, 2012, was entitled ‘‘Developing and Strengthening HighGrowth Entrepreneurship.’’ This 

roundtable set the stage for our discussions by exploring the recent success of 

high-growth firms in job creation and 

why it is so important that we replicate that success. The second roundtable was on March 22, 2012, and was 

entitled ‘‘A Spotlight on Small Business Investment Companies and Their 

Role in the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem.’’ That roundtable looked at 

how we could enhance an already successful program that gets capital into 

the hands of America’s job creators. 

The last roundtable was on April 18, 

2012, and was entitled ‘‘Perspectives 

from the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: 

Creating Jobs and Growing Businesses 

through Entrepreneurship.’’ That 

roundtable discussed how different 

stakeholders in the entrepreneurial 

ecosystem are creating new entrepreneurs and growing businesses. It 

brought together key stakeholders 

from different levels of an entrepreneurial ecosystem: universities and entrepreneurship programs, Federal and 

local officials, investors, private sector 

accelerators, mentors, and successful 

entrepreneurs. 

As a result of these three 

roundtables, my committee received 

almost 60 specific policy recommendations from the 41 participants. Some of 

these recommendations fell under the 


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July 25, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5387 

jurisdictions of other Senate committees, while other proposals had a significant cost associated with them or 

lacked the strong bipartisan support 

necessary to move them forward in the 

Senate. After further consulting with 

my colleagues on the committee, I was 

able to identify our own six ‘‘domains’’ 

of proposals to focus our efforts on: 

Tax and Finance; Access to Capital; 

Access to Global Markets; Access to 

Mentoring, Education and Strategic 

Partnerships; Access to Government 

Contracting; and Transparency, Accountability, and Effectiveness. These 

domains form the six titles of the Success Ultimately Comes from Capital, 

Contracting, Education, Strategic 

Partnerships, and Smart Regulations, 

SUCCESS, Act of 2012. 

First, Title I of the SUCCESS Act 

provides almost $12 billion in tax incentives to assist small businesses. All 

five tax provisions within the SUCCESS Act were based on parts of legislation, S. 2050, that was introduced in 

January by Senator SNOWE and myself. 

S. 2050, the Small Business Tax Extenders Act, reflects the work of many of 

my Senate colleagues, including Senators SNOWE, KERRY, MERKLEY, CARDIN, 

ISAKSON, and SHAHEEN. 

Section 102 of the SUCCESS Act extends the 100 percent exclusion from 

tax the gain on the sale of qualified 

small businesses, QSB, stock that noncorporate taxpayers purchase in 2012 

and 2013 and hold for 5 years. Qualifying small business stock is stock of 

C-corporation whose gross assets do 

not exceed $50 million, including the 

proceeds received from the issuance of 

the stock, and who meets a specific active business requirement. The amount 

of gain eligible for the exclusion is limited to the greater of ten times the taxpayer’s basis in the stock or $10 million 

of gain from stock in that corporation. 

Until 2009, non-corporate taxpayers 

were allowed to exclude 50 percent of 

the gain from the sale of stock of QSB 

if the taxpayers held the stock for 5 

years. The Recovery Act of 2009 increased the 50 percent exclusion to 75 

percent and the Small Business Jobs 

Act and subsequent legislation increased and extended the exclusion to 

100 percent through 2011. However, as of 

January 1, 2012, the 100 percent exclusion has reverted to 50 percent and 

startup investments are no longer entitled to preferential capital gains treatment. 

Senator KERRY, a senior member of 

my committee as well as the Finance 

Committee, has been a leader in the 

Senate in getting this provision extended in previous Congresses. I also 

note that this proposal has bipartisan 

and White House support. President 

Obama has repeatedly called on Congress to make permanent the 100 percent capital gains exclusion and included this proposal in his Startup 

America Legislative Agenda. Senators 

MORAN, WARNER, COONS and RUBIO have 

all called for making this provision 

permanent and included a version of 

this provision in S. 3217, the Startup 

Act 2.0 that was introduced in May. According to a Kauffman Foundation 

paper published earlier this year, the 

100 percent exclusion ‘‘boosts the aftertax returns on such investments in 

startups and should induce substantial 

levels of new investments in startup 

firms.’’ They further estimate that 

making this provision permanent 

would increase risky investments by 

conservatively 50 percent more than 

overall cost of the provision. 

Section 103 of the bill extends the increased deduction for business start-up 

expenditures in 2012 and 2013 from 

$5,000 to $10,000, subject to a $60,000 

threshold. Under current law, taxpayers can elect to deduct up to $5,000 

of ‘‘start-up expenditures’’ in the taxable year in which they start a trade or 

business. The $5,000 is reduced—but not 

below zero—by the amount by which 

start-up costs exceed $50,000. Examples 

of startup costs include studies of potential markets, products, labor markets, or transportation systems; advertisements for the opening of a new 

business; compensation for consultants 

and employees undergoing training and 

their instructors; and travel for the 

purpose of securing suppliers, distributors, and customers. 

The Small Business Jobs Act temporarily increased the amount of start-up 

expenditures entrepreneurs could deduct from their taxes in 2010 from 

$5,000 to $10,000, with a phase-out 

threshold of $60,000. We need to bring 

this provision back to aid our small 

businesses. 

I note that there is also support within this chamber and from the White 

House for this proposal. As part of his 

Startup America Legislative Agenda, 

President Obama has called for making 

permanent the increased deduction for 

start-up expenditures. Senator 

MERKLEY successfully fought for the 

initial increase in deduction to be included in the Small Business Jobs Act. 

Over the past several years, this proposal has been repeatedly endorsed by 

the National Association for the SelfEmployed and the National Federation 

of Independent Businesses, NFIB. Furthermore, according to a Kauffman 

Foundation survey, on average, new 

firms inject about $80,000 into their 

business during the first year of operation. The vast majority of small business owners—between 80 percent and 90 

percent—also invest significant 

amounts of their own money into their 

businesses. These budding enterprises 

are also more dependent on personal 

capital at startup than after they become established businesses. Doubling 

the deduction for start-up costs puts 

cash in the hands of small businesses 

owners who need it most—those who 

are just getting started. According to 

estimates from Third Way, a non-partisan group, this proposal would help 

the more than 600,000 Americans who 

start their own business every year. 

Under current law, when a corporation becomes an S-Corporation, it is required to hold its business assets for 10 

years or pay punitive taxes. This 10- 

year holding period is too long and ties 

up assets that could be sold to raise 

capital. In 2010, Congress reduced this 

holding period to 5 years to better 

match business planning cycles. Section 104 of my bill will extend the 5- 

year holding period for 2012 and 2013, 

costing $251 million over 10 years. As 

with other provisions in the SUCCESS 

Act, this provision has bipartisan support. Senator CARDIN has fought to 

make this proposal permanent. Senators SNOWE, VITTER, and ROBERTS

have also been long-time supporters 

and are co-sponsors of legislation introduced by Senator CARDIN to make 

this provision permanent. By granting 

this extension, we will give the more 

than 4 million S-Corporations in the 

U.S. the flexibility they need to raise 

capital. 

Section 105 would allow sole proprietorships, partnerships and non-publicly traded corporations with less than 

$50M in average gross annual receipts 

for the prior 3 years, to carryback unused general business credits earned in 

2012 and 2013 for 5 previous years. 

Under current law, if a business has no 

tax liability in its current tax year, it 

may carry the general business tax 

credit back to the previous tax year to 

offset taxes paid in the previous year 

and obtain a refund. If the current 

credit exceeds taxes paid in the previous year, the remaining credit may 

be carried forward for 20 years, without 

interest, and used to offset tax liability 

in future years. The general business 

credit is limited to the difference between the regular tax liability of a 

business and the greater of its tentative minimum tax or 25 percent of 

regular tax liability in excess of $25,000. 

The general business tax credit is comprised of several different tax credits 

including the R&D tax credit, energy 

credits, the Low-Income Housing Tax 

Credit and the Work Opportunity Tax 

Credit. 

This extension would provide tax refunds to businesses that were previously healthy but are currently running losses. It would improve the effectiveness of business credits that are intended to expand investment and employment, in the case of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit. It would also 

allow businesses greater immediate 

benefit from credits designed to encourage specific types of economic activity, such as hiring disadvantaged 

workers or investments in renewable 

energy. By providing businesses with 

greater opportunity to claim business 

credits, the provisions would also give 

an infusion of cash to businesses, which 

might promote investment. This could 

be particularly important if businesses 

have trouble borrowing because of financial market problems. 

Section 106 of the SUCCESS Act extends a generous Section 179 provision 

that allows small businesses to immediately write-off up to $500,000, up from 

$250,000, for tangible personal property 


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S5388 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 25, 2012 

and up to $250,000 for improvements to 

leasehold property and retail property. 

Under the Small Business Jobs Act 

and other subsequent legislation, for 

taxable years beginning in 2010 and 

2011, small businesses could write-off 

for capital expenditures for ‘‘qualifying 

Sec. 179 property’’ up to $500,000 and 

the phase-out threshold has been increased to $2,000,000. These thresholds 

were up from prior law thresholds of 

$25,000/$200,000. In addition, for the first 

time, the Small Business Jobs Act allowed taxpayers to expense $250,000 of 

the cost of improvements to real property including qualified restaurant 

property and qualified retail property. 

To qualify for the section 179 deduction, property must have been acquired 

for use in the trade or business. Examples of qualifying property include machinery and equipment; property contained in or attached to a building, 

other than structural components, 

such as refrigerators, grocery store 

counters, office equipment, printing 

presses, testing equipment, and signs.; 

gasoline storage tanks and pumps at 

retail service stations.; livestock, including horses, cattle, hogs, sheep, 

goats, and mink and other furbearing 

animals. 

Extending the enhanced Section 179 

deduction has bipartisan Senate support, White House support, and industry support. The President supports extending Section 179. My colleague Senator SNOWE is a strong supporter of the 

enhanced Section 179 provision that allows businesses to expense improvements to restaurant and retail property. She developed this particular proposal in connection with her work on 

the Small Business Jobs Act. Finally, 

26 National business groups such as the 

NFIB, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 

the National Association of Homebuilders, and the National Association 

of the Self-Employed endorsed extending Section 179 and including expensing 

for real property improvements in a 

May 21, 2012 letter to Congress. 

The next title of the SUCCESS Act 

focuses on improving access to capital 

for small businesses. In particular, 

Subtitle A under Title II was previously introduced as S. 3253, the Expanding Access to Capital for Entrepreneurial Leaders, EXCEL, Act. It provides necessary and timely enhancements to the Small Business Investment Company, SBIC, program. SBICs 

are government backed and regulated 

private equity funds which invest in 

U.S. small businesses. The SBIC program was created in 1958 by then Senator Lyndon Johnson and Senator William Fulbright, and signed into law by 

President Eisenhower. During a Senate 

hearing on the creation of the program, 

Senator Joseph Clark said the legislation is ‘‘necessary to increase the 

availability of long-term credit and equity capital for small businesses.’’ 

Since 1958, SBICs have invested $56 

billion in over 100,000 small businesses. 

The core debenture program operates 

at no cost to taxpayers. SBIC success 

stories include: Apple Computer, 

Callaway Golf, Costco, Outback 

Steakhouse, Jenny Craig, Annie’s food 

company, and Center Rock of Berlin, 

PA, the manufacturers of the drill bit 

that saved the Chilean miners in October 2010. 

The SBIC program has seen strong 

growth in the past few years. For example, the program grew 50 percent in 

fiscal year 2011 alone. However, the authorization level has not been permanently raised since 2003. To continue 

fulfilling the intent of the original legislation, it is time to make some improvements. The Landrieu-Snowe 

EXCEL Act has two main components. 

First, it raises the statutory cap for 

the SBIC Program from $3 billion to $4 

billion. Second, it increases the 

amount of leverage by SBIC licensees 

under common control from $225 million to $350 million ‘‘Family of Funds’’. 

The components of this provision were 

also included in the President’s Startup America legislative package. 

Subtitle B of Title II was originally 

introduced as S. 2364 by Senators 

SNOWE, LANDRIEU, ISAKSON and SHAHEEN. The 504 loan program is a longterm financing tool for economic development that provides small businesses 

with long-term, fixed-rate loans to help 

them acquire major fixed assets and 

real estate for expansion or modernization. The Small Business Jobs Act allowed small businesses to use the 504 

loan program to refinance certain 

qualifying existing debt for two years, 

but the SBA did not promulgate regulations to implement the refinancing 

provision until February 17, 2012. 

This subtitle would extend for a year 

and a half a provision allowing small 

business owners to use Small Business 

Administration, SBA, 504 loans to refinance existing commercial mortgages. 

Extending the 504 refinancing program 

is a common-sense way to help small 

businesses and create jobs. By allowing 

small businesses to refinance qualified 

commercial real estate debt, this program lowers their monthly mortgage 

payments at no cost to taxpayers. 

That’s right, this provision has zero 

subsidy cost. At a time when we are 

still facing high unemployment, this 

extension is one of many things that 

we should be doing to put more capital 

in the hands of America’s job creators. 

Subtitle C of Title II is a new proposal introduced for the first time as 

part of the SUCCESS Act. SBA currently releases some information publicly about SBA lending activity, but it 

is almost impossible to find and comprehend if you are not an SBA lending 

professional. If a small business, 

mayor, or governor wants to determine 

SBA lending activity in their area, 

they lack the ability to do so easily. 

This subtitle would require the SBA 

to post a user friendly Lender Activity 

Index on the SBA website. Users will 

immediately be able to access the following data for any given bank: name 

of bank, number of SBA loans each 

bank made, total dollar amount of SBA 

loans of each bank, zip code of bank activity, not where every single loan was 

made, but a list of every zip code where 

the bank has made an SBA loan, industries lent to, hospitality, manufacturing, service, software, etc., stage of 

business cycle, new, or existing business, and business specific information, 

i.e. Women Owned Businesses, Minority 

Owned Businesses, or Veteran Owned 

Businesses. Data will be available for 

the year to date and users will be able 

to compare to 3 previous fiscal years. 

Both quarterly and annual data will be 

included. 

Title III of the SUCCESS Act focuses 

on promoting exports from small businesses. The Small Business Jobs Act 

made major changes to the international trade work done by the SBA. 

Now that those provisions have been in 

place for several years, there are additional refinements and direction needed. I would like to specifically thank 

Senators SHAHEEN and AYOTTE for 

their bipartisan export contributions 

to this effort. The export provisions of 

Tile III are taken from S. 3218, their 

Small Business Growth Act of 2012, as 

well as S. 3277, the Go Global Act of 

2012 that Senator SHAHEEN and I authored this year. 

95 percent of the world’s customers 

are located outside of the borders of 

the United States, and in the last 

twelve months we have exported more 

than $2 trillion of goods and services to 

these consumers. Yet only 1 percent of 

our approximately 28 million small 

businesses export. Our agencies need to 

be working together to ensure our 

small businesses have the resources 

they need to expand their customer 

base and be part of the more than $180 

billion in exports that the United 

States sends around the world each 

month. 

This title aids our small business exporters by addressing federal government coordination, resources for rural 

businesses, and export control education. It establishes, in Section 306, an 

interagency task force of SBA, the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the 

Export-Import Bank, and the Overseas 

Private Investment Corporation on export financing to review, improve, and 

increase collaboration on current finance programs. Then, to further coordination, Section 307(a) begins a 

cross training program with SBA and 

USDA to inform their respective export 

finance specialists more about each 

other’s programs. Our small businesses 

face enough challenges—we should be 

bringing our resources to them. In Section 304, this bill requires SBA, in coordination with other agencies, to do 

at least one export outreach event per 

year in each state. Section 307(b) also 

aids our rural small businesses by posting a list of rural lenders who participate in SBA and USDA loan programs 

and a list of rural small businesses 

counseling and technical assistance resources. Jobs created by exports pay, 

on average, 15 to 20 percent more than 

jobs created by goods and services sold 


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July 25, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5389 

in the United States. This bill will continue to support entrepreneurs who 

want to create and grow these employment opportunities for all Americans. 

Title IV of the bill focuses on promoting small business access to mentoring, education and strategic partnerships. Subtitle A of this title was 

originally introduced by Senator 

SNOWE and I as S. 3198, the Strengthening Resources for America’s Entrepreneurs Act of 2012. The SBA Office of 

Entrepreneurial Development, OED, 

oversees a network of programs and 

services that support the training and 

counseling needs of small business. According to the SBA, OED helps hundreds of thousands of small business 

clients start, grow and compete in 

global markets by providing quality 

training, counseling and access to resources. SBA delivers these services 

through non-profit, college and university, and community-based organization resource partners. Through its 

network of over 1,000 resource partners 

across the country, OED programs include Small Business Development 

Centers, SBDCs, Women’s Business 

Centers, SCORE, and Entrepreneurship 

Education. However, it is currently difficult to track effectiveness and ensure 

our resources are being used in the best 

ways possible. To solve this challenge, 

this subtitle has four primary components. First, it requires the SBA to coordinate and make consistent data collection and outcome metrics for Entrepreneurial Development programs. Second, it increases planning for utilizing 

Entrepreneurial Development programs to create jobs. Third, it increases coordination between Entrepreneurial Development programs and Resource Partners at the national level. 

Finally, it increases accountability 

measures and reports to Congress regarding the effectiveness of Entrepreneurial Development programs. 

Subtitle B of the bill comes from S. 

3197, the Women’s Small Business Ownership Act which was sponsored by 

Senator SNOWE and myself. This subtitle is focused on the SBA Women’s 

Business Center (WBC) program. The 

WBC program was established in 1988 

and implemented through the SBA’s 

Office of Women’s Business Ownership. 

It provides quality counseling and 

training services to all entrepreneurs, 

primarily women, especially those who 

are socially and economically disadvantaged. Through a network of over 

100 non-profit organizations, WBCs help 

more than 150,000 clients annually to 

start and grow small firms in the local 

area in which they serve and to stimulate economic growth. Subtitle B reauthorizes the WBC program through Fiscal Year 2015 and makes improvements 

to the program, including a Government Accountability Office review of 

Women’s Business Center program performance as compared with other SBA 

Entrepreneurial Development programs. 

Subtitle C of the SUCCESS Act is 

Senator SNOWE’s Strengthening America’s Small Business Development Centers Act. Small Business Development 

Centers (SBDCs) are considered to be 

the backbone of the SBA’s Office of Entrepreneurial Development efforts, and 

are the largest of the agency’s OED 

programs. SBDCs are the university 

based resource partners that provide 

counseling and training needs for more 

than 600,000 business clients annually. 

From 2007 to 2008, the counseling and 

technical assistance services they offered lead to the creation of 58,501 new 

jobs, at a cost of $3,462 per job. Additionally, they estimate that their 

counseling services helped to save 

88,889 jobs. This subtitle would reauthorize SBDC program at the current 

$135 million authorization level 

through fiscal year 15. Beyond reauthorizing the SBDC program, this provision also encourages SBDCs to improve outreach and communications to 

universities, community colleges, and 

junior colleges and allows the SBA Administrator to authorize out-of-state 

SBDCs to provide assistance in declared disaster areas. 

Subtitle D of Title IV was originally 

introduced as S. 3281 by Senators 

SNOWE, KERRY, and COBURN. This subtitle repeals Federal authorization of 

the National Veterans Business Development Corporation, TVC, eliminating 

an ineffective government program. 

The National Veterans Business Development Corporation, also known as 

The Veterans Corporation or simply 

TVC, has been ineffective and controversial since its inception as part of 

the Veterans Entrepreneurship and 

Small Business Development Act, P.L. 

106–50, in 1999. In December of 2008, 

former Small Business Committee 

Chairman KERRY and Ranking Member 

SNOWE investigated TVC, and issued a 

report detailing the organization’s blatant mismanagement and wasting of 

taxpayers’ dollars. Since the issuing of 

the Small Business Committee’s report, Congress has appropriated no further funding for TVC, and the Small 

Business Administration has incorporated the Veteran Business Resource 

Centers, VBRCs, that TVC previously 

funded into its existing network of 

Veteran Business Outreach Centers, 

VBOCs. At present, TVC still exists as 

an organization, and it is still technically federally chartered. At the 

same time, it receives no Federal 

funds, has no Department or Agency 

oversight. It is time for it to be eliminated. 

Title V of the SUCCESS Act focuses 

on promoting Federal government contracting opportunities for small businesses. Section 511 under Subtitle A of 

Title V was originally introduced by 

Senators CARDIN, LANDRIEU and SNOWE

as S. 2187, the Small Business Administration Surety Bond Increase Act. The 

SBA administers a surety bond guarantee program, designed to encourage 

sureties to issue bonds when they 

would otherwise determine that a 

small business presents an unacceptable degree of risk. Under the program, 

SBA may guarantee bid, performance, 

and payment bonds for individual contracts of $2 million or less for small 

businesses that cannot obtain surety 

bonds through regular commercial 

channels. In the American Recovery & 

Reinvestment Act of 2009, Senator 

CARDIN was able to temporarily increase the size of SBA surety bond 

guarantee from $2 million to $5 million. Section 511 would make that permanent. It would ensure that small 

businesses have the means to the secure the necessary surety bonding to 

compete for contracts during the economic downturn. 

Subtitle B of Title V was originally 

introduced by Senators SNOWE, LANDRIEU, ENZI, BROWN, MERKLEY, CANTWELL and eight other senators as S. 633, 

the Small Business Contracting Fraud 

Prevention Act. Fraud in small business contracting programs has starkly 

increased over the years. Recently we 

have all read about instances where 

large businesses misrepresent their size 

and status to receive the benefits of 

SBA programs designed for small businesses. Firms that engage in this activity have long been subject to civil and/ 

or criminal penalties under various 

laws and government-wide policies. 

The provisions in Subtitle B provide 

the SBA Inspector General with enhanced tools to eliminate fraud in 

small business contracting programs 

by: imposing greater penalties for 

fraud; requiring that firms be debarred 

for five years if they misrepresent their 

status as veteran-owned for purposes of 

programs under the act; and requiring 

the SBA to submit annual reports to 

Congress on the number of persons 

debarred or suspended from government contracting, or considered for debarment or suspension from government contracting, for violations of the 

bill. This will deter fraud in government small business contracting and 

will keep Congress in the loop on small 

business fraud issues. 

Subtitle C under Title V was originally introduced by Senators SNOWE, 

LANDRIEU, GILLIBRAND and seven other 

senators as S. 2172, the Fairness in 

Women-Owned Small Business Contracting Act. Currently, the WomenOwned Small Business, WOSB, contracting program caps contract awards 

to woman-owned businesses at $4 million for goods/services and $6.5 million 

for manufacturing. In addition, solesource contract awards under the program are prohibited. In other words, 

this program has limits that no other 

contracting program has. 

The provisions in Subtitle C would 

remove the contract award price limits 

for women-owned small businesses, create a provision allowing sole-source 

contract awards to WOSBs, direct the 

SBA to periodically conduct a study to 

identify any U.S. industry in which 

women are underrepresented, and every 

five years report the study results to 

Congress. From these improvements, 

more contracting opportunities will 

emerge for women-owned businesses in 

the Federal marketplace. 


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S5390 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 25, 2012 

Subtitle D of the Title V of the SUCCESS originated with our colleagues in 

the House of Representatives as H.R. 

3851, the Small Business Champion Act. 

The Small Business Act established an 

Office of Small and Disadvantaged 

Business, OSDBU, within all major 

Federal Executive Agencies. The 

OSDBU is the primary advocate within 

each Agency responsible for promoting 

the maximum use of all small business 

programs within the Federal contracting process. The OSDBU is tasked 

with ensuring that each Federal agency and their large prime vendors comply with federal laws, regulations, and 

policies to include small businesses as 

sources for goods and services, both as 

prime contractors and subcontractors. 

Approximately 35 Federal Agencies 

have fully functioning OSDBU offices. 

In an effort to assist agencies with 

meeting contracting goals, Subtitle D 

makes three major modifications to 

OSDBU offices. First, it elevates the 

OSDBU Director at each agency to the 

Senior Executive Service, SES, rank. 

Second, it prohibits combining the duties of the OSDBU Director with unrelated duties. Finally, it requires that 

agencies consult with the OSDBU office on decisions to insource work performed by small businesses. I would 

note that the House of Representatives 

Committee on Small Business approved 

H.R. 3851 by voice vote on March 7, 

2012. 

The final title of the SUCCESS Act is 

focused on improving Federal Government transparency, accountability, 

and effectiveness. A key component of 

this title is a result of the work of my 

colleague Senator HAGAN from North 

Carolina. In particular, Subtitle A of 

Title VI is based upon Senator HAGAN’s 

legislation, S. 3194, the Small Business 

Common Application Act of 2012. 

Whether it is applying for a grant, 

seeking technical assistance, or bidding on a contract, small businesses 

face a dizzying array of paperwork 

when interacting with the Federal government. As a result, many small businesses avoid Federal programs altogether, missing out on potentially lucrative business opportunities. Senator 

HAGAN’s bill aims to streamline assistance for small businesses facing layers 

of paperwork when they apply for a 

grant, seek technical assistance or bid 

on a contract from the Federal government. 

Furthermore, according to a 2010 

study from the SBA Office of Advocacy, it costs small businesses with 20 

employees or less more than $10,500 per 

employee to comply with Federal regulations. When compared to their larger 

counterparts, it costs small firms over 

$2,800—or approximately 36 percent 

more—for each employee. 

Subtitle A builds off provisions in S. 

3194 by establishing an Executive Committee of 12 Federal agency representatives, headed by the SBA Administrator, to review the feasibility of establishing a Small Business Common 

Application. This Executive Committee would then provide recommendations to the Executive Branch 

and Congress within 270 days on establishing a common application and web 

portal for small businesses. 

The small business ‘‘common app’’ 

would function much like the one that 

students complete to apply to multiple 

colleges and universities simultaneously. It would ensure that small 

businesses across the country can concentrate on growing and creating 

jobs—not wasting time, filling out 

mountains of repetitive paperwork. 

Lastly, I recognize that it is important to provide sufficient oversight of 

the programs and assistance authorized 

in this bill. Subtitle B of Title VI 

would authorize a GAO review of the 

bill—including whether programs receive necessary funding, have been successfully implemented, and are promoting job creation among small businesses. This report would go to the 

House and Senate Small Business Committees not later than 2 years after the 

date of enactment. 

In closing, I would like to reiterate 

that the SUCCESS Act is a combination of numerous bipartisan bills that 

have been introduced this Congress. So 

these proposals are neither new nor untested—they are ready for prime time. 

On July 12, 2012 the Senate voted on 

the SUCCESS Act as part of Senate 

Amendment 2521 to S. 2237, the Small 

Business Jobs and Tax Relief Act of 

2012. Although the amendment came up 

short of the 60 votes needed to end debate, Senate Amendment 2521 did receive a strong 57 bipartisan votes. My 

Republican colleagues Senators SNOWE, 

COLLINS, VITTER, SCOTT BROWN, and 

HELLER all voted in support of the 

amendment. I thank them for joining 

with us to try to move this legislation 

forward in the Senate. It is my understanding that some of my Republican 

colleagues may have voted for the 

amendment if it did not contain the 

underlying provisions from S. 2237. 

Procedurally, it was necessary to include these provisions to ensure a vote 

on the SUCCESS Act. However, recognizing these concerns, our bill that is 

being introduced today only includes 

Subtitle B of Senate Amendment 2521— 

the bipartisan SUCCESS Act provisions. I hope that additional colleagues 

from both sides of the aisle will now 

support the SUCCESS Act, especially 

as we are only a few votes short of 

being able to move it forward here in 

the Senate. 

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed 

in the RECORD. 

There being no objection, the text of 

the bill was ordered to be printed in 

the RECORD, as follows: 

S. 3442 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in 

Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Success Ultimately Comes from Capital, Contracting, 

Education, Strategic Partnerships, and 

Smart Regulations Act of 2012’’ or the ‘‘SUCCESS Act of 2012’’. 

SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

TITLE I—SMALL BUSINESS TAX 

EXTENDERS 

Sec. 101. References. 

Sec. 102. Extension of temporary exclusion 

of 100 percent of gain on certain 

small business stock. 

Sec. 103. Extension of increased amount allowed as a deduction for startup expenditures. 

Sec. 104. Extension of reduction in recognition period for built-in gains 

tax. 

Sec. 105. Extension of 5-year carryback of 

general business credits of eligible small businesses. 

Sec. 106. Extension of increased expensing 

limitations and treatment of 

certain real property as section 

179 property. 

TITLE II—ACCESS TO CAPITAL 

Subtitle A—Expanding Access to Capital for 

Entrepreneurial Leaders 

Sec. 211. Short title. 

Sec. 212. Program authorization. 

Sec. 213. Family of funds. 

Sec. 214. Adjustment for inflation. 

Sec. 215. Public availability of information. 

Sec. 216. Authorized uses of licensing fees. 

Sec. 217. Sense of Congress. 

Subtitle B—Low-Interest Refinancing 

Sec. 221. Low-interest refinancing under the 

local development business loan 

program. 

Subtitle C—SBA Lender Activity Index 

Sec. 231. SBA lender activity index. 

TITLE III—ACCESS TO GLOBAL MARKETS 

Sec. 301. Short title. 

Sec. 302. Report on improvements to Export.gov as a single window for 

export information. 

Sec. 303. Report on developing a single window for information about export control compliance. 

Sec. 304. Promotion of exporting. 

Sec. 305. Export control education. 

Sec. 306. Small Business Inter-Agency Task 

Force on Export Financing. 

Sec. 307. Promotion of exports by rural 

small businesses. 

Sec. 308. Registry of export management 

and export trading companies. 

Sec. 309. Reverse trade missions. 

Sec. 310. State Trade and Export Promotion 

Grant Program. 

Sec. 311. Promotion of interagency details. 

Sec. 312. Annual export strategy. 

TITLE IV—ACCESS TO MENTORING, EDUCATION, AND STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS 

Subtitle A—Measuring the Effectiveness of 

Resource Partners 

Sec. 411. Expanding entrepreneurship. 

Subtitle B—Women’s Small Business 

Ownership 

Sec. 421. Short title. 

Sec. 422. Definition. 

Sec. 423. Office of Women’s Business Ownership. 

Sec. 424. Women’s Business Center Program. 

Sec. 425. Study and report on economic 

issues facing women’s business 

centers. 

Sec. 426. Study and report on oversight of 

women’s business centers. 

Subtitle C—Strengthening America’s Small 

Business Development Centers 

Sec. 431. Institutions of higher education. 


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July 25, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5391 

Sec. 432. Updating funding levels for small 

business development centers. 

Sec. 433. Assistance to out-of-state small 

businesses. 

Sec. 434. Termination of small business development center defense economic transition assistance. 

Sec. 435. National Small Business Development Center Advisory Board. 

Sec. 436. Repeal of Paul D. Coverdell drugfree workplace program. 

Subtitle D—Terminating the National 

Veterans Business Development Corporation 

Sec. 441. National Veterans Business Development Corporation. 

TITLE V—ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT 

CONTRACTING 

Subtitle A—Bonds 

Sec. 511. Removal of sunset dates for certain 

provisions of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958. 

Subtitle B—Small Business Contracting 

Fraud Prevention 

Sec. 521. Short title. 

Sec. 522. Definitions. 

Sec. 523. Fraud deterrence at the Small 

Business Administration. 

Sec. 524. Veterans integrity in contracting. 

Sec. 525. Section 8(a) program improvements. 

Sec. 526. HUBZone improvements. 

Sec. 527. Annual report on suspension, debarment, and prosecution. 

Subtitle C—Fairness in Women-Owned Small 

Business Contracting 

Sec. 531. Short title. 

Sec. 532. Procurement program for womenowned small business concerns. 

Sec. 533. Study and report on representation 

of women. 

Subtitle D—Small Business Champion 

Sec. 541. Short title. 

Sec. 542. Offices of Small and Disadvantaged 

Business Utilization. 

Sec. 543. Small Business Procurement Advisory Council. 

TITLE VI—TRANSPARENCY, 

ACCOUNTABILITY, AND EFFECTIVENESS 

Subtitle A—Small Business Common 

Application 

Sec. 611. Definitions. 

Sec. 612. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 613. Executive Committee On a Small 

Business Common Application. 

Sec. 614. Authorization of appropriations. 

Subtitle B—Government Accountability 

Office Review 

Sec. 621. Government Accountability Office 

review. 

TITLE I—SMALL BUSINESS TAX 

EXTENDERS 

SEC. 101. REFERENCES. 

Except as otherwise expressly provided, 

whenever in this title an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment 

to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, 

the reference shall be considered to be made 

to a section or other provision of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

SEC. 102. EXTENSION OF TEMPORARY EXCLUSION OF 100 PERCENT OF GAIN ON 

CERTAIN SMALL BUSINESS STOCK. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (4) of section 

1202(a) is amended— 

(1) by striking ‘‘January 1, 2012’’ and inserting ‘‘January 1, 2014’’, and 

(2) by striking ‘‘AND 2011’’ and inserting ‘‘, 

2011, 2012, AND 2013’’ in the heading thereof. 

(b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

(1) SPECIAL RULE FOR 2009 AND CERTAIN PERIOD IN 2010.—Paragraph (3) of section 1202(a) 

is amended by adding at the end the following new flush sentence: 

‘‘In the case of any stock which would be described in the preceding sentence (but for 

this sentence), the acquisition date for purposes of this subsection shall be the first day 

on which such stock was held by the taxpayer determined after the application of 

section 1223.’’. 

(2) 100 PERCENT EXCLUSION.—Paragraph (4) 

of section 1202(a) is amended by adding at 

the end the following new flush sentence: 

‘‘In the case of any stock which would be described in the preceding sentence (but for 

this sentence), the acquisition date for purposes of this subsection shall be the first day 

on which such stock was held by the taxpayer determined after the application of 

section 1223.’’. 

(c) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 

subsection (a) shall apply to stock acquired 

after December 31, 2011. 

(2) SUBSECTION (b)(1).—The amendment 

made by subsection (b)(1) shall take effect as 

if included in section 1241(a) of division B of 

the American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act of 2009. 

(3) SUBSECTION (b)(2).—The amendment 

made by subsection (b)(2) shall take effect as 

if included in section 2011(a) of the Creating 

Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. 

SEC. 103. EXTENSION OF INCREASED AMOUNT ALLOWED AS A DEDUCTION FOR 

START-UP EXPENDITURES. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (3) of section 

195(b) is amended— 

(1) by inserting ‘‘, 2012, or 2013’’ after 

‘‘2010’’, and 

(2) by inserting ‘‘2012, AND 2013’’ in the heading thereof. 

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments 

made by this section shall apply to amounts 

paid or incurred in taxable years beginning 

after December 31, 2011. 

SEC. 104. EXTENSION OF REDUCTION IN RECOGNITION PERIOD FOR BUILT-IN 

GAINS TAX. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (7) of section 

1374(d) is amended— 

(1) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 

subparagraph (D), and 

(2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the 

following new subparagraph: 

‘‘(C) SPECIAL RULE FOR 2012 AND 2013.—For 

dispositions of property in taxable years beginning in 2012 or 2013, subparagraphs (A) and 

(D) shall be applied by substituting ‘5-year’ 

for ‘10-year’.’’. 

(b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Subparagraph 

(B) of section 1374(d)(2) is amended by inserting ‘‘described in subparagraph (A)’’ after ‘‘, 

for any taxable year’’. 

(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments 

made by subsection (a) shall apply to taxable 

years beginning after December 31, 2011. 

SEC. 105. EXTENSION OF 5-YEAR CARRYBACK OF 

GENERAL BUSINESS CREDITS OF ELIGIBLE SMALL BUSINESSES. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (A) of section 39(a)(4) is amended by inserting ‘‘or in 

taxable years beginning in 2012, or 2013’’ 

after ‘‘2010’’. 

(b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 

38(c)(5)(B) is amended— 

(1) by striking ‘‘the sum of’’, and 

(2) by inserting ‘‘for any taxable year to 

which subparagraph (A) applies’’ after ‘‘or 

(4)’’. 

(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—The amendment made by 

subsection (a) shall apply to credits determined in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2011. 

(2) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—The amendments made by subsection (b) shall take effect as if included in section 2013(a) of the 

Creating Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. 

SEC. 106. EXTENSION OF INCREASED EXPENSING 

LIMITATIONS AND TREATMENT OF 

CERTAIN REAL PROPERTY AS SECTION 179 PROPERTY. 

(a) IN GENERAL.— 

(1) DOLLAR LIMITATION.—Section 179(b)(1) is 

amended— 

(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subparagraph (C), 

(B) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as 

subparagraph (E), 

(C) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the 

following new subparagraph: 

‘‘(D) $500,000 in the case of taxable years 

beginning in 2013, and’’, and 

(D) in subparagraph (E), as so redesignated, 

by striking ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2013’’. 

(2) REDUCTION IN LIMITATION.—Section 

179(b)(2) is amended— 

(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subparagraph (C), 

(B) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as 

subparagraph (E), 

(C) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the 

following new subparagraph: 

‘‘(D) $2,000,000 in the case of taxable years 

beginning in 2013, and’’, and 

(D) in subparagraph (E), as so redesignated, 

by striking ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2013’’. 

(b) COMPUTER SOFTWARE.—Section 

179(d)(1)(A)(ii) is amended by striking ‘‘2013’’ 

and inserting ‘‘2014’’. 

(c) ELECTION.—Section 179(c)(2) is amended 

by striking ‘‘2013’’ and inserting ‘‘2014’’. 

(d) SPECIAL RULES FOR TREATMENT OF

QUALIFIED REAL PROPERTY.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 179(f)(1) is amended by striking ‘‘2010 or 2011’’ and inserting 

‘‘2010, 2011, or 2013’’. 

(2) CARRYOVER LIMITATION.—Section 

179(f)(4) is amended by striking subparagraphs (A) through (C) and inserting the following: 

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding subsection (b)(3)(B)— 

‘‘(i) no amount attributable to qualified 

real property placed in service in any taxable year beginning in 2010 or 2011 may be 

carried over to any taxable year beginning 

after 2011, and 

‘‘(ii) no amount attributable to qualified 

real property placed in service in any taxable year beginning in 2013 may be carried 

over to any taxable year beginning after 

2013. 

‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF DISALLOWED

AMOUNTS.—Except as provided in subparagraph (C)— 

‘‘(i) TAXABLE YEARS BEGINNING AFTER 2011.— 

To the extent that any amount is not allowed to be carried over to a taxable year beginning after 2011 by reason of subparagraph 

(A)(i), this title shall be applied as if no election under this section had been made with 

respect to such amount. 

‘‘(ii) TAXABLE YEARS BEGINNING AFTER

2013.—To the extent that any amount is not 

allowed to be carried over to a taxable year 

beginning after 2013 by reason of subparagraph (A)(ii), this title shall be applied as if 

no election under this section had been made 

with respect to such amount. 

‘‘(C) AMOUNTS CARRIED OVER FROM CERTAIN

TAXABLE YEARS.— 

‘‘(i) AMOUNTS CARRIED OVER FROM 2010.—If 

subparagraph (B)(i) applies to any amount 

(or portion of an amount) which is carried 

over from a taxable year other than the taxpayer’s last taxable year beginning in 2011, 

such amount (or portion of an amount) shall 

be treated for purposes of this title as attributable to property placed in service on the 

first day of the taxpayer’s last taxable year 

beginning in 2011. 

‘‘(ii) AMOUNTS CARRIED OVER FROM 2013.—If 

subparagraph (B)(ii) applies to any amount 

(or portion of an amount) which is carried 

over from a taxable year other than the taxpayer’s last taxable year beginning in 2013, 


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S5392 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 25, 2012 

such amount (or portion of an amount) shall 

be treated for purposes of this title as attributable to property placed in service on the 

first day of the taxpayer’s last taxable year 

beginning in 2013.’’. 

(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments 

made by this section shall apply to taxable 

years beginning after December 31, 2012. 

TITLE II—ACCESS TO CAPITAL 

Subtitle A—Expanding Access to Capital for 

Entrepreneurial Leaders 

SEC. 211. SHORT TITLE. 

This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘EXCEL 

Act of 2012’’. 

SEC. 212. PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION. 

Section 303(b) of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 683(b)) is 

amended, in the matter preceding paragraph 

(1), in the first sentence, by inserting after 

‘‘issued by such companies’’ the following: ‘‘, 

in a total amount that does not exceed 

$4,000,000,000 each fiscal year (adjusted annually to reflect increases in the Consumer 

Price Index established by the Bureau of 

Labor Statistics of the Department of 

Labor)’’. 

SEC. 213. FAMILY OF FUNDS. 

Section 303(b)(2)(B) of the Small Business 

Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 683(b)(2)(B)) 

is amended by striking ‘‘$225,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$350,000,000’’. 

SEC. 214. ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION. 

Section 303(b)(2) of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 683(b)(2)) is 

amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(E) ADJUSTMENTS.— 

‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The dollar amounts in 

subparagraph (A)(ii), subparagraph (B), and 

subparagraph (C)(ii)(I) shall be adjusted annually to reflect increases in the Consumer 

Price Index established by the Bureau of 

Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor 

(in this subparagraph referred to as the 

‘CPI’). 

‘‘(ii) APPLICABILITY.—The adjustments required by clause (i)— 

‘‘(I) with respect to dollar amounts in subparagraphs (A)(ii) and (C)(ii)(I) shall initially 

reflect increases in the CPI during the period 

beginning on the effective date of section 505 

of the American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–5; 123 Stat. 156) 

through the date of enactment of this subparagraph and annually thereafter; 

‘‘(II) with respect to dollar amounts in subparagraph (B) shall reflect increases in the 

CPI annually on and after the date of enactment of this subparagraph.’’. 

SEC. 215. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION. 

Section 303 of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 683) is amended by 

adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(l) ACCESS TO FUND INFORMATION.—Annually, the Administrator shall make public on 

its website the following information with 

respect to each small business investment 

company: 

‘‘(1) The amount of capital deployed since 

fund inception. 

‘‘(2) The amount of leverage drawn since 

fund inception. 

‘‘(3) The number of investments since fund 

inception. 

‘‘(4) The number of businesses receiving 

capital since fund inception. 

‘‘(5) Industry sectors receiving investment 

since fund inception. 

‘‘(6) The amount of leverage principal repaid by the small business investment company since fund inception. 

‘‘(7) A basic description of investment 

strategy.’’. 

SEC. 216. AUTHORIZED USES OF LICENSING FEES. 

Section 301 of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 681) is amended— 

(1) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (d); and 

(2) in subsection (d)(2)(B), as so redesignated, by inserting before the period at the 

end the following: ‘‘and other small business 

investment company program needs’’. 

SEC. 217. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

It is the sense of Congress that— 

(1) small business investment companies 

would benefit from partnerships with community banks and other lenders, and should 

work with community banks and other lenders, to ensure that if community banks and 

other lenders deny an application by a small 

business concern for a loan, the community 

banks or other lenders will refer the small 

business concern to small business investment companies; and 

(2) the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (in this Act referred to 

as the ‘‘Administrator’’) should— 

(A) increase outreach to community banks 

and other lenders to encourage community 

banks and other lenders to invest in small 

business investment companies; 

(B) use the Internet to make publicly 

available in a timely manner which small 

business investment companies are actively 

soliciting investments and making investments in small business concerns; 

(C) partner with governors, mayors, 

States, and municipalities to increase outreach by small business investment companies to underserved and rural areas; and 

(D) continue to make changes to the 

webpage for the small business investment 

company program, to make the webpage— 

(i) a more prominent part of the website of 

the Administration; and 

(ii) more user-friendly. 

Subtitle B—Low-Interest Refinancing 

SEC. 221. LOW-INTEREST REFINANCING UNDER 

THE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT BUSINESS LOAN PROGRAM. 

Section 1122(b) of the Small Business Jobs 

Act of 2010 (15 U.S.C. 696 note) is amended by 

striking ‘‘2 years’’ and inserting ‘‘on the date 

that is 3 years and 6 months’’. 

Subtitle C—SBA Lender Activity Index 

SEC. 231. SBA LENDER ACTIVITY INDEX. 

Section 4 of the Small Business Act (15 

U.S.C. 633) is amended by adding at the end 

the following: 

‘‘(g) SBA LENDER ACTIVITY INDEX.— 

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

term ‘covered loan’ means a loan made or debenture issued under this Act or the Small 

Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 661 

et seq.) by a private individual or entity. 

‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 6 

months after the date of enactment of this 

subsection, the Administrator shall make 

publicly available on the website of the Administration a user-friendly database of information relating to lenders making covered loans (to be known as the ‘Lender Activity Index’). 

‘‘(3) DATA INCLUDED.— 

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The database made 

available under paragraph (2) shall include, 

for each lender making a covered loan— 

‘‘(i) the name of the lender; 

‘‘(ii) the number of covered loans made by 

the lender; 

‘‘(iii) the total dollar amount of covered 

loans made by the lender; 

‘‘(iv) a list of each ZIP code in which a recipient of a covered loan made by the lender 

is located; 

‘‘(v) a list of the industries of the recipients to which the lender made a covered 

loan; 

‘‘(vi) whether the covered loan is for an existing business or a new business; 

‘‘(vii) the number and total dollar amount 

of covered loans made by the lender to— 

‘‘(I) small business concerns owned and 

controlled by women; 

‘‘(II) socially and economically disadvantaged small business concerns (as defined in 

section 8(a)(4)(A)); and 

‘‘(III) small business concerns owned and 

controlled by veterans; and 

‘‘(viii) whether the covered loan was made 

under section 7(a) or under the program to 

provide financing to small business concerns 

through guarantees of loans under title V of 

the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 

(15 U.S.C. 695 et seq.). 

‘‘(B) INCORPORATION OF DATA.—The Administrator shall— 

‘‘(i) include in the database made available 

under paragraph (2) information relating to 

covered loans made during fiscal years 2009, 

2010, 2011, and 2012; and 

‘‘(ii) incorporate information relating to 

covered loans on an ongoing basis. 

‘‘(C) PERIOD OF DATA AVAILABILITY.—The 

Administrator shall retain information relating to a covered loan in the database 

made available under paragraph (2) until not 

earlier than the end of the third fiscal year 

beginning after the fiscal year during which 

the covered loan was made.’’. 

TITLE III—ACCESS TO GLOBAL MARKETS 

SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 

This title may be cited as the ‘‘Small Business Export Growth Act of 2012’’. 

SEC. 302. REPORT ON IMPROVEMENTS TO EXPORT.GOV AS A SINGLE WINDOW 

FOR EXPORT INFORMATION. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

Director of International Trade of the Small 

Business Administration shall, after consultation with the entities specified in subsection (b), submit to the Committee on 

Small Business and Entrepreneurship and 

the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 

Representatives a report that includes the 

recommendations of the Director for improving the experience provided by the website 

Export.gov (or a successor website) as— 

(1) a comprehensive resource for information about exporting articles from the 

United States; and 

(2) a single website for exporters to submit 

all information required by the Federal Government with respect to the exportation of 

articles from the United States. 

(b) ENTITIES SPECIFIED.—The entities specified in this subsection are— 

(1) small business concerns (as defined in 

section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

632)) that are exporters; and 

(2) the President’s Export Council, State 

agencies with responsibility for export promotion or export financing, district export 

councils, and trade associations. 

SEC. 303. REPORT ON DEVELOPING A SINGLE 

WINDOW FOR INFORMATION ABOUT 

EXPORT CONTROL COMPLIANCE. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 

Business Administration shall submit to the 

appropriate congressional committees a report assessing the benefits of developing a 

website to serve as— 

(1) a comprehensive resource for complying 

with and information about the export control laws and regulations of the United 

States; and 

(2) a single website for exporters to submit 

all information required by the Federal Government with respect to export controls. 

(b) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

‘‘appropriate congressional committees’’ 

means— 


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July 25, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5393 

(1) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

and Transportation, the Committee on 

Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and 

the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate; and 

(2) the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 

and the Committee on Small Business of the 

House of Representatives. 

SEC. 304. PROMOTION OF EXPORTING. 

Section 22(c)(11) of the Small Business Act 

(15 U.S.C. 649(c)(11)) is amended by inserting 

‘‘, which shall include conducting not fewer 

than 1 outreach event each fiscal year in 

each State that promotes exporting as a 

business development opportunity for small 

business concerns’’ before the semicolon. 

SEC. 305. EXPORT CONTROL EDUCATION. 

Section 22 of the Small Business Act (15 

U.S.C. 649) is amended— 

(1) by redesignating subsection (l) as subsection (n); and 

(2) by inserting after subsection (k) the following: 

‘‘(l) EXPORT CONTROL EDUCATION.—The Associate Administrator shall ensure that all 

programs of the Administration to support 

exporting by small business concerns place a 

priority on educating small business concerns about Federal export control regulations.’’. 

SEC. 306. SMALL BUSINESS INTER-AGENCY TASK 

FORCE ON EXPORT FINANCING. 

The Administrator, in consultation with 

the Secretary of Agriculture, the President 

of the Export-Import Bank of the United 

States, and the President of the Overseas 

Private Investment Corporation shall jointly 

establish a Small Business Inter-Agency 

Task Force on Export Financing to— 

(1) review and improve Federal export finance programs for small business concerns; 

and 

(2) coordinate the activities of the Federal 

Government to assist small business concerns seeking to export. 

SEC. 307. PROMOTION OF EXPORTS BY RURAL 

SMALL BUSINESSES. 

(a) SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATIONUNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.— 

(1) EXPORT FINANCING PROGRAMS.—In coordination with the Secretary of Agriculture, the Administrator shall develop a 

program to cross-train export finance specialists and personnel from the Office of 

International Trade of the Administration 

on the export financing programs of the Department of Agriculture and the Foreign Agricultural Service. 

(2) EXPORT ASSISTANCE AND BUSINESS COUNSELING PROGRAMS.—In coordination with the 

Secretary of Agriculture and the Foreign Agricultural Service, the Administrator shall 

develop a program to cross-train export finance specialists, personnel from the Office 

of International Trade of the Administration, Small Business Development Centers, 

women’s business centers, the Service Corps 

of Retired Executives authorized by section 

8(b)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

637(b)(1)), Export Assistance Centers, and 

other resource partners of the Administration on the export assistance and business 

counseling programs of the Department of 

Agriculture. 

(b) REPORT ON LENDERS.—Section 

7(a)(16)(F) of the Small Business Act (15 

U.S.C. 636(a)(16)(F)) is amended— 

(1) in clause (i)— 

(A) by redesignating subclauses (I) through 

(III) as items (aa) through (cc), respectively, 

and adjusting the margins accordingly; 

(B) by striking ‘‘list, have made’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘list— 

‘‘(I) have made’’; 

(C) in item (cc), as so redesignated, by 

striking the period at the end and inserting 

‘‘; and’’; and 

(D) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(II) were located in a rural area, as that 

term is defined in section 1393(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or a nonmetropolitan statistical area and have made— 

‘‘(aa) loans guaranteed by the Administration; or 

‘‘(bb) loans through the programs offered 

by the United States Department of Agriculture or the Foreign Agricultural Service.’’; and 

(2) in clause (ii)(II), by inserting ‘‘and by 

resource partners of the Administration’’ 

after ‘‘the Administration’’. 

(c) COOPERATION WITH SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS.—Section 21(c)(3)(M) of 

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

648(c)(3)(M)) is amended by inserting after 

‘‘the Department of Commerce,’’ the following: ‘‘the Department of Agriculture,’’. 

(d) LIST OF RURAL EXPORT ASSISTANCE RESOURCES.—Section 22(c)(7) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 649(c)(7)) is amended— 

(1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

at the end; 

(2) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as 

subparagraph (E); and 

(3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the 

following: 

‘‘(D) publishing an annual list of relevant 

resources and programs of the district and 

regional offices of the Administration, other 

Federal agencies, the small business development center network, Export Assistance 

Centers, the network of women’s business 

centers, chapters of the Service Corps of Retired Executives, State and local export promotion programs, and partners in the private sector, that— 

‘‘(i) are administered or offered by entities 

located in rural or nonmetropolitan statistical areas; and 

‘‘(ii) offer export assistance or business 

counseling services to rural small businesses 

concerns; and’’. 

SEC. 308. REGISTRY OF EXPORT MANAGEMENT 

AND EXPORT TRADING COMPANIES. 

(a) COORDINATION WITH EXPORT MANAGEMENT COMPANIES AND EXPORT TRADING COMPANIES.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

shall establish a program to register export 

management companies, as that term is defined by the Department of Commerce, and 

export trading companies, as that term is defined in section 103 of the Export Trading 

Company Act of 1982 (15 U.S.C. 4002). 

(b) REQUIREMENTS.—The program established under subsection (a) shall— 

(1) be similar to the program of the Administration for registering franchise companies, as in effect on the date of enactment of 

this Act; and 

(2) require that a list of the export management companies and export trading companies that register under the program, categorized by the type of product exported by 

the company, be made available on the 

website of the Administration. 

SEC. 309. REVERSE TRADE MISSIONS. 

Section 22(c) of the Small Business Act (15 

U.S.C. 649(c)) is amended— 

(1) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

the end; 

(2) in paragraph (13), by striking the period 

at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

(3) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(14) in coordination with other relevant 

Federal agencies, encourage the participation of employees and resource partners of 

the Administration in reverse trade missions 

hosted or sponsored by the Federal Government.’’. 

SEC. 310. STATE TRADE AND EXPORT PROMOTION GRANT PROGRAM. 

Section 1207(a)(5) of the Small Business 

Jobs Act of 2010 (15 U.S.C. 649b note) is 

amended by inserting after ‘‘Guam,’’ the following: ‘‘the Commonwealth of the Northern 

Mariana Islands,’’. 

SEC. 311. PROMOTION OF INTERAGENCY DETAILS. 

It is the sense of Congress that the Administrator should periodically detail staff of 

the Administration to other Federal agencies that are members of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee, to facilitate the cross training of the staff of the Administration on the export assistance programs of such other agencies. 

SEC. 312. ANNUAL EXPORT STRATEGY. 

Section 22 of the Small Business Act (15 

U.S.C. 649), as amended by section 305 of this 

Act, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(m) SMALL BUSINESS TRADE STRATEGY.— 

‘‘(1) DEVELOPMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS

TRADE STRATEGY.—The Associate Administrator shall develop and maintain a small 

business trade strategy that is included in 

the report on the governmentwide strategic 

plan for Federal trade promotion required to 

be submitted to Congress by the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee under section 2312(f)(1) of the Export Enhancement 

Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4727(f)(1)) that includes, 

at a minimum— 

‘‘(A) strategies to increase export opportunities for small business concerns, including 

a specific strategy to increase opportunities 

for small business concerns that are new to 

exporting; 

‘‘(B) recommendations to increase the 

competitiveness in the global economy of 

small business concerns in the United States 

that are part of industries in which small 

business concerns account for a high proportion of participating businesses; 

‘‘(C) recommendations to protect small 

business concerns from unfair trade practices, including intellectual property violations; 

‘‘(D) recommendations for strategies to 

promote and facilitate opportunities in the 

foreign markets that are most accessible for 

small business concerns that are new to exporting; and 

‘‘(E) strategies to expand the representation of small business concerns in the formation and implementation of United States 

trade policy. 

‘‘(2) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—At the 

beginning of each fiscal year, the Associate 

Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on 

Small Business of the House of Representatives a report on the small business trade 

strategy required under paragraph (1), which 

shall contain, at a minimum— 

‘‘(A) a description of each strategy and recommendation described in paragraph (1); 

‘‘(B) specific policies and objectives, together with timelines for the implementation of such policies and objectives; and 

‘‘(C) a description of the progress of the 

Administration in implementing the strategies and recommendations contained in the 

report submitted for the preceding fiscal 

year.’’. 

TITLE IV—ACCESS TO MENTORING, EDUCATION, AND STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS 

Subtitle A—Measuring the Effectiveness of 

Resource Partners 

SEC. 411. EXPANDING ENTREPRENEURSHIP. 

Section 4 of the Small Business Act (15 

U.S.C. 633), as amended by this Act, is 

amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(h) MANAGEMENT AND DIRECTION.— 


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‘‘(1) PLAN FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT AND JOB CREATION STRATEGY.— 

‘‘(A) PLAN REQUIRED.—The Administrator, 

in consultation with a representative from 

each entrepreneurial development program 

of the Administration, shall develop and submit to Congress a plan for using the entrepreneurial development programs of the Administration to create jobs during fiscal 

years 2013 and 2014. 

‘‘(B) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—The plan required 

under subparagraph (A) shall— 

‘‘(i) include the plan of the Administrator 

for using existing programs, including small 

business development centers, women’s business centers, the Service Corps of Retired 

Executives authorized by section 8(b)(1), Veterans Business Outreach Centers, and programs of the Office of Native American Affairs, to create jobs; 

‘‘(ii) identify a strategy for each region of 

the Administration to use programs of the 

Administration to create or retain jobs in 

the region; and 

‘‘(iii) establish performance measures and 

criteria, including goals for job creation, job 

retention, and job retraining, to evaluate the 

success of the plan. 

‘‘(2) DATA COLLECTION PROCESS.— 

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

shall, after notice and opportunity for comment, promulgate a rule to develop and implement a consistent data collection process 

for the entrepreneurial development programs. 

‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The data collection process developed under subparagraph (A) shall 

collect data relating to job creation and performance and any other data determined appropriate by the Administrator. 

‘‘(3) COORDINATION AND ALIGNMENT OF SBA

ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS.— 

The Administrator, in consultation with 

other Federal departments and agencies as 

the Administrator determines is appropriate, 

shall submit an annual report to Congress 

describing opportunities to foster coordination of, limit duplication among, and improve program delivery for Federal entrepreneurial development programs. 

‘‘(4) DATABASE OF ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT SERVICE PROVIDERS.— 

‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—After providing a 

period of 60 days for public comment, the Administrator shall— 

‘‘(i) establish a database of providers of entrepreneurial development services; and 

‘‘(ii) make the database available through 

the website of the Administration. 

‘‘(B) SEARCHABILITY.—The database established under subparagraph (A) shall be 

searchable by industry, geographic location, 

and service required. 

‘‘(5) COMMUNITY SPECIALIST.— 

‘‘(A) DESIGNATION.—The Administrator 

shall designate not fewer than 1 staff member in each district office of the Administration as a community specialist whose fulltime responsibility is working with local 

providers of entrepreneurial development 

services to increase coordination with Federal entrepreneurial development programs. 

‘‘(B) PERFORMANCE.—The Administrator 

shall develop benchmarks for measuring the 

performance of community specialists under 

this paragraph.’’. 

Subtitle B—Women’s Small Business 

Ownership 

SEC. 421. SHORT TITLE. 

This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Women’s Small Business Ownership Act of 2012’’. 

SEC. 422. DEFINITION. 

In this subtitle, the term ‘‘Administrator’’ 

means the Administrator of the Small Business Administration. 

SEC. 423. OFFICE OF WOMEN’S BUSINESS OWNERSHIP. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 29(g) of the Small 

Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656(g)) is amended— 

(1) in paragraph (2)— 

(A) in subparagraph (B)— 

(i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘in the areas’’ 

and all that follows through the end of subclause (I), and inserting the following: ‘‘to 

address issues concerning the management, 

operations, manufacturing, technology, finance, retail and product sales, international 

trade, Government contracting, and other 

disciplines required for— 

‘‘(I) starting, operating, and increasing the 

business of a small business concern;’’; and 

(ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘Women’s 

Business Center program’’ each place that 

term appears and inserting ‘‘women’s business center program’’; and 

(B) in subparagraph (C), by inserting before 

the period at the end the following: ‘‘, the 

National Women’s Business Council, and any 

association of women’s business centers’’; 

and 

(2) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(3) TRAINING.—The Administrator may 

provide annual programmatic and financial 

examination training for women’s business 

ownership representatives and district office 

technical representatives of the Administration to enable representatives to carry out 

their responsibilities. 

‘‘(4) PROGRAM AND TRANSPARENCY IMPROVEMENTS.—The Administrator shall maximize 

the transparency of the women’s business 

center financial assistance proposal process 

and the programmatic and financial examination process by— 

‘‘(A) providing public notice of any announcement for financial assistance under 

subsection (b) or a grant under subsection (l) 

not later than the end of the first quarter of 

each fiscal year; 

‘‘(B) in the announcement described in subparagraph (A), outlining award and program 

evaluation criteria and describing the 

weighting of the criteria for financial assistance under subsection (b) and grants under 

subsection (l); 

‘‘(C) minimizing paperwork and reporting 

requirements for applicants for and recipients of financial assistance under this section; 

‘‘(D) standardizing the programmatic and 

financial examination process; and 

‘‘(E) providing to each women’s business 

center, not later than 60 days after the completion of a site visit to the women’s business center (whether conducted for an audit, 

performance review, or other reason), a copy 

of any site visit reports or evaluation reports 

prepared by district office technical representatives or officers or employees of the 

Administration.’’. 

(b) CHANGE OF TITLE.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 29 of the Small 

Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656) is amended— 

(A) in subsection (a)— 

(i) by striking paragraphs (1) and (4); 

(ii) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) 

as paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; and 

(iii) by inserting before paragraph (4), as so 

redesignated, the following: 

‘‘(2) the term ‘Director’ means the Director 

of the Office of Women’s Business Ownership 

established under subsection (g);’’; 

(B) by striking ‘‘Assistant Administrator’’ 

each place that term appears and inserting 

‘‘Director’’; and 

(C) in subsection (g)(2), in the paragraph 

heading, by striking ‘‘ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR’’ and inserting ‘‘DIRECTOR’’. 

(2) WOMEN’S BUSINESS OWNERSHIP ACT OF

1988.—Title IV of the Women’s Business Ownership Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) is 

amended— 

(A) in section 403(a)(2)(B), by striking ‘‘Assistant Administrator’’ and inserting ‘‘Director’’; 

(B) in section 405, by striking ‘‘Assistant 

Administrator’’ and inserting ‘‘Director’’; 

and 

(C) in section 406(c), by striking ‘‘Assistant 

Administrator’’ and inserting ‘‘Director’’. 

SEC. 424. WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTER PROGRAM. 

(a) WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTER FINANCIAL

ASSISTANCE.—Section 29 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656) is amended— 

(1) in subsection (a), as amended by section 

423(b) of this Act— 

(A) by inserting before paragraph (2) the 

following: 

‘‘(1) the term ‘association of women’s business centers’ means an organization— 

‘‘(A) that represents not less than 51 percent of the women’s business centers that 

participate in a program under this section; 

and 

‘‘(B) whose primary purpose is to represent 

women’s business centers;’’; 

(B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following: 

‘‘(3) the term ‘eligible entity’ means— 

‘‘(A) a private nonprofit organization; 

‘‘(B) a State, regional, or local economic 

development organization; 

‘‘(C) a development, credit, or finance corporation chartered by a State; 

‘‘(D) a junior or community college, as defined in section 312(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058(f)); or 

‘‘(E) any combination of entities listed in 

subparagraphs (A) through (D);’’; and 

(C) by adding after paragraph (5) the following: 

‘‘(6) the term ‘women’s business center’ 

means a project conducted by an eligible entity under this section.’’; 

(2) in subsection (b)— 

(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), 

and (3) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), 

and adjusting the margins accordingly; 

(B) by striking ‘‘The Administration’’ and 

all that follows through ‘‘5-year projects’’ 

and inserting the following: 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administration may 

provide financial assistance to an eligible entity to conduct a project under this section’’; 

(C) by striking ‘‘The projects shall’’ and inserting the following: 

‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—The project shall be 

designed to provide training and counseling 

that meets the needs of women, especially 

socially and economically disadvantaged 

women, and shall’’; and 

(D) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(3) AMOUNT OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may 

award financial assistance under this subsection of not less than $100,000 and not more 

than $150,000 per year. 

‘‘(B) LOWER AMOUNT.—The Administrator 

may award financial assistance under this 

subsection to a recipient in an amount that 

is less than $100,000 if the Administrator determines that the recipient is unable to 

make a non-Federal contribution of $100,000 

or more, as required under subsection (c). 

‘‘(C) EQUAL ALLOCATIONS.—If the Administration has insufficient funds to provide financial assistance of not less than $100,000 

for each recipient of financial assistance 

under this subsection in any fiscal year, the 

Administrator shall provide an equal amount 

of financial assistance to each recipient in 

the fiscal year, unless a recipient requests a 

lower amount than the allocated amount. 

‘‘(4) CONSULTATION WITH ASSOCIATIONS OF

WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTERS.—The Administrator shall consult with each association of 

women’s business centers to develop— 

‘‘(A) a training program for the staff of 

women’s business centers and the Administration; and 


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‘‘(B) recommendations to improve the policies and procedures for governing the general 

operations and administration of the women’s business center program, including 

grant program improvements under subsection (g)(4).’’; 

(3) in subsection (c)— 

(A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘the recipient organization’’ and inserting ‘‘an eligible entity’’; 

(B) in paragraph (3), in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘a recipient organization’’ 

and inserting ‘‘an eligible entity’’; 

(C) in paragraph (4)— 

(i) by striking ‘‘recipient of assistance’’ 

and inserting ‘‘eligible entity’’; 

(ii) by striking ‘‘such organization’’ and inserting ‘‘the eligible entity’’; and 

(iii) by striking ‘‘recipient’’ and inserting 

‘‘eligible entity’’; and 

(D) in paragraph (5)— 

(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘a recipient organization’’ and inserting ‘‘an eligible entity’’; and 

(ii) by striking ‘‘the recipient organization’’ each place it appears and inserting 

‘‘the eligible entity’’; and 

(E) by adding at end the following: 

‘‘(6) SEPARATION OF PROJECT AND FUNDS.— 

An eligible entity shall— 

‘‘(A) carry out a project under this section 

separately from other projects, if any, of the 

eligible entity; and 

‘‘(B) separately maintain and account for 

any financial assistance under this section.’’; 

(4) in subsection (e)— 

(A) by striking ‘‘applicant organization’’ 

and inserting ‘‘eligible entity’’; 

(B) by striking ‘‘a recipient organization’’ 

and inserting ‘‘an eligible entity’’; and 

(C) by striking ‘‘site’’; 

(5) by striking subsection (f) and inserting 

the following: 

‘‘(f) APPLICATIONS AND CRITERIA FOR INITIAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

‘‘(1) APPLICATION.—Each eligible entity desiring financial assistance under subsection 

(b) shall submit to the Administrator an application that contains— 

‘‘(A) a certification that the eligible entity— 

‘‘(i) has designated an executive director or 

program manager, who may be compensated 

using financial assistance under subsection 

(b) or other sources, to manage the center on 

a full-time basis; 

‘‘(ii) as a condition of receiving financial 

assistance under subsection (b), agrees— 

‘‘(I) to receive a site visit by the Administrator as part of the final selection process; 

‘‘(II) to undergo an annual programmatic 

and financial examination; and 

‘‘(III) to the maximum extent practicable, 

to remedy any problems identified pursuant 

to the site visit or examination under subclause (I) or (II); and 

‘‘(iii) meets the accounting and reporting 

requirements established by the Director of 

the Office of Management and Budget; 

‘‘(B) information demonstrating that the 

eligible entity has the ability and resources 

to meet the needs of the market to be served 

by the women’s business center for which financial assistance under subsection (b) is 

sought, including the ability to obtain the 

non-Federal contribution required under subsection (c); 

‘‘(C) information relating to the assistance 

to be provided by the women’s business center for which financial assistance under subsection (b) is sought in the area in which the 

women’s business center is located; 

‘‘(D) information demonstrating the experience and effectiveness of the eligible entity 

in— 

‘‘(i) conducting financial, management, 

and marketing assistance programs, as described in subsection (b)(2), which are designed to teach or upgrade the business 

skills of women who are business owners or 

potential business owners; 

‘‘(ii) providing training and services to a 

representative number of women who are socially and economically disadvantaged; and 

‘‘(iii) working with resource partners of 

the Administration and other entities, such 

as universities; and 

‘‘(E) a 5-year plan that describes the ability of the women’s business center for which 

financial assistance is sought— 

‘‘(i) to serve women who are business owners or potential business owners by conducting training and counseling activities; 

and 

‘‘(ii) to provide training and services to a 

representative number of women who are socially and economically disadvantaged. 

‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—The Administrator shall make any request for additional information from an organization applying for financial assistance under subsection (b) that was not requested in the 

original announcement in writing. 

‘‘(3) REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS

FOR INITIAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

shall— 

‘‘(i) review each application submitted 

under paragraph (1), based on the information described in such paragraph and the criteria set forth under subparagraph (B) of this 

paragraph; and 

‘‘(ii) to the extent practicable, as part of 

the final selection process, conduct a site 

visit to each women’s business center for 

which financial assistance under subsection 

(b) is sought. 

‘‘(B) SELECTION CRITERIA.— 

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

evaluate applicants for financial assistance 

under subsection (b) in accordance with selection criteria that are— 

‘‘(I) established before the date on which 

applicants are required to submit the applications; 

‘‘(II) stated in terms of relative importance; and 

‘‘(III) publicly available and stated in each 

solicitation for applications for financial assistance under subsection (b) made by the 

Administrator. 

‘‘(ii) REQUIRED CRITERIA.—The selection 

criteria for financial assistance under subsection (b) shall include— 

‘‘(I) the experience of the applicant in conducting programs or ongoing efforts designed 

to teach or enhance the business skills of 

women who are business owners or potential 

business owners; 

‘‘(II) the ability of the applicant to begin a 

project within a minimum amount of time; 

‘‘(III) the ability of the applicant to provide training and services to a representative 

number of women who are socially and economically disadvantaged; and 

‘‘(IV) the location for the women’s business 

center proposed by the applicant, including 

whether the applicant is located in a State 

in which there is not a women’s business 

center receiving funding from the Administration. 

‘‘(C) PROXIMITY.—If the principal place of 

business of an applicant for financial assistance under subsection (b) is located less than 

50 miles from the principal place of business 

of a women’s business center that received 

funds under this section on or before the 

date of the application, the applicant shall 

not be eligible for the financial assistance, 

unless the applicant submits a detailed written justification of the need for an additional 

center in the area in which the applicant is 

located. 

‘‘(D) RECORD RETENTION.—The Administrator shall maintain a copy of each application submitted under this subsection for not 

less than 7 years.’’; and 

(6) in subsection (m)— 

(A) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting 

the following: 

‘‘(3) APPLICATION AND APPROVAL FOR RENEWAL GRANTS.— 

‘‘(A) SOLICITATION OF APPLICATIONS.—The 

Administrator shall solicit applications and 

award grants under this subsection for the 

first fiscal year beginning after the date of 

enactment of the Women’s Small Business 

Ownership Act of 2012, and every third fiscal 

year thereafter. 

‘‘(B) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—Each eligible entity desiring a grant under this subsection shall submit to the Administrator an 

application that contains— 

‘‘(i) a certification that the applicant— 

‘‘(I) is an eligible entity; 

‘‘(II) has designated a full-time executive 

director or program manager to manage the 

women’s business center operated by the applicant; and 

‘‘(III) as a condition of receiving a grant 

under this subsection, agrees— 

‘‘(aa) to receive a site visit as part of the 

final selection process; 

‘‘(bb) to submit, for the 2 full fiscal years 

before the date on which the application is 

submitted, annual programmatic and financial examination reports or certified copies 

of the compliance supplemental audits under 

OMB Circular A–133 of the applicant; and 

‘‘(cc) to remedy any problem identified 

pursuant to the site visit or examination 

under item (aa) or (bb); 

‘‘(ii) information demonstrating that the 

applicant has the ability and resources to 

meet the needs of the market to be served by 

the women’s business center for which a 

grant under this subsection is sought, including the ability to obtain the non-Federal 

contribution required under paragraph (4)(C); 

‘‘(iii) information relating to assistance to 

be provided by the women’s business center 

in the area served by the women’s business 

center for which a grant under this subsection is sought; 

‘‘(iv) information demonstrating that the 

applicant has worked with resource partners 

of the Administration and other entities; 

‘‘(v) a 3-year plan that describes the ability 

of the women’s business center for which a 

grant under this subsection is sought— 

‘‘(I) to serve women who are business owners or potential business owners by conducting training and counseling activities; 

and 

‘‘(II) to provide training and services to a 

representative number of women who are socially and economically disadvantaged; and 

‘‘(vi) any additional information that the 

Administrator may reasonably require. 

‘‘(C) REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS FOR GRANTS.— 

‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

shall— 

‘‘(I) review each application submitted 

under subparagraph (B), based on the information described in such subparagraph and 

the criteria set forth under clause (ii) of this 

subparagraph; and 

‘‘(II) whenever practicable, as part of the 

final selection process, conduct a site visit to 

each women’s business center for which a 

grant under this subsection is sought. 

‘‘(ii) SELECTION CRITERIA.— 

‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

evaluate applicants for grants under this 

subsection in accordance with selection criteria that are— 

‘‘(aa) established before the date on which 

applicants are required to submit the applications; 

‘‘(bb) stated in terms of relative importance; and 


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‘‘(cc) publicly available and stated in each 

solicitation for applications for grants under 

this subsection made by the Administrator. 

‘‘(II) REQUIRED CRITERIA.—The selection 

criteria for a grant under this subsection 

shall include— 

‘‘(aa) the total number of entrepreneurs 

served by the applicant; 

‘‘(bb) the total number of new startup companies assisted by the applicant; 

‘‘(cc) the percentage of clients of the applicant that are socially or economically disadvantaged; and 

‘‘(dd) the percentage of individuals in the 

community served by the applicant who are 

socially or economically disadvantaged. 

‘‘(iii) CONDITIONS FOR CONTINUED FUNDING.— 

In determining whether to make a grant 

under this subsection, the Administrator— 

‘‘(I) shall consider the results of the most 

recent evaluation of the women’s business 

center for which a grant under this subsection is sought, and, to a lesser extent, 

previous evaluations; and 

‘‘(II) may withhold a grant under this subsection, if the Administrator determines 

that the applicant has failed to provide the 

information required to be provided under 

this paragraph, or the information provided 

by the applicant is inadequate. 

‘‘(D) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 60 days 

after the date of each deadline to submit applications, the Administrator shall approve 

or deny any application under this paragraph 

and notify the applicant for each such application of the approval or denial. 

‘‘(E) RECORD RETENTION.—The Administrator shall maintain a copy of each application submitted under this paragraph for not 

less than 7 years.’’; and 

(B) by striking paragraph (5) and inserting 

the following: 

‘‘(5) AWARD TO PREVIOUS RECIPIENTS.— 

There shall be no limitation on the number 

of times the Administrator may award a 

grant to an applicant under this subsection.’’. 

(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 29 of the Small 

Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656) is amended— 

(A) in subsection (h)(2), by striking ‘‘to 

award a contract (as a sustainability grant) 

under subsection (l) or’’; 

(B) in subsection (j)(1), by striking ‘‘The 

Administration’’ and inserting ‘‘Not later 

than November 1 of each year, the Administrator’’; 

(C) in subsection (k)— 

(i) by striking paragraphs (1), (2), and (4); 

(ii) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); and 

(iii) by inserting before paragraph (4), as so 

redesignated, the following: 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to 

be appropriated to the Administration to 

carry out this section, to remain available 

until expended, $14,500,000 for each of fiscal 

years 2013, 2014, and 2015. 

‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts made available under this subsection may only be used 

for grant awards and may not be used for 

costs incurred by the Administration in connection with the management and administration of the program under this section. 

‘‘(3) CONTINUING GRANT AND COOPERATIVE

AGREEMENT AUTHORITY.— 

‘‘(A) PROMPT DISBURSEMENT.—Upon receiving funds to carry out this section for a fiscal year, the Administrator shall, to the extent practicable, promptly reimburse funds 

to any women’s business center awarded financial assistance under this section if the 

center meets the eligibility requirements 

under this section. 

‘‘(B) SUSPENSION OR TERMINATION.—If the 

Administrator has entered into a grant or 

cooperative agreement with a women’s business center under this section, the Administrator may not suspend or terminate the 

grant or cooperative agreement, unless the 

Administrator— 

‘‘(i) provides the women’s business center 

with written notification setting forth the 

reasons for that action; and 

‘‘(ii) affords the women’s business center 

an opportunity for a hearing, appeal, or 

other administrative proceeding under chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code.’’; 

(D) in subsection (m)— 

(i) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘subsection (b) or (l)’’ and inserting ‘‘this subsection or subsection (b)’’; and 

(ii) in paragraph (4)(D), by striking ‘‘or 

subsection (l)’’; and 

(E) by redesignating subsections (m) and 

(n), as amended by this Act, as subsections 

(l) and (m), respectively. 

(2) PROSPECTIVE REPEAL.—Section 1401(c)(2) 

of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (15 

U.S.C. 636 note) is amended— 

(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

at the end; 

(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

(C) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(C) by redesignating paragraph (6), as 

added by section 424(a)(3)(E) of the Women’s 

Small Business Ownership Act of 2012, as 

paragraph (5).’’. 

(c) EFFECT ON EXISTING GRANTS.— 

(1) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—A nonprofit organization receiving a grant under section 

29(m) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

656(m)), as in effect on the day before the 

date of enactment of this Act, shall continue 

to receive the grant under the terms and 

conditions in effect for the grant on the day 

before the date of enactment of this Act, except that the nonprofit organization may not 

apply for a renewal of the grant under section 29(m)(5) of the Small Business Act (15 

U.S.C. 656(m)(5)), as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act. 

(2) LENGTH OF RENEWAL GRANT.—The Administrator may award a grant under section 

29(l) of the Small Business Act, as so redesignated by subsection (b)(1)(E) of this section, 

to a nonprofit organization receiving a grant 

under section 29(m) of the Small Business 

Act (15 U.S.C. 656(m)), as in effect on the day 

before the date of enactment of this Act, for 

the period— 

(A) beginning on the day after the last day 

of the grant agreement under such section 

29(m); and 

(B) ending at the end of the third fiscal 

year beginning after the date of enactment 

of this Act. 

SEC. 425. STUDY AND REPORT ON ECONOMIC 

ISSUES FACING WOMEN’S BUSINESS 

CENTERS. 

(a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of 

the United States shall conduct a broad 

study of the unique economic issues facing 

women’s business centers located in covered 

areas to identify— 

(1) the difficulties such centers face in raising non-Federal funds; 

(2) the difficulties such centers face in 

competing for financial assistance, non-Federal funds, or other types of assistance; 

(3) the difficulties such centers face in 

writing grant proposals; and 

(4) other difficulties such centers face because of the economy in the type of covered 

area in which such centers are located. 

(b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 

the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a 

report containing the results of the study 

under subsection (a), which shall include recommendations, if any, regarding how to— 

(1) address the unique difficulties women’s 

business centers located in covered areas 

face because of the type of covered area in 

which such centers are located; 

(2) expand the presence of, and increase the 

services provided by, women’s business centers located in covered areas; and 

(3) best use technology and other resources 

to better serve women business owners located in covered areas. 

(c) DEFINITION OF COVERED AREA.—In this 

section, the term ‘‘covered area’’ means— 

(1) any State that is predominantly rural, 

as determined by the Administrator; 

(2) any State that is predominantly urban, 

as determined by the Administrator; and 

(3) any State or territory that is an island. 

SEC. 426. STUDY AND REPORT ON OVERSIGHT OF 

WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTERS. 

(a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of 

the United States shall conduct a study of 

the oversight of women’s business centers by 

the Administrator, which shall include— 

(1) an analysis of the coordination by the 

Administrator of the activities of women’s 

business centers with the activities of small 

business development centers, the Service 

Corps of Retired Executives, and Veterans 

Business Outreach Centers; 

(2) a comparison of the types of individuals 

and small business concerns served by women’s business centers and the types of individuals and small business concerns served 

by small business development centers, the 

Service Corps of Retired Executives, and 

Veterans Business Outreach Centers; and 

(3) an analysis of performance data for 

women’s business centers that evaluates how 

well women’s business centers are carrying 

out the mission of women’s business centers 

and serving individuals and small business 

concerns. 

(b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 

the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a 

report containing the results of the study 

under subsection (a), which shall include recommendations, if any, for eliminating the 

duplication of services provided by women’s 

business centers, small business development 

centers, the Service Corps of Retired Executives, and Veterans Business Outreach Centers. 

Subtitle C—Strengthening America’s Small 

Business Development Centers 

SEC. 431. INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION. 

Section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 

U.S.C. 648) is amended— 

(1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘: Provided, That’’ and all that follows through ‘‘on 

such date.’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘. 

On and after December 31, 2013, the Administrator may only make a grant under this 

paragraph to an applicant that is an institution of higher education, as defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 

1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)), that is accredited 

(and not merely in preaccreditation status) 

by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association recognized by the Secretary of Education for such purpose in accordance with section 496 of that Act (20 

U.S.C. 1099b).’’; and 

(2) in subsection (c)(3)(K), by inserting 

‘‘public and private institutions of higher 

education (including universities, community colleges, and junior colleges),’’ before 

‘‘local and regional private consultants’’. 

SEC. 432. UPDATING FUNDING LEVELS FOR 

SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 

CENTERS. 

(a) MINIMUM FUNDING LEVELS.—Section 

21(a)(4)(C) of the Small Business Act (15 

U.S.C. 648(a)(4)(C)) is amended— 

(1) in clause (iii)— 

(A) by striking ‘‘$90,000,000’’ each place 

that term appears and inserting 

‘‘$98,500,000’’; 


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July 25, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5397 

(B) by striking ‘‘$81,500,000’’ each place 

that term appears and inserting 

‘‘$90,000,000’’; and 

(C) by striking ‘‘$500,000’’ each place that 

term appears and inserting ‘‘$600,000’’; 

(2) in clause (v)(II), by striking ‘‘if the 

usage’’ and all that follows through the end 

of the subclause and inserting a period; and 

(3) in clause (v), by striking subclause (I) 

and inserting the following: 

‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts made 

available in any fiscal year to carry out this 

section— 

‘‘(aa) not more than $50,000 may be used by 

the Administration to pay the expenses enumerated in subparagraph (B) of section 

20(a)(1); 

‘‘(bb) not more than $500,000 may be used 

by the Administration to pay the expenses 

enumerated in subparagraph (C) of section 

20(a)(1); and 

‘‘(cc) not more than $250,000 may be used 

by the Administration to pay the expenses 

enumerated in subparagraph (D) of section 

20(a)(1).’’. 

(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

Section 21(a)(4)(C)(vii) of the Small Business 

Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(4)(C)(vii)) is amended to 

read as follows: 

‘‘(vii) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

There are authorized to be appropriated to 

carry out this subparagraph— 

‘‘(I) $135,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; 

‘‘(II) $135,000,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 

‘‘(III) $135,000,000 for fiscal year 2015.’’. 

SEC. 433. ASSISTANCE TO OUT-OF-STATE SMALL 

BUSINESSES. 

Section 21(b)(3) of the Small Business Act 

(15 U.S.C. 648(b)(3)) is amended— 

(1) by striking ‘‘(3) At the discretion’’ and 

inserting the following: 

‘‘(3) ASSISTANCE TO OUT-OF-STATE SMALL

BUSINESSES.— 

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—At the discretion’’; and 

(2) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(B) DISASTER RECOVERY ASSISTANCE.— 

‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—At the discretion of the 

Administrator, the Administrator may authorize a small business development center 

to provide assistance, as described in subsection (c), to small business concerns located outside of the State, without regard to 

geographic proximity, if the small business 

concerns are located in an area for which the 

President has declared a major disaster 

under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford 

Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

Act (42 U.S.C. 5170), during the period of the 

declaration. 

‘‘(ii) CONTINUITY OF SERVICES.—A small 

business development center that provides 

counselors to an area described in clause (i) 

shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 

ensure continuity of services in any State in 

which the small business development center 

otherwise provides services. 

‘‘(iii) ACCESS TO DISASTER RECOVERY FACILITIES.—For purposes of this subparagraph, the 

Administrator shall, to the maximum extent 

practicable, permit the personnel of a small 

business development center to use any site 

or facility designated by the Administrator 

for use to provide disaster recovery assistance.’’. 

SEC. 434. TERMINATION OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER DEFENSE ECONOMIC TRANSITION ASSISTANCE. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 21(c)(3) of the 

Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(c)(3)) is 

amended— 

(1) by striking subparagraph (G); and 

(2) by redesignating subparagraphs (H) 

through (T) as subparagraphs (G) through 

(S), respectively. 

(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 21(a) of the Small Business 

Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)) is amended— 

(1) in paragraph (4)(C)(vi), by striking ‘‘or 

(c)(3)(G)’’; and 

(2) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘subparagraphs (B) through (G) of subsection (c)(3)’’ 

and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (B) through 

(F) of subsection (c)(3)’’. 

(c) EXISTING GRANTS.—Nothing in this section shall affect any grant made to a small 

business development center before the date 

of enactment of this Act under section 

21(c)(3)(G) of the Small Business Act (15 

U.S.C. 648(c)(3)(G)), as in effect on the day 

before the date of enactment of this Act, and 

any such grant shall be subject to such section 21(c)(3)(G), as in effect on the day before 

the date of enactment of this Act. 

SEC. 435. NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER ADVISORY BOARD. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 21(i)(1) of the 

Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(i)(1)) is 

amended— 

(1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘nine 

members’’ and inserting ‘‘10 members’’; 

(2) in the second sentence, by striking 

‘‘six’’ and inserting ‘‘the members who are 

not from universities or their affiliates’’; 

(3) by striking the third sentence; and 

(4) in the fourth sentence— 

(A) by striking ‘‘Succeeding Boards’’ and 

inserting ‘‘The members of the Board’’; and 

(B) by inserting ‘‘not less than’’ before 

‘‘one-third’’. 

(b) INCUMBENTS.—An individual serving as 

a member of the National Small Business 

Development Center Advisory Board on the 

date of enactment of this Act may continue 

to serve on the Board until the end of the 

term of the member under section 21(i)(1) of 

the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(i)(1)), 

as in effect on the day before such date of enactment. 

SEC. 436. REPEAL OF PAUL D. COVERDELL DRUGFREE WORKPLACE PROGRAM. 

Section 27 of the Small Business Act (15 

U.S.C. 654) is repealed. 

Subtitle D—Terminating the National 

Veterans Business Development Corporation 

SEC. 441. NATIONAL VETERANS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Small Business Act 

(15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended by striking 

section 33 (15 U.S.C. 657c). 

(b) CORPORATION.—On and after the date of 

enactment of this Act, the National Veterans Business Development Corporation and 

any successor thereto may not represent 

that the corporation is federally chartered or 

in any other manner authorized by the Federal Government. 

(c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

(1) SMALL BUSINESS ACT.—The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.), as amended 

by this section, is amended— 

(A) by redesignating sections 34 through 45 

as sections 33 through 44, respectively; 

(B) in section 9(k)(1)(D) (15 U.S.C. 

638(k)(1)(D)), by striking ‘‘section 34(d)’’ and 

inserting ‘‘section 33(d)’’; 

(C) in section 33 (15 U.S.C. 657d), as so redesignated— 

(i) by striking ‘‘section 35’’ each place it 

appears and inserting ‘‘section 34’’; 

(ii) in subsection (a)— 

(I) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘section 

35(c)(2)(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

34(c)(2)(B)’’; 

(II) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘section 

35(c)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 34(c)(2)’’; and 

(III) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘section 

35(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 34(c)’’; and 

(iii) in subsection (h)(2), by striking ‘‘section 35(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 34(d)’’; 

(D) in section 34 (15 U.S.C. 657e), as so redesignated— 

(i) by striking ‘‘section 34’’ each place it 

appears and inserting ‘‘section 33’’; and 

(ii) in subsection (c)(1), by striking section 

‘‘34(c)(1)(E)(ii)’’ and inserting section 

‘‘33(c)(1)(E)(ii)’’; 

(E) in section 36(d) (15 U.S.C. 657i(d)), as so 

redesignated, by striking ‘‘section 43’’ and 

inserting ‘‘section 42’’; 

(F) in section 39(d) (15 U.S.C. 657l(d)), as so 

redesignated, by striking ‘‘section 43’’ and 

inserting ‘‘section 42’’; and 

(G) in section 40(b) (15 U.S.C. 657m(b)), as 

so redesignated, by striking ‘‘section 43’’ and 

inserting ‘‘section 42’’. 

(2) TITLE 10.—Section 1142(b)(13) of title 10, 

United States Code, is amended by striking 

‘‘and the National Veterans Business Development Corporation’’. 

(3) TITLE 38.—Section 3452(h) of title 38, 

United States Code, is amended by striking 

‘‘any of the’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘any small business development center 

described in section 21 of the Small Business 

Act (15 U.S.C. 648), insofar as such center offers, sponsors, or cosponsors an entrepreneurship course, as that term is defined in 

section 3675(c)(2).’’. 

(4) FOOD, CONSERVATION, AND ENERGY ACT

OF 2008.—Section 12072(c)(2) of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (15 U.S.C. 

636g(c)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 43 

of the Small Business Act, as added by this 

Act’’ and inserting ‘‘section 42 of the Small 

Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657o)’’. 

(5) VETERANS ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND

SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1999.— 

Section 203(c)(5) of the Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development 

Act of 1999 (15 U.S.C. 657b note) is amended 

by striking ‘‘In cooperation with the National Veterans Business Development Corporation, develop’’ and inserting ‘‘Develop’’. 

TITLE V—ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT 

CONTRACTING 

Subtitle A—Bonds 

SEC. 511. REMOVAL OF SUNSET DATES FOR CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE SMALL 

BUSINESS INVESTMENT ACT OF 1958. 

(a) MAXIMUM BOND AMOUNT.—Section 

411(a)(1) of the Small Business Investment 

Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 694b(a)(1)) is amended 

by striking ‘‘does not exceed’’ and all that 

follows and inserting ‘‘does not exceed 

$5,000,000.’’. 

(b) DENIAL OF LIABILITY.—Section 411(e)(2) 

of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 

(15 U.S.C. 694b(e)(2)) is amended by striking 

‘‘bonds exceeds’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘bonds exceeds $5,000,000,’’. 

Subtitle B—Small Business Contracting 

Fraud Prevention 

SEC. 521. SHORT TITLE. 

This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Small 

Business Contracting Fraud Prevention Act 

of 2012’’. 

SEC. 522. DEFINITIONS. 

In this subtitle— 

(1) the term ‘‘8(a) program’’ means the program under section 8(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(a)); 

(2) the terms ‘‘Administration’’ and ‘‘Administrator’’ mean the Small Business Administration and the Administrator thereof, 

respectively; 

(3) the terms ‘‘HUBZone’’ and ‘‘HUBZone 

small business concern’’ and ‘‘HUBZone 

map’’ have the meanings given those terms 

in section 3(p) of the Small Business Act (15 

U.S.C. 632(p)), as amended by this Act; and 

(4) the term ‘‘recertification’’ means a determination by the Administrator that a 

business concern that was previously determined to be a qualified HUBZone small business concern is a qualified HUBZone small 

business concern under section 3(p)(5) of the 

Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(p)(5)). 


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S5398 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 25, 2012 

SEC. 523. FRAUD DETERRENCE AT THE SMALL 

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION. 

Section 16 of the Small Business Act (15 

U.S.C. 645) is amended— 

(1) in subsection (d)— 

(A) in paragraph (1)— 

(i) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

(A), by striking ‘‘Whoever’’ and all that follows through ‘‘oneself or another’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘A person shall be subject to the penalties and remedies described 

in paragraph (2) if the person misrepresents 

the status of any concern or person as a 

small business concern, a qualified HUBZone 

small business concern, a small business concern owned and controlled by socially and 

economically disadvantaged individuals, a 

small business concern owned and controlled 

by women, or a small business concern 

owned and controlled by service-disabled 

veterans, in order to obtain for any person’’; 

(ii) by amending subparagraph (A) to read 

as follows: 

‘‘(A) prime contract, subcontract, grant, or 

cooperative agreement to be awarded under 

subsection (a) or (m) of section 8, or section 

9, 15, 31, or 35;’’; 

(iii) by striking subparagraph (B); 

(iv) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and 

(D) as subparagraphs (B) and (C), respectively; and 

(v) in subparagraph (C), as so redesignated, 

by striking ‘‘, shall be’’ and all that follows 

and inserting a period; 

(B) in paragraph (2)— 

(i) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and 

(D) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respectively; and 

(ii) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the 

following: 

‘‘(C) be subject to the civil remedies under 

subchapter III of chapter 37 of title 31, 

United States Code (commonly known as the 

‘False Claims Act’);’’; and 

(C) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(3)(A) In the case of a violation of paragraph (1)(A) or subsection (g) or (h), for purposes of a proceeding described in subparagraph (A) or (C) of paragraph (2), the amount 

of the loss to the Federal Government or the 

damages sustained by the Federal Government, as applicable, shall be an amount 

equal to the amount that the Federal Government paid to the person that received a 

contract, grant, or cooperative agreement 

described in paragraph (1)(A), (g), or (h), respectively. 

‘‘(B) In the case of a violation of subparagraph (B) or (C) of paragraph (1), for the purpose of a proceeding described in subparagraph (A) or (C) of paragraph (2), the amount 

of the loss to the Federal Government or the 

damages sustained by the Federal Government, as applicable, shall be an amount 

equal to the portion of any payment by the 

Federal Government under a prime contract 

that was used for a subcontract described in 

subparagraph (B) or (C) of paragraph (1), respectively. 

‘‘(C) In a proceeding described in subparagraph (A) or (B), no credit shall be applied 

against any loss or damages to the Federal 

Government for the fair market value of the 

property or services provided to the Federal 

Government.’’; 

(2) by striking subsection (e) and inserting 

the following: 

‘‘(e) Any representation of the status of 

any concern or person as a small business 

concern, a HUBZone small business concern, 

a small business concern owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, a small business 

concern owned and controlled by women, or 

a small business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, in order 

to obtain any prime contract, subcontract, 

grant, or cooperative agreement described in 

subsection (d)(1) shall be made in writing or 

through the Online Representations and Certifications Application process required 

under section 4.1201 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, or any successor thereto.’’; 

and 

(3) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(g) A person shall be subject to the penalties and remedies described in subsection 

(d)(2) if the person misrepresents the status 

of any concern or person as a small business 

concern, a qualified HUBZone small business 

concern, a small business concern owned and 

controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, a small business 

concern owned and controlled by women, or 

a small business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans— 

‘‘(1) in order to allow any person to participate in any program of the Administration; 

or 

‘‘(2) in relation to a protest of a contract 

award or proposed contract award made 

under regulations issued by the Administration. 

‘‘(h)(1) A person that submits a request for 

payment on a contract or subcontract that is 

awarded under subsection (a) or (m) of section 8, or section 9, 15, 31, or 35, shall be 

deemed to have submitted a certification 

that the person complied with regulations 

issued by the Administration governing the 

percentage of work that the person is required to perform on the contract or subcontract, unless the person states, in writing, that the person did not comply with the 

regulations. 

‘‘(2) A person shall be subject to the penalties and remedies described in subsection 

(d)(2) if the person— 

‘‘(A) uses the services of a business other 

than the business awarded the contract or 

subcontract to perform a greater percentage 

of work under a contract than is permitted 

by regulations issued by the Administration; 

or 

‘‘(B) willfully participates in a scheme to 

circumvent regulations issued by the Administration governing the percentage of work 

that a contractor is required to perform on a 

contract.’’. 

SEC. 524. VETERANS INTEGRITY IN CONTRACTING. 

(a) DEFINITION.—Section 3(q)(1) of the 

Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(q)(1)) is 

amended by striking ‘‘means a veteran’’ and 

all that follows and inserting the following: 

‘‘means— 

‘‘(A) a veteran with a service-connected 

disability rated by the Secretary of Veterans 

Affairs as zero percent or more disabling; or 

‘‘(B) a former member of the Armed Forces 

who is retired, separated, or placed on the 

temporary disability retired list for physical 

disability under chapter 61 of title 10, United 

States Code.’’. 

(b) VETERANS CONTRACTING.—Section 4 of 

the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 633), as 

amended by this Act, is amended by adding 

at the end the following: 

‘‘(i) VETERAN STATUS.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A business concern seeking status as a small business concern owned 

and controlled by service-disabled veterans 

shall— 

‘‘(A) submit an annual certification indicating that the business concern is a small 

business concern owned and controlled by 

service-disabled veterans by means of the 

Online Representations and Certifications 

Application process required under section 

4.1201 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, 

or any successor thereto; and 

‘‘(B) register with— 

‘‘(i) the Central Contractor Registration 

database maintained under subpart 4.11 of 

the Federal Acquisition Regulation, or any 

successor thereto; and 

‘‘(ii) the VetBiz database of the Department of Veterans Affairs, or any successor 

thereto. 

‘‘(2) VERIFICATION OF STATUS.— 

‘‘(A) VETERANS AFFAIRS.—The Secretary of 

Veterans Affairs shall determine whether a 

business concern registered with the VetBiz 

database of the Department of Veterans Affairs, or any successor thereto, as a small 

business concern owned and controlled by 

veterans or a small business concern owned 

and controlled by service-disabled veterans 

is owned and controlled by a veteran or a 

service-disabled veteran, as the case may be. 

‘‘(B) FEDERAL AGENCIES GENERALLY.—The 

head of each Federal agency shall— 

‘‘(i) for a sole source contract awarded to a 

small business concern owned and controlled 

by service-disabled veterans or a contract 

awarded with competition restricted to 

small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans under 

section 35, determine whether a business 

concern submitting a proposal for the contract is a small business concern owned and 

controlled by service-disabled veterans; and 

‘‘(ii) use the VetBiz database of the Department of Veterans Affairs, or any successor 

thereto, in determining whether a business 

concern is a small business concern owned 

and controlled by service-disabled veterans. 

‘‘(3) DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION.—If the 

Administrator determines that a business 

concern knowingly and willfully misrepresented that the business concern is a small 

business concern owned and controlled by 

service-disabled veterans, the Administrator 

may debar or suspend the business concern 

from contracting with the United States.’’. 

(c) INTEGRATION OF DATABASES.—The Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy 

and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 

ensure that data is shared on an ongoing 

basis between the VetBiz database of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Central 

Contractor Registration database maintained under subpart 4.11 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. 

(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—The amendment made by 

subsection (b) and the requirements under 

subsection (c) shall take effect on the date 

on which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

(referred to in this subsection as the ‘‘Secretary’’) publishes in the Federal Register a 

determination that the Department of Veterans Affairs has the necessary resources and 

capacity to carry out the additional responsibility of determining whether small business concerns registered with the VetBiz 

database of the Department of Veterans Affairs are owned and controlled by a veteran 

or a service-disabled veteran, as the case 

may be, in accordance with subsection (i) of 

section 4 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

633), as added by subsection (b). 

(2) TIMELINE.—If the Secretary determines 

that the Secretary is not able to publish the 

determination under paragraph (1) before the 

date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, not 

later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

of this Act, submit a report containing an estimate of the date on which the Secretary 

will publish the determination under paragraph (1) to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate 

and the Committee on Small Business and 

the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

House of Representatives. 

SEC. 525. SECTION 8(a) PROGRAM IMPROVEMENTS. 

(a) REVIEW OF EFFECTIVENESS.—Section 

8(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

637(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 

following: 


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July 25, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5399 

‘‘(22) Not later than 3 years after the date 

of enactment of this paragraph, and every 3 

years thereafter, the Comptroller General of 

the United States shall— 

‘‘(A) conduct an evaluation of the effectiveness of the program under this subsection, including an examination of— 

‘‘(i) the number and size of contracts applied for, as compared to the number received by, small business concerns after successfully completing the program; 

‘‘(ii) the percentage of small business concerns that continue to operate during the 3- 

year period beginning on the date on which 

the small business concerns successfully 

complete the program; 

‘‘(iii) whether the business of small business concerns increases during the 3-year period beginning on the date on which the 

small business concerns successfully complete the program; and 

‘‘(iv) the number of training sessions offered under the program; and 

‘‘(B) submit to the Committee on Small 

Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate 

and the Committee on Small Business of the 

House of Representatives a report regarding 

each evaluation under subparagraph (A).’’. 

(b) OTHER IMPROVEMENTS.—In order to improve the 8(a) program, the Administrator 

shall— 

(1) not later than 90 days after the date of 

enactment of this Act, begin to— 

(A) evaluate the feasibility of— 

(i) using additional third-party data 

sources; 

(ii) making unannounced visits of sites 

that are selected randomly or using riskbased criteria; 

(iii) using fraud detection tools, including 

data-mining techniques; and 

(iv) conducting financial and analytical 

training for the business opportunity specialists of the Administration; 

(B) evaluate the feasibility and advisability of amending regulations applicable to 

the 8(a) program to require that calculations 

of the adjusted net worth or total assets of 

an individual include assets held by the 

spouse of the individual; and 

(C) develop a more consistent enforcement 

strategy that includes the suspension or debarment of contractors that knowingly 

make misrepresentations in order to qualify 

for the 8(a) program; and 

(2) not later than 1 year after the date on 

which the Comptroller General submits the 

report under section 8(a)(22)(B) of the Small 

Business Act, as added by subsection (c), 

issue, in final form, proposed regulations of 

the Administration that— 

(A) determine the economic disadvantage 

of a participant in the 8(a) program based on 

the income and asset levels of the participant at the time of application and annual 

recertification for the 8(a) program; and 

(B) limit the ability of a small business 

concern to participate in the 8(a) program if 

an immediate family member of an owner of 

the small business concern is, or has been, a 

participant in the 8(a) program, in the same 

industry. 

SEC. 526. HUBZONE IMPROVEMENTS. 

(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section 

is to reform and improve the HUBZone program of the Administration. 

(b) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

shall— 

(1) ensure the HUBZone map is— 

(A) accurate and up-to-date; and 

(B) revised as new data is made available 

to maintain the accuracy and currency of 

the HUBZone map; 

(2) implement policies for ensuring that 

only HUBZone small business concerns determined to be qualified under section 3(p)(5) 

of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(p)(5)) 

are participating in the HUBZone program, 

including through the appropriate use of 

technology to control costs and maximize, 

among other benefits, uniformity, completeness, simplicity, and efficiency; 

(3) submit to the Committee on Small 

Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate 

and the Committee on Small Business of the 

House of Representatives a report regarding 

any application to be designated as a 

HUBZone small business concern or for recertification for which the Administrator 

has not made a determination as of the date 

that is 60 days after the date on which the 

application was submitted or initiated, 

which shall include a plan and timetable for 

ensuring the timely processing of the applications; and 

(4) develop measures and implement plans 

to assess the effectiveness of the HUBZone 

program that— 

(A) require the identification of a baseline 

point in time to allow the assessment of economic development under the HUBZone program, including creating additional jobs; and 

(B) take into account— 

(i) the economic characteristics of the 

HUBZone; and 

(ii) contracts being counted under multiple 

socioeconomic subcategories. 

(c) EMPLOYMENT PERCENTAGE.—Section 3(p) 

of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(p)) is 

amended— 

(1) in paragraph (5), by adding at the end 

the following: 

‘‘(E) EMPLOYMENT PERCENTAGE DURING INTERIM PERIOD.— 

‘‘(i) DEFINITION.—In this subparagraph, the 

term ‘interim period’ means the period beginning on the date on which the Administrator determines that a HUBZone small 

business concern is qualified under subparagraph (A) and ending on the day before the 

date on which a contract under the HUBZone 

program for which the HUBZone small business concern submits a bid is awarded. 

‘‘(ii) INTERIM PERIOD.—During the interim 

period, the Administrator may not determine that the HUBZone small business is not 

qualified under subparagraph (A) based on a 

failure to meet the applicable employment 

percentage under subparagraph (A)(i)(I), unless the HUBZone small business concern— 

‘‘(I) has not attempted to maintain the applicable employment percentage under subparagraph (A)(i)(I); or 

‘‘(II) does not meet the applicable employment percentage— 

‘‘(aa) on the date on which the HUBZone 

small business concern submits a bid for a 

contract under the HUBZone program; or 

‘‘(bb) on the date on which the HUBZone 

small business concern is awarded a contract 

under the HUBZone program.’’; and 

(2) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(8) HUBZONE PROGRAM.—The term 

‘HUBZone program’ means the program established under section 31. 

‘‘(9) HUBZONE MAP.—The term ‘HUBZone 

map’ means the map used by the Administration to identify HUBZones.’’. 

(d) REDESIGNATED AREAS.—Section 

3(p)(4)(C)(i) of the Small Business Act (15 

U.S.C. 632(p)(4)(C)(i)) is amended to read as 

follows: 

‘‘(i) 3 years after the first date on which 

the Administrator publishes a HUBZone map 

that is based on the results from the 2010 decennial census; or’’. 

SEC. 527. ANNUAL REPORT ON SUSPENSION, DEBARMENT, AND PROSECUTION. 

The Administrator shall submit an annual 

report to the Committee on Small Business 

and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the 

Committee on Small Business of the House 

of Representatives that contains— 

(1) the number of debarments from participation in programs of the Administration 

issued by the Administrator during the 1- 

year period preceding the date of the report, 

including— 

(A) the number of debarments that were 

based on a conviction; and 

(B) the number of debarments that were 

fact-based and did not involve a conviction; 

(2) the number of suspensions from participation in programs of the Administration 

issued by the Administrator during the 1- 

year period preceding the date of the report, 

including— 

(A) the number of suspensions issued that 

were based upon indictments; and 

(B) the number of suspensions issued that 

were fact-based and did not involve an indictment; 

(3) the number of suspension and 

debarments issued by the Administrator during the 1-year period preceding the date of 

the report that were based upon referrals 

from offices of the Administration, other 

than the Office of Inspector General; 

(4) the number of suspension and 

debarments issued by the Administrator during the 1-year period preceding the date of 

the report based upon referrals from the Office of Inspector General; and 

(5) the number of persons that the Administrator declined to debar or suspend after a 

referral described in paragraph (8), and the 

reason for each such decision. 

Subtitle C—Fairness in Women-Owned Small 

Business Contracting 

SEC. 531. SHORT TITLE. 

This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Fairness 

in Women-Owned Small Business Contracting Act of 2012’’. 

SEC. 532. PROCUREMENT PROGRAM FOR WOMENOWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS. 

Section 8(m) of the Small Business Act (15 

U.S.C. 637(m)) is amended— 

(1) in paragraph (2)— 

(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘who 

are economically disadvantaged’’; 

(B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘paragraph (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (4)’’; 

(C) by striking subparagraph (D); and 

(D) by redesignating subparagraphs (E) and 

(F) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respectively; and 

(2) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(7) SOLE SOURCE CONTRACTS.—A contracting officer may award a sole source contract under this subsection to a small business concern owned and controlled by women 

under the same conditions as a sole source 

contract may be awarded to a qualified 

HUBZone small business concern under section 31(b)(2)(A).’’. 

SEC. 533. STUDY AND REPORT ON REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN. 

Section 29 of the Small Business Act (15 

U.S.C. 656), as amended by section 424 of this 

Act, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(n) STUDY AND REPORT ON REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN.— 

‘‘(1) STUDY.—The Administrator shall periodically conduct a study to identify any 

United States industry, as defined under the 

North American Industry Classification System, in which women are underrepresented. 

‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than 5 years after 

the date of enactment of this subsection, and 

every 5 years thereafter, the Administrator 

shall submit to the Committee on Small 

Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate 

and the Committee on Small Business of the 

House of Representatives a report on the results of each study under paragraph (1) conducted during the 5-year period ending on 

the date of the report.’’. 

Subtitle D—Small Business Champion 

SEC. 541. SHORT TITLE. 

This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Small 

Business Champion Act of 2012’’. 


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S5400 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 25, 2012 

SEC. 542. OFFICES OF SMALL AND DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS UTILIZATION. 

(a) APPOINTMENT AND POSITION OF DIRECTOR.—Section 15(k)(2) of the Small Business 

Act (15 U.S.C. 644(k)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘such agency,’’ and inserting ‘‘such 

agency to a position that is a Senior Executive Service position (as such term is defined 

under section 3132(a) of title 5, United States 

Code), except that, for any agency in which 

the positions of Chief Acquisition Officer and 

senior procurement executive (as such terms 

are defined under section 43(a) of this Act) 

are not Senior Executive Service positions, 

the Director of Small and Disadvantaged 

Business Utilization may be appointed to a 

position compensated at not less than the 

minimum rate of basic pay payable for grade 

GS–15 of the General Schedule under section 

5332 of such title (including comparability 

payments under section 5304 of such title);’’. 

(b) PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS.—Section 

15(k)(3) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

644(k)(3)) is amended— 

(1) by striking ‘‘be responsible only to, and 

report directly to, the head’’ and inserting 

‘‘shall be responsible only to (including with 

respect to performance appraisals), and report directly and exclusively to, the head’’; 

and 

(2) by striking ‘‘be responsible only to, and 

report directly to, such Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘be responsible only to (including 

with respect to performance appraisals), and 

report directly and exclusively to, such Secretary’’. 

(c) SMALL BUSINESS TECHNICAL ADVISERS.— 

Section 15(k)(8)(B) of the Small Business Act 

(15 U.S.C. 644(k)(8)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘and 15 of this Act,’’ and inserting ‘‘, 15, 

and 43 of this Act;’’. 

(d) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

15(k) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

644(k)) is amended by inserting after paragraph (10) the following: 

‘‘(11) shall review and advise such agency 

on any decision to convert an activity performed by a small business concern to an activity performed by a Federal employee; 

‘‘(12) shall provide to the Chief Acquisition 

Officer and senior procurement executive of 

such agency advice and comments on acquisition strategies, market research, and justifications related to section 43 of this Act; 

‘‘(13) may provide training to small business concerns and contract specialists, except that such training may only be provided 

to the extent that the training does not 

interfere with the Director carrying out 

other responsibilities under this subsection; 

‘‘(14) shall carry out exclusively the duties 

enumerated in this Act, and shall, while the 

Director, not hold any other title, position, 

or responsibility, except as necessary to 

carry out responsibilities under this subsection; 

‘‘(15) shall submit, each fiscal year, to the 

Committee on Small Business of the House 

of Representatives and the Committee on 

Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the 

Senate a report describing— 

‘‘(A) the training provided by the Director 

under paragraph (13) in the most recently 

completed fiscal year; 

‘‘(B) the percentage of the budget of the 

Director used for such training in the most 

recently completed fiscal year; and 

‘‘(C) the percentage of the budget of the Director used for travel in the most recently 

completed fiscal year; and 

‘‘(16) shall have not less than 10 years of 

relevant procurement experience.’’. 

(e) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Section 15(k) 

of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(k)), 

as amended by subsection (d), is further 

amended— 

(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) 

by striking ‘‘who shall’’ and inserting 

‘‘who’’; 

(2) in paragraph (1)— 

(A) by striking ‘‘be known’’ and inserting 

‘‘shall be known’’; and 

(B) by striking ‘‘such agency,’’ and inserting ‘‘such agency;’’; 

(3) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘be appointed by’’ and inserting ‘‘shall be appointed by’’; 

(4) in paragraph (3)— 

(A) by striking ‘‘director’’ and inserting 

‘‘Director’’; and 

(B) by striking ‘‘Secretary’s designee,’’ and 

inserting ‘‘Secretary’s designee;’’; 

(5) in paragraph (4)— 

(A) by striking ‘‘be responsible’’ and inserting ‘‘shall be responsible’’; and 

(B) by striking ‘‘such agency,’’ and inserting ‘‘such agency;’’; 

(6) in paragraph (5) by striking ‘‘identify 

proposed’’ and inserting ‘‘shall identify proposed’’; 

(7) in paragraph (6) by striking ‘‘assist 

small’’ and inserting ‘‘shall assist small’’; 

(8) in paragraph (7)— 

(A) by striking ‘‘have supervisory’’ and inserting ‘‘shall have supervisory’’; and 

(B) by striking ‘‘this Act,’’ and inserting 

‘‘this Act;’’; 

(9) in paragraph (8)— 

(A) by striking ‘‘assign a’’ and inserting 

‘‘shall assign a’’; and 

(B) by striking ‘‘the activity, and’’ and inserting ‘‘the activity; and’’; 

(10) in paragraph (9)— 

(A) by striking ‘‘cooperate, and’’ and inserting ‘‘shall cooperate, and’’; and 

(B) by striking ‘‘subsection, and’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection;’’; and 

(11) in paragraph (10)— 

(A) by striking ‘‘make recommendations’’ 

and inserting ‘‘shall make recommendations’’; 

(B) by striking ‘‘subsection (a), or section’’ 

and inserting ‘‘subsection (a), section’’; 

(C) by striking ‘‘Act or section 2323’’ and 

inserting ‘‘Act, or section 2323’’; 

(D) by striking ‘‘Code. Such recommendations shall’’ and inserting ‘‘Code, which 

shall’’; and 

(E) by striking ‘‘contract file.’’ and inserting ‘‘contract file;’’. 

SEC. 543. SMALL BUSINESS PROCUREMENT ADVISORY COUNCIL. 

(a) DUTIES.—Section 7104(b) of the Federal 

Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 (15 

U.S.C. 644 note) is amended— 

(1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

the end; 

(2) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘authorities.’’ and inserting ‘‘authorities;’’; and 

(3) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(3) to conduct reviews of each Office of 

Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization established under section 15(k) of the 

Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(k)) to determine the compliance of each Office with 

requirements under such section; 

‘‘(4) to identify best practices for maximizing small business utilization in Federal 

contracting that may be implemented by 

Federal agencies having procurement powers; and 

‘‘(5) to submit, annually, to the Committee 

on Small Business of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Small Business 

and Entrepreneurship of the Senate a report 

describing— 

‘‘(A) the comments submitted under paragraph (2) during the 1-year period ending on 

the date on which the report is submitted, 

including any outcomes related to the comments; 

‘‘(B) the results of reviews conducted under 

paragraph (3) during such 1-year period; and 

‘‘(C) best practices identified under paragraph (4) during such 1-year period.’’. 

(b) MEMBERSHIP.—Section 7104(c) of the 

Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 

(15 U.S.C. 644 note) is amended by striking 

‘‘(established under section 15(k) of the 

Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(k))’’. 

(c) CHAIRMAN.—Section 7104(d) of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 (15 

U.S.C. 644 note) is amended by inserting 

after ‘‘Small Business Administration’’ the 

following: ‘‘(or the designee of the Administrator)’’. 

TITLE VI—TRANSPARENCY, 

ACCOUNTABILITY, AND EFFECTIVENESS 

Subtitle A—Small Business Common 

Application 

SEC. 611. DEFINITIONS. 

In this subtitle— 

(1) the terms ‘‘Administration’’ and ‘‘Administrator’’ mean the Small Business Administration and the Administrator thereof, 

respectively; 

(2) the term ‘‘Executive agency’’ has the 

meaning given that term under section 105 of 

title 5, United States Code; 

(3) the term ‘‘Executive Committee’’ 

means the Executive Committee on a Small 

Business Common Application established 

under section 613(a); 

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

the meaning given that term under section 3 

of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632); 

SEC. 612. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

It is the sense of Congress that Executive 

agencies should— 

(1) reduce paperwork burdens on small 

business concerns pursuant to section 3501 of 

title 44, United States Code; 

(2) maximize the ability of small business 

concerns to use common applications, where 

practicable, and use consolidated web portals 

to interact with Executive agencies; 

(3) maintain high standards for data privacy and security; 

(4) increase the degree and ease of information sharing and coordination among programs serving small business concerns that 

are carried out by Executive agencies, including State and local offices of Executive 

agencies; and 

(5) minimize redundancy in the administration of programs that can utilize common 

applications, where practicable, and consolidated web portals. 

SEC. 613. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ON A SMALL 

BUSINESS COMMON APPLICATION. 

(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established 

in the Administration an Executive Committee on a Small Business Common Application, which shall make recommendations 

regarding the establishment, if practicable, 

of a small business common application and 

web portal. 

(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—The members of the Executive Committee shall consist of— 

(A) the Administrator; 

(B) the Assistant Secretary of Commerce 

for Economic Development; and 

(C) 1 senior officer or employee having policy and technical expertise appointed by 

each of— 

(i) the Administrator of the General Services Administration; 

(ii) the Director of the National Institutes 

of Health; 

(iii) the Director of the National Science 

Foundation; 

(iv) the President of the Export-Import 

Bank; 

(v) the Secretary of Agriculture; 

(vi) the Secretary of Defense; 

(vii) the Secretary of Health and Human 

Services; 

(viii) the Secretary of Labor; 

(ix) the Secretary of State; 

(x) the Secretary of the Treasury; and 

(xi) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

(2) CHAIRPERSON.—The Administrator shall 

serve as chairperson of the Executive Committee. 


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(3) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT.—Members of 

the Executive Committee shall be appointed 

for a term of 1 year. 

(4) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Executive Committee shall be filled in the same 

manner as the original appointment, not 

later than 30 days after the date on which 

the vacancy occurs. 

(c) MEETINGS.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Executive Committee 

shall meet at the call of the chairperson of 

the Executive Committee. 

(2) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 

the Executive Committee shall constitute a 

quorum. 

(3) FIRST MEETING.—The first meeting of 

the Executive Committee shall take place 

not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this subtitle. 

(4) PUBLIC MEETING.—The Executive Committee shall hold at least 1 public meeting 

before the date described in subsection (d)(1) 

to receive comments from small business 

concerns and other interested parties. 

(d) DUTIES.— 

(1) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 270 

days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

upon a vote of the majority of members of 

the Executive Committee then serving, the 

Executive Committee shall submit to the 

Administrator recommendations relating to 

the feasibility of establishing a small business common application and web portal in 

order to meet the goals described in section 

612. 

(2) TRANSMISSION TO EXECUTIVE AGENCIES.— 

The Executive Committee shall transmit to 

each Executive agency a complete copy of 

the recommendations submitted under paragraph (1). 

(3) TRANSMISSION TO CONGRESS.—The Executive Committee shall transmit to each relevant committee of Congress a complete 

copy of the recommendations submitted 

under paragraph (1). 

(4) RECOMMENDATIONS BY EXECUTIVE AGENCIES.—Not later than 30 days after the date 

on which the Executive Committee transmits recommendations to the Executive 

agency under paragraph (2), each Executive 

agency that provides Federal assistance to 

small business concerns shall submit to Congress recommendations, if any, for legislative changes necessary for the Executive 

agency to carry out the recommendations 

under paragraph (1). 

(e) PERSONNEL MATTERS.— 

(1) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—The members of the Executive Committee shall serve 

without compensation in addition to that received for their services as officers or employees of the United States. 

(2) DETAIL OF EMPLOYEES.—The Administrator may detail to the Executive Committee any employee of the Economic Development Administration, and such detail 

shall be without interruption or loss of civil 

service status or privilege. 

(f) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.— 

Section 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply 

with respect to the Executive Committee. 

SEC. 614. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

There are authorized to be appropriated to 

the Administrator such sums as may be necessary to carry out this subtitle. 

Subtitle B—Government Accountability 

Office Review 

SEC. 621. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REVIEW. 

Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

of the United States shall submit a report to 

the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the House of 

Representatives that evaluates the status of 

the programs authorized under this Act and 

the amendments made by this Act, including 

the extent to which such programs have been 

funded and implemented and have contributed to promoting job creation among small 

business concerns. 

f 

SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS 

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 54—STATING THAT IT IS 

THE POLICY OF THE UNITED 

STATES TO OPPOSE THE SALE, 

SHIPMENT, PERFORMANCE OF 

MAINTENANCE, REFURBISHMENT, MODIFICATION, REPAIR, 

AND UPGRADE OF ANY MILITARY EQUIPMENT FROM OR BY 

THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION TO 

OR FOR THE SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC 

Mr. HATCH (for himself and Mr. CORNYN) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on Foreign Relations: 

S. CON. RES. 54 

Whereas the General Director of 

Rosoboronexport, the largest Russian arms 

exporter, recently announced that his company was transferring anti-aircraft and antiship missile systems to Syria; 

Whereas the Government of the Russian 

Federation has announced the deployment of 

11 warships, including amphibious ships designed to carry naval infantry, to the eastern Mediterranean, and it is expected that 

some of those ships will dock at the Syrian 

port of Tartus; 

Whereas Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 

recently stated, ‘‘What can every nation and 

group represented here do? . . . I ask you to 

reach out to Russia and China, and to not 

only urge but demand that they get off the 

sidelines and begin to support the legitimate 

aspirations of the Syrian people.’’; 

Whereas Secretary of State Clinton further 

stated on July 17, 2012, ‘‘[O]ur commitment 

is to try to get Russia to cooperate. So we 

want the rest of the world to put pressure on 

Russia . . . as long as he [Bashar al-Assad] 

has Russia uncertain about whether or not 

to side against him in any more dramatic 

way that it already has, he [Assad] feels like 

he can keep going.’’; 

Whereas the Government of the Russian 

Federation recently refurbished at least 

three Syrian Mi–25 helicopters; and 

Whereas the Government of the Russian 

Federation has taken a tentative positive 

step of expounding a new policy that it will 

not enter into new arms agreements with the 

Government of the Syrian Arab Republic: 

Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That it is the policy 

of the United States— 

(1) to oppose the sale, shipment, performance of maintenance, refurbishment, modification, repair, or upgrade of any military 

equipment, including parts that can be used 

in military equipment, from or by the Government of the Russian Federation to or for 

the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic; and 

(2) to oppose any effort by the Government 

of the Russian Federation to increase, maintain, or sustain the military readiness and or 

military capabilities of the Government of 

the Syrian Arab Republic. 

AMENDMENTS SUBMITTED AND 

PROPOSED 

SA 2573. Mr. HATCH (for himself, Mr. 

MCCONNELL, Mr. JOHANNS, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. 

BURR, Mr. THUNE, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. KYL, Mr. 

BOOZMAN, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. 

MCCAIN, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. 

KIRK, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mr. HOEVEN, Mr. 

SHELBY, and Mr. ISAKSON) proposed an 

amendment to the bill S. 3412, to amend the 

Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide tax 

relief to middle-class families. 

SA 2574. Mrs. HUTCHISON submitted an 

amendment intended to be proposed by her 

to the bill S. 3414, to enhance the security 

and resiliency of the cyber and communications infrastructure of the United States; 

which was ordered to lie on the table. 

SA 2575. Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself, 

Mrs. BOXER, Mr. REED, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mrs. 

GILLIBRAND, Mr. SCHUMER, and Mrs. FEINSTEIN) submitted an amendment intended to 

be proposed by him to the bill S. 3414, supra; 

which was ordered to lie on the table. 

SA 2576. Mr. LEAHY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the 

bill S. 3414, supra; which was ordered to lie 

on the table. 

SA 2577. Mr. LEAHY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the 

bill S. 3414, supra; which was ordered to lie 

on the table. 

SA 2578. Mr. LEAHY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the 

bill S. 3414, supra; which was ordered to lie 

on the table. 

SA 2579. Mr. LEAHY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the 

bill S. 3414, supra; which was ordered to lie 

on the table. 

SA 2580. Mr. LEAHY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the 

bill S. 3414, supra; which was ordered to lie 

on the table. 

f 

TEXT OF AMENDMENTS 

SA 2573. Mr. HATCH (for himself, Mr. 

MCCONNELL, Mr. JOHANNS, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. BURR, Mr. THUNE, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. KYL, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. 

BLUNT, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. McCAIN, Mr. 

GRASSLEY, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. KIRK, 

Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mr. HOEVEN, Mr. 

SHELBY, and Mr. ISAKSON) proposed an 

amendment to the bill S. 3412, to 

amend the Internal Revenue Code of 

1986 to provide tax relief to middleclass families; as follows: 

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Tax Hike 

Prevention Act of 2012’’. 

SEC. 2. TEMPORARY EXTENSION OF 2001 TAX RELIEF. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 901 of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation 

Act of 2001 is amended by striking ‘‘December 31, 2012’’ both places it appears and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2013’’. 

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment 

made by this section shall take effect as if 

included in the enactment of the Economic 

Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 

2001. 

SEC. 3. TEMPORARY EXTENSION OF 2003 TAX RELIEF. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 303 of the Jobs 

and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 

2003 is amended by striking ‘‘December 31, 

2012’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2013’’. 

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment 

made by this section shall take effect as if 


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