II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1969 

To amend the Small Business Act to create a program to provide funding 

for organizations that support startup businesses in formation and early 

growth stages by providing entrepreneurs with resources and services 

to produce viable businesses, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 17, 2017 

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

to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

A BILL 

To amend the Small Business Act to create a program to 

provide funding for organizations that support startup 

businesses in formation and early growth stages by providing entrepreneurs with resources and services to 

produce viable businesses, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Startup Opportunity 

5 Accelerator Act of 2017’’ or the ‘‘SOAR Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) startups face common challenges as they 

2 seek to transform their ideas into successful, high3 growth businesses; 

4 (2) incubators and accelerators are new models 

5 of growth that drive innovation by connecting entre6 preneurial individuals and teams to create viable 

7 business ventures and social initiatives; 

8 (3) startups have contributed greatly to the 

9 United States economy, with research showing that 

10 between 1982 and 2011, businesses 5 years or 

11 younger were responsible for nearly every net new 

12 job created; 

13 (4) incubators and accelerators support prom14 ising startups through partnerships, mentoring, and 

15 resources connecting them with seasoned entre16 preneurs; 

17 (5) the goal of an incubator or an accelerator 

18 is to help create and grow young businesses by pro19 viding them with necessary financial, technical, and 

20 industry support and financial and technical serv21 ices; and 

22 (6) startups offer unique opportunities for 

23 growth and development for women, minority, and 

24 veterans to become successful entrepreneurs and 

25 leaders in new and developed fields. 


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1 SEC. 3. FUNDING FOR ORGANIZATIONS THAT SUPPORT 

2 STARTUP BUSINESSES. 

3 The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating section 47 (15 U.S.C. 631 

6 note) as section 48; and 

7 (2) by inserting after section 46 the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 47. FUNDING FOR ORGANIZATIONS THAT SUPPORT 

9 STARTUP BUSINESSES. 

10 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

11 ‘‘(1) the term ‘accelerator’ means an organiza12 tion that— 

13 ‘‘(A) frequently provides, but is not exclu14 sively designed to provide, seed investment in 

15 exchange for a small amount of equity; 

16 ‘‘(B) works with a startup for a predeter17 mined amount of time; 

18 ‘‘(C) provides mentorship and instruction 

19 to scale businesses; or 

20 ‘‘(D) offers startup capital or the oppor21 tunity to raise capital from outside investors; 

22 ‘‘(2) the term ‘disability’ has the meaning given 

23 the term in section 3 of the Americans with Disabil24 ities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102); 

25 ‘‘(3) the term ‘eligible entity’ means an organi26 zation— 


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1 ‘‘(A) that is located in the United States; 

2 ‘‘(B) the primary purpose of which is to 

3 support new small business concerns; and 

4 ‘‘(C) that is often classified as an accel5 erator; 

6 ‘‘(4) the term ‘new small business concern’ 

7 means a small business concern that has been in op8 eration for not more than 5 years; 

9 ‘‘(5) the term ‘small business concern owned 

10 and controlled by socially and economically disadvan11 taged individuals’ has the meaning given the term in 

12 section 8(d)(3)(C); and 

13 ‘‘(6) the term ‘State’ means any State of the 

14 United States, the District of Columbia, the Com15 monwealth of Puerto Rico, and any territory or pos16 session of the United States. 

17 ‘‘(b) FUNDING.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

19 the date of enactment of this section, the Adminis20 trator shall develop and begin implementing a pro21 gram to award cash prizes or grants of not more 

22 than $50,000 to eligible entities to support new 

23 small business concerns. 

24 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—A prize or grant under 

25 this section— 


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1 ‘‘(A) may be used for construction costs, 

2 space acquisition, and programmatic purposes; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(B) may not be used to provide capital or 

5 professional services to new small business con6 cerns directly or through the subaward of 

7 funds. 

8 ‘‘(3) DISBURSAL OF FUNDS.—In disbursing 

9 funds under this section, the Administrator may use 

10 incremental or scheduled payments. 

11 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity desiring a 

13 prize or grant under this section shall demonstrate 

14 that the eligible entity will use the prize or grant to 

15 provide assistance to not less than 10 new small 

16 business concerns per year. 

17 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—In soliciting applica18 tions and awarding prizes or grants to eligible enti19 ties under this section, the Administrator shall em20 ploy a streamlined and inclusive approach that— 

21 ‘‘(A) widely publicizes funding opportuni22 ties to a broad audience; 

23 ‘‘(B) utilizes an easily accessible submis24 sion process or platform; 

25 ‘‘(C) shall make every effort to minimize— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the use of forms, detailed budg2 ets, supporting documentation, or written 

3 submissions; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) any other burdensome require5 ment; 

6 ‘‘(D) focuses on solution-based approaches 

7 and results-based outcomes; 

8 ‘‘(E) encourages innovation; and 

9 ‘‘(F) allows proposals or pitches to be pre10 sented using various formats or media. 

11 ‘‘(d) CRITERIA.—The Administrator shall establish 

12 criteria for a prize or grant under this section shall give 

13 priority to eligible entities that are providing or plan to 

14 provide to new small business concerns— 

15 ‘‘(1) office, manufacturing, or warehouse space, 

16 including appropriate operations infrastructure; 

17 ‘‘(2) access to capital either directly from the 

18 eligible entity (using amounts other than the 

19 amounts provided under the prize or grant) or 

20 through guidance and contacts for acquiring capital 

21 from outside investors; 

22 ‘‘(3) access to professional services either di23 rectly from the eligible entity (using amounts other 

24 than the amounts provided under the prize or grant) 

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1 fessional services, including accounting and legal 

2 services; or 

3 ‘‘(4) a formal structured mentorship or develop4 mental program that assists new small business con5 cerns with building business skills and competencies. 

6 ‘‘(e) CONSIDERATIONS IN CHOOSING RECIPIENTS.— 

7 In determining whether to award a prize or grant under 

8 this section to an eligible entity, the Administrator shall 

9 take into account— 

10 ‘‘(1) for eligible entities that have in operation 

11 a program to support new small business concerns, 

12 the record of the eligible entity in assisting new 

13 small business concerns, including, for each of the 3 

14 full years before the date on which the eligible entity 

15 applies for a prize or grant under this section— 

16 ‘‘(A) the retention rate of new small busi17 ness concerns in the program of the eligible en18 tity; 

19 ‘‘(B) the average period of participation by 

20 new small business concerns in the program of 

21 the eligible entity; 

22 ‘‘(C) the total, average, and median capital 

23 raised by new small business concerns partici24 pating in the program of the eligible entity; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) the total, average, and median num2 ber of employees of new small business concerns 

3 participating in the program of the eligible enti4 ty; 

5 ‘‘(2) for all eligible entities— 

6 ‘‘(A) the number of new small business 

7 concerns assisted or anticipated to be assisted 

8 by the eligible entity; 

9 ‘‘(B) the number of new small business 

10 concerns applying or anticipated to apply for 

11 assistance from the eligible entity; 

12 ‘‘(C) whether the program of the eligible 

13 entity provides or would provide assistance to 

14 individuals in gender, racial, or ethnic groups 

15 underrepresented by existing programs to assist 

16 new small business concerns; and 

17 ‘‘(D) other metrics determined appropriate 

18 by the Administrator; 

19 ‘‘(3) the need in the geographic area to be 

20 served by the program to be carried out using the 

21 prize or grant for additional assistance for new small 

22 business concerns, if the area has sufficient popu23 lation density, as determined by the Administrator; 

24 ‘‘(4) the level of experience of the entrepre25 neurial leadership of the eligible entity; and 


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1 ‘‘(5) the ability of the eligible entity to use and 

2 leverage local strengths, including human resources, 

3 infrastructure, and educational institutions. 

4 ‘‘(f) REQUIREMENT TO AWARD PRIZES AND GRANTS

5 TO CERTAIN ACCELERATORS.—In order to promote diver6 sity in entrepreneurship, the Administrator shall award 

7 not less than 50 percent of amounts appropriated for 

8 prizes or grants in a given fiscal year to— 

9 ‘‘(1) accelerators located in geographically un10 derserved areas; and 

11 ‘‘(2) accelerators for which not less than 50 

12 percent of the small business concerns served by the 

13 accelerator are small business concerns— 

14 ‘‘(A) owned and controlled by socially and 

15 economically disadvantaged individuals; 

16 ‘‘(B) owned and controlled by women; or 

17 ‘‘(C) that are not less than 51 percent 

18 owned by one or more— 

19 ‘‘(i) Native Americans; 

20 ‘‘(ii) individuals participating in the 

21 Transition Assistance Program of the De22 partment of Defense; 

23 ‘‘(iii) individuals who— 

24 ‘‘(I) served on active duty in any 

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1 ing the National Guard and Reserves; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(II) were discharged or released 

4 from such service under conditions 

5 other than dishonorable; 

6 ‘‘(iv) formerly incarcerated individ7 uals; or 

8 ‘‘(v) individuals with a disability. 

9 ‘‘(g) MATCHING NONPUBLIC FUNDING REQUIRE10 MENT.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity receiving 

12 a prize or grant under this section shall obtain funds 

13 from a private individual or entity (including a for14 profit or nonprofit entity) that are— 

15 ‘‘(A) for the same purposes as a prize or 

16 grant may be made under this section; 

17 ‘‘(B) used to carry out the program of the 

18 eligible entity carried out using the prize or 

19 grant under this section; and 

20 ‘‘(C) in an amount that is not to be less 

21 than 50 percent of the amount of the prize or 

22 grant under this section. 

23 ‘‘(2) FORM OF NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—Not 

24 more than 25 percent of the funds obtained under 


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1 paragraph (1) may be in the form of in-kind con2 tributions. 

3 ‘‘(h) CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE TO ABIDE BY

4 TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF PRIZE OR GRANT REQUIRE5 MENTS OF THIS SECTION.—The Administrator shall no6 tify each eligible entity receiving a prize or grant under 

7 this section that failure to abide by the terms and condi8 tions of the prize or grant or the requirements of this sec9 tion may, in the discretion of the Administrator and in 

10 addition to any other civil or criminal consequences, result 

11 in the Administrator withholding payments or ordering 

12 the eligible entity to return the prize or grant funds. 

13 ‘‘(i) ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORTING BY RECIPIENTS

14 OF PRIZE OR GRANT.—Each eligible entity receiving a 

15 prize or grant under this section shall submit to the Ad16 ministrator an annual report on the progress of the pro17 gram carried out using the amounts received under the 

18 prize or grant, including— 

19 ‘‘(1) the number of new small business concerns 

20 participating in the program during each of the 3 

21 years preceding the report; 

22 ‘‘(2) the number of new small business concerns 

23 applying to participate in the program during each 

24 of the 3 years preceding the report; 


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1 ‘‘(3) the retention rate of new small business 

2 concerns in the program; 

3 ‘‘(4) the average period of participation in the 

4 program by new small business concerns; 

5 ‘‘(5) the total, average, and median capital 

6 raised by new small business concerns participating 

7 in the program; 

8 ‘‘(6) the total, average, and median number of 

9 employees of new small business concerns partici10 pating in the program; 

11 ‘‘(7) the number of new small business con12 cerns— 

13 ‘‘(A) owned and controlled by socially and 

14 economically disadvantaged individuals; 

15 ‘‘(B) owned and controlled by women; or 

16 ‘‘(C) that are not less than 51 percent 

17 owned by one or more— 

18 ‘‘(i) Native Americans; 

19 ‘‘(ii) individuals participating in the 

20 Transition Assistance Program of the De21 partment of Defense; 

22 ‘‘(iii) individuals who— 

23 ‘‘(I) served on active duty in any 

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1 ing the National Guard and Reserves; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(II) were discharged or released 

4 from such service under conditions 

5 other than dishonorable; 

6 ‘‘(iv) formerly incarcerated individ7 uals; or 

8 ‘‘(v) individuals with a disability; and 

9 ‘‘(8) other metrics determined appropriate by 

10 the Administrator. 

11 ‘‘(j) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Administrator 

12 shall submit to Congress an annual report on the program 

13 under this section, which shall include an assessment of 

14 the effectiveness of the program, including an assessment 

15 based on the metrics listed in subsection (i). 

16 ‘‘(k) COORDINATION WITH OTHER SMALL BUSINESS

17 ADMINISTRATION PROGRAMS.—The Administrator shall 

18 take appropriate action to encourage eligible entities re19 ceiving a prize or grant under this section to use and in20 corporate other programs of the Administration, such as 

21 small business development centers, small business invest22 ment companies, loans under section 7(a), and assistance 

23 under title V of the Small Business Investment Act of 

24 1958 (15 U.S.C. 695 et seq.). 


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1 ‘‘(l) COORDINATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF

2 VETERANS AFFAIRS.—In consultation with the Secretary 

3 of Veteran Affairs, the Administrator shall make available 

4 outreach materials regarding the opportunities for vet5 erans within the program under this section for distribu6 tion and display at local facilities of the Department of 

7 Veterans Affairs. 

8 ‘‘(m) LISTING ON WEBSITE.—The Administrator 

9 shall include a list of eligible entities receiving a prize or 

10 grant under this section on the website of the Administra11 tion. 

12 ‘‘(n) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

13 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

14 $6,000,000 for each of the first 5 fiscal years beginning 

15 after the date of enactment of this section.’’. 

Æ 


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