106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 791

AN ACT

To amend the Small Business Act with respect to the

women’s business center program.

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 ‘‘Women’s Business

5 Centers Sustainability Act of 1999’’.
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1 SEC. 2. PRIVATE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.

2 Section 29 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656)

3 is amended—

4 (1) in subsection (a)—

5 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and

6 (3) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; and

7 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the

8 following:

9 ‘‘(2) the term ‘private nonprofit organization’

10 means an entity that is described in section 501(c)

11 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt

12 from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code;’’;

13 and

14 (2) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘nonprofit’’

15 after ‘‘private’’.

16 SEC. 3. INCREASED MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT AND RE17 VIEW OF WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTERS.

18 Section 29 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656)

19 is amended—

20 (1) by striking subsection (h) and inserting the

21 following:

22 ‘‘(h) PROGRAM EXAMINATION.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administration shall—

24 ‘‘(A) develop and implement an annual

25 programmatic and financial examination of

26 each women’s business center established pur-
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1 suant to this section, pursuant to which each

2 such center shall provide to the

3 Administration—

4 ‘‘(i) an itemized cost breakdown of ac5 tual expenditures for costs incurred during

6 the preceding year; and

7 ‘‘(ii) documentation regarding the

8 amount of matching assistance from non9 Federal sources obtained and expended by

10 the center during the preceding year in

11 order to meet the requirements of sub12 section (c) and, with respect to any in-kind

13 contributions described in subsection (c)(2)

14 that were used to satisfy the requirements

15 of subsection (c), verification of the exist16 ence and valuation of those contributions;

17 and

18 ‘‘(B) analyze the results of each such ex19 amination and, based on that analysis, make a

20 determination regarding the programmatic and

21 financial viability of each women’s business cen22 ter.

23 ‘‘(2) CONDITIONS FOR CONTINUED FUNDING.—

24 In determining whether to award a contract (as a

25 sustainability grant) under subsection (l) or to
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1 renew a contract (either as a grant or cooperative

2 agreement) under this section with a women’s busi3 ness center, the Administration—

4 ‘‘(A) shall consider the results of the most

5 recent examination of the center under para6 graph (1); and

7 ‘‘(B) may withhold such award or renewal,

8 if the Administration determines that—

9 ‘‘(i) the center has failed to provide

10 any information required to be provided

11 under clause (i) or (ii) of paragraph

12 (1)(A), or the information provided by the

13 center is inadequate; or

14 ‘‘(ii) the center has failed to provide

15 any information required to be provided by

16 the center for purposes of the report of the

17 Administration under subsection (j), or the

18 information provided by the center is inad19 equate.’’; and

20 (2) by striking subsection (j) and inserting the

21 following:

22 ‘‘(j) MANAGEMENT REPORT.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administration shall

24 prepare and submit to the Committees on Small

25 Business of the House of Representatives and the
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1 Senate a report on the effectiveness of all projects

2 conducted under this section.

3 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under

4 paragraph (1) shall include information concerning,

5 with respect to each women’s business center estab6 lished pursuant to this section—

7 ‘‘(A) the number of individuals receiving

8 assistance;

9 ‘‘(B) the number of startup business con10 cerns formed;

11 ‘‘(C) the gross receipts of assisted con12 cerns;

13 ‘‘(D) the employment increases or de14 creases of assisted concerns;

15 ‘‘(E) to the maximum extent practicable,

16 increases or decreases in profits of assisted con17 cerns; and

18 ‘‘(F) the most recent analysis, as required

19 under subsection (h)(1)(B), and the subsequent

20 determination made by the Administration

21 under that subsection.’’.
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1 SEC. 4. WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTERS SUSTAINABILITY

2 PILOT PROGRAM.

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

4 Act (15 U.S.C. 656) is amended by adding at the end the

5 following:

6 ‘‘(l) SUSTAINABILITY PILOT PROGRAM.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established a 4-

8 year pilot program under which the Administration

9 is authorized to award grants (referred to in this

10 section as ‘sustainability grants’) on a competitive

11 basis for an additional 5-year project under this sec12 tion to any private nonprofit organization (or a divi13 sion thereof)—

14 ‘‘(A) that has received financial assistance

15 under this section pursuant to a grant, con16 tract, or cooperative agreement; and

17 ‘‘(B) that—

18 ‘‘(i) is in the final year of a 5-year

19 project; or

20 ‘‘(ii) has completed a project financed

21 under this section (or any predecessor to

22 this section) and continues to provide as23 sistance to women entrepreneurs.

24 ‘‘(2) CONDITIONS FOR PARTICIPATION.—In

25 order to receive a sustainability grant, an organiza-
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1 tion described in paragraph (1) shall submit to the

2 Administration an application, which shall include—

3 ‘‘(A) a certification that the applicant—

4 ‘‘(i) is a private nonprofit organiza5 tion;

6 ‘‘(ii) employs a full-time executive di7 rector or program manager to manage the

8 center; and

9 ‘‘(iii) as a condition of receiving a sus10 tainability grant, agrees—

11 ‘‘(I) to a site visit as part of the

12 final selection process and to an an13 nual programmatic and financial ex14 amination; and

15 ‘‘(II) to the maximum extent

16 practicable, to remedy any problems

17 identified pursuant to that site visit or

18 examination;

19 ‘‘(B) information demonstrating that the

20 applicant has the ability and resources to meet

21 the needs of the market to be served by the

22 women’s business center site for which a sus23 tainability grant is sought, including the ability

24 to fundraise;
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1 ‘‘(C) information relating to assistance

2 provided by the women’s business center site

3 for which a sustainability grant is sought in the

4 area in which the site is located, including—

5 ‘‘(i) the number of individuals as6 sisted;

7 ‘‘(ii) the number of hours of coun8 seling, training, and workshops provided;

9 and

10 ‘‘(iii) the number of startup business

11 concerns formed;

12 ‘‘(D) information demonstrating the effec13 tive experience of the applicant in—

14 ‘‘(i) conducting financial, manage15 ment, and marketing assistance programs,

16 as described in paragraphs (1), (2), and

17 (3) of subsection (b), designed to impart or

18 upgrade the business skills of women busi19 ness owners or potential owners;

20 ‘‘(ii) providing training and services to

21 a representative number of women who are

22 both socially and economically disadvan23 taged;
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1 ‘‘(iii) using resource partners of the

2 Administration and other entities, such as

3 universities;

4 ‘‘(iv) complying with the cooperative

5 agreement of the applicant; and

6 ‘‘(v) the prudent management of fi7 nances and staffing, including the manner

8 in which the performance of the applicant

9 compared to the business plan of the appli10 cant and the manner in which grant funds

11 awarded under subsection (b) were used by

12 the applicant; and

13 ‘‘(E) a 5-year plan that projects the ability

14 of the women’s business center site for which a

15 sustainability grant is sought—

16 ‘‘(i) to serve women business owners

17 or potential owners in the future by im18 proving fundraising and training activities;

19 and

20 ‘‘(ii) to provide training and services

21 to a representative number of women who

22 are both socially and economically dis23 advantaged.

24 ‘‘(3) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administration

2 shall—

3 ‘‘(i) review each application submitted

4 under paragraph (2) based on the informa5 tion provided under in subparagraphs (D)

6 and (E) of that paragraph, and the criteria

7 set forth in subsection (f);

8 ‘‘(ii) as part of the final selection

9 process, conduct a site visit at each wom10 en’s business center for which a sustain11 ability grant is sought; and

12 ‘‘(iii) approve or disapprove applica13 tions for sustainability grants simulta14 neously with applications for grants under

15 subsection (b).

16 ‘‘(B) DATA COLLECTION.—Consistent with

17 the annual report to Congress under subsection

18 (j), each women’s business center site that is

19 awarded a sustainability grant shall, to the

20 maximum extent practicable, collect information

21 relating to—

22 ‘‘(i) the number of individuals as23 sisted;
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1 ‘‘(ii) the number of hours of coun2 seling and training provided and work3 shops conducted;

4 ‘‘(iii) the number of startup business

5 concerns formed;

6 ‘‘(iv) any available gross receipts of

7 assisted concerns; and

8 ‘‘(v) the number of jobs created,

9 maintained, or lost at assisted concerns.

10 ‘‘(C) RECORD RETENTION.—The Adminis11 tration shall maintain a copy of each applica12 tion submitted under this subsection for not

13 less than 10 years.

14 ‘‘(4) NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBUTION.—

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any

16 other provision of this section, as a condition of

17 receiving a sustainability grant, an organization

18 described in paragraph (1) shall agree to ob19 tain, after its application has been approved

20 under paragraph (3) and notice of award has

21 been issued, cash and in-kind contributions

22 from non-Federal sources for each year of addi23 tional program participation in an amount

24 equal to 1 non-Federal dollar for each Federal

25 dollar.
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1 ‘‘(B) FORM OF NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBU2 TIONS.—Not more than 50 percent of the non3 Federal assistance obtained for purposes of sub4 paragraph (A) may be in the form of in-kind

5 contributions that are budget line items only,

6 including office equipment and office space.

7 ‘‘(5) TIMING OF REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS.—

8 In carrying out this subsection, the Administration

9 shall issue requests for proposals for women’s busi10 ness centers applying for the pilot program under

11 this subsection simultaneously with requests for pro12 posals for grants under subsection (b).’’.

13 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section

14 29(k) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656(k)) is

15 amended—

16 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the

17 following:

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be

19 appropriated, to remain available until the expiration

20 of the pilot program under subsection (l)—

21 ‘‘(A) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2000;

22 ‘‘(B) $12,800,000 for fiscal year 2001;

23 ‘‘(C) $13,700,000 for fiscal year 2002; and

24 ‘‘(D) $14,500,000 for fiscal year 2003.’’;

25 (2) in paragraph (2)—
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1 (A) by striking ‘‘Amounts made’’ and in2 serting the following:

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

4 subparagraph (B), amounts made’’; and

5 (B) by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.—Of the amount made

7 available under this subsection for a fiscal year,

8 the following amounts shall be available for se9 lection panel costs, post-award conference costs,

10 and costs related to monitoring and oversight:

11 ‘‘(i) For fiscal year 2000, 2 percent.

12 ‘‘(ii) For fiscal year 2001, 1.9 per13 cent.

14 ‘‘(iii) For fiscal year 2002, 1.9 per15 cent.

16 ‘‘(iv) For fiscal year 2003, 1.6 per17 cent.’’; and

18 (3) by adding at the end the following:

19 ‘‘(4) RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR SUSTAIN20 ABILITY PILOT PROGRAM.—

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara22 graph (B), of the total amount made available

23 under this subsection for a fiscal year, the fol24 lowing amounts shall be reserved for sustain25 ability grants under subsection (l):
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1 ‘‘(i) For fiscal year 2000, 17 percent.

2 ‘‘(ii) For fiscal year 2001, 18.8 per3 cent.

4 ‘‘(iii) For fiscal year 2002, 30.2 per5 cent.

6 ‘‘(iv) For fiscal year 2003, 30.2 per7 cent.

8 ‘‘(B) USE OF UNAWARDED FUNDS FOR

9 SUSTAINABILITY PILOT PROGRAM GRANTS.—If

10 the amount reserved under subparagraph (A)

11 for any fiscal year is not fully awarded to pri12 vate nonprofit organizations described in sub13 section (l)(1)(B), the Administration is author14 ized to use the unawarded amount to fund addi15 tional women’s business center sites or to in16 crease funding of existing women’s business

17 center sites under subsection (b).’’.

18 (c) GUIDELINES.—Not later than 30 days after the

19 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the

20 Small Business Administration shall issue guidelines to

21 implement the amendments made by this section.

22 SEC. 5. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING GOVERNMENT

23 PROCUREMENT ACCESS FOR WOMEN-OWNED

24 SMALL BUSINESSES.

25 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds that—
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1 (1) women-owned small businesses are a power2 ful force in the economy;

3 (2) between 1987 and 1996—

4 (A) the number of women-owned small

5 businesses in the United States increased by 78

6 percent, almost twice the rate of increase of all

7 businesses in the United States;

8 (B) the number of women-owned small

9 businesses increased in every State;

10 (C) total sales by women-owned small busi11 nesses in the United States increased by 236

12 percent;

13 (D) employment provided by women-owned

14 small businesses in the United States increased

15 by 183 percent; and

16 (E) the rates of growth for women-owned

17 small businesses in the United States for the

18 fastest growing industries were—

19 (i) 171 percent in construction;

20 (ii) 157 percent in wholesale trade;

21 (iii) 140 percent in transportation and

22 communications;

23 (iv) 130 percent in agriculture; and

24 (v) 112 percent in manufacturing;
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1 (3) approximately 8,000,000 women-owned

2 small businesses in the United States provide jobs

3 for 15,500,000 individuals and generate almost

4 $1,400,000,000,000 in sales each year;

5 (4) the participation of women-owned small

6 businesses in the United States in the procurement

7 market of the Federal Government is limited;

8 (5) the Federal Government is the largest pur9 chaser of goods and services in the United States,

10 spending more than $200,000,000,000 each year;

11 (6) the majority of Federal Government pur12 chases are for items that cost $25,000 or less; and

13 (7) the rate of Federal procurement for women14 owned small businesses is 2.2 percent.

15 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the

16 Senate that, not later than 1 year after the date of enact17 ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United

18 States should—

19 (1) conduct an audit of the Federal procure20 ment system regarding Federal contracting involving

21 women-owned small businesses for the 3 preceding

22 fiscal years;

23 (2) solicit from Federal employees involved in

24 the Federal procurement system any suggestions re25 garding how to increase the number of Federal con-
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1 tracts awarded to women-owned small businesses;

2 and

3 (3) submit to Congress a report on the results

4 of that audit, which report shall include—

5 (A) an analysis of any identified trends in

6 Federal contracting with respect to women7 owned small businesses;

8 (B) any recommended means to increase

9 the number of Federal contracts awarded to

10 women-owned small businesses that the Comp11 troller General considers to be appropriate,

12 after taking into consideration any suggestions

13 received pursuant to a solicitation described in

14 paragraph (2), including any such means that

15 incorporate the concepts of teaming or

16 partnering; and

17 (C) a discussion of any barriers to the re18 ceipt of Federal contracts by women-owned

19 small businesses and other small businesses

20 that are created by legal or regulatory procure21 ment requirements or practices.
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1 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.

2 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall

3 take effect on October 1, 1999.

Passed the Senate November 5, 1999.

Attest:

Secretary.
106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 791

AN ACT

To amend the Small Business Act with respect to

the women’s business center program.