IIB 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1700 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 11, 2018 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and 

Entrepreneurship 

AN ACT 

To amend the Small Business Act to reauthorize the SCORE 

program, and for other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This title may be cited as the ‘‘SCORE for Small 

3 Business Act of 2018’’. 

4 SEC. 2. SCORE REAUTHORIZATION. 

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

6 note) is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating subsection (j) as sub8 section (f); and 

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

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

11 appropriated to the Administrator to carry out the 

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

13 as are necessary for the Administrator to make grants or 

14 enter into cooperative agreements in a total amount that 

15 does not exceed $10,500,000 in each of fiscal years 2019 

16 and 2020.’’. 

17 SEC. 3. SCORE PROGRAM. 

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

19 is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (b)(1)(B)— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘a Service Corps of Retired 

22 Executives (SCORE)’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

23 SCORE program described in subsection (c)’’; 

24 and 

25 (B) by striking ‘‘SCORE may’’ and insert26 ing ‘‘the SCORE program may’’; and 


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

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(c) SCORE PROGRAM.— 

4 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection: 

5 ‘‘(A) SCORE ASSOCIATION.—The term 

6 ‘SCORE Association’ means the Service Corps 

7 of Retired Executives Association or any suc8 cessor or other organization that receives a 

9 grant from the Administrator to operate the 

10 SCORE program under paragraph (2)(A). 

11 ‘‘(B) SCORE PROGRAM.—The term 

12 ‘SCORE program’ means the SCORE program 

13 authorized by subsection (b)(1)(B). 

14 ‘‘(2) MANAGEMENT AND VOLUNTEERS.— 

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

16 shall provide a grant to the SCORE Association 

17 to manage the SCORE program. 

18 ‘‘(B) VOLUNTEERS.—A volunteer partici19 pating in the SCORE program shall— 

20 ‘‘(i) based on the business experience 

21 and knowledge of the volunteer— 

22 ‘‘(I) provide at no cost to individ23 uals who own, or aspire to own, small 

24 business concerns personal counseling, 

25 mentoring, and coaching relating to 


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1 the process of starting, expanding, 

2 managing, buying, and selling a busi3 ness; and 

4 ‘‘(II) facilitate low-cost education 

5 workshops for individuals who own, or 

6 aspire to own, small business con7 cerns; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) as appropriate, use tools, re9 sources, and expertise of other organiza10 tions to carry out the SCORE program. 

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

12 in consultation with the SCORE Association, shall 

13 ensure that the SCORE program and each chapter 

14 of the SCORE program develop and implement 

15 plans and goals to more effectively and efficiently 

16 provide services to individuals in rural areas, eco17 nomically disadvantaged communities, and other tra18 ditionally underserved communities, including plans 

19 for electronic initiatives, web-based initiatives, chap20 ter expansion, partnerships, and the development of 

21 new skills by volunteers participating in the SCORE 

22 program. 

23 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL REPORT.—The SCORE Associa24 tion shall submit to the Administrator an annual re25 port that contains— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the number of individuals counseled 

2 or trained under the SCORE program; 

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

4 provided under the SCORE program; and 

5 ‘‘(C) to the extent possible— 

6 ‘‘(i) the number of small business con7 cerns formed with assistance from the 

8 SCORE program; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the number of small business 

10 concerns expanded with assistance from 

11 the SCORE program; and 

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

13 assistance from the SCORE program. 

14 ‘‘(5) PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Neither the Adminis16 trator nor the SCORE Association may disclose 

17 the name, address, or telephone number of any 

18 individual or small business concern receiving 

19 assistance from the SCORE Association with20 out the consent of such individual or small busi21 ness concern, unless— 

22 ‘‘(i) the Administrator is ordered to 

23 make such a disclosure by a court in any 

24 civil or criminal enforcement action initi25 ated by a Federal or State agency; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the Administrator determines 

2 such a disclosure to be necessary for the 

3 purpose of conducting a financial audit of 

4 the SCORE program, in which case disclo5 sure shall be limited to the information 

6 necessary for the audit. 

7 ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATOR USE OF INFORMA8 TION.—This paragraph shall not— 

9 ‘‘(i) restrict the access of the Adminis10 trator to program activity data; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) prevent the Administrator from 

12 using client information to conduct client 

13 surveys. 

14 ‘‘(C) STANDARDS.— 

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

16 shall, after the opportunity for notice and 

17 comment, establish standards for— 

18 ‘‘(I) disclosures with respect to 

19 financial audits under subparagraph 

20 (A)(ii); and 

21 ‘‘(II) conducting client surveys, 

22 including standards for oversight of 

23 the surveys and for dissemination and 

24 use of client information. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) MAXIMUM PRIVACY PROTEC2 TION.—The standards issued under this 

3 subparagraph shall, to the extent prac4 ticable, provide for the maximum amount 

5 of privacy protection.’’. 

6 SEC. 4. ONLINE COMPONENT. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8(c) of the Small Busi8 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 637(c)), as amended by section 3, 

9 is further amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(6) ONLINE COMPONENT.—In carrying out 

11 this subsection, the SCORE Association shall make 

12 use of online counseling, including by developing and 

13 implementing webinars and an electronic mentoring 

14 platform to expand access to services provided under 

15 this subsection and to further support entre16 preneurs.’’. 

17 (b) ONLINE COMPONENT REPORT.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—At the end of fiscal year 

19 2019, the SCORE Association shall issue a report to 

20 the Committee on Small Business of the House of 

21 Representatives and the Committee on Small Busi22 ness and Entrepreneurship of the Senate on the ef23 fectiveness of the online counseling and webinars re24 quired as part of the SCORE program, including a 

25 description of— 


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1 (A) how the SCORE Association deter2 mines electronic mentoring and webinar needs, 

3 develops training for electronic mentoring, es4 tablishes webinar criteria curricula, and evalu5 ates webinar and electronic mentoring results; 

6 (B) the internal controls that are used and 

7 a summary of the topics covered by the 

8 webinars; and 

9 (C) performance metrics, including the 

10 number of small business concerns counseled 

11 by, the number of small business concerns cre12 ated by, the number of jobs created and re13 tained by, and the funding amounts directed to14 wards such online counseling and webinars. 

15 (2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub16 section, the terms ‘‘SCORE Association’’ and 

17 ‘‘SCORE program’’ have the meaning given those 

18 terms, respectively, under section 8(c)(1) of the 

19 Small Business Act, as added by section 3 of this 

20 Act. 

21 SEC. 5. STUDY AND REPORT ON THE FUTURE ROLE OF THE 

22 SCORE PROGRAM. 

23 (a) STUDY.—The SCORE Association shall carry out 

24 a study on the future role of the SCORE program and 

25 develop a strategic plan for how the SCORE program will 


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1 meet the needs of small business concerns during the 5- 

2 year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this 

3 Act, with specific objectives for the first, third, and fifth 

4 years of the 5-year period. 

5 (b) REPORT.—Not later than the end of the 6-month 

6 period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, 

7 the SCORE Association shall issue a report to the Com8 mittee on Small Business of the House of Representatives 

9 and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneur10 ship of the Senate containing— 

11 (1) all findings and determination made in car12 rying out the study required under subsection (a); 

13 (2) the strategic plan developed under sub14 section (a); 

15 (3) an explanation of how the SCORE Associa16 tion plans to achieve the strategic plan, assuming 

17 both stagnant and increased funding levels. 

18 (c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 

19 terms ‘‘SCORE Association’’ and ‘‘SCORE program’’ 

20 have the meaning given those terms, respectively, under 

21 section 8(c)(1) of the Small Business Act, as added by 

22 section 3 of this Act. 

23 SEC. 6. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

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

25 (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended— 


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1 (1) in section 7 (15 U.S.C. 636)— 

2 (A) in subsection (b)(12)— 

3 (i) in the paragraph heading, by in4 serting ‘‘PROGRAM’’ after ‘‘SCORE’’; and 

5 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

6 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 

8 (B) in subsection (m)(3)(A)(i)(VIII), by 

9 striking ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 

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

12 (A) in subsection (b)— 

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

14 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 

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

17 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and in21 serting ‘‘SCORE program’’. 

22 (b) OTHER LAWS.— 

23 (1) SMALL BUSINESS REAUTHORIZATION ACT

24 OF 1997.—Section 707 of the Small Business Reau25 thorization Act of 1997 (15 U.S.C. 631 note) is 


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1 amended by striking ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Ex2 ecutives (SCORE) program’’ and inserting ‘‘SCORE 

3 program (as defined in section 8(c)(1) of the Small 

4 Business Act)’’. 

5 (2) VETERANS ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND

6 SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1999.—Sec7 tion 301 of the Veterans Entrepreneurship and 

8 Small Business Development Act of 1999 (15 U.S.C. 

9 657b note) is amended by striking ‘‘Service Core of 

10 Retired Executives’’ and inserting ‘‘SCORE pro11 gram’’. 

12 (3) MILITARY RESERVIST AND VETERAN SMALL

13 BUSINESS REAUTHORIZATION AND OPPORTUNITY

14 ACT OF 2008.—Section 3(5) of the Military Reservist 

15 and Veteran Small Business Reauthorization and 

16 Opportunity Act of 2008 (15 U.S.C. 636 note) is 

17 amended by striking ‘‘means the SCORE program’’. 

18 (4) CHILDREN’S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM

19 REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2009.—Section 621 of the 

20 Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthoriza21 tion Act of 2009 (15 U.S.C. 657p) is amended— 

22 (A) in subsection (a), by striking para23 graph (4) and inserting the following: 

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

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


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

2 637(b)(1)(B));’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and in5 serting ‘‘SCORE program’’. 

6 (5) ENERGY POLICY AND CONSERVATION

7 ACT.—Section 337(d)(2)(A) of the Energy Policy 

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

9 amended by striking ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Ex10 ecutives (SCORE)’’ and inserting ‘‘SCORE pro11 gram’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives July 10, 2018. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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