II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 181 

To jump-start economic recovery through the formation and growth of new 

businesses, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 16, 2015 

Mr. MORAN (for himself, Mr. WARNER, Mr. COONS, Mr. BLUNT, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, and Mr. KAINE) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To jump-start economic recovery through the formation and 

growth of new 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Startup Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Conditional permanent resident status for immigrants with an advanced 

degree in a STEM field. 

Sec. 4. Immigrant entrepreneurs. 


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Sec. 5. Elimination of the per country numerical limitation for employmentbased visas. 

Sec. 6. Capital gains tax exemption for startup companies. 

Sec. 7. Research credit for startup companies. 

Sec. 8. Accelerated commercialization of taxpayer-funded research. 

Sec. 9. Economic impact of significant Federal agency rules. 

Sec. 10. Biennial State startup business report. 

Sec. 11. New business formation report. 

Sec. 12. Rescission of unspent Federal funds. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) Achieving economic recovery will require the 

4 formation and growth of new companies. 

5 (2) Between 1980 and 2005, companies less 

6 than 5 years old accounted for nearly all net job cre7 ation in the United States. 

8 (3) New firms in the United States create an 

9 average of 3,000,000 jobs per year. 

10 (4) To get Americans back to work, entre11 preneurs must be free to innovate, create new com12 panies, and hire employees. 

13 SEC. 3. CONDITIONAL PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS FOR 

14 IMMIGRANTS WITH AN ADVANCED DEGREE 

15 IN A STEM FIELD. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 2 of title II of the Immi17 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1181 et seq.) is 

18 amended by inserting after section 216A the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 216B. CONDITIONAL PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS 

2 FOR ALIENS WITH AN ADVANCED DEGREE IN 

3 A STEM FIELD. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro5 vision of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security 

6 may adjust the status of not more than 50,000 aliens who 

7 have earned a master’s degree or a doctorate degree at 

8 an institution of higher education in a STEM field to that 

9 of an alien conditionally admitted for permanent residence 

10 and authorize each alien granted such adjustment of sta11 tus to remain in the United States— 

12 ‘‘(1) for up to 1 year after the expiration of the 

13 alien’s student visa under section 101(a)(15)(F)(i) if 

14 the alien is diligently searching for an opportunity to 

15 become actively engaged in a STEM field; and 

16 ‘‘(2) indefinitely if the alien remains actively en17 gaged in a STEM field. 

18 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION FOR CONDITIONAL PERMANENT

19 RESIDENT STATUS.—Every alien applying for a condi20 tional permanent resident status under this section shall 

21 submit an application to the Secretary of Homeland Secu22 rity before the expiration of the alien’s student visa in 

23 such form and manner as the Secretary shall prescribe 

24 by regulation. 

25 ‘‘(c) INELIGIBILITY FOR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AS26 SISTANCE.—An alien granted conditional permanent resiVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:43 Jan 24, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S181.IS S181

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1 dent status under this section shall not be eligible, while 

2 in such status, for— 

3 ‘‘(1) any unemployment compensation (as de4 fined in section 85(b) of the Internal Revenue Code 

5 of 1986); or 

6 ‘‘(2) any Federal means-tested public benefit 

7 (as that term is used in section 403 of the Personal 

8 Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation 

9 Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1613)). 

10 ‘‘(d) EFFECT ON NATURALIZATION RESIDENCY RE11 QUIREMENT.—An alien granted conditional permanent 

12 resident status under this section shall be deemed to have 

13 been lawfully admitted for permanent residence for pur14 poses of meeting the 5-year residency requirement set 

15 forth in section 316(a)(1). 

16 ‘‘(e) REMOVAL OF CONDITION.—The Secretary of 

17 Homeland Security shall remove the conditional basis of 

18 an alien’s conditional permanent resident status under 

19 this section on the date that is 5 years after the date such 

20 status was granted if the alien maintained his or her eligi21 bility for such status during the entire 5-year period. 

22 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 ‘‘(1) ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN A STEM FIELD.— 

24 The term ‘actively engaged in a STEM field’— 

25 ‘‘(A) means— 


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1 ‘‘(i) gainfully employed in a for-profit 

2 business or nonprofit organization in the 

3 United States in a STEM field; 

4 ‘‘(ii) teaching 1 or more STEM field 

5 courses at an institution of higher edu6 cation; or 

7 ‘‘(iii) employed by a Federal, State, or 

8 local government entity; and 

9 ‘‘(B) includes any period of up to 6 

10 months during which the alien does not meet 

11 the requirement under subparagraph (A) if 

12 such period was immediately preceded by a 1- 

13 year period during which the alien met the re14 quirement under subparagraph (A). 

15 ‘‘(2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

16 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

17 meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 

18 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

19 ‘‘(3) STEM FIELD.—The term ‘STEM field’ 

20 means any field of study or occupation included on 

21 the most recent STEM-Designated Degree Program 

22 List published in the Federal Register by the De23 partment of Homeland Security (as described in sec24 tion 214.2(f)(11)(i)(C)(2) of title 8, Code of Federal 

25 Regulations).’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

2 for the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 

3 et seq.) is amended by inserting after the item relating 

4 to section 216A the following: 

‘‘Sec. 216B. Conditional permanent resident status for aliens with an advanced 

degree in a STEM field.’’. 

5 (c) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE

6 STUDY.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

8 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp9 troller General of the United States shall submit to 

10 Congress a report on the alien college graduates 

11 granted immigrant status under section 216B of the 

12 Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by sub13 section (a). 

14 (2) CONTENTS.—The report described in para15 graph (1) shall include— 

16 (A) the number of aliens described in para17 graph (1) who have earned a master’s degree, 

18 broken down by the number of such degrees in 

19 science, technology, engineering, and mathe20 matics; 

21 (B) the number of aliens described in 

22 paragraph (1) who have earned a doctorate de23 gree, broken down by the number of such deVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:43 Jan 24, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S181.IS S181

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1 grees in science, technology, engineering, and 

2 mathematics; 

3 (C) the number of aliens described in para4 graph (1) who have founded a business in the 

5 United States in a STEM field; 

6 (D) the number of aliens described in 

7 paragraph (1) who are employed in the United 

8 States in a STEM field, broken down by em9 ployment sector (for profit, nonprofit, or gov10 ernment); and 

11 (E) the number of aliens described in para12 graph (1) who are employed by an institution of 

13 higher education. 

14 (3) DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘institution of 

15 higher education’’ and ‘‘STEM field’’ have the 

16 meaning given such terms in section 216B(f) of the 

17 Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by sub18 section (a). 

19 SEC. 4. IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURS. 

20 (a) QUALIFIED ALIEN ENTREPRENEURS.— 

21 (1) ADMISSION AS IMMIGRANTS.—Chapter 1 of 

22 title II of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

23 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 

24 end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 210A. QUALIFIED ALIEN ENTREPRENEURS. 

2 ‘‘(a) ADMISSION AS IMMIGRANTS.—The Secretary of 

3 Homeland Security, in accordance with the provisions of 

4 this section and section 216A, may issue a conditional im5 migrant visa to not more than 75,000 qualified alien en6 trepreneurs. 

7 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION FOR CONDITIONAL PERMANENT

8 RESIDENT STATUS.—Every alien applying for a condi9 tional immigrant visa under this section shall submit an 

10 application to the Secretary of Homeland Security in such 

11 form and manner as the Secretary shall prescribe by regu12 lation. 

13 ‘‘(c) REVOCATION.—If, during the 4-year period be14 ginning on the date that an alien is granted a visa under 

15 this section, the Secretary of Homeland Security deter16 mines that such alien is no longer a qualified alien entre17 preneur, the Secretary shall— 

18 ‘‘(1) revoke such visa; and 

19 ‘‘(2) notify the alien that the alien— 

20 ‘‘(A) may voluntarily depart from the 

21 United States in accordance to section 240B; or 

22 ‘‘(B) will be subject to removal proceedings 

23 under section 240 if the alien does not depart 

24 from the United States not later than 6 months 

25 after receiving such notification. 


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1 ‘‘(d) REMOVAL OF CONDITIONAL BASIS.—The Sec2 retary of Homeland Security shall remove the conditional 

3 basis of the status of an alien issued an immigrant visa 

4 under this section on that date that is 4 years after the 

5 date on which such visa was issued if such visa was not 

6 revoked pursuant to subsection (c). 

7 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 ‘‘(1) FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘full9 time employee’ means a United States citizen or 

10 legal permanent resident who is paid by the new 

11 business entity registered by a qualified alien entre12 preneur at a rate that is comparable to the median 

13 income of employees in the region. 

14 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED ALIEN ENTREPRENEUR.—The 

15 term ‘qualified alien entrepreneur’ means an alien 

16 who— 

17 ‘‘(A) at the time the alien applies for an 

18 immigrant visa under this section— 

19 ‘‘(i) is lawfully present in the United 

20 States; and 

21 ‘‘(ii)(I) holds a nonimmigrant visa 

22 pursuant to section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b); or 

23 ‘‘(II) holds a nonimmigrant visa pur24 suant to section 101(a)(15)(F)(i); 


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1 ‘‘(B) during the 1-year period beginning on 

2 the date the alien is granted a visa under this 

3 section— 

4 ‘‘(i) registers at least 1 new business 

5 entity in a State; 

6 ‘‘(ii) employs, at such business entity 

7 in the United States, at least 2 full-time 

8 employees who are not relatives of the 

9 alien; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) invests, or raises capital invest11 ment of, not less than $100,000 in such 

12 business entity; and 

13 ‘‘(C) during the 3-year period beginning on 

14 the last day of the 1-year period described in 

15 paragraph (2), employs, at such business entity 

16 in the United States, an average of at least 5 

17 full-time employees who are not relatives of the 

18 alien.’’. 

19 (2) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The 

20 table of contents in the first section of the Immigra21 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is 

22 amended by adding after the item relating to section 

23 210 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 210A. Qualified alien entrepreneurs.’’. 


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1 (b) CONDITIONAL PERMANENT RESIDENT STA2 TUS.—Section 216A of the Immigration and Nationality 

3 Act (8 U.S.C. 1186b) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ each place 

5 such term appears and inserting ‘‘Secretary of 

6 Homeland Security’’; 

7 (2) in subsection (b)(1)(C), by striking 

8 ‘‘203(b)(5),’’ and inserting ‘‘203(b)(5) or 210A, as 

9 appropriate,’’; 

10 (3) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘alien en11 trepreneur must’’ each place such term appears and 

12 inserting ‘‘alien entrepreneur shall’’; 

13 (4) in subsection (d)(1)(B), by striking the pe14 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘or 210A, as appro15 priate.’’; and 

16 (5) in subsection (f)(1), by striking the period 

17 at the end and inserting ‘‘or 210A.’’. 

18 (c) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE

19 STUDY.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

21 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp22 troller General of the United States shall submit to 

23 Congress a report on the qualified alien entre24 preneurs granted immigrant status under section 


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1 210A of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as 

2 added by subsection (a). 

3 (2) CONTENTS.—The report described in para4 graph (1) shall include information regarding— 

5 (A) the number of qualified alien entre6 preneurs who have received immigrant status 

7 under section 210A of the Immigration and Na8 tionality Act, as added by subsection (a), listed 

9 by country of origin; 

10 (B) the localities in which such qualified 

11 alien entrepreneurs have initially settled; 

12 (C) whether such qualified alien entre13 preneurs generally remain in the localities in 

14 which they initially settle; 

15 (D) the types of commercial enterprises 

16 that such qualified alien entrepreneurs have es17 tablished; and 

18 (E) the types and number of jobs created 

19 by such qualified alien entrepreneurs. 

20 SEC. 5. ELIMINATION OF THE PER COUNTRY NUMERICAL 

21 LIMITATION FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED 

22 VISAS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 202(a)(2) of the Immi24 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1152(a)(2)) is 

25 amended— 


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1 (1) in the paragraph heading, by striking ‘‘AND

2 EMPLOYMENT-BASED’’; 

3 (2) by striking ‘‘(3), (4), and (5),’’ and insert4 ing ‘‘(3) and (4),’’; 

5 (3) by striking ‘‘subsections (a) and (b) of sec6 tion 203’’ and inserting ‘‘section 203(a)’’; 

7 (4) by striking ‘‘7’’ and inserting ‘‘15’’; and 

8 (5) by striking ‘‘such subsections’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘such section’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 202 of the 

11 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1152) is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a)(3), by striking ‘‘both sub14 sections (a) and (b) of section 203’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘section 203(a)’’; 

16 (2) by striking subsection (a)(5); and 

17 (3) by amending subsection (e) to read as fol18 lows: 

19 ‘‘(e) SPECIAL RULES FOR COUNTRIES AT CEILING.— 

20 If it is determined that the total number of immigrant 

21 visas made available under section 203(a) to natives of 

22 any single foreign state or dependent area will exceed the 

23 numerical limitation specified in subsection (a)(2) in any 

24 fiscal year, in determining the allotment of immigrant visa 

25 numbers to natives under section 203(a), visa numbers 


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1 with respect to natives of that state or area shall be allo2 cated (to the extent practicable and otherwise consistent 

3 with this section and section 203) in a manner so that, 

4 except as provided in subsection (a)(4), the proportion of 

5 the visa numbers made available under each of paragraphs 

6 (1) through (4) of section 203(a) is equal to the ratio of 

7 the total number of visas made available under the respec8 tive paragraph to the total number of visas made available 

9 under section 203(a).’’. 

10 (c) COUNTRY-SPECIFIC OFFSET.—Section 2 of the 

11 Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992 (8 U.S.C. 1255 

12 note) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘subsection 

14 (e))’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (d))’’; and 

15 (2) by striking subsection (d) and redesignating 

16 subsection (e) as subsection (d). 

17 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

18 this section shall take effect as if enacted on September 

19 30, 2014, and shall apply to fiscal years beginning with 

20 fiscal year 2015. 

21 (e) TRANSITION RULES FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED

22 IMMIGRANTS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the succeeding 

24 paragraphs of this subsection and notwithstanding 


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1 title II of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

2 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.), the following rules shall apply: 

3 (A) For fiscal year 2015, 15 percent of the 

4 immigrant visas made available under each of 

5 paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 203(b) of 

6 such Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)) shall be allotted to 

7 immigrants who are natives of a foreign state 

8 or dependent area that was not one of the two 

9 states with the largest aggregate numbers of 

10 natives obtaining immigrant visas during fiscal 

11 year 2013 under such paragraphs. 

12 (B) For fiscal year 2016, 10 percent of the 

13 immigrant visas made available under each of 

14 such paragraphs shall be allotted to immigrants 

15 who are natives of a foreign state or dependent 

16 area that was not one of the two states with the 

17 largest aggregate numbers of natives obtaining 

18 immigrant visas during fiscal year 2014 under 

19 such paragraphs. 

20 (C) For fiscal year 2017, 10 percent of the 

21 immigrant visas made available under each of 

22 such paragraphs shall be allotted to immigrants 

23 who are natives of a foreign state or dependent 

24 area that was not one of the two states with the 

25 largest aggregate numbers of natives obtaining 


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1 immigrant visas during fiscal year 2015 under 

2 such paragraphs. 

3 (2) PER-COUNTRY LEVELS.— 

4 (A) RESERVED VISAS.—With respect to 

5 the visas reserved under each of subparagraphs 

6 (A) through (C) of paragraph (1), the number 

7 of such visas made available to natives of any 

8 single foreign state or dependent area in the ap9 propriate fiscal year may not exceed 25 percent 

10 (in the case of a single foreign state) or 2 per11 cent (in the case of a dependent area) of the 

12 total number of such visas. 

13 (B) UNRESERVED VISAS.—With respect to 

14 the immigrant visas made available under each 

15 of paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 203(b) of 

16 such Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)) and not reserved 

17 under paragraph (1), for each of fiscal years 

18 2015, 2016, and 2017, not more than 85 per19 cent shall be allotted to immigrants who are na20 tives of any single foreign state. 

21 (3) SPECIAL RULE TO PREVENT UNUSED

22 VISAS.—If, with respect to fiscal year 2015, 2016, or 

23 2017, the operation of paragraphs (1) and (2) of 

24 this subsection would prevent the total number of 

25 immigrant visas made available under paragraph (2) 


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1 or (3) of section 203(b) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

2 1153(b)) from being issued, such visas may be 

3 issued during the remainder of such fiscal year with4 out regard to paragraphs (1) and (2) of this sub5 section. 

6 (4) RULES FOR CHARGEABILITY.—Section 

7 202(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

8 U.S.C. 1152(b)) shall apply in determining the for9 eign state to which an alien is chargeable for pur10 poses of this subsection. 

11 SEC. 6. CAPITAL GAINS TAX EXEMPTION FOR STARTUP 

12 COMPANIES. 

13 (a) PERMANENT FULL EXCLUSION.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 

15 1202 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

16 amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(a) EXCLUSION.—In the case of a taxpayer other 

18 than a corporation, gross income shall not include 100 

19 percent of any gain from the sale or exchange of qualified 

20 small business stock held for more than 5 years.’’. 

21 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

22 (A) The heading for section 1202 of such 

23 Code is amended by striking ‘‘PARTIAL’’. 

24 (B) The item relating to section 1202 in 

25 the table of sections for part I of subchapter P 


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1 of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by strik2 ing ‘‘Partial exclusion’’ and inserting ‘‘Exclu3 sion’’. 

4 (C) Section 1223(13) of such Code is 

5 amended by striking ‘‘1202(a)(2),’’. 

6 (b) REPEAL OF MINIMUM TAX PREFERENCE.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 57 

8 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by 

9 striking paragraph (7). 

10 (2) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Subclause (II) 

11 of section 53(d)(1)(B)(ii) of such Code is amended 

12 by striking ‘‘, (5), and (7)’’ and inserting ‘‘and (5)’’. 

13 (c) REPEAL OF 28 PERCENT CAPITAL GAINS RATE

14 ON QUALIFIED SMALL BUSINESS STOCK.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (A) of section 

16 1(h)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

17 amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(A) collectibles gain, over’’. 

19 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

20 (A) Section 1(h) of such Code is amended 

21 by striking paragraph (7). 

22 (B)(i) Section 1(h) of such Code is amend23 ed by redesignating paragraphs (8), (9), (10), 

24 (11), (12), and (13) as paragraphs (7), (8), (9), 

25 (10), (11), and (12), respectively. 


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1 (ii) Sections 163(d)(4)(B), 854(b)(5), 

2 857(c)(2)(D) of such Code are each amended 

3 by striking ‘‘section 1(h)(11)(B)’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘section 1(h)(10)(B)’’. 

5 (iii) The following sections of such Code 

6 are each amended by striking ‘‘section 

7 1(h)(11)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 1(h)(10)’’: 

8 (I) Section 301(f)(4). 

9 (II) Section 306(a)(1)(D). 

10 (III) Section 584(c). 

11 (IV) Section 702(a)(5). 

12 (V) Section 854(a). 

13 (VI) Section 854(b)(2). 

14 (iv) The heading of section 857(c)(2) is 

15 amended by striking ‘‘1(h)(11)’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘1(h)(10)’’. 

17 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

18 this section apply to stock acquired after December 31, 

19 2015. 

20 SEC. 7. RESEARCH CREDIT FOR STARTUP COMPANIES. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 41 of the Internal 

23 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the 

24 end the following new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(i) TREATMENT OF CREDIT TO QUALIFIED SMALL

2 BUSINESSES.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—At the election of a quali4 fied small business, the payroll tax credit portion of 

5 the credit determined under subsection (a) shall be 

6 treated as a credit allowed under section 3111(f) 

7 (and not under this section). 

8 ‘‘(2) PAYROLL TAX CREDIT PORTION.—For 

9 purposes of this subsection, the payroll tax credit 

10 portion of the credit determined under subsection 

11 (a) for any taxable year is so much of such credit 

12 as does not exceed $250,000. 

13 ‘‘(3) QUALIFIED SMALL BUSINESS.—For pur14 poses of this subsection— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 

16 small business’ means, with respect to any tax17 able year— 

18 ‘‘(i) a corporation, partnership, or S 

19 corporation if— 

20 ‘‘(I) the gross receipts (as deter21 mined under subsection (c)(7)) of 

22 such entity for the taxable year is less 

23 than $5,000,000, and 

24 ‘‘(II) such entity did not have 

25 gross receipts (as so determined) for 


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1 any period preceding the 5-taxable2 year period ending with such taxable 

3 year, and 

4 ‘‘(ii) any person not described in sub5 paragraph (A) if clauses (i) and (ii) of sub6 paragraph (A) applied to such person, de7 termined— 

8 ‘‘(I) by substituting ‘person’ for 

9 ‘entity’ each place it appears), and 

10 ‘‘(II) in the case of an individual, 

11 by only taking into account the aggre12 gate gross receipts received by such 

13 individual in carrying on trades or 

14 businesses of such individual. 

15 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Such term shall not 

16 include an organization which is exempt from 

17 taxation under section 501. 

18 ‘‘(4) ELECTION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a part20 nership or S corporation, an election under this 

21 subsection shall be made at the entity level. 

22 ‘‘(B) REVOCATION.—An election under 

23 this subsection may not be revoked without the 

24 consent of the Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—A taxpayer may not 

2 make an election under this subsection if such 

3 taxpayer has made an election under this sub4 section for 5 or more preceding taxable years. 

5 ‘‘(5) AGGREGATION RULES.—For purposes of 

6 determining the $250,000 limitation under para7 graph (2) and determining gross receipts under 

8 paragraph (3), all members of the same controlled 

9 group of corporations (within the meaning of section 

10 267(f)) and all persons under common control (with11 in the meaning of section 52(b) but determined by 

12 treating an interest of more than 50 percent as a 

13 controlling interest) shall be treated as 1 person. 

14 ‘‘(6) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall pre15 scribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry 

16 out the purposes of this subsection, including— 

17 ‘‘(A) regulations to prevent the avoidance 

18 of the purposes of paragraph (3) through the 

19 use of successor companies or other means, 

20 ‘‘(B) regulations to minimize compliance 

21 and record-keeping burdens under this sub22 section for start-up companies, and 

23 ‘‘(C) regulations for recapturing the ben24 efit of credits determined under section 3111(f) 

25 in cases where there is a subsequent adjustment 


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1 to the payroll tax credit portion of the credit 

2 determined under subsection (a), including re3 quiring amended returns in the cases where 

4 there is such an adjustment.’’. 

5 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

6 280C(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

7 amended by adding at the end the following new 

8 paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(5) TREATMENT OF QUALIFIED SMALL BUSI10 NESS CREDIT.—For purposes of determining the 

11 amount of any credit under section 41(a) under this 

12 subsection, any election under section 41(i) shall be 

13 disregarded.’’. 

14 (b) CREDIT ALLOWED AGAINST FICA TAXES.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3111 of the Internal 

16 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the 

17 end the following new subsection: 

18 ‘‘(f) CREDIT FOR RESEARCH EXPENDITURES OF

19 QUALIFIED SMALL BUSINESSES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a qualified 

21 small business which has made an election under 

22 section 41(i), there shall be allowed as a credit 

23 against the tax imposed by subsection (a) on wages 

24 paid with respect to the employment of all employees 

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1 cable calendar quarter an amount equal to the pay2 roll tax credit portion of the research credit deter3 mined under section 41(a). 

4 ‘‘(2) CARRYOVER OF UNUSED CREDIT.—In any 

5 case in which the payroll tax credit portion of the re6 search credit determined under section 41(a) exceeds 

7 the tax imposed under subsection (a) for an applica8 ble calendar quarter— 

9 ‘‘(A) the succeeding calendar quarter shall 

10 be treated as an applicable calendar quarter, 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(B) the amount of credit allowed under 

13 paragraph (1) shall be reduced by the amount 

14 of credit allowed under such paragraph for all 

15 preceding applicable calendar quarters. 

16 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATION OF CREDIT FOR CON17 TROLLED GROUPS, ETC.—In determining the 

18 amount of the credit under this subsection— 

19 ‘‘(A) all persons treated as a single tax20 payer under section 41 shall be treated as a 

21 single taxpayer under this section, and 

22 ‘‘(B) the credit (if any) allowable by this 

23 section to each such member shall be its pro24 portionate share of the qualified research ex25 penses, basic research payments, and amounts 


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1 paid or incurred to energy research consor2 tiums, giving rise to the credit allowable under 

3 section 41. 

4 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub5 section— 

6 ‘‘(A) APPLICABLE CALENDAR QUARTER.— 

7 The term ‘applicable calendar quarter’ means— 

8 ‘‘(i) the first calendar quarter fol9 lowing the date on which the qualified 

10 small business files a return under section 

11 6012 for the taxable year for which the 

12 payroll tax credit portion of the research 

13 credit under section 41(a) is determined, 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(ii) any succeeding calendar quarter 

16 treated as an applicable calendar quarter 

17 under paragraph (2)(A). 

18 ‘‘For purposes of determining the date on 

19 which a return is filed, rules similar to the rules 

20 of section 6513 shall apply. 

21 ‘‘(B) OTHER TERMS.—Any term used in 

22 this subsection which is also used in section 41 

23 shall have the meaning given such term under 

24 section 41.’’. 


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1 (2) TRANSFERS TO FEDERAL OLD-AGE AND

2 SURVIVORS INSURANCE TRUST FUND.—There are 

3 hereby appropriated to the Federal Old-Age and 

4 Survivors Trust Fund and the Federal Disability In5 surance Trust Fund established under section 201 

6 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401) amounts 

7 equal to the reduction in revenues to the Treasury 

8 by reason of the amendments made by paragraph 

9 (1). Amounts appropriated by the preceding sen10 tence shall be transferred from the general fund at 

11 such times and in such manner as to replicate to the 

12 extent possible the transfers which would have oc13 curred to such Trust Fund had such amendments 

14 not been enacted. 

15 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

16 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

17 December 31, 2014. 

18 SEC. 8. ACCELERATED COMMERCIALIZATION OF TAX19 PAYER-FUNDED RESEARCH. 

20 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 (1) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 

22 Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneur23 ship of the Department of Commerce established 

24 pursuant to section 25(c) of the Stevenson-Wydler 


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1 Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 

2 3720(c)). 

3 (2) EXTRAMURAL BUDGET.—The term ‘‘extra4 mural budget’’ means the sum of the total obliga5 tions minus amounts obligated for such activities by 

6 employees of the agency in or through Government7 owned, Government-operated facilities, except that 

8 for the Department of Energy it shall not include 

9 amounts obligated for atomic energy defense pro10 grams solely for weapons activities or for naval reac11 tor programs, and except that for the Agency for 

12 International Development it shall not include 

13 amounts obligated solely for general institutional 

14 support of international research centers or for 

15 grants to foreign countries. 

16 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

17 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

18 meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 

19 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

20 (4) RESEARCH OR RESEARCH AND DEVELOP21 MENT.—The term ‘‘research’’ or ‘‘research and de22 velopment’’ means any activity that is— 

23 (A) a systematic, intensive study directed 

24 toward greater knowledge or understanding of 

25 the subject studied; 


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1 (B) a systematic study directed specifically 

2 toward applying new knowledge to meet a rec3 ognized need; or 

4 (C) a systematic application of knowledge 

5 toward the production of useful materials, de6 vices, and systems or methods, including design, 

7 development, and improvement of prototypes 

8 and new processes to meet specific require9 ments. 

10 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

11 the Secretary of Commerce. 

12 (b) GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each Federal agency that 

14 has an extramural budget for research or research 

15 and development that is in excess of $100,000,000 

16 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2020, shall 

17 transfer 0.15 percent of such extramural budget for 

18 each of such fiscal years to the Secretary to enable 

19 the Secretary to carry out a grant program in ac20 cordance with this subsection. 

21 (2) GRANTS.— 

22 (A) AWARDING OF GRANTS.— 

23 (i) IN GENERAL.—From funds trans24 ferred under paragraph (1), the Secretary 

25 shall use the criteria developed by the 


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1 Council to award grants to institutions of 

2 higher education, including consortia of in3 stitutions of higher education, for initia4 tives to improve commercialization and 

5 transfer of technology. 

6 (ii) REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.—Not 

7 later than 30 days after the Council sub8 mits the recommendations for criteria to 

9 the Secretary under subsection (c)(4)(B), 

10 and annually thereafter for each fiscal year 

11 for which the grant program is authorized, 

12 the Secretary shall release a request for 

13 proposals. 

14 (iii) APPLICATIONS.—Each institution 

15 of higher education that desires to receive 

16 a grant under this subsection shall submit 

17 an application to the Secretary not later 

18 than 90 days after the Secretary releases 

19 the request for proposals under clause (ii). 

20 (iv) COUNCIL REVIEW.— 

21 (I) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

22 shall submit each application received 

23 under clause (iii) to the Council for 

24 Council review. 


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1 (II) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The 

2 Council shall review each application 

3 received under subclause (I) and sub4 mit recommendations for grant 

5 awards to the Secretary, including 

6 funding recommendations for each 

7 proposal. 

8 (III) PUBLIC RELEASE.—The 

9 Council shall publicly release any rec10 ommendations made under subclause 

11 (II). 

12 (IV) CONSIDERATION OF REC13 OMMENDATIONS.—In awarding grants 

14 under this subsection, the Secretary 

15 shall take into consideration the rec16 ommendations of the Council under 

17 subclause (II). 

18 (B) COMMERCIALIZATION CAPACITY

19 BUILDING GRANTS.— 

20 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

21 award grants to support institutions of 

22 higher education pursuing specific innova23 tive initiatives to improve an institution’s 

24 capacity to commercialize faculty research 


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1 that can be widely adopted if the research 

2 yields measurable results. 

3 (ii) CONTENT OF PROPOSALS.— 

4 Grants shall be awarded under this sub5 paragraph to proposals demonstrating the 

6 capacity for accelerated commercialization, 

7 proof-of-concept proficiency, and trans8 lating scientific discoveries and cutting9 edge inventions into technological innova10 tions and new companies. In particular, 

11 grant funds shall seek to support innova12 tive approaches to achieving these goals 

13 that can be replicated by other institutions 

14 of higher education if the innovative ap15 proaches are successful. 

16 (C) COMMERCIALIZATION ACCELERATOR

17 GRANTS.—The Secretary shall award grants to 

18 support institutions of higher education pur19 suing initiatives that allow faculty to directly 

20 commercialize research in an effort to accel21 erate research breakthroughs. The Secretary 

22 shall prioritize those initiatives that have a 

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1 ficiency in creating and growing new companies 

2 based on verifiable metrics. 

3 (3) ASSESSMENT OF SUCCESS.—Grants award4 ed under this subsection shall use criteria for assess5 ing the success of programs through the establish6 ment of benchmarks. 

7 (4) TERMINATION.—The Secretary shall have 

8 the authority to terminate grant funding to an insti9 tution of higher education in accordance with the 

10 process and performance metrics recommended by 

11 the Council. 

12 (5) LIMITATIONS.— 

13 (A) PROJECT MANAGEMENT COSTS.—A 

14 grant recipient may use not more than 10 per15 cent of grant funds awarded under this sub16 section for the purpose of funding project man17 agement costs of the grant program. 

18 (B) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—An 

19 institution of higher education that receives a 

20 grant under this subsection shall use the grant 

21 funds to supplement, and not supplant, non22 Federal funds that would, in the absence of 

23 such grant funds, be made available for activi24 ties described in this section. 


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1 (6) UNSPENT FUNDS.—Any funds transferred 

2 to the Secretary under paragraph (1) for a fiscal 

3 year that are not expended by the end of such fiscal 

4 year may be expended in any subsequent fiscal year 

5 through fiscal year 2020. Any funds transferred 

6 under paragraph (1) that are remaining at the end 

7 of the grant program’s authorization under this sub8 section shall be transferred to the Treasury for def9 icit reduction. 

10 (c) COUNCIL.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days 

12 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

13 Council shall convene and develop recommendations 

14 for criteria in awarding grants to institutions of 

15 higher education under subsection (b). 

16 (2) SUBMISSION TO COMMERCE AND PUBLICLY

17 RELEASED.—The Council shall— 

18 (A) submit the recommendations described 

19 in subparagraph (A) to the Secretary; and 

20 (i) release the recommendations to the 

21 public. 

22 (B) MAJORITY VOTE.—The recommenda23 tions submitted by the Council, as described in 

24 this paragraph, shall be determined by a major25 ity vote of Council members. 


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1 (C) PERFORMANCE METRICS.—The Coun2 cil shall develop and provide to the Secretary 

3 recommendations on performance metrics to be 

4 used to evaluate grants awarded under sub5 section (b). 

6 (3) EVALUATION.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

8 days before the date that the grant program 

9 authorized under subsection (b) expires, the 

10 Council shall conduct an evaluation of the effect 

11 that the grant program is having on accel12 erating the commercialization of faculty re13 search. 

14 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The evaluation shall in15 clude— 

16 (i) the recommendation of the Council 

17 as to whether the grant program should be 

18 continued or terminated; 

19 (ii) quantitative data related to the ef20 fect, if any, that the grant program has 

21 had on faculty research commercialization; 

22 and 

23 (iii) a description of lessons learned in 

24 administering the grant program, and how 

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1 forts to accelerate commercialization of 

2 faculty research. 

3 (C) AVAILABILITY.—Upon completion of 

4 the evaluation, the evaluation shall be made 

5 available on a public website and submitted to 

6 Congress. The Secretary shall notify all institu7 tions of higher education when the evaluation is 

8 published and how it can be accessed. 

9 (d) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section may be 

10 construed to alter, modify, or amend any provision of 

11 chapter 18 of title 35, United States Code (commonly 

12 known as the ‘‘Bayh-Dole Act’’). 

13 SEC. 9. ECONOMIC IMPACT OF SIGNIFICANT FEDERAL 

14 AGENCY RULES. 

15 Section 553 of title 5, United States Code, is amend16 ed by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(f) REQUIRED REVIEW BEFORE ISSUANCE OF SIG18 NIFICANT RULES.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Before issuing a notice of 

20 proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register regard21 ing the issuance of a proposed significant rule, the 

22 head of the Federal agency or independent regu23 latory agency seeking to issue the rule shall complete 

24 a review, to the extent permitted by law, that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) analyzes the problem that the pro2 posed rule intends to address, including— 

3 ‘‘(i) the specific market failure, such 

4 as externalities, market power, or lack of 

5 information, that justifies such rule; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) any other specific problem, such 

7 as the failures of public institutions, that 

8 justifies such rule; 

9 ‘‘(B) analyzes the expected impact of the 

10 proposed rule on the ability of new businesses 

11 to form and expand; 

12 ‘‘(C) identifies the expected impact of the 

13 proposed rule on State, local, and tribal govern14 ments, including the availability of resources— 

15 ‘‘(i) to carry out the mandates im16 posed by the rule on such government enti17 ties; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) to minimize the burdens that 

19 uniquely or significantly affect such gov20 ernmental entities, consistent with achiev21 ing regulatory objectives; 

22 ‘‘(D) identifies any conflicting or duplica23 tive regulations; 

24 ‘‘(E) determines— 


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1 ‘‘(i) if existing laws or regulations cre2 ated, or contributed to, the problem that 

3 the new rule is intended to correct; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) if the laws or regulations re5 ferred to in clause (i) should be modified 

6 to more effectively achieve the intended 

7 goal of the rule; and 

8 ‘‘(F) includes the cost-benefit analysis de9 scribed in paragraph (2). 

10 ‘‘(2) COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS.—A cost-benefit 

11 analysis described in this paragraph shall include— 

12 ‘‘(A)(i) an assessment, including the un13 derlying analysis, of benefits anticipated from 

14 the proposed rule, such as— 

15 ‘‘(I) promoting the efficient func16 tioning of the economy and private mar17 kets; 

18 ‘‘(II) enhancing health and safety; 

19 ‘‘(III) protecting the natural environ20 ment; and 

21 ‘‘(IV) eliminating or reducing dis22 crimination or bias; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) the quantification of the benefits de24 scribed in clause (i), to the extent feasible; 


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1 ‘‘(B)(i) an assessment, including the un2 derlying analysis, of costs anticipated from the 

3 proposed rule, such as— 

4 ‘‘(I) the direct costs to the Federal 

5 Government to administer the rule; 

6 ‘‘(II) the direct costs to businesses 

7 and others to comply with the rule; and 

8 ‘‘(III) any adverse effects on the effi9 cient functioning of the economy, private 

10 markets (including productivity, employ11 ment, and competitiveness), health, safety, 

12 and the natural environment; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) the quantification of the costs de14 scribed in clause (i), to the extent feasible; 

15 ‘‘(C)(i) an assessment, including the un16 derlying analysis, of costs and benefits of poten17 tially effective and reasonably feasible alter18 natives to the proposed rule, which have been 

19 identified by the agency or by the public, in20 cluding taking reasonably viable nonregulatory 

21 actions; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) an explanation of why the proposed 

23 rule is preferable to the alternatives identified 

24 under clause (i). 


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1 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—Before issuing a notice of pro2 posed rulemaking in the Federal Register regarding 

3 the issuance of a proposed significant rule, the head 

4 of the Federal agency or independent regulatory 

5 agency seeking to issue the rule shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) submit the results of the review con7 ducted under paragraph (1) to the appropriate 

8 congressional committees; and 

9 ‘‘(B) post the results of the review con10 ducted under paragraph (1) on a publicly avail11 able website. 

12 ‘‘(4) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Any determinations 

13 made, or other actions taken, by an agency or inde14 pendent regulatory agency under this subsection 

15 shall not be subject to judicial review. 

16 ‘‘(5) DEFINED TERM.—In this subsection the 

17 term ‘significant rule’ means a rule that is likely 

18 to— 

19 ‘‘(A) have an annual effect on the economy 

20 of $100,000,000 or more; 

21 ‘‘(B) adversely affect, in a material way, 

22 the economy, a sector of the economy, produc23 tivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public 

24 health or safety, or State, local, or tribal gov25 ernments or communities; or 


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1 ‘‘(C) create a serious inconsistency or oth2 erwise interfere with an action taken or planned 

3 by another agency.’’. 

4 SEC. 10. BIENNIAL STATE STARTUP BUSINESS REPORT. 

5 (a) DATA COLLECTION.—The Secretary of Com6 merce shall regularly compile information from each of the 

7 50 States and the District of Columbia on State laws that 

8 affect the formation and growth of new businesses within 

9 the State or District. 

10 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

11 date of the enactment of this Act, and every 2 years there12 after, the Secretary, using data compiled under subsection 

13 (a), shall prepare a report that— 

14 (1) analyzes the economic effect of State and 

15 District laws that either encourage or inhibit busi16 ness formation and growth; and 

17 (2) ranks the States and the District based on 

18 the effectiveness with which their laws foster new 

19 business creation and economic growth. 

20 (c) DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary shall— 

21 (1) submit each report prepared under sub22 section (b) to Congress; and 

23 (2) make each report available to the public on 

24 the Department of Commerce’s website. 


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1 (d) INCLUSION OF LARGE METROPOLITAN AREAS.— 

2 Not later than 90 days after the submission of the first 

3 report under this section, the Secretary of Commerce shall 

4 submit to Congress a study on the feasibility and advis5 ability of including, in future reports, information about 

6 the effect of local laws and ordinances on the formation 

7 and growth of new businesses in large metropolitan areas 

8 within the United States. 

9 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

11 necessary to carry out this section. 

12 SEC. 11. NEW BUSINESS FORMATION REPORT. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce shall 

14 regularly compile quantitative and qualitative information 

15 on businesses in the United States that are not more than 

16 1 year old. 

17 (b) DATA COLLECTION.—The Secretary shall— 

18 (1) regularly compile information from the Bu19 reau of the Census’ business register on new busi20 ness formation in the United States; and 

21 (2) conduct quarterly surveys of business own22 ers who start a business during the 1-year period 

23 ending on the date on which such survey is con24 ducted to gather qualitative information about the 


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1 factors that influenced their decision to start the 

2 business. 

3 (c) RANDOM SAMPLING.—In conducting surveys 

4 under subsection (b)(2), the Secretary may use random 

5 sampling to identify a group of business owners who are 

6 representative of all the business owners described in sub7 section (b)(2). 

8 (d) BENEFITS.—The Secretary shall inform business 

9 owners selected to participate in a survey conducted under 

10 this section of the benefits they would receive from partici11 pating in the survey. 

12 (e) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION.—Business owners 

13 selected to participate in a survey conducted under this 

14 section may decline to participate without penalty. 

15 (f) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

16 date of the enactment of this Act, and every 3 months 

17 thereafter, the Secretary shall use the data compiled under 

18 subsection (b) to prepare a report that— 

19 (1) lists the aggregate number of new busi20 nesses formed in the United States; 

21 (2) lists the aggregate number of persons em22 ployed by new businesses formed in the United 

23 States; 

24 (3) analyzes the payroll of new businesses 

25 formed in the United States; 


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1 (4) summarizes the data collected under sub2 section (b); and 

3 (5) identifies the most effective means by which 

4 government officials can encourage the formation 

5 and growth of new businesses in the United States. 

6 (g) DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary shall— 

7 (1) submit each report prepared under sub8 section (f) to Congress; and 

9 (2) make each report available to the public on 

10 the Department of Commerce’s website. 

11 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

13 necessary to carry out this section. 

14 SEC. 12. RESCISSION OF UNSPENT FEDERAL FUNDS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi16 sion of law, of all available unobligated funds for fiscal 

17 year 2015, the amount necessary to carry out this Act and 

18 the amendments made by this Act in appropriated discre19 tionary funds are hereby rescinded. 

20 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Director of the Office of 

21 Management and Budget shall determine and identify 

22 from which appropriation accounts the rescission under 

23 subsection (a) shall apply and the amount of such rescis24 sion that shall apply to each such account. Not later than 

25 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 


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1 Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall 

2 submit a report to the Secretary of the Treasury and Con3 gress of the accounts and amounts determined and identi4 fied for rescission under the preceding sentence. 

Æ 


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