II 

Calendar No. 225 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1866 

To establish the veterans’ business outreach center program, to improve 

the programs for veterans of the Small Business Administration, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 27, 2015 

Mr. VITTER (for himself, Mrs. SHAHEEN, and Ms. HIRONO) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015 

Reported by Mr. VITTER, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To establish the veterans’ business outreach center program, 

to improve the programs for veterans of the Small Business Administration, 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 ‘‘Veterans Small Busi5 ness Ownership Improvements Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. VETERANS’ BUSINESS OUTREACH CENTER PRO2 GRAM; OFFICE OF VETERANS BUSINESS DE3 VELOPMENT. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 32 of the Small Business 

5 Act (15 U.S.C. 657b) is amended by striking subsections 

6 (d), (e), and (f) and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(d) BOOTS TO BUSINESS PROGRAM.— 

8 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

9 ‘‘(A) the term ‘covered individual’ means— 

10 ‘‘(i) a member of the Armed Forces, 

11 without regard to whether the member is 

12 participating in the Transition Assistance 

13 Program of the Department of Defense; 

14 ‘‘(ii) an individual who is participating 

15 in the Transition Assistance Program of 

16 the Department of Defense; 

17 ‘‘(iii) an individual who— 

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

19 branch of the Armed Forces, includ20 ing the National Guard and Reserves; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(II) was discharged or released 

23 from such service under conditions 

24 other than dishonorable; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) a spouse or dependent of an in2 dividual described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii); 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(B) the term ‘Vet Center’ means a center 

5 for readjustment counseling and related mental 

6 health services for veterans under section 

7 1712A of title 38, United States Code. 

8 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a 

9 program to be known as the ‘Boots to Business Pro10 gram’ to provide entrepreneurship training to cov11 ered individuals, which shall be carried out by the 

12 Administrator. 

13 ‘‘(3) GOALS.—The goals of the Boots to Busi14 ness Program are to— 

15 ‘‘(A) provide exposure, introduction, and 

16 in-depth training for covered individuals inter17 ested in business ownership; and 

18 ‘‘(B) provide covered individuals with the 

19 tools and knowledge necessary to identify a 

20 business opportunity, draft a business plan, 

21 identify sources of capital, connect with local 

22 small business resources, and launch a small 

23 business concern. 

24 ‘‘(4) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Boots to Busi2 ness Program may include— 

3 ‘‘(i) a brief presentation providing ex4 posure to the considerations involved in 

5 self-employment and small business owner6 ship; 

7 ‘‘(ii) an online, self-study course fo8 cused on the basic skills of entrepreneur9 ship, the language of business, and the 

10 considerations involved in self-employment 

11 and small business ownership; 

12 ‘‘(iii) an in-person classroom instruc13 tion component providing an introduction 

14 to the foundations of self-employment and 

15 small business ownership; and 

16 ‘‘(iv) in-depth training delivered 

17 through online instruction, including an 

18 online course that leads to the creation of 

19 a business plan. 

20 ‘‘(B) COLLABORATION.—The Adminis21 trator may— 

22 ‘‘(i) collaborate with public and pri23 vate entities to develop a course curriculum 

24 for the Boots to Business Program; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) modify program components in 

2 coordination with entities participating in 

3 the Warriors in Transition programs, as 

4 defined in section 738(f) of the National 

5 Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 

6 2013 (10 U.S.C. 1071 note). 

7 ‘‘(C) UTILIZATION OF RESOURCE PART8 NERS.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Associate Ad10 ministrator shall— 

11 ‘‘(I) ensure that veterans’ busi12 ness outreach centers regularly par13 ticipate, on a nationwide basis, in the 

14 Boots to Business Program; and 

15 ‘‘(II) to the maximum extent 

16 practicable, use a variety of other re17 source partners and entities in admin18 istering the Boots to Business Pro19 gram. 

20 ‘‘(ii) GRANT AUTHORITY.—In carrying 

21 out clause (i), the Associate Administrator 

22 may make grants to veterans’ business 

23 outreach centers, other resource partners, 

24 and other entities to carry out components 

25 of the Boots to Business Program. 


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1 ‘‘(D) AVAILABILITY TO DOD.—The Admin2 istrator shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) make available electronically in4 formation regarding the Boots to Business 

5 Program and all course materials created 

6 for the Boots to Business Program to the 

7 Secretary of Defense for inclusion on the 

8 website of the Department of Defense re9 lating to the Transition Assistance Pro10 gram and in the Transition Assistance 

11 Program manual and other publications 

12 and materials available for distribution 

13 from the Secretary of Defense; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) fully participate in the inter15 agency governance of the Transition As16 sistance Program. 

17 ‘‘(E) AVAILABILITY TO VETERANS AF18 FAIRS.—In consultation with the Secretary of 

19 Veterans Affairs, the Associate Administrator 

20 shall make available outreach materials regard21 ing the Boots to Business Program for distribu22 tion and display at local facilities of the Depart23 ment of Veterans Affairs (including medical 

24 centers, community-based outpatient clinics, 

25 Vet Centers, and other facilities determined apVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:33 Sep 15, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1866.RS S1866

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1 propriate by the Associate Administrator and 

2 the Secretary), which shall, at a minimum— 

3 ‘‘(i) describe the Boots to Business 

4 Program, including a description of serv5 ices provided; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) include eligibility requirements 

7 for participating in the Boots to Business 

8 Program. 

9 ‘‘(5) REVIEW.—The Inspector General of the 

10 Administration shall submit to the Committee on 

11 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate 

12 and the Committee on Small Business of the House 

13 of Representatives an annual report regarding the 

14 awarding of grants under the Boots to Business 

15 Program. 

16 ‘‘(e) WOMEN VETERANS BUSINESS TRAINING PRO17 GRAM.— 

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

19 ‘covered individual’ means an individual who— 

20 ‘‘(A) is female; and 

21 ‘‘(B) is— 

22 ‘‘(i) a member of the Armed Forces; 

23 ‘‘(ii) a veteran; or 

24 ‘‘(iii) the spouse or dependent of a 

25 member of the Armed Forces or a veteran. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator 

2 shall establish a program, to be known as the 

3 Women Veterans Business Training Program, to 

4 provide specific training for covered individuals in5 terested in exploring careers as owners of small busi6 ness concerns. 

7 ‘‘(3) GOALS.—The goals of the Women Vet8 erans Business Training Program are to— 

9 ‘‘(A) help covered individuals by providing 

10 the tools to become successful entrepreneurs; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(B) integrate the leadership, integrity, 

13 focus, and drive of covered individuals into a 

14 premier education training program taught by 

15 accomplished entrepreneurs and entrepreneur16 ship educators from across the United States. 

17 ‘‘(4) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Women Veterans 

19 Business Training Program may include— 

20 ‘‘(i) an online, self-study course fo21 cused on the basic skills of entrepreneur22 ship and the language of business; 

23 ‘‘(ii) a conference where participants 

24 are exposed to accomplished entrepreneurs 


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1 and entrepreneurship educators from 

2 across the United States; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) a plan to provide ongoing sup4 port and mentorship. 

5 ‘‘(B) COLLABORATION.—The Adminis6 trator may collaborate with public and private 

7 entities to develop a course curriculum for the 

8 Women Veterans Business Training Program. 

9 ‘‘(5) WOMEN VETERANS BUSINESS TRAINING.— 

10 The Associate Administrator shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) compile information on resources 

12 available to women veterans for business train13 ing, including resources for— 

14 ‘‘(i) vocational and technical edu15 cation; 

16 ‘‘(ii) general business skills, such as 

17 marketing and accounting; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) business assistance programs 

19 targeted to women veterans; 

20 ‘‘(B) disseminate the information compiled 

21 under subparagraph (A) through veterans’ busi22 ness outreach centers and women’s business 

23 centers; and 

24 ‘‘(C) in consultation with the Secretary of 

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1 rials regarding the Women Veterans Business 

2 Training Program for distribution and display 

3 at local facilities of the Department of Veterans 

4 Affairs (including medical centers, community5 based outpatient clinics, Vet Centers (as de6 fined in subsection (d)(1)), and other facilities 

7 determined appropriate by the Associate Ad8 ministrator and the Secretary), which shall, at 

9 a minimum— 

10 ‘‘(i) describe the Women Veterans 

11 Business Training Program, including a 

12 description of services provided; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) include eligibility requirements 

14 for participating in the Women Veterans 

15 Business Training Program. 

16 ‘‘(6) GRANT AUTHORITY.—The Associate Ad17 ministrator may make grants to veterans’ business 

18 outreach centers, women’s business centers, and 

19 other entities, including other resource partners, to 

20 carry out components of the Women Veterans Busi21 ness Training Program. 

22 ‘‘(f) BUSINESS TRAINING PROGRAM FOR SERVICE

23 DISABLED VETERANS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es25 tablish a Business Training Program for Service 


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1 Disabled Veterans to provide specific training for 

2 service-disabled veterans interested in exploring ca3 reers as owners of small business concerns. 

4 ‘‘(2) GOALS.—The goals of the Business Train5 ing Program for Service Disabled Veterans are to— 

6 ‘‘(A) help service-disabled veterans by pro7 viding the tools to become successful entre8 preneurs; and 

9 ‘‘(B) integrate the leadership, integrity, 

10 focus, and drive of service-disabled veterans 

11 into a premier education training program 

12 taught by accomplished entrepreneurs and en13 trepreneurship educators from across the 

14 United States. 

15 ‘‘(3) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Business Train17 ing Program for Service Disabled Veterans may 

18 include— 

19 ‘‘(i) an online, self-study course fo20 cused on the basic skills of entrepreneur21 ship and the language of business; 

22 ‘‘(ii) a conference where participants 

23 are exposed to accomplished entrepreneurs 

24 and entrepreneurship educators from 

25 across the United States; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) a plan to provide ongoing sup2 port and mentorship. 

3 ‘‘(B) COLLABORATION.—The Adminis4 trator may collaborate with public and private 

5 entities to develop a course curriculum for the 

6 Business Training Program for Service Dis7 abled Veterans. 

8 ‘‘(4) AVAILABILITY TO VETERANS AFFAIRS.—In 

9 consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 

10 the Associate Administrator shall make available 

11 outreach materials regarding the Business Training 

12 Program for Service Disabled Veterans for distribu13 tion and display at local facilities of the Department 

14 of Veterans Affairs (including medical centers, com15 munity-based outpatient clinics, Vet Centers (as de16 fined in subsection (d)(1)), and other facilities deter17 mined appropriate by the Associate Administrator 

18 and the Secretary), which shall, at a minimum— 

19 ‘‘(A) describe the Business Training Pro20 gram for Service Disabled Veterans, including a 

21 description of services provided; and 

22 ‘‘(B) include eligibility requirements for 

23 participating in the Business Training Program 

24 for Service Disabled Veterans. 


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1 ‘‘(5) GRANT AUTHORITY.—The Associate Ad2 ministrator may make grants to veterans’ business 

3 outreach centers and other entities, including other 

4 resource partners, to carry out components of the 

5 Business Training Program for Service Disabled 

6 Veterans. 

7 ‘‘(g) VETERANS’ BUSINESS OUTREACH CENTER

8 PROGRAM.— 

9 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

10 ‘‘(A) the term ‘active duty’ has the mean11 ing given that term in section 101 of title 10, 

12 United States Code; 

13 ‘‘(B) the term ‘Reservist’ means a member 

14 of a reserve component of the Armed Forces, as 

15 described in section 10101 of title 10, United 

16 States Code; 

17 ‘‘(C) the term ‘small business concern 

18 owned and controlled by veterans’— 

19 ‘‘(i) has the meaning given that term 

20 in section 3(q); and 

21 ‘‘(ii) includes a small business con22 cern— 

23 ‘‘(I) not less than 51 percent of 

24 which is owned by 1 or more spouses 

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1 licly owned business, not less than 51 

2 percent of the stock of which is owned 

3 by 1 or more spouses of veterans; and 

4 ‘‘(II) the management and daily 

5 business operations of which are con6 trolled by 1 or more spouses of vet7 erans; 

8 ‘‘(D) the term ‘spouse’, relating to a mem9 ber of the Armed Forces on active duty, vet10 eran, service-disabled veteran, or Reservist, in11 cludes an individual who, on the date on which 

12 the member of the Armed Forces on active 

13 duty, veteran, service-disabled veteran, or Re14 servist died, is the spouse of the member of the 

15 Armed Forces on active duty, veteran, service16 disabled veteran, or Reservist; and 

17 ‘‘(E) the term ‘veterans’ business outreach 

18 center program’ means the program established 

19 under paragraph (2)(A). 

20 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 

22 acting through the Associate Administrator, 

23 shall establish a veterans’ business outreach 

24 center program, under which the Associate Ad25 ministrator may provide financial assistance to 


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1 educational institutions, veterans’ nonprofit 

2 community-based organizations, and Federal, 

3 State, and local departments and agencies to 

4 conduct a 5-year project for the benefit of small 

5 business concerns owned and controlled by vet6 erans, which, upon application by the entity re7 ceiving financial assistance, may be renewed for 

8 1 or more additional 5-year periods. 

9 ‘‘(B) FORM OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

10 Financial assistance under this subsection may 

11 be in the form of a grant, a contract, or a coop12 erative agreement. 

13 ‘‘(3) VETERANS’ BUSINESS OUTREACH CEN14 TERS.—Each entity that receives financial assistance 

15 under this subsection shall establish or operate a 

16 veterans’ business outreach center (which may in17 clude establishing or operating satellite offices in the 

18 region described in paragraph (5) served by that en19 tity) that provides to veterans (including service-dis20 abled veterans), Reservists, and the spouses of mem21 bers of the Armed Forces on active duty, veterans 

22 (including service-disabled veterans), and Reserv23 ists— 

24 ‘‘(A) financial advice, including training 

25 and counseling on applying for and securing 


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1 business credit and investment capital, pre2 paring and presenting financial statements, and 

3 managing cash flow and other financial oper4 ations of a small business concern; 

5 ‘‘(B) management advice, including train6 ing and counseling on the planning, organiza7 tion, staffing, direction, and control of each 

8 major activity and function of a small business 

9 concern; 

10 ‘‘(C) technical assistance, training, and 

11 counseling to assist in identifying and obtaining 

12 Federal procurement opportunities; 

13 ‘‘(D) marketing advice, including training 

14 and counseling on identifying and segmenting 

15 domestic and international market opportuni16 ties, preparing and executing marketing plans, 

17 developing pricing strategies, locating contract 

18 opportunities, negotiating contracts, and using 

19 public relations and advertising techniques; and 

20 ‘‘(E) other advice, including training and 

21 counseling. 

22 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An entity desiring to 

24 receive financial assistance under this sub25 section shall submit an application to the AssoVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:33 Sep 15, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1866.RS S1866

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1 ciate Administrator at such time and in such 

2 manner as the Associate Administrator may re3 quire. 

4 ‘‘(B) 5-YEAR PLAN.—Each application de5 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall include a 5- 

6 year plan on proposed fundraising and training 

7 activities relating to the veterans’ business out8 reach center. 

9 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION AND NOTIFICA10 TION.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

11 on which applications for a fiscal year are re12 quired to be submitted under subparagraph (A), 

13 the Associate Administrator shall approve or 

14 deny any application submitted and notify the 

15 applicant of the determination. 

16 ‘‘(D) AVAILABILITY OF APPLICATION.— 

17 The Associate Administrator shall make every 

18 effort to make the application under subpara19 graph (A) available online. 

20 ‘‘(5) ELIGIBILITY.—The Associate Adminis21 trator may select to receive financial assistance 

22 under this subsection— 

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1 tion 8(b)(17) on or before the day before the 

2 date of enactment of this subsection; or 

3 ‘‘(B) educational institutions, veterans’ 

4 nonprofit community-based organizations, and 

5 Federal, State, and local departments and 

6 agencies located in various regions of the 

7 United States, as the Associate Administrator 

8 determines is appropriate. 

9 ‘‘(6) SELECTION CRITERIA.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Associate Admin11 istrator shall establish selection criteria, stated 

12 in terms of relative importance, to evaluate and 

13 rank applicants under paragraph (5)(B) for fi14 nancial assistance under this subsection. 

15 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—The selection criteria es16 tablished under this paragraph shall include— 

17 ‘‘(i) the experience of the applicant in 

18 conducting programs or ongoing efforts de19 signed to impart or upgrade the business 

20 skills of veterans (including service-dis21 abled veterans), Reservists, and the 

22 spouses of members of the Armed Forces 

23 on active duty, veterans (including service24 disabled veterans), and Reservists who own 

25 or may own small business concerns; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) for an applicant for initial finan2 cial assistance under this subsection— 

3 ‘‘(I) the ability of the applicant 

4 to begin operating a veterans’ busi5 ness outreach center within a min6 imum amount of time; and 

7 ‘‘(II) the geographic region to be 

8 served by the veterans’ business out9 reach center; 

10 ‘‘(iii) the demonstrated ability of the 

11 applicant to— 

12 ‘‘(I) provide managerial coun13 seling and technical assistance to en14 trepreneurs; and 

15 ‘‘(II) coordinate services provided 

16 by veterans service organizations and 

17 other public or private entities; 

18 ‘‘(iv) the demonstrated ability to le19 verage and coordinate with existing re20 sources and infrastructure of the Adminis21 tration; and 

22 ‘‘(v) for any applicant for a renewal of 

23 financial assistance under this subsection, 

24 the results of the most recent examination 

25 under paragraph (11) of the veterans’ 


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1 business outreach center operated by the 

2 applicant. 

3 ‘‘(C) CRITERIA PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.— 

4 The Associate Administrator shall— 

5 ‘‘(i) make publicly available the selec6 tion criteria established under this para7 graph; 

8 ‘‘(ii) include the criteria in each solici9 tation for applications for financial assist10 ance under this subsection; 

11 ‘‘(iii) make every effort to ensure re12 gional accessibility and geographic rep13 resentation in awarding financial assist14 ance under this subsection; and 

15 ‘‘(iv) to the extent practicable, make 

16 publicly available the approximate antici17 pated date for the determination of award 

18 recipients by the Administration and the 

19 anticipated timing of disbursement. 

20 ‘‘(7) AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.—The amount of 

21 financial assistance provided under this subsection 

22 to an entity for each fiscal year shall be not less 

23 than $100,000. 

24 ‘‘(8) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

25 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) INITIAL FINANCIAL ASSIST2 ANCE.—Except as provided in clause (ii) 

3 and subparagraph (E), an entity that re4 ceives financial assistance under this sub5 section shall provide non-Federal contribu6 tions for the operation of the veterans’ 

7 business outreach center established by the 

8 entity in an amount equal to— 

9 ‘‘(I) in each of the first and sec10 ond years of the project, not less than 

11 33 percent of the amount of the fi12 nancial assistance received under this 

13 subsection; and 

14 ‘‘(II) in each of the third through 

15 fifth years of the project, not less 

16 than 50 percent of the amount of the 

17 financial assistance received under 

18 this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(ii) RENEWALS.—An entity that re20 ceives a renewal of financial assistance 

21 under this subsection shall provide non22 Federal contributions for the operation of 

23 the veterans’ business outreach center es24 tablished by the entity in an amount equal 

25 to not less than 50 percent of the amount 


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1 of the financial assistance received under 

2 this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(B) FORM OF NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 

4 Not more than 50 percent of the non-Federal 

5 share for a project carried out using financial 

6 assistance under this subsection may be in the 

7 form of in-kind contributions. 

8 ‘‘(C) TIMING OF DISBURSEMENT.—The 

9 Associate Administrator may disburse not more 

10 than 25 percent of the financial assistance 

11 awarded to an entity before the entity obtains 

12 the non-Federal share required under this para13 graph with respect to that award. 

14 ‘‘(D) FAILURE TO OBTAIN NON-FEDERAL

15 FUNDING.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If an entity that 

17 receives financial assistance under this 

18 subsection fails to obtain the non-Federal 

19 share required under this paragraph dur20 ing 2 consecutive fiscal years, the entity 

21 may not receive a disbursement under this 

22 subsection in a subsequent fiscal year or a 

23 disbursement for any other project funded 

24 by the Administration, unless the Adminis25 trator makes a written determination that 


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1 the entity will be able to obtain a non-Fed2 eral contribution. 

3 ‘‘(ii) RESTORATION.—An entity pro4 hibited from receiving a disbursement 

5 under clause (i) in a fiscal year may re6 ceive financial assistance in a subsequent 

7 fiscal year if the entity obtains the non8 Federal share required under this para9 graph for the subsequent fiscal year. 

10 ‘‘(E) WAIVER OF NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Upon request by 

12 an entity, and in accordance with this sub13 paragraph, the Administrator may waive, 

14 in whole or in part, the requirement to ob15 tain non-Federal funds under subpara16 graph (A) for a fiscal year. The Adminis17 trator may not waive the requirement for 

18 an entity to obtain non-Federal funds 

19 under this subparagraph for more than a 

20 total of 2 fiscal years. 

21 ‘‘(ii) CONSIDERATIONS.—In deter22 mining whether to waive the requirement 

23 to obtain non-Federal funds under this 

24 subparagraph, the Administrator shall con25 sider— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the economic conditions af2 fecting the entity; 

3 ‘‘(II) the impact a waiver under 

4 this subparagraph would have on the 

5 credibility of the veterans’ business 

6 outreach center program; 

7 ‘‘(III) the demonstrated ability of 

8 the entity to raise non-Federal funds; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(IV) the performance of the en11 tity. 

12 ‘‘(iii) LIMITATION.—The Adminis13 trator may not waive the requirement to 

14 obtain non-Federal funds under this sub15 paragraph if granting the waiver would un16 dermine the credibility of the veterans’ 

17 business outreach center program. 

18 ‘‘(9) AFFILIATION WITH SMALL BUSINESS DE19 VELOPMENT CENTERS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An entity receiving fi21 nancial assistance under this subsection shall 

22 enter into an agreement to affiliate with a small 

23 business development center for purposes of 

24 carrying out the activities of the entity using 

25 the financial assistance. 


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1 ‘‘(B) CONSISTENCY WITH AGREEMENT.— 

2 The terms of an agreement to affiliate under 

3 subparagraph (A) shall be in accordance with 

4 the terms of any agreement between the appli5 cable small business development center and the 

6 Administration. 

7 ‘‘(10) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—A veterans’ 

8 business outreach center may enter into a contract 

9 with a Federal department or agency to provide spe10 cific assistance to veterans, service-disabled veterans, 

11 Reservists, or the spouses of members of the Armed 

12 Forces on active duty, veterans, service-disabled vet13 erans, or Reservists with prior written approval of 

14 the Associate Administrator. Performance of such 

15 contract shall not hinder the veterans’ business out16 reach center in carrying out the terms of the grant 

17 received by the veterans’ business outreach center 

18 from the Administrator. 

19 ‘‘(11) EXAMINATION AND DETERMINATION OF

20 PERFORMANCE.— 

21 ‘‘(A) EXAMINATION.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 

23 180 days after the date of enactment of 

24 this subsection and every year thereafter, 

25 the Associate Administrator shall conduct 


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1 an annual examination of the programs 

2 and finances of each veterans’ business 

3 outreach center established or operated 

4 using financial assistance under this sub5 section. 

6 ‘‘(ii) FACTORS.—In conducting the ex7 amination under clause (i), the Associate 

8 Administrator shall consider whether the 

9 veterans’ business outreach center has 

10 failed— 

11 ‘‘(I) to provide the information 

12 required to be provided under sub13 paragraph (B), or the information 

14 provided by the center is inadequate; 

15 ‘‘(II) to comply with a require16 ment for participation in the veterans’ 

17 business outreach center program, as 

18 determined by the Associate Adminis19 trator, including— 

20 ‘‘(aa) failure to acquire or 

21 properly document a non-Federal 

22 share; 

23 ‘‘(bb) failure to establish an 

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1 gram for marketing and outreach 

2 to small business concerns; 

3 ‘‘(cc) failure to achieve re4 sults described in a financial as5 sistance agreement; and 

6 ‘‘(dd) failure to provide to 

7 the Administrator a description 

8 of the amount and sources of any 

9 non-Federal funding received by 

10 the center; 

11 ‘‘(III) to carry out the 5-year 

12 plan under in paragraph (4)(B); 

13 ‘‘(IV) to meet the eligibility re14 quirements under paragraph (5); or 

15 ‘‘(V) to serve small business con16 cerns in the geographic region served 

17 by the veterans’ business outreach 

18 center. 

19 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION PROVIDED.—In the 

20 course of an examination under subparagraph 

21 (A), the veterans’ business outreach center shall 

22 provide to the Associate Administrator— 

23 ‘‘(i) an itemized cost breakdown of ac24 tual expenditures for costs incurred during 

25 the most recent full fiscal year, including 


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1 the amount spent on administrative ex2 penses; 

3 ‘‘(ii) documentation of the amount of 

4 non-Federal contributions obtained and ex5 pended by the veterans’ business outreach 

6 center during the most recent full fiscal 

7 year; 

8 ‘‘(iii) with respect to any in-kind con9 tribution under paragraph (8)(B), 

10 verification of the existence and valuation 

11 of such contribution; and 

12 ‘‘(iv) any additional information the 

13 Associate Administrator determines nec14 essary. 

15 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION OF PERFORM16 ANCE.— 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Associate Ad18 ministrator shall analyze the results of 

19 each examination under subparagraph (A) 

20 and, based on that analysis, make a deter21 mination regarding the performance of the 

22 programs and finances of each veterans’ 

23 business outreach center. 

24 ‘‘(ii) NONDELEGATION OF DETER25 MINATION.—The duty under clause (i) to 


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1 make a determination regarding the per2 formance of the programs and finances of 

3 a veterans’ business outreach center may 

4 not be delegated. 

5 ‘‘(D) DISCONTINUATION OF FUNDING.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Associate Ad7 ministrator may discontinue an award of 

8 financial assistance to an entity at any 

9 time for poor performance as determined 

10 under subparagraph (C). 

11 ‘‘(ii) RESTORATION.—The Associate 

12 Administrator may continue to provide fi13 nancial assistance to an entity in a subse14 quent fiscal year if the Associate Adminis15 trator determines under subparagraph (C) 

16 that the veterans’ business outreach center 

17 has taken appropriate measures to improve 

18 its performance and it is viable. 

19 ‘‘(12) COORDINATION OF EFFORTS AND CON20 SULTATION.— 

21 ‘‘(A) COORDINATION AND CONSULTA22 TION.—To the extent practicable, the Associate 

23 Administrator and each entity that receives fi24 nancial assistance under this subsection shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) coordinate outreach and other ac2 tivities with other programs of the Admin3 istration and the programs of other Fed4 eral agencies, including programs at local 

5 facilities of the Department of Veterans 

6 Affairs; 

7 ‘‘(ii) consult with technical representa8 tives of the district offices of the Adminis9 tration in carrying out activities using fi10 nancial assistance under this subsection; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(iii) provide information to the vet13 erans business development officers des14 ignated under subparagraph (B) and co15 ordinate with the veterans business devel16 opment officers to increase the ability of 

17 the veterans business development officers 

18 to provide services throughout the area 

19 served by the veterans business develop20 ment officers. 

21 ‘‘(B) VETERANS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

22 OFFICERS.— 

23 ‘‘(i) DESIGNATION.—The Adminis24 trator shall designate not fewer than 1 in25 dividual in each district office of the AdVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:33 Sep 15, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1866.RS S1866

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1 ministration as a veterans business devel2 opment officer, who shall communicate and 

3 coordinate activities of the district office 

4 with entities that receive financial assist5 ance under this subsection. 

6 ‘‘(ii) INITIAL DESIGNATION.—The 

7 first individual in each district office of the 

8 Administration designated by the Adminis9 trator as a veterans business development 

10 officer under clause (i) shall be an indi11 vidual that is employed by the Administra12 tion on the date of enactment of this sub13 section. 

14 ‘‘(13) EXISTING CONTRACTS.—An award of fi15 nancial assistance under this subsection shall not 

16 void any contract or cooperative agreement between 

17 any entity and the Administration or grant to any 

18 entity from the Administration that is in effect on 

19 the date of such award. 

20 ‘‘(h) ONLINE COORDINATION.— 

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

22 ‘veterans’ assistance provider’ means— 

23 ‘‘(A) a veterans’ business outreach center 

24 established under subsection (g); 


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1 ‘‘(B) an employee of the Administration 

2 assigned to the Office of Veterans Business De3 velopment; or 

4 ‘‘(C) a veterans business development offi5 cer designated under subsection (g)(12)(B). 

6 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Associate Admin7 istrator shall establish an online mechanism to— 

8 ‘‘(A) provide information that assists vet9 erans’ assistance providers in carrying out the 

10 activities of the veterans’ assistance providers; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(B) coordinate and leverage the work of 

13 the veterans’ assistance providers, including by 

14 allowing a veterans’ assistance provider to— 

15 ‘‘(i) distribute best practices and 

16 other materials; 

17 ‘‘(ii) communicate with other vet18 erans’ assistance providers regarding the 

19 activities of the veterans’ assistance pro20 vider on behalf of veterans; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) pose questions to and request 

22 input from other veterans’ assistance pro23 viders. 


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1 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2016 

3 through 2020— 

4 ‘‘(1) $2,500,000 to carry out subsection (g); 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(2) $8,000,000 to carry out subsections (d), 

7 (e), and (f). 

8 ‘‘(j) PROHIBITION ON OVERSEAS TRAVEL.—Finan9 cial assistance made available under this section may not 

10 be used to subsidize travel outside of the United States 

11 (as defined in section 202(a)(7) of the State Department 

12 Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 4302(a)(7))). 

13 ‘‘(k) REPORTS.—Not later than 180 days after the 

14 date of enactment of this subsection and every year there15 after, the Associate Administrator shall submit to the 

16 Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of 

17 the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the 

18 House of Representatives a report on the performance and 

19 effectiveness for the programs authorized under this sec20 tion, which may be included as part of another report sub21 mitted to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepre22 neurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Busi23 ness of the House of Representatives by the Associate Ad24 ministrator, and which shall include the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) BOOTS TO BUSINESS.—For the Boots to 

2 Business Program under subsection (d)— 

3 ‘‘(A) the number of program participants 

4 using each component of the Boots to Business 

5 Program; 

6 ‘‘(B) the completion rates for each compo7 nent of the Boots to Business Program; 

8 ‘‘(C) to the extent possible— 

9 ‘‘(i) the demographics of program par10 ticipants, to include gender, age, race, rela11 tionship to military, Military Occupational 

12 Code, and years of service of program par13 ticipants; 

14 ‘‘(ii) the number of small business 

15 concerns formed or expanded with assist16 ance under the Boots to Business Pro17 gram; 

18 ‘‘(iii) the gross receipts of small busi19 ness concerns receiving assistance under 

20 the Boots to Business Program; 

21 ‘‘(iv) the number of jobs created with 

22 assistance under the Boots to Business 

23 Program; 


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1 ‘‘(v) the number of referrals to other 

2 resources and programs of the Administra3 tion; 

4 ‘‘(vi) the number of program partici5 pants receiving financial assistance under 

6 loan programs of the Administration; 

7 ‘‘(vii) the type and dollar amount of 

8 financial assistance received by program 

9 participants under loan programs of the 

10 Administration; and 

11 ‘‘(viii) results of participant satisfac12 tion surveys, including a summary of any 

13 comments received from program partici14 pants; 

15 ‘‘(D) an evaluation of the effectiveness of 

16 the program in each region of the Administra17 tion during the most recent fiscal year; 

18 ‘‘(E) an assessment of additional perform19 ance outcome measures for the Boots to Busi20 ness Program, as identified by the Associate 

21 Administrator; 

22 ‘‘(F) any recommendations of the Adminis23 trator for improvement of the Boots to Busi24 ness Program, which may include expansion of 


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1 the types of individuals who are covered individ2 uals; 

3 ‘‘(G) an explanation of how the Boots to 

4 Business Program has been integrated with 

5 other transition programs and related resources 

6 of the Administration and other Federal agen7 cies; and 

8 ‘‘(H) any additional information the Ad9 ministrator determines necessary. 

10 ‘‘(2) WOMEN VETERANS BUSINESS TRAINING

11 PROGRAM.—For the Women Veterans Business 

12 Training Program under subsection (e)— 

13 ‘‘(A) the number of program participants 

14 using each component of the Women Veterans 

15 Business Training Program; 

16 ‘‘(B) the completion rates for each compo17 nent of the Women Veterans Business Training 

18 Program; 

19 ‘‘(C) to the extent possible— 

20 ‘‘(i) the demographics of program par21 ticipants, to include gender, age, race, rela22 tionship to military, and years of service; 

23 ‘‘(ii) the number of small business 

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1 ance under the Women Veterans Business 

2 Training Program; 

3 ‘‘(iii) the gross receipts of small busi4 ness concerns receiving assistance under 

5 the Women Veterans Business Training 

6 Program; 

7 ‘‘(iv) the number of jobs created with 

8 assistance under the Women Veterans 

9 Business Training Program; 

10 ‘‘(v) the number of referrals to other 

11 resources and programs of the Administra12 tion; 

13 ‘‘(vi) the number of referrals from 

14 other resources and programs of the Ad15 ministration and other Federal agencies; 

16 ‘‘(vii) the number of program partici17 pants receiving financial assistance under 

18 loan programs of the Administration; 

19 ‘‘(viii) the type and dollar amount of 

20 financial assistance received by program 

21 participants under loan programs of the 

22 Administration; and 

23 ‘‘(ix) the results of participant satis24 faction surveys, including a summary of 


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1 any comments received from program par2 ticipants; 

3 ‘‘(D) an assessment of additional perform4 ance outcome measures for the Women Vet5 erans Business Training Program, as identified 

6 by the Associate Administrator; 

7 ‘‘(E) any recommendations of the Adminis8 trator for improvement of the Women Veterans 

9 Business Training Program; 

10 ‘‘(F) an explanation of how the Women 

11 Veterans Business Training Program has been 

12 integrated with other transition programs and 

13 related resources of the Administration and 

14 other Federal agencies; and 

15 ‘‘(G) any additional information the Ad16 ministrator determines necessary. 

17 ‘‘(3) BUSINESS TRAINING PROGRAM FOR SERV18 ICE DISABLED VETERANS.—For the Business Train19 ing Program for Service Disabled Veterans under 

20 subsection (f)— 

21 ‘‘(A) the number of program participants 

22 using each component of the Business Training 

23 Program for Service Disabled Veterans; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the completion rates for each compo2 nent of the Business Training Program for 

3 Service Disabled Veterans; 

4 ‘‘(C) to the extent possible— 

5 ‘‘(i) the demographics of program par6 ticipants, to include gender, age, race, rela7 tionship to military, and years of service; 

8 ‘‘(ii) the number of small business 

9 concerns formed or expanded with assist10 ance under the Business Training Program 

11 for Service Disabled Veterans; 

12 ‘‘(iii) the gross receipts of small busi13 ness concerns receiving assistance under 

14 the Business Training Program for Service 

15 Disabled Veterans; 

16 ‘‘(iv) the number of jobs created with 

17 assistance under the Business Training 

18 Program for Service Disabled Veterans; 

19 ‘‘(v) the number of referrals to other 

20 resources and programs of the Administra21 tion; 

22 ‘‘(vi) the number of referrals from 

23 other resources and programs of the Ad24 ministration and other Federal agencies; 


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1 ‘‘(vii) the number of program partici2 pants receiving financial assistance under 

3 loan programs of the Administration; 

4 ‘‘(viii) the type and dollar amount of 

5 financial assistance received by program 

6 participants under loan programs of the 

7 Administration; and 

8 ‘‘(ix) the results of participant satis9 faction surveys, including a summary of 

10 any comments received from program par11 ticipants; 

12 ‘‘(D) an assessment of additional perform13 ance outcome measures for the Business Train14 ing Program for Service Disabled Veterans, as 

15 identified by the Associate Administrator; 

16 ‘‘(E) any recommendations of the Adminis17 trator for improvement of the Business Train18 ing Program for Service Disabled Veterans; 

19 ‘‘(F) an explanation of how the Business 

20 Training Program for Service Disabled Vet21 erans has been integrated with other transition 

22 programs and related resources of the Adminis23 tration and other Federal agencies; and 

24 ‘‘(G) any additional information the Ad25 ministrator determines necessary. 


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1 ‘‘(4) VETERAN’S BUSINESS OUTREACH CENTER

2 PROGRAM.—For the veterans’ business outreach cen3 ter program under subsection (g)— 

4 ‘‘(A) an evaluation of the effectiveness of 

5 the veterans’ business outreach center program 

6 in each region of the Administration during the 

7 most recent full fiscal year; 

8 ‘‘(B) for each veterans’ business outreach 

9 center established or operated using financial 

10 assistance provided under subsection (g)— 

11 ‘‘(i) the number of individuals receiv12 ing assistance from the veterans’ business 

13 outreach center, including the number of 

14 such individuals who are— 

15 ‘‘(I) veterans or spouses of vet16 erans; 

17 ‘‘(II) service-disabled veterans or 

18 spouses of service-disabled veterans; 

19 ‘‘(III) Reservists or spouses of 

20 Reservists; or 

21 ‘‘(IV) spouses of members of the 

22 Armed Forces on active duty; 

23 ‘‘(ii) the average distance traveled by 

24 veterans to access services at the veterans’ 

25 business outreach center; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the number of small business 

2 concerns formed by individuals receiving 

3 assistance from the veterans’ business out4 reach center, including— 

5 ‘‘(I) veterans or spouses of vet6 erans; 

7 ‘‘(II) service-disabled veterans or 

8 spouses of service-disabled veterans; 

9 ‘‘(III) Reservists or spouses of 

10 Reservists; or 

11 ‘‘(IV) spouses of members of the 

12 Armed Forces on active duty; and 

13 ‘‘(iv) to the extent possible— 

14 ‘‘(I) the gross receipts of small 

15 business concerns receiving assistance 

16 from the veterans’ business outreach 

17 center; 

18 ‘‘(II) the employment increases 

19 or decreases of small business con20 cerns receiving assistance from the 

21 veterans’ business outreach center; 

22 ‘‘(III) the increases or decreases 

23 in profits of small business concerns 

24 receiving assistance from the veterans’ 

25 business outreach center; 


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1 ‘‘(IV) the number of referrals by 

2 the veterans’ business outreach center 

3 to other resources and programs of 

4 the Administration; 

5 ‘‘(V) the results of satisfaction 

6 surveys, including a summary of any 

7 comments received from small busi8 ness concerns receiving assistance 

9 from the veterans’ business outreach 

10 center; 

11 ‘‘(VI) the number of small busi12 ness concerns receiving assistance 

13 from the veterans’ business outreach 

14 center that received financial assist15 ance under loan programs of the Ad16 ministration; 

17 ‘‘(VII) the type and dollar 

18 amount of financial assistance re19 ceived under loan programs of the Ad20 ministration by small business con21 cerns receiving assistance from the 

22 veterans’ business outreach center; 

23 ‘‘(VIII) the number of small 

24 business concerns receiving assistance 

25 from the veterans’ business outreach 


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1 center that obtained a Federal con2 tract through a small business con3 tracting program; 

4 ‘‘(IX) the type and dollar amount 

5 of the Federal contracts awarded to 

6 small business concerns receiving as7 sistance from the veterans’ business 

8 outreach center; 

9 ‘‘(X) an assessment of additional 

10 performance outcome measures for 

11 the veterans’ business outreach cen12 ter, as identified by the Associate Ad13 ministrator; and 

14 ‘‘(XI) the results of the examina15 tion of the veterans’ business outreach 

16 center under subsection (g)(10); 

17 ‘‘(C) any recommendations of the Adminis18 trator for improvement of the veterans’ busi19 ness outreach center program; 

20 ‘‘(D) an explanation of how the veterans’ 

21 business outreach center program has been in22 tegrated with other transition programs and re23 lated resources of the Administration and other 

24 Federal agencies; and 


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1 ‘‘(E) any additional information the Ad2 ministrator determines necessary. 

3 ‘‘(5) OTHER ACTIVITIES AND PROGRAMS AD4 MINISTERED BY THE OFFICE OF VETERANS BUSI5 NESS DEVELOPMENT.—An evaluation of the effec6 tiveness of any other activities and programs admin7 istered by the Office of Veterans Business Develop8 ment, including using the metrics identified in para9 graphs (1) through (4).’’. 

10 (b) FEDERAL SHARE FOR EXISTING PROGRAM.— 

11 (1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

12 ‘‘existing award’’ means an award made under the 

13 Veterans’ Business Outreach Center Program of the 

14 Small Business Administration before the date of 

15 enactment of this Act that is in effect on the date 

16 of enactment of this Act. 

17 (2) EXCEPTION FROM PROVISION ON FAILURE

18 TO OBTAIN NON-FEDERAL FUNDING.—During the 2- 

19 year period beginning on the date of enactment of 

20 this Act, subsection (g)(8)(D) of section 32 of the 

21 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657b), as added by 

22 subsection (a), shall not apply to an existing award. 

23 (c) GAO REPORTS.— 

24 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

25 (A) the term ‘‘covered individual’’ means— 


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1 (i) a veteran; 

2 (ii) a service-disabled veteran; 

3 (iii) a Reservist; 

4 (iv) the spouse of an individual de5 scribed in clause (i), (ii), or (iii); or 

6 (v) the spouse of a member of the 

7 Armed Forces; 

8 (B) the terms ‘‘Reservist’’, ‘‘small business 

9 concern owned and controlled by veterans’’, and 

10 ‘‘veterans’ business outreach center program’’ 

11 have the meanings given those terms in section 

12 32(g) of the Small Business Act, as added by 

13 subsection (a); and 

14 (C) the terms ‘‘service-disabled veteran’’, 

15 ‘‘small business concern’’, and ‘‘veteran’’ have 

16 the meanings given those terms under section 3 

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

18 (2) REPORT ON ACCESS TO CREDIT.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

20 after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

21 Comptroller General of the United States shall 

22 submit a report regarding the ability of small 

23 business concerns owned and controlled by cov24 ered individuals to access credit to— 


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1 (i) the Committee on Veterans’ Af2 fairs and the Committee on Small Business 

3 and Entrepreneurship of the Senate; and 

4 (ii) the Committee on Veterans’ Af5 fairs and the Committee on Small Business 

6 of the House of Representatives. 

7 (B) CONTENTS.—The report submitted 

8 under subparagraph (A) shall include an anal9 ysis of— 

10 (i) the sources of credit used by small 

11 business concerns owned and controlled by 

12 covered individuals and the percentage of 

13 the credit obtained by small business con14 cerns owned and controlled by covered in15 dividuals that is obtained from each 

16 source; 

17 (ii) the default rate for small business 

18 concerns owned and controlled by covered 

19 individuals separately for each source of 

20 credit described in clause (i), as compared 

21 to the default rate for the source of credit 

22 for small business concerns generally; 

23 (iii) the Federal lending programs 

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1 ness concerns owned and controlled by cov2 ered individuals; 

3 (iv) gaps, if any, in the availability of 

4 credit for small business concerns owned 

5 and controlled by covered individuals that 

6 are not being filled by the Federal Govern7 ment or private sources; 

8 (v) obstacles faced by covered individ9 uals in trying to access credit; 

10 (vi) the extent to which deployment 

11 and other military responsibilities affect 

12 the credit history of veterans and Reserv13 ists; and 

14 (vii) the extent to which covered indi15 viduals are aware of Federal programs tar16 geted towards helping covered individuals 

17 access credit. 

18 (3) REPORT ON VETERANS’ BUSINESS OUT19 REACH CENTER PROGRAM.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

21 after the end of the second fiscal year beginning 

22 after the date on which the veterans’ business 

23 outreach center program is established, the 

24 Comptroller General of the United States shall 

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1 ness outreach center program, and submit to 

2 Congress a report on the results of that evalua3 tion. 

4 (B) CONTENTS.—The report submitted 

5 under subparagraph (A) shall include— 

6 (i) an assessment of— 

7 (I) the use of amounts made 

8 available to carry out the veterans’ 

9 business outreach center program; 

10 (II) the effectiveness of the serv11 ices provided by each entity receiving 

12 financial assistance under the vet13 erans’ business outreach center pro14 gram; 

15 (III) whether the services de16 scribed in subclause (II) are duplica17 tive of services provided by other vet18 erans service organizations, programs 

19 of the Small Business Administration, 

20 or programs of another Federal de21 partment or agency and, if so, rec22 ommendations regarding how to al23 leviate the duplication of the services; 

24 (IV) whether there are areas of 

25 the United States in which there are 


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1 not adequate entrepreneurial services 

2 for small business concerns owned and 

3 controlled by veterans and, if so, 

4 whether there is a veterans’ business 

5 outreach center established under the 

6 veterans’ business outreach center 

7 program providing services to that 

8 area; and 

9 (V) whether there is a correlation 

10 between the proximity of a veterans’ 

11 business outreach center to small 

12 business concerns owned and con13 trolled by veterans and the rate of the 

14 use of the services of the veterans’ 

15 business outreach center; and 

16 (ii) recommendations, if any, for im17 proving the veterans’ business outreach 

18 center program. 

19 SEC. 3. IMPROVEMENTS TO BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND 

20 ENTREPRENEURIAL PROGRAMS. 

21 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

22 (1) the terms ‘‘Administration’’ and ‘‘Adminis23 trator’’ mean the Small Business Administration 

24 and the Administrator thereof, respectively; 


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1 (2) the term ‘‘individual eligible for a veteran 

2 entrepreneurial development program’’ means— 

3 (A) a covered individual, as defined in sec4 tion 32(d)(1) of the Small Business Act, as 

5 amended by section 2; 

6 (B) a covered individual, as defined in sec7 tion 32(e)(1) of the Small Business Act, as 

8 amended by section 2; 

9 (C) a service-disabled veteran, as defined 

10 in section 3(q)(1) of the Small Business Act 

11 (15 U.S.C. 632(q)(1)); and 

12 (D) an individual who qualifies to be the 

13 owner of a small business concern owned and 

14 controlled by veterans, as defined in section 

15 32(g)(1)(C) of the Small Business Act, as 

16 amended by section 2; 

17 (3) the term ‘‘one-stop resource’’ means the 

18 one-stop online resource established under sub19 section (c)(1); and 

20 (4) the term ‘‘small business concern’’ has the 

21 meaning given that term under section 3 of the 

22 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632). 

23 (b) VETERAN PEER-TO-PEER NETWORKS.—Not later 

24 than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

25 Administrator shall establish guidelines to improve the 


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1 network of peer-to-peer counseling and mentoring for indi2 viduals eligible for a veteran entrepreneurial development 

3 program relating to the business development and entre4 preneurial programs of the Administration. 

5 (c) ONE-STOP ONLINE RESOURCE.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es7 tablish an online mechanism that serves as a one8 stop online resource for veterans regarding all of the 

9 entrepreneurial development programs of the Admin10 istration. 

11 (2) CONTENTS.—The one-stop resource shall 

12 include descriptions of each entrepreneurial program 

13 of the Administration (which shall include the pro14 grams described in paragraph (3)), including— 

15 (A) target client descriptions for each pro16 gram; 

17 (B) contact information for information on 

18 or assistance regarding each program from lo19 cally, State-wide, and nationally available 

20 sources; 

21 (C) a detailed description of the services 

22 available under each program; 

23 (D) a description of any costs associated 

24 with the services under each program; 


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1 (E) an outline of program curriculums if 

2 training seminars or courses are offered; and 

3 (F) other resource information that the 

4 Administrator determines appropriate and nec5 essary for veteran entrepreneurs and veterans 

6 who own small business concerns, in order to 

7 ensure the one-stop online resource provides in8 formation and resources necessary for a veteran 

9 beginning to develop a small business concern. 

10 (3) PROGRAMS.—The programs identified and 

11 described under the one-stop resource shall in12 clude— 

13 (A) the small business development center 

14 program under section 21 of the Small Busi15 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 648); 

16 (B) the women’s business center program 

17 under section 29 of the Small Business Act (15 

18 U.S.C. 656); 

19 (C) the programs of the Office of Entre20 preneurship Education of the Administration; 

21 (D) the Boots to Business Program under 

22 section 32(d) of the Small Business Act, as 

23 amended by section 2(a) of this Act; 

24 (E) the veterans’ business outreach center 

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1 ness Act, as amended by section 2(a) of this 

2 Act; 

3 (F) the Service Corps of Retired Execu4 tives program authorized by section 8(b)(1) of 

5 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(b)(1)); 

6 and 

7 (G) any other program of the Administra8 tion determined appropriate by the Adminis9 trator. 

10 SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENT FOR INTERAGENCY 

11 TASK FORCE. 

12 Section 32(c) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

13 657b(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—Not less frequently than once 

15 each year, the Administrator shall submit to Con16 gress a report— 

17 ‘‘(A) discussing the appointments made to 

18 and activities of the task force; and 

19 ‘‘(B) identifying and outlining a plan for 

20 outreach and promotion of all the programs au21 thorized under the Veterans Small Business 

22 Development Act of 2015, or an amendment 

23 made by that Act.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. EDUCATIONAL TRAINING. 

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

3 637(b)) is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (16), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

5 end; 

6 (2) in paragraph (17), by striking the period at 

7 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

9 ‘‘(18) to make a grant to, or enter into a coop10 erative agreement with, a nonprofit entity to operate 

11 an educational training program to provide assist12 ance to small business concerns owned and con13 trolled by veterans regarding how to increase the 

14 likelihood of being awarded contracts with the Fed15 eral Government— 

16 ‘‘(A) which shall be made to or entered 

17 into with a nonprofit entity that has a track 

18 record of successfully providing educational and 

19 job training services to targeted veterans popu20 lations in diverse locations; 

21 ‘‘(B) under which the nonprofit entity shall 

22 be required to match any Federal funds re23 ceived for the program with State, local, or pri24 vate sector funds; and 

25 ‘‘(C) under which the nonprofit entity shall 

26 use a diverse group of professional service exVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:33 Sep 15, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00055 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1866.RS S1866

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1 perts, such as Federal, State, and local con2 tracting experts and private sector industry ex3 perts with first-hand experience in Federal Gov4 ernment contracting, to provide instruction to 

5 small business concerns owned and controlled 

6 by veterans.’’. 

7 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

8 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Small Business 

9 Ownership Improvements Act of 2015’’. 

10 SEC. 2. VETERANS’ BUSINESS OUTREACH CENTER PRO11 GRAM; OFFICE OF VETERANS BUSINESS DE12 VELOPMENT. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 32 of the Small Business 

14 Act (15 U.S.C. 657b) is amended by striking subsections 

15 (d), (e), and (f) and inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(d) BOOTS TO BUSINESS PROGRAM.— 

17 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

18 ‘‘(A) the term ‘covered individual’ means— 

19 ‘‘(i) a member of the Armed Forces, 

20 without regard to whether the member is 

21 participating in the Transition Assistance 

22 Program of the Department of Defense; 

23 ‘‘(ii) an individual who is partici24 pating in the Transition Assistance Pro25 gram of the Department of Defense; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) an individual who— 

2 ‘‘(I) served on active duty in any 

3 branch of the Armed Forces, including 

4 the National Guard and Reserves; and 

5 ‘‘(II) was discharged or released 

6 from such service under conditions 

7 other than dishonorable; and 

8 ‘‘(iv) a spouse or dependent of an indi9 vidual described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii); 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(B) the term ‘Vet Center’ means a center 

12 for readjustment counseling and related mental 

13 health services for veterans under section 1712A 

14 of title 38, United States Code. 

15 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a 

16 program to be known as the ‘Boots to Business Pro17 gram’ to provide entrepreneurship training to covered 

18 individuals, which shall be carried out by the Admin19 istrator. 

20 ‘‘(3) GOALS.—The goals of the Boots to Business 

21 Program are to— 

22 ‘‘(A) provide exposure, introduction, and 

23 in-depth training for covered individuals inter24 ested in business ownership; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) provide covered individuals with the 

2 tools and knowledge necessary to identify a busi3 ness opportunity, draft a business plan, identify 

4 sources of capital, connect with local small busi5 ness resources, and launch a small business con6 cern. 

7 ‘‘(4) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Boots to Business 

9 Program may include— 

10 ‘‘(i) a brief presentation providing ex11 posure to the considerations involved in self12 employment and small business ownership; 

13 ‘‘(ii) an online, self-study course fo14 cused on the basic skills of entrepreneurship, 

15 the language of business, and the consider16 ations involved in self-employment and 

17 small business ownership; 

18 ‘‘(iii) an in-person classroom instruc19 tion component providing an introduction 

20 to the foundations of self employment and 

21 small business ownership; and 

22 ‘‘(iv) in-depth training delivered 

23 through online instruction, including an on24 line course that leads to the creation of a 

25 business plan. 


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1 ‘‘(B) COLLABORATION.—The Administrator 

2 may— 

3 ‘‘(i) collaborate with public and pri4 vate entities to develop a course curriculum 

5 for the Boots to Business Program; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) modify program components in 

7 coordination with entities participating in 

8 the Warriors in Transition programs, as de9 fined in section 738(f) of the National De10 fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 

11 2013 (10 U.S.C. 1071 note). 

12 ‘‘(C) UTILIZATION OF RESOURCE PART13 NERS.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Associate Ad15 ministrator shall— 

16 ‘‘(I) ensure that veterans’ business 

17 outreach centers regularly participate, 

18 on a nationwide basis, in the Boots to 

19 Business program; and 

20 ‘‘(II) to the maximum extent 

21 practicable, use a variety of other re22 source partners and entities in admin23 istering the Boots to Business program. 

24 ‘‘(ii) GRANT AUTHORITY.—In carrying 

25 out clause (i), the Associate Administrator 


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1 may make grants to veterans’ business out2 reach centers, other resource partners, and 

3 other entities to carry out components of the 

4 Boots to Business Program. 

5 ‘‘(D) AVAILABILITY TO DOD.—The Adminis6 trator shall— 

7 ‘‘(i) make available electronically in8 formation regarding the Boots to Business 

9 Program and all course materials created 

10 for the Boots to Business Program to the 

11 Secretary of Defense for inclusion on the 

12 website of the Department of Defense relat13 ing to the Transition Assistance Program 

14 and in the Transition Assistance Program 

15 manual and other publications and mate16 rials available for distribution from the Sec17 retary of Defense; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) fully participate in the inter19 agency governance of the Transition Assist20 ance Program. 

21 ‘‘(E) AVAILABILITY TO VETERANS AF22 FAIRS.—In consultation with the Secretary of 

23 Veterans Affairs, the Associate Administrator 

24 shall make available outreach materials regard25 ing the Boots to Business Program for distribuVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:33 Sep 15, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00060 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1866.RS S1866

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1 tion and display at local facilities of the Depart2 ment of Veterans Affairs (including medical cen3 ters, community-based outpatient clinics, Vet 

4 Centers, and other facilities determined appro5 priate by the Associate Administrator and the 

6 Secretary), which shall, at minimum— 

7 ‘‘(i) describe the Boots to Business Pro8 gram, including a description of services 

9 provided; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) include eligibility requirements 

11 for participating in the Boots to Business 

12 Program. 

13 ‘‘(5) REVIEW.—The Inspector General of the Ad14 ministration shall submit to the Committee on Small 

15 Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the 

16 Committee on Small Business of the House of Rep17 resentatives an annual report regarding the awarding 

18 of grants under the Boots to Business Program. 

19 ‘‘(e) WOMEN VETERANS BUSINESS TRAINING PRO20 GRAM.— 

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

22 ‘covered individual’ means an individual who— 

23 ‘‘(A) is female; and 

24 ‘‘(B) is— 

25 ‘‘(i) a member of the Armed Forces; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a veteran; or 

2 ‘‘(iii) the spouse or dependent of a 

3 member of the Armed Forces or a veteran. 

4 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall 

5 establish a program, to be known as the Women Vet6 erans Business Training Program, to provide specific 

7 training for covered individuals interested in explor8 ing careers as owners of small business concerns. 

9 ‘‘(3) GOALS.—The goals of the Women Veterans 

10 Business Training Program are to— 

11 ‘‘(A) help covered individuals by providing 

12 the tools to become successful entrepreneurs; and 

13 ‘‘(B) integrate the leadership, integrity, 

14 focus, and drive of covered individuals into a 

15 premier education training program taught by 

16 accomplished entrepreneurs and entrepreneur17 ship educators from across the United States. 

18 ‘‘(4) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Women Veterans 

20 Business Training Program may include— 

21 ‘‘(i) an online, self-study course focused 

22 on the basic skills of entrepreneurship and 

23 the language of business; 

24 ‘‘(ii) a conference where participants 

25 are exposed to accomplished entrepreneurs 


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1 and entrepreneurship educators from across 

2 the United States; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) a plan to provide ongoing sup4 port and mentorship. 

5 ‘‘(B) COLLABORATION.—The Administrator 

6 may collaborate with public and private entities 

7 to develop a course curriculum for the Women 

8 Veterans Business Training Program. 

9 ‘‘(5) WOMEN VETERANS BUSINESS TRAINING.— 

10 The Associate Administrator shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) compile information on resources 

12 available to women veterans for business train13 ing, including resources for— 

14 ‘‘(i) vocational and technical edu15 cation; 

16 ‘‘(ii) general business skills, such as 

17 marketing and accounting; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) business assistance programs tar19 geted to women veterans; 

20 ‘‘(B) disseminate the information compiled 

21 under subparagraph (A) through veterans’ busi22 ness outreach centers and women’s business cen23 ters; and 

24 ‘‘(C) in consultation with the Secretary of 

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1 rials regarding the Women Veterans Business 

2 Training Program for distribution and display 

3 at local facilities of the Department of Veterans 

4 Affairs (including medical centers, community5 based outpatient clinics, Vet Centers (as defined 

6 in subsection (d)(1)), and other facilities deter7 mined appropriate by the Associate Adminis8 trator and the Secretary), which shall, at a min9 imum— 

10 ‘‘(i) describe the Women Veterans Busi11 ness Training Program, including a de12 scription of services provided; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) include eligibility requirements 

14 for participating in the Women Veterans 

15 Business Training Program. 

16 ‘‘(6) GRANT AUTHORITY.—The Associate Admin17 istrator may make grants to veterans’ business out18 reach centers, women’s business centers, and other en19 tities, including other resource partners, to carry out 

20 components of the Women Veterans Business Training 

21 Program. 

22 ‘‘(f) BUSINESS TRAINING PROGRAM FOR SERVICE DIS23 ABLED VETERANS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es25 tablish a Business Training Program for Service DisVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:33 Sep 15, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00064 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1866.RS S1866

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1 abled Veterans to provide specific training for service2 disabled veterans interested in exploring careers as 

3 owners of small business concerns. 

4 ‘‘(2) GOALS.—The goals of the Business Train5 ing Program for Service Disabled Veterans are to— 

6 ‘‘(A) help service-disabled veterans by pro7 viding the tools to become successful entre8 preneurs; and 

9 ‘‘(B) integrate the leadership, integrity, 

10 focus, and drive of service-disabled veterans into 

11 a premier education training program taught by 

12 accomplished entrepreneurs and entrepreneur13 ship educators from across the United States. 

14 ‘‘(3) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Business Training 

16 Program for Service Disabled Veterans may in17 clude— 

18 ‘‘(i) an online, self-study course focused 

19 on the basic skills of entrepreneurship and 

20 the language of business; 

21 ‘‘(ii) a conference where participants 

22 are exposed to accomplished entrepreneurs 

23 and entrepreneurship educators from across 

24 the United States; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) a plan to provide ongoing sup2 port and mentorship. 

3 ‘‘(B) COLLABORATION.—The Administrator 

4 may collaborate with public and private entities 

5 to develop a course curriculum for the Business 

6 Training Program for Service Disabled Veterans. 

7 ‘‘(4) AVAILABILITY TO VETERANS AFFAIRS.—In 

8 consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 

9 the Associate Administrator shall make available out10 reach materials regarding the Business Training Pro11 gram for Service Disabled Veterans for distribution 

12 and display at local facilities of the Department of 

13 Veterans Affairs (including medical centers, commu14 nity-based outpatient clinics, Vet Centers (as defined 

15 in subsection (d)(1)), and other facilities determined 

16 appropriate by the Associate Administrator and the 

17 Secretary), which shall, at minimum— 

18 ‘‘(A) describe the Business Training Pro19 gram for Service Disabled Veterans, including a 

20 description of services provided; and 

21 ‘‘(B) include eligibility requirements for 

22 participating in the Business Training Program 

23 for Service Disabled Veterans. 

24 ‘‘(5) GRANT AUTHORITY.—The Associate Admin25 istrator may make grants to veterans’ business outVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:33 Sep 15, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00066 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1866.RS S1866

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1 reach centers and other entities, including other re2 source partners, to carry out components of the Busi3 ness Training Program for Service Disabled Veterans. 

4 ‘‘(g) VETERANS’ BUSINESS OUTREACH CENTER PRO5 GRAM.— 

6 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

7 ‘‘(A) the term ‘active duty’ has the meaning 

8 given that term in section 101 of title 10, United 

9 States Code; 

10 ‘‘(B) the term ‘Reservist’ means a member 

11 of a reserve component of the Armed Forces, as 

12 described in section 10101 of title 10, United 

13 States Code; 

14 ‘‘(C) the term ‘small business concern owned 

15 and controlled by veterans’— 

16 ‘‘(i) has the meaning given that term 

17 in section 3(q); and 

18 ‘‘(ii) includes a small business con19 cern— 

20 ‘‘(I) not less than 51 percent of 

21 which is owned by 1 or more spouses 

22 of veterans or, in the case of any pub23 licly owned business, not less than 51 

24 percent of the stock of which is owned 

25 by 1 or more spouses of veterans; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) the management and daily 

2 business operations of which are con3 trolled by 1 or more spouses of vet4 erans; 

5 ‘‘(D) the term ‘spouse’, relating to a member 

6 of the Armed Forces on active duty, veteran, 

7 service-disabled veteran, or Reservist, includes an 

8 individual who, on the date on which the mem9 ber of the Armed Forces on active duty, veteran, 

10 service-disabled veteran, or Reservist died, is the 

11 spouse of the member of the Armed Forces on ac12 tive duty, veteran, service-disabled veteran, or 

13 Reservist; and 

14 ‘‘(E) the term ‘veterans’ business outreach 

15 center program’ means the program established 

16 under paragraph (2)(A). 

17 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, act19 ing through the Associate Administrator, shall 

20 establish a veterans’ business outreach center 

21 program, under which the Associate Adminis22 trator may provide financial assistance to edu23 cational institutions, veterans’ nonprofit commu24 nity-based organizations, and Federal, State, 

25 and local departments and agencies to conduct a 


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1 5-year project for the benefit of small business 

2 concerns owned and controlled by veterans, 

3 which, upon application by the entity receiving 

4 financial assistance, may be renewed for 1 or 

5 more additional 5-year periods. 

6 ‘‘(B) FORM OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

7 Financial assistance under this subsection may 

8 be in the form of a grant, a contract, or a coop9 erative agreement. 

10 ‘‘(3) VETERANS’ BUSINESS OUTREACH CEN11 TERS.—Each entity that receives financial assistance 

12 under this subsection shall establish or operate a vet13 erans’ business outreach center (which may include 

14 establishing or operating satellite offices in the region 

15 described in paragraph (5) served by that entity) that 

16 provides to veterans (including service-disabled vet17 erans), Reservists, and the spouses of members of the 

18 Armed Forces on active duty, veterans (including 

19 service-disabled veterans), and Reservists— 

20 ‘‘(A) financial advice, including training 

21 and counseling on applying for and securing 

22 business credit and investment capital, pre23 paring and presenting financial statements, and 

24 managing cash flow and other financial oper25 ations of a small business concern; 


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1 ‘‘(B) management advice, including train2 ing and counseling on the planning, organiza3 tion, staffing, direction, and control of each 

4 major activity and function of a small business 

5 concern; 

6 ‘‘(C) technical assistance, training, and 

7 counseling to assist in identifying and obtaining 

8 Federal procurement opportunities; 

9 ‘‘(D) marketing advice, including training 

10 and counseling on identifying and segmenting 

11 domestic and international market opportuni12 ties, preparing and executing marketing plans, 

13 developing pricing strategies, locating contract 

14 opportunities, negotiating contracts, and using 

15 public relations and advertising techniques; and 

16 ‘‘(E) other advice, including training and 

17 counseling. 

18 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An entity desiring to 

20 receive financial assistance under this subsection 

21 shall submit an application to the Associate Ad22 ministrator at such time and in such manner as 

23 the Associate Administrator may require. 

24 ‘‘(B) 5-YEAR PLAN.—Each application de25 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall include a 5- 


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1 year plan on proposed fundraising and training 

2 activities relating to the veterans’ business out3 reach center. 

4 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION AND NOTIFICATION.— 

5 Not later than 90 days after the date on which 

6 applications for a fiscal year are required to be 

7 submitted under subparagraph (A), the Associate 

8 Administrator shall approve or deny any appli9 cation submitted and notify the applicant of the 

10 determination. 

11 ‘‘(D) AVAILABILITY OF APPLICATION.—The 

12 Associate Administrator shall make every effort 

13 to make the application under subparagraph (A) 

14 available online. 

15 ‘‘(5) ELIGIBILITY.—The Associate Administrator 

16 may select to receive financial assistance under this 

17 subsection— 

18 ‘‘(A) a Veterans’ Business Outreach Center 

19 established by the Administrator under section 

20 8(b)(17) on or before the day before the date of 

21 enactment of this subsection; or 

22 ‘‘(B) educational institutions, veterans’ 

23 nonprofit community-based organizations, and 

24 Federal, State, and local departments and agen25 cies located in various regions of the United 


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1 States, as the Associate Administrator deter2 mines is appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(6) SELECTION CRITERIA.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Associate Adminis5 trator shall establish selection criteria, stated in 

6 terms of relative importance, to evaluate and 

7 rank applicants under paragraph (5)(B) for fi8 nancial assistance under this subsection. 

9 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—The selection criteria es10 tablished under this paragraph shall include— 

11 ‘‘(i) the experience of the applicant in 

12 conducting programs or ongoing efforts de13 signed to impart or upgrade the business 

14 skills of veterans (including service-disabled 

15 veterans), Reservists, and the spouses of 

16 members of the Armed Forces on active 

17 duty, veterans (including service-disabled 

18 veterans), and Reservists who own or may 

19 own small business concerns; 

20 ‘‘(ii) for an applicant for initial finan21 cial assistance under this subsection— 

22 ‘‘(I) the ability of the applicant to 

23 begin operating a veterans’ business 

24 outreach center within a minimum 

25 amount of time; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) the geographic region to be 

2 served by the veterans’ business out3 reach center; 

4 ‘‘(iii) the demonstrated ability of the 

5 applicant to— 

6 ‘‘(I) provide managerial coun7 seling and technical assistance to en8 trepreneurs; and 

9 ‘‘(II) coordinate services provided 

10 by veterans service organizations and 

11 other public or private entities; 

12 ‘‘(iv) the demonstrated ability to lever13 age and coordinate with existing resources 

14 and infrastructure of the Administration; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(v) for any applicant for a renewal of 

17 financial assistance under this subsection, 

18 the results of the most recent examination 

19 under paragraph (11) of the veterans’ busi20 ness outreach center operated by the appli21 cant. 

22 ‘‘(C) CRITERIA PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.—The 

23 Associate Administrator shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) make publicly available the selec2 tion criteria established under this para3 graph; 

4 ‘‘(ii) include the criteria in each solici5 tation for applications for financial assist6 ance under this subsection; 

7 ‘‘(iii) make every effort to ensure re8 gional accessibility and geographic rep9 resentation in awarding financial assist10 ance under this subsection; and 

11 ‘‘(iv) to the extent practicable, make 

12 publicly available the approximate antici13 pated date for the determination of award 

14 recipients by the Administration and the 

15 anticipated timing of disbursement. 

16 ‘‘(7) AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.—The amount of 

17 financial assistance provided under this subsection to 

18 an entity for each fiscal year shall be not less than 

19 $100,000. 

20 ‘‘(8) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 

22 ‘‘(i) INITIAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

23 Except as provided in clause (ii) and sub24 paragraph (E), an entity that receives fi25 nancial assistance under this subsection 


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1 shall provide non-Federal contributions for 

2 the operation of the veterans’ business out3 reach center established by the entity in an 

4 amount equal to— 

5 ‘‘(I) in each of the first and sec6 ond years of the project, not less than 

7 33 percent of the amount of the finan8 cial assistance received under this sub9 section; and 

10 ‘‘(II) in each of the third through 

11 fifth years of the project, not less than 

12 50 percent of the amount of the finan13 cial assistance received under this sub14 section. 

15 ‘‘(ii) RENEWALS.—An entity that re16 ceives a renewal of financial assistance 

17 under this subsection shall provide non-Fed18 eral contributions for the operation of the 

19 veterans’ business outreach center estab20 lished by the entity in an amount equal to 

21 not less than 50 percent of the amount of 

22 the financial assistance received under this 

23 subsection. 

24 ‘‘(B) FORM OF NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—Not 

25 more than 50 percent of the non-Federal share 


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1 for a project carried out using financial assist2 ance under this subsection may be in the form 

3 of in-kind contributions. 

4 ‘‘(C) TIMING OF DISBURSEMENT.—The As5 sociate Administrator may disburse not more 

6 than 25 percent of the financial assistance 

7 awarded to an entity before the entity obtains 

8 the non-Federal share required under this para9 graph with respect to that award. 

10 ‘‘(D) FAILURE TO OBTAIN NON-FEDERAL

11 FUNDING.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If an entity that 

13 receives financial assistance under this sub14 section fails to obtain the non-Federal share 

15 required under this paragraph during 2 

16 consecutive fiscal years, the entity may not 

17 receive a disbursement under this subsection 

18 in a subsequent fiscal year or a disburse19 ment for any other project funded by the 

20 Administration, unless the Administrator 

21 makes a written determination that the en22 tity will be able to obtain a non-Federal 

23 contribution. 

24 ‘‘(ii) RESTORATION.—An entity pro25 hibited from receiving a disbursement under 


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1 clause (i) in a fiscal year may receive fi2 nancial assistance in a subsequent fiscal 

3 year if the entity obtains the non-Federal 

4 share required under this paragraph for the 

5 subsequent fiscal year. 

6 ‘‘(E) WAIVER OF NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Upon request by an 

8 entity, and in accordance with this sub9 paragraph, the Administrator may waive, 

10 in whole or in part, the requirement to ob11 tain non-Federal funds under subparagraph 

12 (A) for a fiscal year. The Administrator 

13 may not waive the requirement for an enti14 ty to obtain non-Federal funds under this 

15 subparagraph for more than a total of 2 fis16 cal years. 

17 ‘‘(ii) CONSIDERATIONS.—In deter18 mining whether to waive the requirement to 

19 obtain non-Federal funds under this sub20 paragraph, the Administrator shall con21 sider— 

22 ‘‘(I) the economic conditions af23 fecting the entity; 

24 ‘‘(II) the impact a waiver under 

25 this subparagraph would have on the 


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1 credibility of the veterans’ business out2 reach center program; 

3 ‘‘(III) the demonstrated ability of 

4 the entity to raise non-Federal funds; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(IV) the performance of the enti7 ty. 

8 ‘‘(iii) LIMITATION.—The Adminis9 trator may not waive the requirement to ob10 tain non-Federal funds under this subpara11 graph if granting the waiver would under12 mine the credibility of the veterans’ business 

13 outreach center program. 

14 ‘‘(9) AFFILIATION WITH SMALL BUSINESS DEVEL15 OPMENT CENTERS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An entity receiving fi17 nancial assistance under this subsection shall 

18 enter into an agreement to affiliate with a small 

19 business development center for purposes of car20 rying out the activities of the entity using the fi21 nancial assistance. 

22 ‘‘(B) CONSISTENCY WITH AGREEMENT.— 

23 The terms of an agreement to affiliate under sub24 paragraph (A) shall be in accordance with the 

25 terms of any agreement between the applicable 


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1 small business development center and the Ad2 ministration. 

3 ‘‘(10) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—A veterans’ busi4 ness outreach center may enter into a contract with 

5 a Federal department or agency to provide specific 

6 assistance to veterans, service-disabled veterans, Re7 servists, or the spouses of members of the Armed 

8 Forces on active duty, veterans, service-disabled vet9 erans, or Reservists with prior written approval of 

10 the Associate Administrator. Performance of such con11 tract shall not hinder the veterans’ business outreach 

12 center in carrying out the terms of the grant received 

13 by the veterans’ business outreach center from the Ad14 ministrator. 

15 ‘‘(11) EXAMINATION AND DETERMINATION OF

16 PERFORMANCE.— 

17 ‘‘(A) EXAMINATION.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

19 days after the date of enactment of this sub20 section and every year thereafter, the Asso21 ciate Administrator shall conduct an an22 nual examination of the programs and fi23 nances of each veterans’ business outreach 

24 center established or operated using finan25 cial assistance under this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) FACTORS.—In conducting the ex2 amination under clause (i), the Associate 

3 Administrator shall consider whether the 

4 veterans’ business outreach center has 

5 failed— 

6 ‘‘(I) to provide the information 

7 required to be provided under subpara8 graph (B), or the information provided 

9 by the center is inadequate; 

10 ‘‘(II) to comply with a require11 ment for participation in the veterans’ 

12 business outreach center program, as 

13 determined by the Associate Adminis14 trator, including— 

15 ‘‘(aa) failure to acquire or 

16 properly document a non-Federal 

17 share; 

18 ‘‘(bb) failure to establish an 

19 appropriate partnership or pro20 gram for marketing and outreach 

21 to small business concerns; 

22 ‘‘(cc) failure to achieve re23 sults described in a financial as24 sistance agreement; and 


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1 ‘‘(dd) failure to provide to 

2 the Administrator a description of 

3 the amount and sources of any 

4 non-Federal funding received by 

5 the center; 

6 ‘‘(III) to carry out the 5-year 

7 plan under in paragraph (4)(B); 

8 ‘‘(IV) to meet the eligibility re9 quirements under paragraph (5); or 

10 ‘‘(V) to serve small business con11 cerns in the geographic region served 

12 by the veterans’ business outreach cen13 ter. 

14 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION PROVIDED.—In the 

15 course of an examination under subparagraph 

16 (A), the veterans’ business outreach center shall 

17 provide to the Associate Administrator— 

18 ‘‘(i) an itemized cost breakdown of ac19 tual expenditures for costs incurred during 

20 the most recent full fiscal year, including 

21 the amount spent on administrative ex22 penses; 

23 ‘‘(ii) documentation of the amount of 

24 non-Federal contributions obtained and ex25 pended by the veterans’ business outreach 


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1 center during the most recent full fiscal 

2 year; 

3 ‘‘(iii) with respect to any in-kind con4 tribution under paragraph (8)(B), 

5 verification of the existence and valuation of 

6 such contribution; and 

7 ‘‘(iv) any additional information the 

8 Associate Administrator determines nec9 essary. 

10 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION OF PERFORMANCE.— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Associate Ad12 ministrator shall analyze the results of each 

13 examination under subparagraph (A) and, 

14 based on that analysis, make a determina15 tion regarding the performance of the pro16 grams and finances of each veterans’ busi17 ness outreach center. 

18 ‘‘(ii) NONDELEGATION OF DETERMINA19 TION.—The duty under clause (i) to make a 

20 determination regarding the performance of 

21 the programs and finances of a veterans’ 

22 business outreach center may not be dele23 gated. 

24 ‘‘(D) DISCONTINUATION OF FUNDING.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Associate Ad2 ministrator may discontinue an award of 

3 financial assistance to an entity at any 

4 time for poor performance as determined 

5 under subparagraph (C). 

6 ‘‘(ii) RESTORATION.—The Associate 

7 Administrator may continue to provide fi8 nancial assistance to an entity in a subse9 quent fiscal year if the Associate Adminis10 trator determines under subparagraph (C) 

11 that the veterans’ business outreach center 

12 has taken appropriate measures to improve 

13 its performance and it is viable. 

14 ‘‘(12) COORDINATION OF EFFORTS AND CON15 SULTATION.— 

16 ‘‘(A) COORDINATION AND CONSULTATION.— 

17 To the extent practicable, the Associate Adminis18 trator and each entity that receives financial as19 sistance under this subsection shall— 

20 ‘‘(i) coordinate outreach and other ac21 tivities with other programs of the Adminis22 tration and the programs of other Federal 

23 agencies, including programs at local facili24 ties of the Department of Veterans Affairs; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) consult with technical representa2 tives of the district offices of the Adminis3 tration in carrying out activities using fi4 nancial assistance under this subsection; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(iii) provide information to the vet7 erans business development officers des8 ignated under subparagraph (B) and co9 ordinate with the veterans business develop10 ment officers to increase the ability of the 

11 veterans business development officers to 

12 provide services throughout the area served 

13 by the veterans business development offi14 cers. 

15 ‘‘(B) VETERANS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

16 OFFICERS.— 

17 ‘‘(i) DESIGNATION.—The Adminis18 trator shall designate not fewer than 1 indi19 vidual in each district office of the Admin20 istration as a veterans business development 

21 officer, who shall communicate and coordi22 nate activities of the district office with en23 tities that receive financial assistance under 

24 this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) INITIAL DESIGNATION.—The first 

2 individual in each district office of the Ad3 ministration designated by the Adminis4 trator as a veterans business development 

5 officer under clause (i) shall be an indi6 vidual that is employed by the Administra7 tion on the date of enactment of this sub8 section. 

9 ‘‘(13) EXISTING CONTRACTS.—An award of fi10 nancial assistance under this subsection shall not void 

11 any contract or cooperative agreement between any 

12 entity and the Administration or grant to any entity 

13 from the Administration that is in effect on the date 

14 of such award. 

15 ‘‘(h) VETERANS BUSINESS OWNERS INITIATIVE PILOT

16 PROGRAM.— 

17 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

18 ‘‘(A) the term ‘covered individual’ means— 

19 ‘‘(i) a member of the Armed Forces on 

20 active duty, as defined in section 101(d)(1) 

21 of title 10, United States Code; 

22 ‘‘(ii) a member of the Armed Forces 

23 who is participating in the Transition As24 sistance Program of the Department of De25 fense; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) a member of a reserve component 

2 of the Armed Forces named in section 

3 10101 of title 10, United States Code; 

4 ‘‘(iv) a veteran; and 

5 ‘‘(v) a spouse or dependent of an indi6 vidual described in clause (i), (ii), (iii), or 

7 (iv); 

8 ‘‘(B) the term ‘institution of higher edu9 cation’ has the meaning given the term in sec10 tion 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

11 (20 U.S.C. 1002); and 

12 ‘‘(C) the term ‘pilot program’ means the 

13 Veterans Business Owners Initiative Pilot Pro14 gram established under paragraph (2). 

15 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days 

16 after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Ad17 ministrator shall establish a pilot program, to be 

18 known as the Veterans Business Owners Initiative 

19 Pilot Program, to provide grants to nonprofit entities 

20 to carry out peer support groups that provide train21 ing to covered individuals interested in exploring ca22 reers as owners of small business concerns. 

23 ‘‘(3) GOALS.—The goals of the pilot program 

24 are— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to facilitate training for covered indi2 viduals, staff, and mentors to develop the assist3 ance to be provided through peer support groups 

4 under the pilot program, including education, 

5 coaching, peer support, business mentoring, and 

6 benefits counseling; and 

7 ‘‘(B) to arrange for external assistance, in8 cluding micro-financing, for covered individuals. 

9 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION.—A nonprofit entity that de10 sires a grant under the pilot program shall submit to 

11 the Administrator an application at such time, in 

12 such manner, and containing such information as the 

13 Administrator may require. 

14 ‘‘(5) PILOT PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—Activities 

15 carried out through a peer support group under the 

16 pilot program may include— 

17 ‘‘(A) providing assistance to covered indi18 viduals to identify their passions and skill sets 

19 with respect to business, including coaching and 

20 mentorship for covered individuals who suffer 

21 from the consequences of being at war; 

22 ‘‘(B) providing exposure to covered individ23 uals to the considerations involved in self-em24 ployment and small business ownership; 


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1 ‘‘(C) an instruction component that pro2 vides an introduction to the foundations of self3 employment and small business ownership; and 

4 ‘‘(D) in-depth training that leads to the cre5 ation of a business plan. 

6 ‘‘(6) COLLABORATION.—The Administrator 

7 may— 

8 ‘‘(A) collaborate with public and private en9 tities to develop a course initiative for peer sup10 port groups carried out under the pilot program; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(B) design the course curriculum to allow 

13 covered individuals to receive college credit or a 

14 certificate through an institution of higher edu15 cation upon completion of all components of the 

16 curriculum. 

17 ‘‘(i) ONLINE COORDINATION.— 

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

19 ‘veterans’ assistance provider’ means— 

20 ‘‘(A) a veterans’ business outreach center es21 tablished under subsection (g); 

22 ‘‘(B) an employee of the Administration as23 signed to the Office of Veterans Business Devel24 opment; or 


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1 ‘‘(C) a veterans business development officer 

2 designated under subsection (g)(12)(B). 

3 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Associate Adminis4 trator shall establish an online mechanism to— 

5 ‘‘(A) provide information that assists vet6 erans’ assistance providers in carrying out the 

7 activities of the veterans’ assistance providers; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(B) coordinate and leverage the work of the 

10 veterans’ assistance providers, including by al11 lowing a veterans’ assistance provider to— 

12 ‘‘(i) distribute best practices and other 

13 materials; 

14 ‘‘(ii) communicate with other veterans’ 

15 assistance providers regarding the activities 

16 of the veterans’ assistance provider on behalf 

17 of veterans; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) pose questions to and request 

19 input from other veterans’ assistance pro20 viders. 

21 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

22 authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2016 

23 through 2020— 

24 ‘‘(1) $2,500,000 to carry out subsection (g); 


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1 ‘‘(2) $8,000,000 to carry out subsections (d), (e), 

2 and (f); and 

3 ‘‘(3) such sums as may be necessary to carry out 

4 subsection (h). 

5 ‘‘(k) LIMITATIONS ON USE FOR OVERSEAS TRAVEL.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Financial assistance made 

7 available under this section may not be used for trav8 el outside of the United States (as defined in section 

9 202(a)(7) of the State Department Basic Authorities 

10 Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 4302(a)(7)) until after the 

11 date on which the Administrator submits to the Com12 mittee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of 

13 the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of 

14 the House of Representatives a plan describing how 

15 services will provided by recipients, and how the Ad16 ministrator will oversee the provision of services, out17 side of the United States. 

18 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—After the date de19 scribed in paragraph (1), a recipient of financial as20 sistance made available under this section may use 

21 not more than 5 percent of the amount of the finan22 cial assistance for travel outside of the United States. 

23 ‘‘(l) REPORTS.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

24 of enactment of this subsection and every year thereafter, 

25 the Associate Administrator shall submit to the Committee 


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1 on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and 

2 the Committee on Small Business of the House of Represent3 atives a report on the performance and effectiveness for the 

4 programs authorized under this section, which may be in5 cluded as part of another report submitted to the Committee 

6 on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and 

7 the Committee on Small Business of the House of Represent8 atives by the Associate Administrator, and which shall in9 clude the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) BOOTS TO BUSINESS.—For the Boots to 

11 Business Program under subsection (d)— 

12 ‘‘(A) the number of program participants 

13 using each component of the Boots to Business 

14 Program; 

15 ‘‘(B) the completion rates for each compo16 nent of the Boots to Business Program; 

17 ‘‘(C) to the extent possible— 

18 ‘‘(i) the demographics of program par19 ticipants, to include gender, age, race, rela20 tionship to military, Military Occupational 

21 Code, and years of service of program par22 ticipants; 

23 ‘‘(ii) the number of small business con24 cerns formed or expanded with assistance 

25 under the Boots to Business Program; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the gross receipts of small busi2 ness concerns receiving assistance under the 

3 Boots to Business program; 

4 ‘‘(iv) the number of jobs created with 

5 assistance under the Boots to Business pro6 gram; 

7 ‘‘(v) the number of referrals to other re8 sources and programs of the Administra9 tion; 

10 ‘‘(vi) the number of program partici11 pants receiving financial assistance under 

12 loan programs of the Administration; 

13 ‘‘(vii) the type and dollar amount of 

14 financial assistance received by program 

15 participants under loan programs of the 

16 Administration; and 

17 ‘‘(viii) results of participant satisfac18 tion surveys, including a summary of any 

19 comments received from program partici20 pants; 

21 ‘‘(D) an evaluation of the effectiveness of the 

22 program in each region of the Administration 

23 during the most recent fiscal year; 

24 ‘‘(E) an assessment of additional perform25 ance outcome measures for the Boots to Business 


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1 Program, as identified by the Associate Adminis2 trator; 

3 ‘‘(F) any recommendations of the Adminis4 trator for improvement of the Boots to Business 

5 Program, which may include expansion of the 

6 types of individuals who are covered individuals; 

7 ‘‘(G) an explanation of how the Boots to 

8 Business program has been integrated with other 

9 transition programs and related resources of the 

10 Administration and other Federal agencies; and 

11 ‘‘(H) any additional information the Ad12 ministrator determines necessary. 

13 ‘‘(2) WOMEN VETERANS BUSINESS TRAINING

14 PROGRAM.—For the Women Veterans Business Train15 ing Program under subsection (e)— 

16 ‘‘(A) the number of program participants 

17 using each component of the Women Veterans 

18 Business Training Program; 

19 ‘‘(B) the completion rates for each compo20 nent of the Women Veterans Business Training 

21 Program; 

22 ‘‘(C) to the extent possible— 

23 ‘‘(i) the demographics of program par24 ticipants, to include gender, age, race, rela25 tionship to military, and years of service; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the number of small business con2 cerns formed or expanded with assistance 

3 under the Women Veterans Business Train4 ing Program; 

5 ‘‘(iii) the gross receipts of small busi6 ness concerns receiving assistance under the 

7 Women Veterans Business Training Pro8 gram; 

9 ‘‘(iv) the number of jobs created with 

10 assistance under the Women Veterans Busi11 ness Training Program; 

12 ‘‘(v) the number of referrals to other re13 sources and programs of the Administra14 tion; 

15 ‘‘(vi) the number of referrals from other 

16 resources and programs of the Administra17 tion and other Federal agencies; 

18 ‘‘(vii) the number of program partici19 pants receiving financial assistance under 

20 loan programs of the Administration; 

21 ‘‘(viii) the type and dollar amount of 

22 financial assistance received by program 

23 participants under loan programs of the 

24 Administration; and 


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1 ‘‘(ix) the results of participant satisfac2 tion surveys, including a summary of any 

3 comments received from program partici4 pants; 

5 ‘‘(D) an assessment of additional perform6 ance outcome measures for the Women Veterans 

7 Business Training Program, as identified by the 

8 Associate Administrator; 

9 ‘‘(E) any recommendations of the Adminis10 trator for improvement of the Women Veterans 

11 Business Training Program; 

12 ‘‘(F) an explanation of how the Women Vet13 erans Business Training Program has been inte14 grated with other transition programs and re15 lated resources of the Administration and other 

16 Federal agencies; and 

17 ‘‘(G) any additional information the Ad18 ministrator determines necessary. 

19 ‘‘(3) BUSINESS TRAINING PROGRAM FOR SERVICE

20 DISABLED VETERANS.—For the Business Training 

21 Program for Service Disabled Veterans under sub22 section (f)— 

23 ‘‘(A) the number of program participants 

24 using each component of the Business Training 

25 Program for Service Disabled Veterans; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the completion rates for each compo2 nent of the Business Training Program for Serv3 ice Disabled Veterans; 

4 ‘‘(C) to the extent possible— 

5 ‘‘(i) the demographics of program par6 ticipants, to include gender, age, race, rela7 tionship to military, and years of service; 

8 ‘‘(ii) the number of small business con9 cerns formed or expanded with assistance 

10 under the Business Training Program for 

11 Service Disabled Veterans; 

12 ‘‘(iii) the gross receipts of small busi13 ness concerns receiving assistance under the 

14 Business Training Program for Service Dis15 abled Veterans; 

16 ‘‘(iv) the number of jobs created with 

17 assistance under the Business Training 

18 Program for Service Disabled Veterans; 

19 ‘‘(v) the number of referrals to other re20 sources and programs of the Administra21 tion; 

22 ‘‘(vi) the number of referrals from other 

23 resources and programs of the Administra24 tion and other Federal agencies; 


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1 ‘‘(vii) the number of program partici2 pants receiving financial assistance under 

3 loan programs of the Administration; 

4 ‘‘(viii) the type and dollar amount of 

5 financial assistance received by program 

6 participants under loan programs of the 

7 Administration; and 

8 ‘‘(ix) the results of participant satisfac9 tion surveys, including a summary of any 

10 comments received from program partici11 pants; 

12 ‘‘(D) an assessment of additional perform13 ance outcome measures for the Business Training 

14 Program for Service Disabled Veterans, as iden15 tified by the Associate Administrator; 

16 ‘‘(E) any recommendations of the Adminis17 trator for improvement of the Business Training 

18 Program for Service Disabled Veterans; 

19 ‘‘(F) an explanation of how the Business 

20 Training Program for Service Disabled Veterans 

21 has been integrated with other transition pro22 grams and related resources of the Administra23 tion and other Federal agencies; and 

24 ‘‘(G) any additional information the Ad25 ministrator determines necessary. 


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1 ‘‘(4) VETERAN’S BUSINESS OUTREACH CENTER

2 PROGRAM.—For the veterans’ business outreach center 

3 program under subsection (g)— 

4 ‘‘(A) an evaluation of the effectiveness of the 

5 veterans’ business outreach center program in 

6 each region of the Administration during the 

7 most recent full fiscal year; 

8 ‘‘(B) for each veterans’ business outreach 

9 center established or operated using financial as10 sistance provided under subsection (g)— 

11 ‘‘(i) the number of individuals receiv12 ing assistance from the veterans’ business 

13 outreach center, including the number of 

14 such individuals who are— 

15 ‘‘(I) veterans or spouses of vet16 erans; 

17 ‘‘(II) service-disabled veterans or 

18 spouses of service-disabled veterans; 

19 ‘‘(III) Reservists or spouses of Re20 servists; or 

21 ‘‘(IV) spouses of members of the 

22 Armed Forces on active duty; 

23 ‘‘(ii) the average distance traveled by 

24 veterans to access services at the veterans’ 

25 business outreach center; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the number of small business 

2 concerns formed by individuals receiving 

3 assistance from the veterans’ business out4 reach center, including— 

5 ‘‘(I) veterans or spouses of vet6 erans; 

7 ‘‘(II) service-disabled veterans or 

8 spouses of service-disabled veterans; 

9 ‘‘(III) Reservists or spouses of Re10 servists; or 

11 ‘‘(IV) spouses of members of the 

12 Armed Forces on active duty; and 

13 ‘‘(iv) to the extent possible— 

14 ‘‘(I) the gross receipts of small 

15 business concerns receiving assistance 

16 from the veterans’ business outreach 

17 center; 

18 ‘‘(II) the employment increases or 

19 decreases of small business concerns re20 ceiving assistance from the veterans’ 

21 business outreach center; 

22 ‘‘(III) the increases or decreases in 

23 profits of small business concerns re24 ceiving assistance from the veterans’ 

25 business outreach center; 


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1 ‘‘(IV) the number of referrals by 

2 the veterans’ business outreach center 

3 to other resources and programs of the 

4 Administration; 

5 ‘‘(V) the results of satisfaction 

6 surveys, including a summary of any 

7 comments received from small business 

8 concerns receiving assistance from the 

9 veterans’ business outreach center; 

10 ‘‘(VI) the number of small busi11 ness concerns receiving assistance from 

12 the veterans’ business outreach center 

13 that received financial assistance 

14 under loan programs of the Adminis15 tration; 

16 ‘‘(VII) the type and dollar 

17 amount of financial assistance received 

18 under loan programs of the Adminis19 tration by small business concerns re20 ceiving assistance from the veterans’ 

21 business outreach center; 

22 ‘‘(VIII) the number of small busi23 ness concerns receiving assistance from 

24 the veterans’ business outreach center 

25 that obtained a Federal contract 


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1 through a small business contracting 

2 program; 

3 ‘‘(IX) the type and dollar amount 

4 of the Federal contracts awarded to 

5 small business concerns receiving as6 sistance from the veterans’ business 

7 outreach center; 

8 ‘‘(X) an assessment of additional 

9 performance outcome measures for the 

10 veterans’ business outreach center, as 

11 identified by the Associate Adminis12 trator; and 

13 ‘‘(XI) the results of the examina14 tion of the veterans’ business outreach 

15 center under subsection (g)(10); 

16 ‘‘(C) any recommendations of the Adminis17 trator for improvement of the veterans’ business 

18 outreach center program; 

19 ‘‘(D) an explanation of how the veterans’ 

20 business outreach center program has been inte21 grated with other transition programs and re22 lated resources of the Administration and other 

23 Federal agencies; and 

24 ‘‘(E) any additional information the Ad25 ministrator determines necessary. 


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1 ‘‘(5) OTHER ACTIVITIES AND PROGRAMS ADMIN2 ISTERED BY THE OFFICE OF VETERANS BUSINESS DE3 VELOPMENT.—An evaluation of the effectiveness of 

4 any other activities and programs administered by 

5 the Office of Veterans Business Development, includ6 ing using the metrics identified in paragraphs (1) 

7 through (4). 

8 ‘‘(6) VETERANS BUSINESS OWNERS INITIATIVE

9 PILOT PROGRAM.—For the Veterans Business Owners 

10 Initiative Pilot Program under subsection (h)— 

11 ‘‘(A) the number of program participants 

12 using each component of the Veteran Business 

13 Owners Initiative Pilot Program; 

14 ‘‘(B) the completion rates for each compo15 nent of the Veteran Business Owners Initiative 

16 Pilot Program; 

17 ‘‘(C) to the extent possible— 

18 ‘‘(i) the demographics of program par19 ticipants, including gender, age, race, rela20 tionship to military, and years of service; 

21 ‘‘(ii) the number of small business con22 cerns formed or expanded with assistance 

23 under the Veteran Business Owners Initia24 tive Pilot Program; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the gross receipts of small busi2 ness concerns receiving assistance under the 

3 Veteran Business Owners Initiative Pilot 

4 Program; 

5 ‘‘(iv) the number of jobs created with 

6 assistance under the Veteran Business Own7 ers Initiative Pilot Program; 

8 ‘‘(v) the number of referrals to other re9 sources and programs of the Administra10 tion; 

11 ‘‘(vi) the number of referrals from other 

12 resources and programs of the Administra13 tion and other Federal agencies; 

14 ‘‘(vii) the number of program partici15 pants receiving financial assistance under 

16 loan programs of the Administration; 

17 ‘‘(viii) the type and dollar amount of 

18 financial assistance received by program 

19 participants under loan programs of the 

20 Administration; and 

21 ‘‘(ix) the results of participant satisfac22 tion surveys, including a summary of any 

23 comments received from program partici24 pants; 


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1 ‘‘(D) an assessment of additional perform2 ance outcome measures for the Veteran Business 

3 Owners Initiative Pilot Program, as identified 

4 by the Associate Administrator; 

5 ‘‘(E) any recommendations of the Adminis6 trator for improvement of the Veteran Business 

7 Owners Initiative Pilot Program; 

8 ‘‘(F) an explanation of how the Veteran 

9 Business Owners Initiative Pilot Program has 

10 been integrated with other transition programs 

11 and related resources of the Administration and 

12 other Federal agencies; and 

13 ‘‘(G) any additional information the Ad14 ministrator determines necessary.’’. 

15 (b) FEDERAL SHARE FOR EXISTING PROGRAM.— 

16 (1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

17 ‘‘existing award’’ means an award made under the 

18 Veterans’ Business Outreach Center Program of the 

19 Small Business Administration before the date of en20 actment of this Act that is in effect on the date of en21 actment of this Act. 

22 (2) EXCEPTION FROM PROVISION ON FAILURE TO

23 OBTAIN NON-FEDERAL FUNDING.—During the 2-year 

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

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1 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 657b), as added by subsection (a), 

2 shall not apply to an existing award. 

3 (c) GAO REPORTS.— 

4 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

5 (A) the term ‘‘covered individual’’ means— 

6 (i) a veteran; 

7 (ii) a service-disabled veteran; 

8 (iii) a Reservist; 

9 (iv) the spouse of an individual de10 scribed in clause (i), (ii), or (iii); or 

11 (v) the spouse of a member of the 

12 Armed Forces; 

13 (B) the terms ‘‘Reservist’’, ‘‘small business 

14 concern owned and controlled by veterans’’, and 

15 ‘‘veterans’ business outreach center program’’ 

16 have the meanings given those terms in section 

17 32(g) of the Small Business Act, as added by 

18 subsection (a); and 

19 (C) the terms ‘‘service-disabled veteran’’, 

20 ‘‘small business concern’’, and ‘‘veteran’’ have the 

21 meanings given those terms under section 3 of 

22 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632). 

23 (2) REPORT ON ACCESS TO CREDIT.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

25 after the date of enactment of this Act, the 


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1 Comptroller General of the United States shall 

2 submit a report regarding the ability of small 

3 business concerns owned and controlled by cov4 ered individuals to access credit to— 

5 (i) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

6 and the Committee on Small Business and 

7 Entrepreneurship of the Senate; and 

8 (ii) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

9 and the Committee on Small Business of the 

10 House of Representatives. 

11 (B) CONTENTS.—The report submitted 

12 under subparagraph (A) shall include an anal13 ysis of— 

14 (i) the sources of credit used by small 

15 business concerns owned and controlled by 

16 covered individuals and the percentage of 

17 the credit obtained by small business con18 cerns owned and controlled by covered indi19 viduals that is obtained from each source; 

20 (ii) the default rate for small business 

21 concerns owned and controlled by covered 

22 individuals separately for each source of 

23 credit described in clause (i), as compared 

24 to the default rate for the source of credit for 

25 small business concerns generally; 


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1 (iii) the Federal lending programs 

2 available to provide credit to small business 

3 concerns owned and controlled by covered 

4 individuals; 

5 (iv) gaps, if any, in the availability of 

6 credit for small business concerns owned 

7 and controlled by covered individuals that 

8 are not being filled by the Federal Govern9 ment or private sources; 

10 (v) obstacles faced by covered individ11 uals in trying to access credit; 

12 (vi) the extent to which deployment 

13 and other military responsibilities affect the 

14 credit history of veterans and Reservists; 

15 and 

16 (vii) the extent to which covered indi17 viduals are aware of Federal programs tar18 geted towards helping covered individuals 

19 access credit. 

20 (3) REPORT ON VETERANS’ BUSINESS OUTREACH

21 CENTER PROGRAM.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

23 after the end of the second fiscal year beginning 

24 after the date on which the veterans’ business 

25 outreach center program is established, the 


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1 Comptroller General of the United States shall 

2 evaluate the effectiveness of the veterans’ business 

3 outreach center program, and submit to Congress 

4 a report on the results of that evaluation. 

5 (B) CONTENTS.—The report submitted 

6 under subparagraph (A) shall include— 

7 (i) an assessment of— 

8 (I) the use of amounts made 

9 available to carry out the veterans’ 

10 business outreach center program; 

11 (II) the effectiveness of the services 

12 provided by each entity receiving fi13 nancial assistance under the veterans’ 

14 business outreach center program; 

15 (III) whether the services de16 scribed in subclause (II) are duplica17 tive of services provided by other vet18 erans service organizations, programs 

19 of the Small Business Administration, 

20 or programs of another Federal depart21 ment or agency and, if so, rec22 ommendations regarding how to allevi23 ate the duplication of the services; 

24 (IV) whether there are areas of the 

25 United States in which there are not 


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1 adequate entrepreneurial services for 

2 small business concerns owned and 

3 controlled by veterans and, if so, 

4 whether there is a veterans’ business 

5 outreach center established under the 

6 veterans’ business outreach center pro7 gram providing services to that area; 

8 and 

9 (V) whether there is a correlation 

10 between the proximity of a veterans’ 

11 business outreach center to small busi12 ness concerns owned and controlled by 

13 veterans and the rate of the use of the 

14 services of the veterans’ business out15 reach center; and 

16 (ii) recommendations, if any, for im17 proving the veterans’ business outreach cen18 ter program. 

19 SEC. 3. IMPROVEMENTS TO BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND 

20 ENTREPRENEURIAL PROGRAMS. 

21 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

22 (1) the terms ‘‘Administration’’ and ‘‘Adminis23 trator’’ mean the Small Business Administration and 

24 the Administrator thereof, respectively; 


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1 (2) the term ‘‘individual eligible for a veteran 

2 entrepreneurial development program’’ means— 

3 (A) a covered individual, as defined in sec4 tion 32(d)(1) of the Small Business Act, as 

5 amended by section 2; 

6 (B) a covered individual, as defined in sec7 tion 32(e)(1) of the Small Business Act, as 

8 amended by section 2; 

9 (C) a service-disabled veteran, as defined in 

10 section 3(q)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 

11 U.S.C. 632(q)(1)); and 

12 (D) an individual who qualifies to be the 

13 owner of a small business concern owned and 

14 controlled by veterans, as defined in section 

15 32(g)(1)(C) of the Small Business Act, as 

16 amended by section 2; 

17 (3) the term ‘‘one-stop resource’’ means the one18 stop online resource established under subsection 

19 (c)(1); and 

20 (4) the term ‘‘small business concern’’ has the 

21 meaning given that term under section 3 of the Small 

22 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632). 

23 (b) VETERAN PEER-TO-PEER NETWORKS.—Not later 

24 than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

25 Administrator shall establish guidelines to improve the netVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:33 Sep 15, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00110 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1866.RS S1866

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1 work of peer-to-peer counseling and mentoring for individ2 uals eligible for a veteran entrepreneurial development pro3 gram relating to the business development and entrepre4 neurial programs of the Administration. 

5 (c) ONE-STOP ONLINE RESOURCE.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es7 tablish an online mechanism that serves as a one-stop 

8 online resource for veterans regarding all of the entre9 preneurial development programs of the Administra10 tion. 

11 (2) CONTENTS.—The one-stop resource shall in12 clude descriptions of each entrepreneurial program of 

13 the Administration (which shall include the programs 

14 described in paragraph (3)), including— 

15 (A) target client descriptions for each pro16 gram; 

17 (B) contact information for information on 

18 or assistance regarding each program from lo19 cally, State-wide, and nationally available 

20 sources; 

21 (C) a detailed description of the services 

22 available under each program; 

23 (D) a description of any costs associated 

24 with the services under each program; 


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1 (E) an outline of program curriculums if 

2 training seminars or courses are offered; and 

3 (F) other resource information that the Ad4 ministrator determines appropriate and nec5 essary for veteran entrepreneurs and veterans 

6 who own small business concerns, in order to en7 sure the one-stop online resource provides infor8 mation and resources necessary for a veteran be9 ginning to develop a small business concern. 

10 (3) PROGRAMS.—The programs identified and 

11 described under the one-stop resource shall include— 

12 (A) the small business development center 

13 program under section 21 of the Small Business 

14 Act (15 U.S.C. 648); 

15 (B) the women’s business center program 

16 under section 29 of the Small Business Act (15 

17 U.S.C. 656); 

18 (C) the programs of the Office of Entrepre19 neurship Education of the Administration; 

20 (D) the Boots to Business program under 

21 section 32(d) of the Small Business Act, as 

22 amended by section 2(a) of this Act; 

23 (E) the veterans’ business outreach center 

24 program under section 32(e) of the Small Busi25 ness Act, as amended by section 2(a) of this Act; 


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1 (F) the Service Corps of Retired Executives 

2 program authorized by section 8(b)(1) of the 

3 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(b)(1)); and 

4 (G) any other program of the Administra5 tion determined appropriate by the Adminis6 trator. 

7 SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENT FOR INTERAGENCY 

8 TASK FORCE. 

9 Section 32(c) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

10 657b(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—Not less frequently than once 

12 each year, the Administrator shall submit to Congress 

13 a report— 

14 ‘‘(A) discussing the appointments made to 

15 and activities of the task force; and 

16 ‘‘(B) identifying and outlining a plan for 

17 outreach and promotion of all the programs au18 thorized under the Veterans Small Business De19 velopment Act of 2015, or an amendment made 

20 by that Act.’’. 

21 SEC. 5. EDUCATIONAL TRAINING. 

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

23 637(b)) is amended— 

24 (1) in paragraph (16), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

25 end; 


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1 (2) in paragraph (17), by striking the period at 

2 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(18) to make a grant to, or enter into a cooper5 ative agreement with, a nonprofit entity to operate an 

6 educational training program to provide assistance to 

7 small business concerns owned and controlled by vet8 erans regarding how to increase the likelihood of 

9 being awarded contracts with the Federal Govern10 ment— 

11 ‘‘(A) which shall be made to or entered into 

12 with a nonprofit entity that has a track record 

13 of successfully providing educational and job 

14 training services to targeted veterans populations 

15 in diverse locations; 

16 ‘‘(B) under which the nonprofit entity shall 

17 be required to match any Federal funds received 

18 for the program with State, local, or private sec19 tor funds; and 

20 ‘‘(C) under which the nonprofit entity shall 

21 use a diverse group of professional service ex22 perts, such as Federal, State, and local con23 tracting experts and private sector industry ex24 perts with first-hand experience in Federal Gov25 ernment contracting, to provide instruction to 


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1 small business concerns owned and controlled by 

2 veterans.’’. 


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Calendar No. 225 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1866 

A BILL 

To establish the veterans’ business outreach center 

other purposes. of the Small Business Administration, and for program, to improve the programs for veterans 

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015 

Reported with an amendment 


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