II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2126 

To reauthorize the women’s business center program of the Small Business 

Administration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 1, 2015 

Ms. CANTWELL (for herself, Mr. VITTER, and Mrs. SHAHEEN) introduced the 

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

Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the women’s business center program 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 ‘‘Women’s Small Busi5 ness Ownership Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act— 

8 (1) the terms ‘‘Administration’’ and ‘‘Adminis9 trator’’ mean the Small Business Administration 

10 and the Administrator thereof, respectively; 


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1 (2) the term ‘‘small business concern’’ and 

2 ‘‘small business development center’’ have the mean3 ings given those terms in section 3 of the Small 

4 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632); and 

5 (3) the term ‘‘women’s business center’’ has the 

6 meaning given that term in section 29(a) of the 

7 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656(a)), as added by 

8 section 4(a)(1) of this Act. 

9 SEC. 3. OFFICE OF WOMEN’S BUSINESS OWNERSHIP. 

10 Section 29(g) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

11 656(g)) is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

13 (A) in subparagraph (B)— 

14 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘in the 

15 areas’’ and all that follows through the end 

16 of subclause (I), and inserting the fol17 lowing: ‘‘to address issues concerning the 

18 management, operations, manufacturing, 

19 technology, finance, retail and product 

20 sales, international trade, Government con21 tracting, and other disciplines required 

22 for— 

23 ‘‘(I) starting, operating, and in24 creasing the business of a small busi25 ness concern;’’; and 


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1 (ii) in clause (ii)— 

2 (I) by striking ‘‘Women’s Busi3 ness Center program’’ each place that 

4 term appears and inserting ‘‘women’s 

5 business center program’’; 

6 (II) in subclause (IX), by strik7 ing ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

8 (III) in subclause (X), by strik9 ing the period at the end and insert10 ing ‘‘; and’’; and 

11 (IV) by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(XI) work with Administration 

14 officials and collaborate with entities 

15 other than the Administration to en16 sure that the work of the women’s 

17 business center program— 

18 ‘‘(aa) maximizes taxpayer 

19 dollars; and 

20 ‘‘(bb) coordinates effectively 

21 with and is not duplicative of the 

22 efforts of other Federal Govern23 ment and private sector pro24 grams.’’; and 


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1 (B) in subparagraph (C), by inserting be2 fore the period at the end the following: ‘‘, the 

3 National Women’s Business Council, and any 

4 organization representing the majority of wom5 en’s business centers’’; and 

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

7 ‘‘(3) MISSION.—The mission of the Office of 

8 Women’s Business Ownership shall be to assist 

9 women entrepreneurs to start, grow, and compete in 

10 global markets by providing quality support with ac11 cess to capital, access to markets, job creation, 

12 growth, and counseling and training by— 

13 ‘‘(A) fostering participation of women en14 trepreneurs in the economy by overseeing a net15 work of women’s business centers throughout 

16 States and territories; 

17 ‘‘(B) creating public-private partnerships 

18 to support women entrepreneurs and conduct 

19 outreach and education to startup and existing 

20 small business concerns owned and controlled 

21 by women; and 

22 ‘‘(C) working with other initiatives and 

23 programs of the Administration to ensure 

24 women are well-represented and being served 


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1 and to identify gaps where participation by 

2 women could be increased. 

3 ‘‘(4) TRAINING.—The Administrator shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) provide annual programmatic and fi5 nancial examination training for women’s busi6 ness center representatives and district office 

7 technical representatives of the Administration 

8 to enable representatives to carry out their re9 sponsibilities; 

10 ‘‘(B) in carrying out subparagraph (A), 

11 award grants or enter into contracts or coopera12 tive agreements related to training; and 

13 ‘‘(C) not later than September 30, 2016, 

14 develop a plan for a professional development 

15 training program for women’s business centers, 

16 including attendance to relevant national con17 ferences, related to— 

18 ‘‘(i) the managing, financing, and op19 eration of small business concerns; 

20 ‘‘(ii) marketing, including the use of 

21 social media; 

22 ‘‘(iii) management and technology as23 sistance regarding small business concern 

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1 port promotion, and technology transfer; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(iv) delivery or distribution of the 

4 services and information described in 

5 clauses (i), (ii), and (iii). 

6 ‘‘(5) PROGRAM AND TRANSPARENCY IMPROVE7 MENTS.—The Administrator shall maximize the 

8 transparency of the women’s business center finan9 cial assistance proposal process and the pro10 grammatic and financial examination process by— 

11 ‘‘(A) providing public notice of any an12 nouncement for financial assistance under sub13 section (b) or a grant under subsection (l); 

14 ‘‘(B) in the announcement described in 

15 subparagraph (A), outlining award and pro16 gram evaluation criteria and describing the 

17 weighting of the criteria for financial assistance 

18 under subsection (b) and grants under sub19 section (l); and 

20 ‘‘(C) not later than 60 days after the com21 pletion of a site visit to the women’s business 

22 center (whether conducted for an audit, per23 formance review, or other reason), when fea24 sible, providing to each women’s business center 

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1 ports prepared by district office technical rep2 resentatives or officers or employees of the Ad3 ministration. 

4 ‘‘(6) ACCREDITATION PROGRAM.—Not later 

5 than September 30, 2016, the Administrator shall 

6 submit to the Committee on Small Business and En7 trepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on 

8 Small Business of the House of Representatives a 

9 plan to develop, including identification of funding 

10 needs, an accreditation program of women’s business 

11 centers under this section that would— 

12 ‘‘(A) be developed with the consultation 

13 and collaboration of organizations representing 

14 a majority of women’s business centers; 

15 ‘‘(B) be carried out by and for women’s 

16 business centers under contract with the Ad17 ministration; 

18 ‘‘(C) establish a regular system of site vis19 its at the discretion of the Administration and 

20 peer review to be conducted in addition to the 

21 regular inspections and audits conducted under 

22 subsection (h); and 

23 ‘‘(D) develop standards for assessment of 

24 the performance of women’s business centers, 

25 including— 


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1 ‘‘(i) leadership and center manage2 ment; 

3 ‘‘(ii) strategic planning; 

4 ‘‘(iii) market and client needs assess5 ment; and 

6 ‘‘(iv) metrics and measurements of 

7 performance and results.’’. 

8 SEC. 4. WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTER PROGRAM. 

9 (a) WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTER FINANCIAL ASSIST10 ANCE.—Section 29 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

11 656) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)— 

13 (A) by striking paragraph (4); 

14 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and 

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

16 (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(2) the term ‘eligible entity’ means— 

19 ‘‘(A) a private nonprofit organization; 

20 ‘‘(B) a State, regional, or local economic 

21 development organization; 

22 ‘‘(C) a development, credit, or finance cor23 poration chartered by a State; 


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1 ‘‘(D) a junior or community college, as de2 fined in section 312(f) of the Higher Education 

3 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058(f)); or 

4 ‘‘(E) any combination of entities listed in 

5 subparagraphs (A) through (D);’’; and 

6 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(5) the term ‘women’s business center’ means 

8 a project conducted by an eligible entity under this 

9 section.’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (b)— 

11 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), 

12 and (3) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), re13 spectively, and adjusting the margins accord14 ingly; 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘The Administration’’ and 

16 all that follows through ‘‘5-year projects’’ and 

17 inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administration may 

19 provide financial assistance to an eligible entity to 

20 conduct a project under this section’’; 

21 (C) by striking ‘‘The projects shall’’ and 

22 inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—The project shall be de24 signed to provide training and counseling that meets 


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1 the needs of women, especially socially or economi2 cally disadvantaged women, and shall’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(3) AMOUNT OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

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

6 subparagraph (B), the amount of financial as7 sistance provided under this subsection to an el8 igible entity per project year shall be not more 

9 than $250,000. 

10 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL ASSIST11 ANCE.— 

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

13 may award financial assistance under this 

14 subsection to an eligible entity in an 

15 amount that is more than $250,000 in a 

16 given project year if the Administrator de17 termines that the eligible entity— 

18 ‘‘(I) obtained more than 

19 $250,000 in non-Federal contribu20 tions for that project year in accord21 ance with subsection (c); 

22 ‘‘(II) is in good standing with the 

23 women’s business center program; 


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1 ‘‘(III) has met performance goals 

2 for the previous project year, if appli3 cable; and 

4 ‘‘(IV) proposes a new project to 

5 be carried out with the additional fi6 nancial assistance in accordance with 

7 this section. 

8 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATIONS.—The Adminis9 trator may only award additional financial 

10 assistance under clause (i)— 

11 ‘‘(I) from unobligated amounts 

12 made available to the Administration 

13 to carry out this section; and 

14 ‘‘(II) if, in a given fiscal year, the 

15 aggregate amount of additional finan16 cial assistance provided to eligible en17 tities under clause (i) is not more 

18 than 1 percent of the amount appro19 priated to the Administration to carry 

20 out this section for that fiscal year. 

21 ‘‘(4) CONSULTATION WITH ORGANIZATIONS

22 REPRESENTING WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTERS.—The 

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1 tion representing a majority of women’s business 

2 centers to develop— 

3 ‘‘(A) the training program for women’s 

4 business centers under subsection (g)(4)(C); 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(B) recommendations to improve the poli7 cies and procedures for governing the general 

8 operations and administration of the women’s 

9 business center program, including grant pro10 gram improvements under subsection (g)(4).’’; 

11 (3) in subsection (c)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘the re13 cipient organization’’ and inserting ‘‘an eligible 

14 entity’’; 

15 (B) in paragraph (3), in the second sen16 tence, by striking ‘‘a recipient organization’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘an eligible entity’’; 

18 (C) in paragraph (4)— 

19 (i) by striking ‘‘recipient of assist20 ance’’ and inserting ‘‘eligible entity’’; 

21 (ii) by striking ‘‘during any project, it 

22 shall not be eligible thereafter’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘during any project for 2 consecutive 

24 years, the eligible entity shall not be eligi25 ble at any time after that 2-year period’’; 


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1 (iii) by striking ‘‘such organization’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘the eligible entity’’; and 

3 (iv) by striking ‘‘recipient’’ and insert4 ing ‘‘eligible entity’’; and 

5 (D) by adding at end the following: 

6 ‘‘(5) SEPARATION OF PROJECT AND FUNDS.— 

7 An eligible entity shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) carry out a project under this section 

9 separately from other projects, if any, of the eli10 gible entity; and 

11 ‘‘(B) separately maintain and account for 

12 any financial assistance under this section.’’; 

13 (4) in subsection (e)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘applicant organization’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘eligible entity’’; 

16 (B) by striking ‘‘a recipient organization’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘an eligible entity’’; and 

18 (C) by striking ‘‘site’’; 

19 (5) by striking subsection (f) and inserting the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(f) APPLICATIONS AND CRITERIA FOR INITIAL FI22 NANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

23 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION.—Each eligible entity desir24 ing financial assistance under subsection (b) shall 


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1 submit to the Administrator an application that con2 tains— 

3 ‘‘(A) a certification that the eligible enti4 ty— 

5 ‘‘(i) has designated an executive direc6 tor or program manager, who may be com7 pensated using financial assistance under 

8 subsection (b) or other sources, to manage 

9 the center; 

10 ‘‘(ii) as a condition of receiving finan11 cial assistance under subsection (b), 

12 agrees— 

13 ‘‘(I) to receive a site visit at the 

14 discretion of the Administrator as 

15 part of the final selection process; 

16 ‘‘(II) to undergo an annual pro17 grammatic and financial examination; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(III) to remedy any problems 

20 identified pursuant to the site visit or 

21 examination under subclause (I) or 

22 (II); and 

23 ‘‘(iii) meets the accounting and re24 porting requirements established by the 


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1 Director of the Office of Management and 

2 Budget; 

3 ‘‘(B) information demonstrating that the 

4 eligible entity has the ability and resources to 

5 meet the needs of the market to be served by 

6 the women’s business center for which financial 

7 assistance under subsection (b) is sought, in8 cluding the ability to obtain the non-Federal 

9 contribution required under subsection (c); 

10 ‘‘(C) information relating to the assistance 

11 to be provided by the women’s business center 

12 for which financial assistance under subsection 

13 (b) is sought in the area in which the women’s 

14 business center is located; 

15 ‘‘(D) information demonstrating the expe16 rience and effectiveness of the eligible entity 

17 in— 

18 ‘‘(i) conducting financial, manage19 ment, and marketing assistance programs, 

20 as described in subsection (b)(2), which 

21 are designed to teach or upgrade the busi22 ness skills of women who are business own23 ers or potential business owners; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) providing training and services to 

2 a representative number of women who are 

3 socially or economically disadvantaged; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) working with resource partners 

5 of the Administration and other entities, 

6 such as universities; and 

7 ‘‘(E) a 5-year plan that describes the abil8 ity of the women’s business center for which fi9 nancial assistance is sought— 

10 ‘‘(i) to serve women who are business 

11 owners or potential business owners by 

12 conducting training and counseling activi13 ties; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) to provide training and services 

15 to a representative number of women who 

16 are socially or economically disadvantaged. 

17 ‘‘(2) REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS

18 FOR INITIAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

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

20 shall— 

21 ‘‘(i) review each application submitted 

22 under paragraph (1), based on the infor23 mation described in such paragraph and 

24 the criteria set forth under subparagraph 

25 (B) of this paragraph; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) to the extent practicable, as part 

2 of the final selection process, conduct a 

3 site visit to each women’s business center 

4 for which financial assistance under sub5 section (b) is sought. 

6 ‘‘(B) SELECTION CRITERIA.— 

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

8 shall evaluate applicants for financial as9 sistance under subsection (b) in accordance 

10 with selection criteria that are— 

11 ‘‘(I) established before the date 

12 on which applicants are required to 

13 submit the applications; 

14 ‘‘(II) stated in terms of relative 

15 importance; and 

16 ‘‘(III) publicly available and stat17 ed in each solicitation for applications 

18 for financial assistance under sub19 section (b) made by the Adminis20 trator. 

21 ‘‘(ii) REQUIRED CRITERIA.—The se22 lection criteria for financial assistance 

23 under subsection (b) shall include— 

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1 ing efforts designed to teach or en2 hance the business skills of women 

3 who are business owners or potential 

4 business owners; 

5 ‘‘(II) the ability of the applicant 

6 to begin a project within a minimum 

7 amount of time, as established under 

8 the program announcement or by reg9 ulation; 

10 ‘‘(III) the ability of the applicant 

11 to provide training and services to a 

12 representative number of women who 

13 are socially or economically disadvan14 taged; 

15 ‘‘(IV) the ability of the applicant 

16 to successfully complete participation 

17 in the training program developed 

18 under subsection (g)(4)(C); 

19 ‘‘(V) the ability of the applicant 

20 to successfully acquire accreditation 

21 under the accreditation program de22 veloped under subsection (g)(6); 

23 ‘‘(VI) whether the women’s busi24 ness center proposed by the applicant 


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1 will be sustainable for more than a 5- 

2 year period; and 

3 ‘‘(VII) the location for the wom4 en’s business center proposed by the 

5 applicant, including whether the appli6 cant is located in an area in which— 

7 ‘‘(aa) women are under8 served; or 

9 ‘‘(bb) significant groups of 

10 women are underserved due to 

11 language or other social, cultural, 

12 and economic barriers. 

13 ‘‘(C) PROXIMITY.—If the principal place of 

14 business of an applicant for financial assistance 

15 under subsection (b) is located less than 50 

16 miles from the principal place of business of a 

17 women’s business center that received funds 

18 under this section on or before the date of the 

19 application, the applicant shall not be eligible 

20 for the financial assistance, unless the appli21 cant— 

22 ‘‘(i) submits a detailed written jus23 tification of the need for an additional cen24 ter in the area in which the applicant is lo25 cated, including information demonstrating 


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1 that the applicant is not providing services 

2 that are redundant or duplicative of those 

3 provided by that existing or current wom4 en’s business center; 

5 ‘‘(ii) submits a detailed plan for how 

6 the applicant plans to reach clients outside 

7 of the geographic area in which the exist8 ing or current women’s business center is 

9 located; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) demonstrates that the applicant 

11 has a pre-existing presence in other parts 

12 of the geographic area in which the exist13 ing or current women’s business center is 

14 located. 

15 ‘‘(D) RECORD RETENTION.— 

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

17 shall maintain a copy of each application 

18 submitted under this subsection for not 

19 less than 5 years. 

20 ‘‘(ii) PAPERWORK REDUCTION.—The 

21 Administrator shall take steps to reduce, 

22 to the maximum extent practicable, the pa23 perwork burden associated with carrying 

24 out clause (i).’’; and 

25 (6) in subsection (m)— 


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1 (A) by striking paragraph (3) and insert2 ing the following: 

3 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION AND APPROVAL FOR RE4 NEWAL GRANTS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) SOLICITATION OF APPLICATIONS.— 

6 The Administrator shall solicit applications and 

7 award grants under this subsection for the first 

8 fiscal year beginning after the date of enact9 ment of the Women’s Small Business Owner10 ship Act of 2015, and every third fiscal year 

11 thereafter. 

12 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—Each 

13 eligible entity desiring a grant under this sub14 section shall submit to the Administrator an ap15 plication that contains— 

16 ‘‘(i) a certification that the appli17 cant— 

18 ‘‘(I) is an eligible entity; 

19 ‘‘(II) has designated an executive 

20 director or program manager to man21 age the women’s business center oper22 ated by the applicant; and 

23 ‘‘(III) as a condition of receiving 

24 a grant under this subsection, 

25 agrees— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) to receive a site visit 

2 as part of the final selection 

3 process, at the discretion of the 

4 Administrator; and 

5 ‘‘(bb) to remedy any prob6 lem identified pursuant to the 

7 site visit under item (aa); 

8 ‘‘(ii) information demonstrating that 

9 the applicant has the ability and resources 

10 to meet the needs of the market to be 

11 served by the women’s business center for 

12 which a grant under this subsection is 

13 sought, including the ability to obtain the 

14 non-Federal contribution required under 

15 paragraph (4)(C); 

16 ‘‘(iii) information relating to assist17 ance to be provided by the women’s busi18 ness center in the area served by the wom19 en’s business center for which a grant 

20 under this subsection is sought; 

21 ‘‘(iv) information demonstrating that 

22 the applicant is not providing services re23 dundant or duplicative of those provided by 

24 a women’s business center receiving funds 

25 under this subsection that is located less 


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1 than 50 miles from the principal place of 

2 business of the applicant; 

3 ‘‘(v) information demonstrating that 

4 the applicant has worked with resource 

5 partners of the Administration and other 

6 entities; 

7 ‘‘(vi) a 3-year plan that describes the 

8 services provided by the women’s business 

9 center for which a grant under this sub10 section is sought— 

11 ‘‘(I) to serve women who are 

12 business owners or potential business 

13 owners by conducting training and 

14 counseling activities; and 

15 ‘‘(II) to provide training and 

16 services to a representative number of 

17 women who are socially or economi18 cally disadvantaged; and 

19 ‘‘(vii) any additional information that 

20 the Administrator may reasonably require. 

21 ‘‘(C) REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF APPLICA22 TIONS FOR GRANTS.— 

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Adminis24 trator— 


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1 ‘‘(I) shall review each application 

2 submitted under subparagraph (B), 

3 based on the information described in 

4 such subparagraph and the criteria 

5 set forth under clause (ii) of this sub6 paragraph; and 

7 ‘‘(II) as part of the final selection 

8 process, may, at the discretion of the 

9 Administrator, conduct a site visit to 

10 each women’s business center for 

11 which a grant under this subsection is 

12 sought, in particular to evaluate the 

13 women’s business center using the se14 lection criteria described in clause 

15 (ii)(II). 

16 ‘‘(ii) SELECTION CRITERIA.— 

17 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Admin18 istrator shall evaluate applicants for 

19 grants under this subsection in ac20 cordance with selection criteria that 

21 are— 

22 ‘‘(aa) established before the 

23 date on which applicants are re24 quired to submit the applications; 


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1 ‘‘(bb) stated in terms of rel2 ative importance; and 

3 ‘‘(cc) publicly available and 

4 stated in each solicitation for ap5 plications for grants under this 

6 subsection made by the Adminis7 trator. 

8 ‘‘(II) REQUIRED CRITERIA.—The 

9 selection criteria for a grant under 

10 this subsection shall include— 

11 ‘‘(aa) the total number of 

12 entrepreneurs served by the ap13 plicant; 

14 ‘‘(bb) the total number of 

15 new startup companies assisted 

16 by the applicant; 

17 ‘‘(cc) the percentage of cli18 ents of the applicant that are so19 cially or economically disadvan20 taged; 

21 ‘‘(dd) the percentage of indi22 viduals in the community served 

23 by the applicant who are socially 

24 or economically disadvantaged; 


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1 ‘‘(ee) the successful partici2 pation of the applicant in the 

3 training program developed 

4 under subsection (g)(4)(C); 

5 ‘‘(ff) the successful accredi6 tation of the applicant under the 

7 accreditation program developed 

8 under subsection (g)(6); and 

9 ‘‘(gg) any additional criteria 

10 that the Administrator may rea11 sonably require. 

12 ‘‘(iii) CONDITIONS FOR CONTINUED

13 FUNDING.—In determining whether to 

14 make a grant under this subsection, the 

15 Administrator— 

16 ‘‘(I) shall consider the results of 

17 the most recent evaluation of the 

18 women’s business center for which a 

19 grant under this subsection is sought, 

20 and, to a lesser extent, previous eval21 uations; and 

22 ‘‘(II) may withhold a grant under 

23 this subsection, if the Administrator 

24 determines that the applicant has 

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1 quired to be provided under this para2 graph, or the information provided by 

3 the applicant is inadequate. 

4 ‘‘(D) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 60 

5 days after the date of each deadline to submit 

6 applications, the Administrator shall approve or 

7 deny any application under this paragraph and 

8 notify the applicant for each such application of 

9 the approval or denial. 

10 ‘‘(E) RECORD RETENTION.— 

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

12 shall maintain a copy of each application 

13 submitted under this paragraph for not 

14 less than 5 years. 

15 ‘‘(ii) PAPERWORK REDUCTION.—The 

16 Administrator shall take steps to reduce, 

17 to the maximum extent practicable, the pa18 perwork burden associated with carrying 

19 out clause (i).’’; and 

20 (B) by striking paragraph (5) and insert21 ing the following: 

22 ‘‘(5) AWARD TO PREVIOUS RECIPIENTS.—There 

23 shall be no limitation on the number of times the 

24 Administrator may award a grant to an applicant 

25 under this subsection.’’. 


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1 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

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

3 amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (h)(2), by striking ‘‘to award 

5 a contract (as a sustainability grant) under sub6 section (l) or’’; 

7 (2) in subsection (j)(1), by striking ‘‘The Ad8 ministration’’ and inserting ‘‘Not later than Novem9 ber 1 of each year, the Administrator’’; 

10 (3) in subsection (k)— 

11 (A) by striking paragraphs (1) and (4); 

12 (B) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

13 paragraph (4); 

14 (C) by inserting before paragraph (2) the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

17 appropriated to the Administration to carry out this 

18 section, to remain available until expended, 

19 $21,750,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 

20 2020.’’; 

21 (D) in paragraph (2), by striking subpara22 graph (B) and inserting the following: 

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

24 available under this subsection for a fiscal year, 

25 the following amounts shall be available for seVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:25 Oct 06, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2126.IS S2126

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1 lection panel costs, costs associated with devel2 oping and maintaining a training program, 

3 costs associated with maintaining an accredita4 tion program, post-award conference costs, and 

5 costs related to monitoring and oversight: 

6 ‘‘(i) For fiscal year 2016, 2.65 per7 cent. 

8 ‘‘(ii) For each of fiscal years 2017 

9 through 2020, 2.5 percent.’’; and 

10 (E) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(3) CONTINUING GRANT AND COOPERATIVE

13 AGREEMENT AUTHORITY.— 

14 ‘‘(A) PROMPT DISBURSEMENT.—Upon re15 ceiving funds to carry out this section for a fis16 cal year, the Administrator shall, to the extent 

17 practicable, promptly reimburse funds to any 

18 women’s business center awarded financial as19 sistance under this section if the center meets 

20 the eligibility requirements under this section. 

21 ‘‘(B) SUSPENSION OR TERMINATION.—If 

22 the Administrator has entered into a grant or 

23 cooperative agreement with a women’s business 

24 center under this section, the Administrator 

25 may not suspend or terminate the grant or coVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:25 Oct 06, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2126.IS S2126

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1 operative agreement, unless the Adminis2 trator— 

3 ‘‘(i) provides the women’s business 

4 center with written notification setting 

5 forth the reasons for that action; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) affords the women’s business 

7 center an opportunity for a hearing, ap8 peal, or other administrative proceeding 

9 under chapter 5 of title 5, United States 

10 Code.’’; 

11 (4) in subsection (m)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘sub13 section (b) or (l)’’ and inserting ‘‘this sub14 section or subsection (b)’’; and 

15 (B) in paragraph (4)(D), by striking ‘‘or 

16 subsection (l)’’; and 

17 (5) by redesignating subsections (m), (n), and 

18 (o), as amended by this Act, as subsections (l), (m), 

19 and (n), respectively. 

20 (c) EFFECT ON EXISTING GRANTS.— 

21 (1) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—A nonprofit or22 ganization receiving a grant under section 29(m) of 

23 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656(m)), as in 

24 effect on the day before the date of enactment of 

25 this Act, shall continue to receive the grant under 


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1 the terms and conditions in effect for the grant on 

2 the day before the date of enactment of this Act, ex3 cept that the nonprofit organization may not apply 

4 for a renewal of the grant under section 29(m)(5) of 

5 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656(m)(5)), as 

6 in effect on the day before the date of enactment of 

7 this Act. 

8 (2) LENGTH OF RENEWAL GRANT.—The Ad9 ministrator may award a grant under section 29(l) 

10 of the Small Business Act, as so redesignated by 

11 subsection (a)(5) of this section, to a nonprofit orga12 nization receiving a grant under section 29(m) of the 

13 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656(m)), as in effect 

14 on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, 

15 for the period— 

16 (A) beginning on the day after the last day 

17 of the grant agreement under such section 

18 29(m); and 

19 (B) ending at the end of the third fiscal 

20 year beginning after the date of enactment of 

21 this Act. 


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1 SEC. 5. MATCHING REQUIREMENTS UNDER WOMEN’S BUSI2 NESS CENTER PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 29(c) of the Small Busi4 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 656(c)), as amended by section 4 of 

5 this Act, is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘As a condi7 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to paragraph (6), as a 

8 condition’’; and 

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

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

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon request by a re12 cipient organization, and in accordance with 

13 this paragraph, the Administrator may waive, 

14 in whole or in part, the requirement to obtain 

15 non-Federal funds under this subsection for 

16 counseling and training activities of the recipi17 ent organization carried out using financial as18 sistance under this section for a fiscal year. The 

19 Administrator may not waive the requirement 

20 for a recipient organization to obtain non-Fed21 eral funds under this paragraph for more than 

22 a total of 2 consecutive fiscal years. 

23 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining 

24 whether to waive the requirement to obtain 

25 non-Federal funds under this paragraph, the 

26 Administrator shall consider— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the economic conditions affecting 

2 the recipient organization; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the impact a waiver under this 

4 clause would have on the credibility of the 

5 women’s business center program under 

6 this section; 

7 ‘‘(iii) the demonstrated ability of the 

8 recipient organization to raise non-Federal 

9 funds; and 

10 ‘‘(iv) the performance of the recipient 

11 organization. 

12 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—The Administrator 

13 may not waive the requirement to obtain non14 Federal funds under this paragraph if granting 

15 the waiver would undermine the credibility of 

16 the women’s business center program under 

17 this section. 

18 ‘‘(7) SOLICITATION.—Notwithstanding any 

19 other provision of law, a recipient organization 

20 may— 

21 ‘‘(A) solicit cash and in-kind contributions 

22 from private individuals and entities to be used 

23 to carry out the activities of the recipient orga24 nization under the project conducted under this 

25 section; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) use amounts made available by the 

2 Administration under this section for the cost 

3 of such solicitation and management of the con4 tributions received. 

5 ‘‘(8) EXCESS NON-FEDERAL DOLLARS.—The 

6 amount of non-Federal dollars obtained by an eligi7 ble entity that is above the amount that is required 

8 to be obtained by the eligible entity under this sub9 section and is not used as matching funds for pur10 poses of implementing the women’s business center 

11 program under this section shall not be subject to 

12 the requirements of part 200 of title 2, Code of Fed13 eral Regulations, or any successor thereto.’’. 

14 (b) REGULATIONS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall— 

16 (A) except as provided in paragraph (2), 

17 and not later than 1 year after the date of en18 actment of this Act, publish in the Federal Reg19 ister proposed regulations by the Administrator 

20 to carry out the amendments made to section 

21 29 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656) 

22 by this Act; and 

23 (B) accept public comments on such pro24 posed regulations for not less than 60 days. 


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1 (2) EXISTING PROPOSED REGULATIONS.—Para2 graph (1)(A) shall not apply to the extent proposed 

3 regulations by the Administrator have been pub4 lished on the date of enactment of this Act that are 

5 sufficient to carry out the amendments made to sec6 tion 29 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656) 

7 by this Act. 

Æ 


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