II 

Calendar No. 266 

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, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. PETERS, Mr. 

BOOKER, and Ms. HEITKAMP) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

OCTOBER 8, 2015 

Reported by Mr. VITTER, with amendments 

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] 

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’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act— 

3 (1) the terms ‘‘Administration’’ and ‘‘Adminis4 trator’’ mean the Small Business Administration 

5 and the Administrator thereof, respectively; 

6 (2) the term terms ‘‘small business concern’’ 

7 and ‘‘small business development center’’ have the 

8 meanings given those terms in section 3 of the Small 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

16 656(g)) is amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

18 (A) in subparagraph (B)— 

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

20 areas’’ and all that follows through the end 

21 of subclause (I), and inserting the fol22 lowing: ‘‘to address issues concerning the 

23 management, operations, manufacturing, 

24 technology, finance, retail and product 

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1 tracting, and other disciplines required 

2 for— 

3 ‘‘(I) starting, operating, and in4 creasing the business of a small busi5 ness concern;’’; and 

6 (ii) in clause (ii)— 

7 (I) by striking ‘‘Women’s Busi8 ness Center program’’ each place that 

9 term appears and inserting ‘‘women’s 

10 business center program’’; 

11 (II) in subclause (IX), by strik12 ing ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

13 (III) in subclause (X), by strik14 ing the period at the end and insert15 ing ‘‘; and’’; and 

16 (IV) by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(XI) work with Administration 

19 officials and collaborate with entities 

20 other than the Administration to en21 sure that the work of the women’s 

22 business center program— 

23 ‘‘(aa) maximizes taxpayer 

24 dollars; and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) coordinates effectively 

2 with and is not duplicative of the 

3 efforts of other Federal Govern4 ment and private sector pro5 grams.’’; and 

6 (B) in subparagraph (C), by inserting be7 fore the period at the end the following: ‘‘, the 

8 National Women’s Business Council, and any 

9 organization representing the majority of wom10 en’s business centers’’; and 

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

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

13 Women’s Business Ownership shall be to assist 

14 women entrepreneurs to start, grow, and compete in 

15 global markets by providing quality support with ac16 cess to capital, access to markets, job creation, 

17 growth, and counseling and training by— 

18 ‘‘(A) fostering participation of women en19 trepreneurs in the economy by overseeing a net20 work of women’s business centers throughout 

21 States and territories; 

22 ‘‘(B) creating public-private partnerships 

23 to support women entrepreneurs and conduct 

24 outreach and education to startup and existing 


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1 small business concerns owned and controlled 

2 by women; and 

3 ‘‘(C) working with other initiatives and 

4 programs of the Administration to ensure 

5 women are well-represented and being served 

6 and to identify gaps where participation by 

7 women could be increased. 

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

9 ‘‘(A) provide annual programmatic and fi10 nancial examination training for women’s busi11 ness center representatives and district office 

12 technical representatives of the Administration 

13 to enable representatives to carry out their re14 sponsibilities; 

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

16 award grants or enter into contracts or coopera17 tive agreements related to training; and 

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

19 develop a plan for a professional development 

20 training program for women’s business centers, 

21 including attendance to relevant national con22 ferences, related to— 

23 ‘‘(i) the managing, financing, and op24 eration of small business concerns; 


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

2 social media; 

3 ‘‘(iii) management and technology as4 sistance regarding small business concern 

5 participation in international markets, ex6 port promotion, and technology transfer; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(iv) delivery or distribution of the 

9 services and information described in 

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

11 ‘‘(5) PROGRAM AND TRANSPARENCY IMPROVE12 MENTS.—The Administrator shall maximize the 

13 transparency of the women’s business center finan14 cial assistance proposal process and the pro15 grammatic and financial examination process by— 

16 ‘‘(A) providing public notice of any an17 nouncement for financial assistance under sub18 section (b) or a grant under subsection (l); 

19 ‘‘(B) in the announcement described in 

20 subparagraph (A), outlining award and pro21 gram evaluation criteria and describing the 

22 weighting of the criteria for financial assistance 

23 under subsection (b) and grants under sub24 section (l); and 


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1 ‘‘(C) not later than 60 days after the com2 pletion of a site visit to the women’s business 

3 center (whether conducted for an audit, per4 formance review, or other reason), when fea5 sible, providing to each women’s business center 

6 a copy of any site visit reports or evaluation re7 ports prepared by district office technical rep8 resentatives or officers or employees of the Ad9 ministration. 

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

11 than September 30, 2016, the Administrator shall 

12 submit to the Committee on Small Business and En13 trepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on 

14 Small Business of the House of Representatives a 

15 plan to develop, including identification of funding 

16 needs, an accreditation program of women’s business 

17 centers under this section that would— 

18 ‘‘(A) be developed with the consultation 

19 and collaboration of organizations representing 

20 a majority of women’s business centers; 

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

22 business centers under contract with the Ad23 ministration; 

24 ‘‘(C) establish a regular system of site vis25 its at the discretion of the Administration and 


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1 peer review to be conducted in addition to the 

2 regular inspections and audits conducted under 

3 subsection (h); and 

4 ‘‘(D) develop standards for assessment of 

5 the performance of women’s business centers, 

6 including— 

7 ‘‘(i) leadership and center manage8 ment; 

9 ‘‘(ii) strategic planning; 

10 ‘‘(iii) market and client needs assess11 ment; and 

12 ‘‘(iv) metrics and measurements of 

13 performance and results.’’. 

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

15 (a) WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTER FINANCIAL ASSIST16 ANCE.—Section 29 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

17 656) is amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (a)— 

19 (A) by striking paragraph (4); 

20 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and 

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

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

23 following: 

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

25 ‘‘(A) a private nonprofit organization; 


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

2 development organization; 

3 ‘‘(C) a development, credit, or finance cor4 poration chartered by a State; 

5 ‘‘(D) a junior or community college, as de6 fined in section 312(f) of the Higher Education 

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

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

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

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

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

12 a project conducted by an eligible entity under this 

13 section.’’; 

14 (2) in subsection (b)— 

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

16 and (3) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), re17 spectively, and adjusting the margins accord18 ingly; 

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

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

21 inserting the following: 

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

23 provide financial assistance to an eligible entity to 

24 conduct a project under this section’’; 


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

2 inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—The project shall be de4 signed to provide training and counseling that meets 

5 the needs of women, especially socially or economi6 cally disadvantaged women, and shall’’; and 

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

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

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

10 subparagraph (B), the amount of financial as11 sistance provided under this subsection to an el12 igible entity per project year shall be not more 

13 than $250,000. 

14 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL ASSIST15 ANCE.— 

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

17 may award financial assistance under this 

18 subsection to an eligible entity in an 

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

20 given project year if the Administrator de21 termines that the eligible entity— 

22 ‘‘(I) obtained more than 

23 $250,000 in non-Federal contribu24 tions for that project year in accord25 ance with subsection (c); 


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

2 women’s business center program; 

3 ‘‘(III) has met performance goals 

4 for the previous project year, if appli5 cable; and 

6 ‘‘(IV) proposes a new project to 

7 be carried out with the additional fi8 nancial assistance in accordance with 

9 this section. 

10 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATIONS.—The Adminis11 trator may only award additional financial 

12 assistance under clause (i)— 

13 ‘‘(I) from unobligated amounts 

14 made available to the Administration 

15 to carry out this section; and 

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

17 aggregate amount of additional finan18 cial assistance provided to eligible en19 tities under clause (i) is not more 

20 than 1 percent of the amount appro21 priated to the Administration to carry 

22 out this section for that fiscal year. 

23 ‘‘(4) CONSULTATION WITH ORGANIZATIONS

24 REPRESENTING WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTERS.—The 

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1 ommendations for policy changes from any organiza2 tion representing a majority of women’s business 

3 centers to develop— 

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

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

6 and 

7 ‘‘(B) recommendations to improve the poli8 cies and procedures for governing the general 

9 operations and administration of the women’s 

10 business center program, including grant pro11 gram improvements under subsection (g)(4).’’; 

12 (3) in subsection (c)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘the re14 cipient organization’’ and inserting ‘‘an eligible 

15 entity’’; 

16 (B) in paragraph (3), in the second sen17 tence, by striking ‘‘a recipient organization’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘an eligible entity’’; 

19 (C) in paragraph (4)— 

20 (i) by striking ‘‘recipient of assist21 ance’’ and inserting ‘‘eligible entity’’; 

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

23 shall not be eligible thereafter’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘during any project for 2 consecutive 


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1 years, the eligible entity shall not be eligi2 ble at any time after that 2-year period’’; 

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

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

5 (iv) by striking ‘‘the recipient’’ and in6 serting ‘‘the eligible entity’’; and 

7 (D) by adding at end the following: 

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

9 An eligible entity shall— 

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

11 separately from other projects, if any, of the eli12 gible entity; and 

13 ‘‘(B) separately maintain and account for 

14 any financial assistance under this section.’’; 

15 (4) in subsection (e)— 

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

17 and inserting ‘‘eligible entity’’; 

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

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

20 (C) by striking ‘‘site’’; 

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

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(f) APPLICATIONS AND CRITERIA FOR INITIAL FI24 NANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION.—Each eligible entity desir2 ing financial assistance under subsection (b) shall 

3 submit to the Administrator an application that con4 tains— 

5 ‘‘(A) a certification that the eligible enti6 ty— 

7 ‘‘(i) has designated an executive direc8 tor or program manager, who may be com9 pensated using financial assistance under 

10 subsection (b) or other sources, to manage 

11 the women’s business center for which as12 sistance under subsection (b) is sought; 

13 ‘‘(ii) as a condition of receiving finan14 cial assistance under subsection (b), 

15 agrees— 

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

17 discretion of the Administrator as 

18 part of the final selection process; 

19 ‘‘(II) to undergo an annual pro20 grammatic and financial examination; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(III) to remedy any problems 

23 identified pursuant to the site visit or 

24 examination under subclause (I) or 

25 (II); and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) meets the accounting and re2 porting requirements established by the 

3 Director of the Office of Management and 

4 Budget; 

5 ‘‘(B) information demonstrating that the 

6 eligible entity has the ability and resources to 

7 meet the needs of the market to be served by 

8 the women’s business center for which financial 

9 assistance under subsection (b) is sought, in10 cluding the ability to obtain the non-Federal 

11 contribution required under subsection (c); 

12 ‘‘(C) information relating to the assistance 

13 to be provided by the women’s business center 

14 for which financial assistance under subsection 

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

16 business center is located; 

17 ‘‘(D) information demonstrating the expe18 rience and effectiveness of the eligible entity 

19 in— 

20 ‘‘(i) conducting financial, manage21 ment, and marketing assistance programs, 

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

23 are designed to teach or upgrade the busi24 ness skills of women who are business own25 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 under subsection (b) is 

10 sought— 

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

12 owners or potential business owners by 

13 conducting training and counseling activi14 ties; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) to provide training and services 

16 to a representative number of women who 

17 are socially or economically disadvantaged. 

18 ‘‘(2) REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS

19 FOR INITIAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

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

21 shall— 

22 ‘‘(i) review each application submitted 

23 under paragraph (1), based on the infor24 mation described in such paragraph and 


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1 the criteria set forth under subparagraph 

2 (B) of this paragraph; and 

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

4 of the final selection process, conduct a 

5 site visit to each women’s business center 

6 for which financial assistance under sub7 section (b) is sought. 

8 ‘‘(B) SELECTION CRITERIA.— 

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

10 shall evaluate applicants for financial as11 sistance under subsection (b) in accordance 

12 with selection criteria that are— 

13 ‘‘(I) established before the date 

14 on which applicants are required to 

15 submit the applications; 

16 ‘‘(II) stated in terms of relative 

17 importance; and 

18 ‘‘(III) publicly available and stat19 ed in each solicitation for applications 

20 for financial assistance under sub21 section (b) made by the Adminis22 trator. 

23 ‘‘(ii) REQUIRED CRITERIA.—The se24 lection criteria for financial assistance 

25 under subsection (b) shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the experience of the appli2 cant in conducting programs or ongo3 ing efforts designed to teach or en4 hance the business skills of women 

5 who are business owners or potential 

6 business owners; 

7 ‘‘(II) the ability of the applicant 

8 to begin a project within a minimum 

9 amount of time, as established under 

10 the program announcement or by reg11 ulation; 

12 ‘‘(III) the ability of the applicant 

13 to provide training and services to a 

14 representative number of women who 

15 are socially or economically disadvan16 taged; 

17 ‘‘(IV) the ability of the applicant 

18 to successfully complete participation 

19 in the training program developed 

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

21 ‘‘(V) the ability of the applicant 

22 to successfully acquire accreditation 

23 under the accreditation program de24 veloped under subsection (g)(6); 


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1 ‘‘(VI) whether the women’s busi2 ness center proposed by the applicant 

3 will be sustainable for more than a 5- 

4 year period; and 

5 ‘‘(VII) the location for the wom6 en’s business center proposed by the 

7 applicant, including whether the appli8 cant is located in an area in which— 

9 ‘‘(aa) women are under10 served; or 

11 ‘‘(bb) significant groups of 

12 women are underserved due to 

13 language or other social, cultural, 

14 and economic barriers. 

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

16 business of an applicant for financial assistance 

17 under subsection (b) is located less than 50 

18 miles from the principal place of business of a 

19 women’s business center that received funds 

20 under this section on or before the date of the 

21 application, the applicant shall not be eligible 

22 for the financial assistance, unless the appli23 cant— 

24 ‘‘(i) submits a detailed written jus25 tification of the need for an additional 


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1 women’s business center in the area in 

2 which the applicant is located, including 

3 information demonstrating that the appli4 cant is not providing services that are re5 dundant or duplicative of those provided by 

6 that existing or current women’s business 

7 center; 

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

9 the applicant plans to reach clients outside 

10 of the geographic area in which the exist11 ing or current women’s business center is 

12 located; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) demonstrates that the applicant 

14 has a pre-existing presence in other parts 

15 of the geographic area in which the exist16 ing or current women’s business center is 

17 located. 

18 ‘‘(D) RECORD RETENTION.— 

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

20 shall maintain a copy of each application 

21 submitted under this subsection for not 

22 less than 5 years. 

23 ‘‘(ii) PAPERWORK REDUCTION.—The 

24 Administrator shall take steps to reduce, 

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1 perwork burden associated with carrying 

2 out clause (i).’’; and 

3 (6) in subsection (m)— 

4 (A) by striking paragraph (3) and insert5 ing the following: 

6 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION AND APPROVAL FOR RE7 NEWAL GRANTS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) SOLICITATION OF APPLICATIONS.— 

9 The Administrator shall solicit applications and 

10 award grants under this subsection for the first 

11 fiscal year beginning after the date of enact12 ment of the Women’s Small Business Owner13 ship Act of 2015, and every third fiscal year 

14 thereafter. 

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

16 eligible entity desiring a grant under this sub17 section shall submit to the Administrator an ap18 plication that contains— 

19 ‘‘(i) a certification that the appli20 cant— 

21 ‘‘(I) is an eligible entity; 

22 ‘‘(II) has designated an executive 

23 director or program manager to man24 age the women’s business center oper25 ated by the applicant; and 


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1 ‘‘(III) as a condition of receiving 

2 a grant under this subsection, 

3 agrees— 

4 ‘‘(aa) to receive a site visit 

5 as part of the final selection 

6 process, at the discretion of the 

7 Administrator; and 

8 ‘‘(bb) to remedy any prob9 lem identified pursuant to the 

10 site visit under item (aa); 

11 ‘‘(ii) information demonstrating that 

12 the applicant has the ability and resources 

13 to meet the needs of the market to be 

14 served by the women’s business center for 

15 which a grant under this subsection is 

16 sought, including the ability to obtain the 

17 non-Federal contribution required under 

18 paragraph (4)(C); 

19 ‘‘(iii) information relating to assist20 ance to be provided by the women’s busi21 ness center in the geographic area served 

22 by the women’s business center for which 

23 a grant under this subsection is sought; 

24 ‘‘(iv) information demonstrating that 

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1 dundant or duplicative of those provided by 

2 a women’s business center receiving funds 

3 under this subsection that is located less 

4 than 50 miles from the principal place of 

5 business of the applicant; 

6 ‘‘(v) information demonstrating that 

7 the applicant has worked with resource 

8 partners of the Administration and other 

9 entities; 

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

11 services provided by the women’s business 

12 center for which a grant under this sub13 section is sought— 

14 ‘‘(I) to serve women who are 

15 business owners or potential business 

16 owners by conducting training and 

17 counseling activities; and 

18 ‘‘(II) to provide training and 

19 services to a representative number of 

20 women who are socially or economi21 cally disadvantaged; and 

22 ‘‘(vii) any additional information that 

23 the Administrator may reasonably require. 

24 ‘‘(C) REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF APPLICA25 TIONS FOR GRANTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Adminis2 trator— 

3 ‘‘(I) shall review each application 

4 submitted under subparagraph (B), 

5 based on the information described in 

6 such subparagraph and the criteria 

7 set forth under clause (ii) of this sub8 paragraph; and 

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

10 process, may, at the discretion of the 

11 Administrator, conduct a site visit to 

12 each women’s business center for 

13 which a grant under this subsection is 

14 sought, in particular to evaluate the 

15 women’s business center using the se16 lection criteria described in clause 

17 (ii)(II). 

18 ‘‘(ii) SELECTION CRITERIA.— 

19 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Admin20 istrator shall evaluate applicants for 

21 grants under this subsection in ac22 cordance with selection criteria that 

23 are— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) established before the 

2 date on which applicants are re3 quired to submit the applications; 

4 ‘‘(bb) stated in terms of rel5 ative importance; and 

6 ‘‘(cc) publicly available and 

7 stated in each solicitation for ap8 plications for grants under this 

9 subsection made by the Adminis10 trator. 

11 ‘‘(II) REQUIRED CRITERIA.—The 

12 selection criteria for a grant under 

13 this subsection shall include— 

14 ‘‘(aa) the total number of 

15 entrepreneurs served by the ap16 plicant; 

17 ‘‘(bb) the total number of 

18 new startup companies assisted 

19 by the applicant; 

20 ‘‘(cc) the percentage of cli21 ents of the applicant that are so22 cially or economically disadvan23 taged; 

24 ‘‘(dd) the percentage of indi25 viduals in the community served 


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1 by the applicant who are socially 

2 or economically disadvantaged; 

3 ‘‘(ee) the successful partici4 pation of the applicant in the 

5 training program developed 

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

7 ‘‘(ff) the successful accredi8 tation of the applicant under the 

9 accreditation program developed 

10 under subsection (g)(6); and 

11 ‘‘(gg) any additional criteria 

12 that the Administrator may rea13 sonably require. 

14 ‘‘(iii) CONDITIONS FOR CONTINUED

15 FUNDING.—In determining whether to 

16 make a grant under this subsection, the 

17 Administrator— 

18 ‘‘(I) shall consider the results of 

19 the most recent evaluation of the 

20 women’s business center for which a 

21 grant under this subsection is sought, 

22 and, to a lesser extent, previous eval23 uations; and 

24 ‘‘(II) may withhold a grant under 

25 this subsection, if the Administrator 


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1 determines that the applicant has 

2 failed to provide the information re3 quired to be provided under this para4 graph, or the information provided by 

5 the applicant is inadequate. 

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

7 days after the date of each deadline to submit 

8 applications under this paragraph, the Adminis9 trator shall approve or deny any each submitted 

10 application under this paragraph and notify the 

11 applicant for each such application of the ap12 proval or denial. 

13 ‘‘(E) RECORD RETENTION.— 

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

15 shall maintain a copy of each application 

16 submitted under this paragraph for not 

17 less than 5 years. 

18 ‘‘(ii) PAPERWORK REDUCTION.—The 

19 Administrator shall take steps to reduce, 

20 to the maximum extent practicable, the pa21 perwork burden associated with carrying 

22 out clause (i).’’; and 

23 (B) by striking paragraph (5) and insert24 ing the following: 


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

2 shall be no limitation on the number of times the 

3 Administrator may award a grant to an applicant 

4 under this subsection.’’. 

5 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

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

7 amended— 

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

9 a contract (as a sustainability grant) under sub10 section (l) or’’; 

11 (2) in subsection (j)(1), by striking ‘‘The Ad12 ministration’’ and inserting ‘‘Not later than Novem13 ber 1 of each year, the Administrator’’; 

14 (3) in subsection (k)— 

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

16 (B) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

17 paragraph (4); 

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

19 following: 

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

21 appropriated to the Administration to carry out this 

22 section, to remain available until expended, 

23 $21,750,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 

24 2020.’’; 


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1 (D) in paragraph (2), by striking subpara2 graph (B) and inserting the following: 

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

4 available under this subsection for a fiscal year, 

5 the following amounts shall be available for se6 lection panel costs, costs associated with devel7 oping and maintaining a training program, 

8 costs associated with maintaining an accredita9 tion program, post-award conference costs, and 

10 costs related to monitoring and oversight: 

11 ‘‘(i) For fiscal year 2016, 2.65 per12 cent. 

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

14 through 2020, 2.5 percent.’’; and 

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

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(3) CONTINUING GRANT AND COOPERATIVE

18 AGREEMENT AUTHORITY.— 

19 ‘‘(A) PROMPT DISBURSEMENT.—Upon re20 ceiving funds to carry out this section for a fis21 cal year, the Administrator shall, to the extent 

22 practicable, promptly reimburse funds to any 

23 women’s business center awarded financial as24 sistance under this section if the center meets 

25 the eligibility requirements under this section. 


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

2 the Administrator has entered into a grant or 

3 cooperative agreement with a women’s business 

4 center under this section, the Administrator 

5 may not suspend or terminate the grant or co6 operative agreement, unless the Adminis7 trator— 

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

9 center with written notification setting 

10 forth the reasons for that action; and 

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

12 center an opportunity for a hearing, ap13 peal, or other administrative proceeding 

14 under chapter 5 of title 5, United States 

15 Code.’’; 

16 (4) in subsection (m)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘sub18 section (b) or (l)’’ and inserting ‘‘this sub19 section or subsection (b)’’; and 

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

21 subsection (l)’’; and 

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

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

24 and (n), respectively. 

25 (c) EFFECT ON EXISTING GRANTS.— 


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1 (1) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—A nonprofit or2 ganization receiving a grant under section 29(m) of 

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

4 effect on the day before the date of enactment of 

5 this Act, shall continue to receive the grant under 

6 the terms and conditions in effect for the grant on 

7 the day before the date of enactment of this Act, ex8 cept that the nonprofit organization may not apply 

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

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

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

12 this Act. 

13 (2) LENGTH OF RENEWAL GRANT.—The Ad14 ministrator may award a grant under section 29(l) 

15 of the Small Business Act, as so redesignated by 

16 subsection (a)(5) (b)(5) of this section, to a non17 profit organization receiving a grant under section 

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

19 656(m)), as in effect on the day before the date of 

20 enactment of this Act, for the period— 

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

22 of the grant agreement under such section 

23 29(m); and 


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

2 year beginning after the date of enactment of 

3 this Act. 

4 SEC. 5. MATCHING REQUIREMENTS UNDER WOMEN’S BUSI5 NESS CENTER PROGRAM. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 29(c) of the Small Busi7 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 656(c)), as amended by section 4 of 

8 this Act, is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘As a condi10 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to paragraph (6), as a 

11 condition’’; and 

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

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

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon request by a re15 cipient organization an eligible entity, and in 

16 accordance with this paragraph, the Adminis17 trator may waive, in whole or in part, the re18 quirement to obtain non-Federal funds under 

19 this subsection for counseling and training ac20 tivities of the recipient organization eligible en21 tity carried out using financial assistance under 

22 this section for a fiscal year. The Administrator 

23 may not waive the requirement for a recipient 

24 organization an eligible entity to obtain nonVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:22 Oct 08, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2126.RS S2126

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1 Federal funds under this paragraph for more 

2 than a total of 2 consecutive fiscal years. 

3 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining 

4 whether to waive the requirement to obtain 

5 non-Federal funds under this paragraph, the 

6 Administrator shall consider— 

7 ‘‘(i) the economic conditions affecting 

8 the recipient organization eligible entity; 

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

10 clause paragraph would have on the credi11 bility of the women’s business center pro12 gram under this section; 

13 ‘‘(iii) the demonstrated ability of the 

14 recipient organization eligible entity to 

15 raise non-Federal funds; and 

16 ‘‘(iv) the performance of the recipient 

17 organization eligible entity. 

18 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—The Administrator 

19 may not waive the requirement to obtain non20 Federal funds under this paragraph if granting 

21 the waiver would undermine the credibility of 

22 the women’s business center program under 

23 this section. 


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1 ‘‘(7) SOLICITATION.—Notwithstanding any 

2 other provision of law, a recipient organization an el3 igible entity may— 

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

5 from private individuals and entities to be used 

6 to carry out the activities of the recipient orga7 nization eligible entity under the project con8 ducted under this section; and 

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

10 Administration under this section for the cost 

11 of such solicitation and management of the con12 tributions received. 

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

14 amount of non-Federal dollars obtained by an eligi15 ble entity that is above the amount that is required 

16 to be obtained by the eligible entity under this sub17 section and is not used as matching funds for pur18 poses of implementing the women’s business center 

19 program under this section shall not be subject to 

20 the requirements of part 200 of title 2, Code of Fed21 eral Regulations, or any successor thereto.’’. 

22 (b) REGULATIONS.— 

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

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

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1 actment of this Act, publish in the Federal Reg2 ister proposed regulations by the Administrator 

3 to carry out the amendments made to section 

4 29 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656) 

5 by this Act; and 

6 (B) accept public comments on such pro7 posed regulations for not less than 60 days. 

8 (2) EXISTING PROPOSED REGULATIONS.—Para9 graph (1)(A) shall not apply to the extent proposed 

10 regulations by the Administrator have been pub11 lished on the date of enactment of this Act that are 

12 sufficient to carry out the amendments made to sec13 tion 29 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656) 

14 by this Act. 


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Calendar No. 266 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2126 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the women’s business center profor other purposes. gram of the Small Business Administration, and 

OCTOBER 8, 2015 

Reported with amendments 


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