I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1226 

To establish a Next Generation Entrepreneurship Corps program within the 

Small Business Administration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 23, 2021 

Mr. CROW (for himself, Mr. BALDERSON, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. SAN

NICOLAS, Mr. PHILLIPS, Mr. TRONE, Ms. NORTON, Mr. CASE, and Ms. 

TITUS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Small Business, and in addition to the Committee on Education and 

Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish a Next Generation Entrepreneurship Corps program within 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 ‘‘Next Generation En5 trepreneurship Corps Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 It is the sense of Congress that— 


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1 (1) the United States has a successful fellow2 ship for building the next generation of public serv3 ants; and 

4 (2) with the devastation facing small businesses 

5 in the United States as a result of the novel 2019 

6 Coronavirus (COVID–19), rebuilding Main Street 

7 will require a new generation of entrepreneurial tal8 ent with the backing of the Federal Government. 

9 SEC. 3. NEXT GENERATION ENTREPRENEURSHIP CORPS 

10 PROGRAM. 

11 The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) by redesignating section 49 (15 U.S.C. 631 

14 note) as section 50; and 

15 (2) by inserting after section 48 (15 U.S.C. 

16 657u) the following: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 49. NEXT GENERATION ENTREPRENEURSHIP CORPS 

18 PROGRAM. 

19 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

20 ‘‘(1) the term ‘Committee’ means the selection 

21 committee established under subsection (k); 

22 ‘‘(2) the term ‘community development financial 

23 institution’ has the meaning given the term in sec24 tion 103 of the Riegle Community Development and 


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1 Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 

2 4702); 

3 ‘‘(3) the term ‘distressed region’ means any 

4 census tract or other area that is treated as a low5 income community for purposes of section 45D of 

6 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 

7 ‘‘(4) the term ‘equity investment’— 

8 ‘‘(A) means an investment for an owner9 ship interest in an entity, the financial return 

10 with respect to which is principally aligned with 

11 the financial return of the plurality of owner12 ship interests in the entity; and 

13 ‘‘(B) includes a debt instrument that can 

14 be converted to an equity ownership interest in 

15 an entity based on future events; 

16 ‘‘(5) the term ‘fellow’ means an individual par17 ticipating as a fellow under the Program; 

18 ‘‘(6) the term ‘minority depository institution’ 

19 has the meaning given the term in section 308 of the 

20 Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and En21 forcement Act of 1989 (12 U.S.C. 1463 note); 

22 ‘‘(7) the term ‘Program’ means the Next Gen23 eration Entrepreneurship Corps Program established 

24 under subsection (b); 


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1 ‘‘(8) the term ‘qualified investor’ means a per2 son that— 

3 ‘‘(A) invests equity in a small business 

4 concern owned and operated under the Program 

5 by a fellow; and 

6 ‘‘(B) has not more than $250,000,000 in 

7 assets; 

8 ‘‘(9) the term ‘SCORE’ means the Service 

9 Corps of Retired Executives established under sec10 tion 8(b)(1)(B); 

11 ‘‘(10) the term ‘State’ means any State of the 

12 United States, the District of Columbia, and any 

13 territory of the United States; 

14 ‘‘(11) the term ‘veteran business outreach cen15 ter’ means a veteran business outreach center de16 scribed in section 32; and 

17 ‘‘(12) the term ‘women’s business center’ means 

18 a women’s business center operating pursuant to 

19 section 29. 

20 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established within 

22 the Administration an independent fellowship pilot 

23 program to be known as the ‘Next Generation En24 trepreneurship Corps Program’ to foster entrepre25 neurship in the most distressed regions of the 


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1 United States, including distressed regions affected 

2 by the COVID–19 pandemic. 

3 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATION.—The Program shall be 

4 administered by the Office of Entrepreneurial Devel5 opment of the Administration. 

6 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Under the Program, 

8 there shall be 1 group of fellows selected each 

9 year for 5 years of the Program, with each 

10 group serving for a 2-year period. 

11 ‘‘(B) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year 

12 after the second group of fellows is selected 

13 under the Program, and every 2 years there14 after, the Committee shall submit to Congress 

15 an evaluation of the Program, along with any 

16 recommendations and options to expand the 

17 Program and make the Program permanent. 

18 ‘‘(4) THIRD PARTY CONTRACTS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Office of Entre20 preneurial Development of the Administration 

21 may contract with third party nonprofit organi22 zations that— 

23 ‘‘(i) do or plan to do service work to 

24 execute the Program; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the Committee determines have 

2 relevant experience to carry out the Pro3 gram. 

4 ‘‘(B) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days 

5 after the date of enactment of the Next Genera6 tion Entrepreneurship Corps Act, the Adminis7 trator shall submit to Congress a report on— 

8 ‘‘(i) the requirements and plans relat9 ing to third party contractors described in 

10 subparagraph (A); and 

11 ‘‘(ii) how those third party contractors 

12 will begin to carry out the Program. 

13 ‘‘(5) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Not later than 

14 90 days after the date of enactment of the Next 

15 Generation Entrepreneurship Corps Act, the Admin16 istrator shall submit to Congress a report discussing 

17 the plan of the Administrator to implement this sec18 tion, which shall include a discussion of— 

19 ‘‘(A) how the Administrator will provide 

20 administrative support to the Committee; 

21 ‘‘(B) the plan of the Administrator to co22 ordinate the implementation of the Program 

23 with the Committee; and 

24 ‘‘(C) the status of the appointment of 

25 members of the Committee. 


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1 ‘‘(c) STIPENDS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each fiscal year, the Com3 mittee may select not more than 320 fellows to par4 ticipate in the Program and receive a 2-year stipend 

5 of $120,000 to start and grow a new small business 

6 concern. 

7 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY TO REJECT.—The Assistant 

8 Administrator of the Office of Entrepreneurial De9 velopment of the Administration shall have the au10 thority to reject any fellow selected by the Com11 mittee to participate in the Program. 

12 ‘‘(3) ALLOWABLE USES.—The Committee shall 

13 determine the allowable uses of a stipend awarded 

14 under this subsection. 

15 ‘‘(4) STIPEND AMOUNT.—The amount of a sti16 pend made under this subsection shall be adjusted 

17 every 3 years to reflect increases in the Consumer 

18 Price Index for All Urban Consumers during that 

19 period. 

20 ‘‘(5) APPLICATIONS.—Each applicant for a sti21 pend under this subsection shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) propose a small business concern idea 

23 that will be located in a distressed region; and 

24 ‘‘(B) submit to the Committee a small 

25 business concern plan that demonstrates— 


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1 ‘‘(i) that the applicant will have pri2 mary decision making authority in the 

3 small business concern; 

4 ‘‘(ii) a need for the small business 

5 concern of the applicant in the community 

6 or how the small business concern solves 

7 an economic or social problem in the area 

8 to be served by the small business concern 

9 or the United States; 

10 ‘‘(iii) how the applicant plans to build 

11 their small business concern to employ 

12 local talent in entry-level and mid-level po13 sitions to ensure quality job growth; 

14 ‘‘(iv) a vision for long-term growth in 

15 the area to be served by the small business 

16 concern; and 

17 ‘‘(v) that the applicant does not, at 

18 the time of application, have the resources 

19 to start and grow a small business concern 

20 on their own without assistance. 

21 ‘‘(6) REQUIREMENTS.—To receive a stipend 

22 under this subsection, the applicant shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) live or be willing to relocate to live in 

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1 ness concern of the applicant is located, as de2 termined by the Committee; 

3 ‘‘(B) indicate that the applicant intends to 

4 provide products or services to such distressed 

5 region through such small business concern; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(C) agree to make a good faith effort to, 

8 if the applicant is hiring employees during the 

9 period of participation in the Program or the 3 

10 years following such participation, hire— 

11 ‘‘(i) locally from distressed regions in 

12 the area served by the business of the ap13 plicant; 

14 ‘‘(ii) racial or ethnic minorities; 

15 ‘‘(iii) persons with criminal convic16 tions; or 

17 ‘‘(iv) the hard to employ. 

18 ‘‘(7) PREFERENCE.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall 

20 give preference to applicants for a stipend 

21 under this subsection that are— 

22 ‘‘(i) individuals moving to a distressed 

23 region to encourage new small business 

24 concern owners in those areas post25 COVID–19; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) individuals who can demonstrate 

2 a connection to the State or locality in 

3 which the proposed small business concern 

4 will be located; 

5 ‘‘(iii) owners of small business con6 cerns whose businesses were closed or who 

7 had to significant change their business 

8 model or services due to the COVID–19 

9 public health crisis; 

10 ‘‘(iv) entrepreneurs within populations 

11 underrepresented among small business 

12 concern owners in the United States, in13 cluding women and racial and ethnic mi14 nority groups; 

15 ‘‘(v) veterans; 

16 ‘‘(vi) individuals who can demonstrate 

17 residence of not less than 2 years in a low18 income census tract; 

19 ‘‘(vii) individuals who have taken non20 traditional pathways for professional devel21 opment, including individuals without a 

22 bachelor’s degree or who received Federal 

23 Pell Grants under section 401 of the High24 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

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1 lish a small business concern in a dis2 tressed region; or 

3 ‘‘(viii) individuals with business plans 

4 that have potential, if successful, to be eli5 gible for any contracting assistance pro6 gram of the Administration, including the 

7 business development program under sec8 tion 8(a), the Women Owned Small Busi9 ness Federal contracting program under 

10 section 8(m), the service-disabled veteran11 owned small business program under sec12 tion 36, and the HUBZone program under 

13 section 31. 

14 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—When evaluating 

15 applicants for a stipend under this subsection, 

16 the Committee— 

17 ‘‘(i) shall differentiate between appli18 cants for a stipend under this subsection 

19 that aim to be a high-growth startup and 

20 a traditional small business concern; 

21 ‘‘(ii) shall consider similar categories 

22 of applicants concurrently; 

23 ‘‘(iii) should seek to encourage both 

24 high-growth and traditional startups across 

25 all geographic areas; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) shall— 

2 ‘‘(I) not prioritize applicants with 

3 prior experience with starting and 

4 growing a small business concern over 

5 applications without that experience; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(II) give equal consideration to 

8 applicants with and without the expe9 rience described in subclause (I). 

10 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL METRICS.—The Com11 mittee shall establish additional metrics by 

12 which to evaluate applicants for a stipend under 

13 this subsection, including by creating local and 

14 State level applicant competitions. 

15 ‘‘(8) NEW ENTREPRENEURS.—The Committee 

16 may award stipends under this subsection to appli17 cants both at the beginning stages of building their 

18 small business concern as well as to applicants who 

19 have had limited prior business experience. 

20 ‘‘(9) NUMBER OF FELLOWS PER SCORE CHAP21 TER.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each year, the Com23 mittee shall, to the maximum extent prac24 ticable, designate 1 fellow per SCORE chapter 

25 in the United States, provided that the selection 


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1 process under this subsection remains competi2 tive. 

3 ‘‘(B) DISTRIBUTION.—The Committee 

4 shall ensure a fair geographic distribution of 

5 fellows selected under this subsection, including 

6 between urban and rural areas, and may create 

7 a process for ensuring that distribution if the 

8 Committee determines necessary. 

9 ‘‘(d) BENEFITS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) STUDENT LOAN DEFERMENT.—For each 

11 fellow who notifies the Committee that the fellow 

12 has a loan made, insured, or guaranteed under part 

13 B, D, or E of title IV of the Higher Education Act 

14 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq.; 1087a et seq.; 

15 1087aa et seq.) that is in repayment— 

16 ‘‘(A) the Committee shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) inform the Secretary of Edu18 cation that the fellow is participating in a 

19 fellowship through the Program; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) provide any additional informa21 tion requested by the Secretary of Edu22 cation regarding the fellow and the loan; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of Education shall, for 

25 the period of the fellowship— 


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1 ‘‘(i) in the case of a loan made under 

2 part B or E of title IV of the Higher Edu3 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071 et 

4 seq.; 1087aa et seq.), require that the 

5 holder of the loan place the loan in 

6 deferment, in which interest shall accrue 

7 and be paid by the Secretary, in the same 

8 manner as a deferment made under section 

9 428(b)(1)(M) of the Higher Education Act 

10 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078(b)(1)(M)); and 

11 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a loan made under 

12 part D of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1087a et 

13 seq.), place the loan in deferment, during 

14 which interest shall not accrue, in the 

15 same manner as a deferment made under 

16 section 455(f)(1) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

17 1087e(f)(1)) for a Federal Direct Stafford 

18 Loan under such part. 

19 ‘‘(2) HEALTH CARE.—With respect to any fel20 low that is not otherwise covered under a health care 

21 policy, the Administrator shall provide or make 

22 available a basic health care policy in accordance 

23 with section 140(d) of the National and Community 

24 Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12594(d)) for the 2- 


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1 year period during which the fellow serves under the 

2 Program. 

3 ‘‘(e) MENTOR SUPPORT.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each fellow— 

5 ‘‘(A) shall be assigned by the designated 

6 SCORE chapter of the fellow a local mentor, 

7 and the designated SCORE chapter may work 

8 in partnership with a small business develop9 ment center, a veteran business outreach cen10 ter, a women’s business center, or other local 

11 resources to pair the fellow with a mentor and 

12 provide mentorship; 

13 ‘‘(B) following completion of the Program 

14 is encouraged to join SCORE, a small business 

15 development center, a veteran business outreach 

16 center, or a women’s business center to con17 tribute back to the Program and facilitate part18 nerships with local resource partners of the Ad19 ministration; and 

20 ‘‘(C) shall be assigned by the Committee a 

21 mentor from the Next Generation Entrepre22 neurship Corps Board, which shall be created 

23 by the Committee and consist of notable chief 

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1 italists from across the United States to help 

2 advise fellows. 

3 ‘‘(2) PARTNERSHIP.—The Committee shall de4 velop a partnership with the mentor-protege pro5 gram for small business concerns eligible to receive 

6 contracts pursuant to section 8(a) to assign a men7 tor during the second year of the fellowship to any 

8 fellow that has proposed a small business concern 

9 that may be eligible to receive contracts pursuant to 

10 section 8(a). 

11 ‘‘(3) RESOURCES.—In providing mentorship 

12 under paragraph (1), each resource partner de13 scribed in that paragraph shall engage the resources 

14 of the Administration in each State, including 

15 through partnerships with community organizations. 

16 ‘‘(4) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

17 Congress that— 

18 ‘‘(A) in addition to the mentor assigned 

19 under paragraph (1)(A), the Committee should 

20 make a good faith effort to pair each fellow 

21 with a mentor located in the region in which 

22 the designated SCORE chapter of the fellow is 

23 located; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) fellows should be encouraged to be2 come mentors under the Program after comple3 tion of their participation in the Program. 

4 ‘‘(f) IMMERSIVE INITIAL TRAINING.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each fellow shall attend an 

6 immersive training course designed by the Com7 mittee at the beginning of the fellowship, which 

8 shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) provide distinct education materials, 

10 including resources and information, for all fel11 lows on high-growth startups and distinct edu12 cation materials for all fellows on traditional 

13 small business concerns; 

14 ‘‘(B) incorporate skills building, transfer of 

15 business know-how when beginning a small 

16 business concern, and a discussion of resources 

17 of the Administration; and 

18 ‘‘(C) include information on local resources 

19 available from SCORE, small business develop20 ment centers, veteran business outreach cen21 ters, and women’s business centers. 

22 ‘‘(2) SELECTION OF HOSTS.—Each year, the 

23 Committee shall select not more than 1 small busi24 ness resource partner to host the immersive training 

25 course described in paragraph (1). 


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1 ‘‘(g) NETWORK BUILDING.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To foster connections 

3 across the United States with other innovators, each 

4 fellow— 

5 ‘‘(A) shall attend not less than 1 small 

6 business concern-related conference per year of 

7 the fellowship; and 

8 ‘‘(B) is encouraged to attend regional 

9 small business concern-related conferences. 

10 ‘‘(2) COMMITTEE.—The Committee— 

11 ‘‘(A) is encouraged to— 

12 ‘‘(i) introduce and foster relationships 

13 between Federal, State, and local entrepre14 neurial support organizations and the fel15 lows; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) work to build a peer to peer net17 work among the fellows by providing re18 sources for events for fellows in order to 

19 build community among fellows; and 

20 ‘‘(B) may use funds received by the organi21 zation described in subsection (k)(5)(D) for 

22 purposes described in subparagraph (A)(ii). 

23 ‘‘(h) ACCESS TO CAPITAL STRATEGY.— 

24 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall 

2 establish a strategy for access to capital, insur3 ance, and other core small business concern 

4 services and products, for use both during and 

5 after the Program, for fellows that provides for 

6 the needs of both traditional small business 

7 concerns and high-growth startups. 

8 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—Under the strat9 egy established under subparagraph (A), the 

10 Committee shall— 

11 ‘‘(i) provide to each fellow information 

12 regarding the program under section 8(a) 

13 and assistance in submitting the informa14 tion required for the small business con15 cern of the fellow to be certified to partici16 pate in the program; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) at the end of each fellowship, 

18 provide follow-up assistance to facilitate 

19 the certification of the small business con20 cern of the fellow to participate in the pro21 gram under section 8(a). 

22 ‘‘(2) MATCHING.—Under the strategy estab23 lished under paragraph (1), the Committee shall 

24 match fellows with a full range of lenders, investors, 


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1 and insurers, including both local and national re2 sources. 

3 ‘‘(3) PREFERENCE.—The Administrator may 

4 give preference to fellows with respect to loans under 

5 section 7(a), microloans under section 7(m), and as6 sistance provided under title V of the Small Busi7 ness Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 695 et seq.) 

8 to facilitate quick and affordable access to credit 

9 during the period of the fellowship and during the 

10 5-year period after the end of the fellowship, includ11 ing by— 

12 ‘‘(A) waiving the credit elsewhere require13 ment; and 

14 ‘‘(B) expediting the application timeline for 

15 that assistance. 

16 ‘‘(4) WAIVER OF PERSONAL GUARANTEE.— 

17 With respect to high growth startup small business 

18 concerns established by fellows, the Administrator 

19 shall waive the personal guarantee requirement for 

20 those small business concerns that apply for loans 

21 under section 7(a), microloans under section 7(m), 

22 or assistance provided under title V of the Small 

23 Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 695 et 

24 seq.). 


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1 ‘‘(5) ASSISTANCE WITH ACCESS TO THE 8(a) 

2 PROGRAM.—For purposes of participation in the 

3 program under section 8(a)— 

4 ‘‘(A) a small business concern of a fellow 

5 shall be eligible to seek certification to partici6 pate in the program under section 8(a) if the 

7 small business concern has been in business in 

8 the primary industry classification of the small 

9 business concern for at least 18 months; and 

10 ‘‘(B) the Administrator— 

11 ‘‘(i) shall evaluate whether to estab12 lish an expedited process for certification 

13 of a small business concern of a fellow to 

14 participate in the program under section 

15 8(a); and 

16 ‘‘(ii) may implement a process de17 scribed in clause (i) for fellows during the 

18 period of the fellowship and during the 5- 

19 year period after the end of the fellowship. 

20 ‘‘(i) PROGRAM FUND FOR CAPITAL.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 

22 Treasury a fund, which shall be available to the Ad23 ministrator to provide loans to qualified investors. 

24 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF LOANS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A loan to a qualified 

2 investor under this subsection shall be not more 

3 than 66.6 percent of the amount of equity the 

4 qualified investor invested in the applicable 

5 small business concern owned and operated 

6 under the Program by a fellow. 

7 ‘‘(B) ESTABLISHMENT OF LOAN LIMITS.— 

8 The Administrator may establish additional lim9 its on the maximum amount of loans to quali10 fied investors under this subsection if the Ad11 ministrator determines the limits are necessary 

12 to ensure that the Administrator may make 

13 such loans during the full period of the Pro14 gram, using the amounts made available for 

15 such loans. 

16 ‘‘(3) LOAN TERM.—A loan under this sub17 section shall have a maturity of not longer than 30 

18 years. 

19 ‘‘(4) RATE OF INTEREST.—The rate of interest 

20 on a loan under this subsection shall be equal to the 

21 discount window primary credit interest rate most 

22 recently published on the Federal Reserve Statistical 

23 Release on selected interest rates (daily or weekly), 

24 commonly referred to as the ‘H.15 release’ or the 

25 ‘Federal funds rate’. 


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1 ‘‘(5) FUNDING.— 

2 ‘‘(A) APPROPRIATIONS.—Out of funds in 

3 the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there 

4 is appropriated to the fund established under 

5 paragraph (1) $30,000,000, to remain available 

6 until expended. 

7 ‘‘(B) REINVESTMENT OF REPAYMENTS.— 

8 Any amounts received from the repayment of a 

9 loan under this subsection shall be deposited in 

10 the fund established under paragraph (1) and 

11 shall remain available until expended. 

12 ‘‘(j) REPORTING BY FELLOWS.—Each fellow shall 

13 submit to the Committee and each mentor assigned to the 

14 fellow under subsection (e) a progress report on the activi15 ties of the fellow with respect to each year during which 

16 the fellow participates in the Program and each of the 3 

17 years after the fellow completes participation in the Pro18 gram, which shall include information regarding revenue, 

19 jobs created, pursuit of external funding and other metrics 

20 determined by Committee. 

21 ‘‘(k) SELECTION COMMITTEE.— 

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

23 establish a selection committee composed of experts 

24 from educational, scientific, technical, and public 

25 service backgrounds to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) build the next generation of entre2 preneurs under the Program through a trans3 parent, competitive, fair, and rigorous process; 

4 ‘‘(B) enable entrepreneurs each year under 

5 the Program to successfully build small busi6 ness concerns in distressed regions by providing 

7 guidance, expertise, and partnerships between 

8 the fellows and business supports; 

9 ‘‘(C) increase the diversity of entrepreneur10 ship in the United States; 

11 ‘‘(D) increase entrepreneurship in dis12 tressed regions; 

13 ‘‘(E) increase talent retention and migra14 tion to distressed regions; 

15 ‘‘(F) increase investment and growth in 

16 communities in distressed regions; and 

17 ‘‘(G) ensure the transparent, efficient and 

18 effective use of taxpayer funds. 

19 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

20 ‘‘(A) COMPOSITION.—The Committee shall 

21 be composed of 12 members appointed by the 

22 Administrator, of whom— 

23 ‘‘(i) 1 member shall be a small busi24 ness concern investor such as a venture 

25 capitalist or an angel investor; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) 1 member shall be a small busi2 ness concern banker, including— 

3 ‘‘(I) a community development fi4 nancial institution; or 

5 ‘‘(II) a minority depository insti6 tution; 

7 ‘‘(iii) 3 members shall be successful 

8 entrepreneurs; 

9 ‘‘(iv) 1 member shall be a SCORE 

10 representative; 

11 ‘‘(v) 1 member shall be a mentor in 

12 the mentor-protege program for small busi13 ness concerns eligible to receive contracts 

14 pursuant to section 8(a) who has relevant 

15 contracting experience; 

16 ‘‘(vi) 1 member shall be an expert on 

17 economic development; 

18 ‘‘(vii) 1 member shall be an expert on 

19 distressed regions; and 

20 ‘‘(viii) 3 members shall be individuals 

21 from the private sector with relevant expe22 rience as related to the mission and the 

23 duties of the Committee. 

24 ‘‘(B) PREFERENCE.—There shall be a 

25 preference for the appointment of members of 


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1 the Committee who are within populations that 

2 are underrepresented among small business 

3 concern owners in the United States, including 

4 women and ethnic minority groups. 

5 ‘‘(C) CHAIR.—The Administrator shall se6 lect the chair of the Committee from among 

7 members of the Committee. 

8 ‘‘(D) TERM; VACANCIES.—The term of of9 fice of each member of the Committee shall be 

10 6 years, except that— 

11 ‘‘(i) of the members first serving on 

12 the Committee— 

13 ‘‘(I) 4 shall serve terms of 2 

14 years; 

15 ‘‘(II) 4 shall serve terms of 4 

16 years; and 

17 ‘‘(III) 4 shall serve terms of 6 

18 years; 

19 ‘‘(ii) any member appointed to fill a 

20 vacancy shall serve for the remainder of 

21 the term for which his predecessor was ap22 pointed and shall be appointed in the same 

23 manner as the original appointment for 

24 that vacancy was made; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) upon the expiration of their 

2 term of office, any member of the Com3 mittee may continue to serve until their 

4 successor is appointed. 

5 ‘‘(E) POLITICAL PARTY.—Not more than 6 

6 members of the Committee shall be from the 

7 same political party. 

8 ‘‘(F) APPOINTMENTS.—Appointments to 

9 the Committee shall be made not later than 30 

10 days after the date of enactment of the Next 

11 Generation Entrepreneurship Corps Act. 

12 ‘‘(3) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Com13 mittee shall serve without pay, but shall be entitled 

14 to reimbursement for travel, subsistence, and other 

15 necessary expenses incurred in the performance of 

16 their duties. 

17 ‘‘(4) FIRST MEETING.—Not later than 30 days 

18 after the appointment of a majority of Committee 

19 members, the Committee shall hold its first meeting. 

20 ‘‘(5) DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—The 

21 Committee— 

22 ‘‘(A) shall provide for the conduct of a na23 tionwide competition for selecting fellows to 

24 participate in the Program by— 


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1 ‘‘(i) issuing a request for applications 

2 not later than 6 months after the date of 

3 enactment of the Next Generation Entre4 preneurship Corps Act, with a deadline for 

5 submissions that is not later than 12 

6 months after such date of enactment; 

7 ‘‘(ii) partnering with private organiza8 tions, including those with investment ex9 perience or experience in the area of in10 vesting in businesses, to provide edu11 cational materials to educate the public 

12 about the Program, help ensure that the 

13 Program is competitive, and increase 

14 awareness of the Program; 

15 ‘‘(iii) partnering with organizations 

16 that work with or provide programming for 

17 the K–20 entrepreneurship pipeline; and 

18 ‘‘(iv) subject to subsection (c)(2), se19 lecting fellows, which shall include select20 ing the first group of fellows not later than 

21 13 months after the date of enactment of 

22 the Next Generation Entrepreneurship 

23 Corps Act; 

24 ‘‘(B) shall carry out the duties described in 

25 this section with respect to the Program; 


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1 ‘‘(C) may identify— 

2 ‘‘(i) priority sectors that advance the 

3 social and economic development of a geo4 graphic area or the United States, includ5 ing social services, education, health and 

6 nutrition, child care, manufacturing, tech7 nology, or any industry sector that sup8 ports the economic development strategy of 

9 an area; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) prohibited sectors and businesses 

11 that could harm the economic development 

12 of communities, such as— 

13 ‘‘(I) predatory financial services 

14 and addictive substances; and 

15 ‘‘(II) businesses described in sec16 tion 120.110 of title 13, Code of Fed17 eral Regulations, or any successor 

18 regulation; 

19 ‘‘(D) may create an entity described in sec20 tion 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code 

21 and exempt from taxation under section 501(a) 

22 of such Code to solicit private funding for the 

23 Program; 

24 ‘‘(E) may work with the Economic Devel25 opment Agency of the Department of ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:12 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1226.IH H1226

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1 merce in carrying out the duties of the Program 

2 and providing resources to fellows; and 

3 ‘‘(F) shall assist with the facilitation of 

4 pairing, and encourage designated SCORE 

5 chapters to pair, assigned fellows with local ac6 celerators. 

7 ‘‘(6) STAFF.—The Committee may appoint a 

8 staff director and other personnel as necessary to 

9 carry out the duties of the Committee. 

10 ‘‘(7) APPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The Federal 

11 Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not 

12 apply to the Committee. 

13 ‘‘(l) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

14 on which the Committee selects the first group of fellows, 

15 and every year thereafter, the Committee shall submit to 

16 Congress a report that empirically evaluates the effective17 ness of the Program, including an evaluation by revenues 

18 and jobs created and sustained, small business concern 

19 survival rates, capital raised, and other metrics deter20 mined appropriate by the Committee. 

21 ‘‘(m) AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) STIPENDS AND NETWORK BUILDING.— 

23 There is authorized to be appropriated $39,200,000 

24 for each fiscal year for the Program, of which— 


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1 ‘‘(A) $38,400,000 shall be for stipends 

2 made under subsection (b)(1); and 

3 ‘‘(B) $800,000 shall be for providing reim4 bursable expenses for travel and stay up to 

5 $2,500 per fellow to attend 1 conference de6 scribed in subsection (g). 

7 ‘‘(2) SCORE.—There is authorized to be ap8 propriated $5,000,000 for each fiscal year to 

9 SCORE to carry out activities under the Program. 

10 ‘‘(3) IMMERSIVE INITIAL TRAINING.—There is 

11 authorized to be appropriated for each fiscal year 

12 such sums as may be necessary to provide to the 

13 Committee $4,000 per fellow for the cost of hosting 

14 the immersive initial training under subsection (f). 

15 ‘‘(4) STAFF AND ADMINISTRATION.—There is 

16 authorized to be appropriated $2,500,000 for each 

17 fiscal year for staff and administrative expenses of 

18 the Administration to implement the Program. 

19 ‘‘(5) STUDENT LOAN DEFERRAL AND

20 HEALTHCARE.—There is authorized to be appro21 priated such sums as may be necessary to carry out 

22 subsection (d). 

23 ‘‘(6) COMMITTEE COSTS.—There is authorized 

24 to be appropriated $4,000,000 for each fiscal year 


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1 for travel and administrative expenses of the Com2 mittee.’’. 

Æ 


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