I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6232 

To provide for the establishment of a Commission on the Advancement of 

Social Enterprise, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 28, 2016 

Mr. CICILLINE (for himself and Mr. MACARTHUR) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government 

Reform 

A BILL 

To provide for the establishment of a Commission on the 

Advancement of Social Enterprise, 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 ‘‘Social Enterprise Eco5 system and Economic Development Commission Act of 

6 2016’’ or as the ‘‘SEEED Commission Act of 2016’’. 

7 SEC. 2. COMMISSION ON THE ADVANCEMENT OF SOCIAL 

8 ENTERPRISE. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com10 mission to be known as the Commission on the AdvanceVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:47 Oct 05, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6232.IH H6232

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1 ment of Social Enterprise (referred to in this section as 

2 the ‘‘Commission’’). The purpose of the commission is to 

3 examine and make recommendations with respect to ways 

4 the Federal Government can support and utilize the trans5 formative power of social enterprises. 

6 (b) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The 

7 Federal Advisory Committee Act does not apply to the 

8 Commission established under this subsection. 

9 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—The membership of the Commis10 sion shall be composed of the following or their designees: 

11 (1) The Administrator of the Small Business 

12 Administration. 

13 (2) The Administrator of the Economic Devel14 opment Administration. 

15 (3) The Director of the Office of Social Innova16 tion and Civic Participation. 

17 (4) The Chief Executive Officer of the Corpora18 tion for National and Community Service. 

19 (5) The Assistant to the President for Domestic 

20 Policy. 

21 (6) The Director of the Office of Management 

22 and Budget. 

23 (7) The Commissioner of Internal Revenue. 

24 (8) The Secretary of Labor. 

25 (9) The Director of the Census. 


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1 (10) The Director of the National Economic 

2 Council. 

3 (11) The Attorney General. 

4 (12) The Secretary of State. 

5 (13) The Secretary of Education. 

6 (14) The Secretary of the Treasury. 

7 (15) The Secretary of Health and Human Serv8 ices. 

9 (16) The Commissioner of Social Security. 

10 (17) The Secretary of Agriculture. 

11 (18) The Secretary of Commerce. 

12 (19) The Secretary of Housing and Urban De13 velopment. 

14 (20) The Chair of the Council of Economic Ad15 visors. 

16 (21) The Administrator of the General Services 

17 Administration. 

18 (d) OPERATION.— 

19 (1) CHAIRPERSON.—The Director of the Office 

20 of Social Innovation and Civic Participation shall 

21 serve as the Chairperson of the Commission. 

22 (2) MEETINGS.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

24 meet at the call of the Chairperson. 


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1 (B) INITIAL MEETING.—The initial meet2 ing shall take place not later than 30 days after 

3 the date of enactment of this Act. 

4 (3) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 

5 the Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a 

6 lesser number of members may hold hearings. 

7 (4) RULES.—The Commission may establish, by 

8 majority vote, any rules for the conduct of Commis9 sion business, in accordance with this Act and other 

10 applicable law. 

11 (e) DUTIES.— 

12 (1) DEFINING SOCIAL ENTERPRISE.—Not later 

13 than 1 year after the initial meeting of the Commis14 sion, the Commission shall establish criteria for 

15 identifying social enterprises for purposes of Federal 

16 programs. The Commission will draw upon existing 

17 leading research and scholarship in this area as well 

18 as the input of practitioners and policy experts with19 in the social enterprise field. 

20 (2) STUDY ACTIVITIES.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

22 identify opportunities for the Federal Govern23 ment to more effectively engage social enter24 prises in creating jobs and strengthening local 

25 economies while achieving optimal outcomes in 


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1 addressing policy challenges at the national, 

2 State, and local level. The Commission shall re3 ceive and consider reports and testimony from 

4 individuals, government departments, State and 

5 local elected officials, community-based organi6 zations, nonprofit organizations, faith-based or7 ganizations, foundations, and other public and 

8 private organizations statewide and of national 

9 significance on the following: 

10 (i) How social enterprise can accel11 erate progress on social issues. 

12 (ii) How social enterprises work in a 

13 cross-sector manner. 

14 (iii) How social enterprise can ad15 vance social and economic development 

16 goals. 

17 (B) AREAS OF STUDY AND RECOMMENDA18 TION.—The areas studied and potential rec19 ommendations offered by the Commission under 

20 this paragraph shall include the following: 

21 (i) The role of social enterprises in the 

22 United States economy. 

23 (ii) The role of social enterprises in 

24 addressing economic, social, and environVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:47 Oct 05, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6232.IH H6232

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1 mental policy challenges across all levels of 

2 government. 

3 (iii) The role of social enterprises as 

4 community support and development enti5 ties. 

6 (iv) A statistical and qualitative exam7 ination of social enterprise within the 

8 United States and its contribution to the 

9 social and economic development of the 

10 United States. 

11 (v) Means through which the Federal 

12 Government can assist in enhancing the 

13 capacity of social enterprises. 

14 (vi) Corporate legal structures that 

15 foster or impede the development of social 

16 enterprises. 

17 (vii) How to reform the Internal Rev18 enue Code to reduce obstacles that social 

19 enterprises face when addressing social 

20 issues and creating economic value through 

21 innovative methods. 

22 (viii) How to reform Federal securi23 ties laws to encourage impact investing. 


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1 (ix) How the Federal Government can 

2 leverage existing Community Development 

3 Financial Institutions programs. 

4 (x) How various sectors (including but 

5 not limited to philanthropic, for-profit, and 

6 nonprofit sectors) and levels of government 

7 currently interact with social enterprises. 

8 (xi) Review of the current process 

9 through which social enterprises—both for10 profit and nonprofit organizations—can 

11 obtain Federal loans, grants, and contracts 

12 and offer recommendations for improving 

13 these processes in light of the special needs 

14 and contributions of social enterprises. 

15 (xii) Review of the current process, 

16 policies, and procedures through which so17 cial enterprises—both for-profit and non18 profit organizations—can access Federal 

19 contracting opportunities and offer rec20 ommendations for improving the access of 

21 social enterprises to Federal procurement 

22 opportunities. 

23 (xiii) How the Federal Government 

24 can play a role in developing a purchasing 

25 directory of social enterprises within the 


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1 United States that can be supported by 

2 citizens, businesses, and government. 

3 (xiv) Opportunities for the Federal 

4 Government to develop and expand re5 search and the collection and analysis of 

6 longitudinal data on social enterprises. 

7 (xv) Barriers to social enterprise 

8 growth. 

9 (xvi) Opportunities for the develop10 ment of an entity or initiative to support 

11 intermediaries that will promote and invest 

12 in social enterprise. 

13 (xvii) Identification of the appropriate 

14 entity within the Federal Government that 

15 shall be charged with the responsibility of 

16 preparing an annual report to Congress on 

17 the impact of social enterprises in the 

18 United States and the extent to which the 

19 Federal Government interacts with, sup20 ports, and invests in social enterprises. 

21 And, where appropriate, this entity shall 

22 monitor and update the areas of study list23 ed in this subparagraph. 

24 (f) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.— 


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1 (1) The Commission may hold such hearings 

2 and collect such information as appropriate for car3 rying out this section. 

4 (2) Except as otherwise prohibited by law, the 

5 Commission may secure directly from any Federal 

6 department or agency information the Commission 

7 considers necessary to carry out this section. Upon 

8 the request of the Commission, the head of the any 

9 Federal agency shall furnish information requested 

10 under this paragraph to the Commission. 

11 (3) The Commission may enter into contracts 

12 for research to inform the deliberations of the Com13 mission. 

14 (4) The Commission may use the United States 

15 mails in the same manner and under the same con16 ditions as other agencies of the Federal Government. 

17 (g) COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.— 

18 (1) DETAIL OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—On the 

affirmative vote of 2 19 ⁄3 of the members of the Com20 mission and the approval of the appropriate Federal 

21 agency head, an employee of the Federal Govern22 ment at GS–13 level or higher may be detailed to 

23 the Commission without reimbursement, and such 

24 detail shall be without interruption or loss of civil 

25 service status, benefits, or privileges. 


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1 (2) STAFF.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.— 

3 (i) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSA4 TION.—The chairperson, in accordance 

5 with rules agreed upon by the Commission, 

6 may appoint and fix the compensation of a 

7 staff director and such other personnel as 

8 may be necessary to enable the Commis9 sion to carry out its functions, without re10 gard to the provisions of title 5, United 

11 States Code, governing appointments in 

12 the competitive service, and without regard 

13 to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub14 chapter III of chapter 53 of such title re15 lating to classification and General Sched16 ule pay rates, except that no rate of pay 

17 fixed under this subsection may exceed the 

18 equivalent of that payable for a position at 

19 Level V of the Executive Schedule under 

20 section 5316 of title 5, United States 

21 Code. 

22 (ii) PERSONNEL AS FEDERAL EM23 PLOYEES.— 

24 (I) IN GENERAL.—Any personnel 

25 of the Commission who are employees 


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1 shall be employees under section 2105 

2 of title 5, United States Code, for 

3 purposes of chapters 63, 81, 83, 84, 

4 85, 87, 89, and 90 of that title. 

5 (II) MEMBERS OF THE COMMIS6 SION.—Subparagraph (I) shall not be 

7 construed to apply to members of the 

8 Commission. 

9 (B) VOLUNTEER SERVICES.—Notwith10 standing section 1342 of title 31, United States 

11 Code, the Commission may accept and use vol12 untary and uncompensated services as the Com13 mission determines necessary. 

14 (h) CONTRACTS FOR RESEARCH.— 

15 (1) RESEARCHERS AND EXPERTS.—On an affirmative vote of 2 16 ⁄3 of the members of the Commis17 sion, the Commission may select nongovernmental 

18 researchers and experts to assist the Commission in 

19 carrying out the duties of the Commission under this 

20 section. 

21 (2) OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.—Nothing in this 

22 subsection limits the ability of the Commission to 

23 enter into contracts with any other entity or organi24 zation to carry out research necessary to carry out 

25 the duties of the Commission under this section. 


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1 (i) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the Com2 mission establishes criteria by which to identify social en3 terprise, the Commission shall submit to the President and 

4 Congress a report on the Commission’s findings, conclu5 sions, and recommendations. The report shall identify the 

6 Federal programs recommended and shall include— 

7 (1) reports on all matters studied as described 

8 in subsection (b); and 

9 (2) how existing Federal Government programs 

10 can be expanded to take advantage of the social and 

11 economic benefits of social enterprises. 

12 (j) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate 

13 90 days after the date on which the Commission submits 

14 the report of the Commission under subsection (i). 

Æ 


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