I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8628 

To support the establishment of small business development centers 

internationally and promote international commerce, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 20, 2020 

Mr. CASTRO of Texas (for himself, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, and Mrs. 

WAGNER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To support the establishment of small business development 

centers internationally and promote international commerce, 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 ‘‘Global Small Business 

5 Network Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Small businesses empower citizens of a 

9 country, strengthen communities, provide employVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:08 Nov 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8628.IH H8628

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1 ment to millions, and form the backbone of the 

2 United States economy. 

3 (2) Small business concerns across the United 

4 States have benefitted from access to technical as5 sistance, regulatory guidance, and educational pro6 grams through small business development centers 

7 (referred to in this Act as ‘‘SBDC’’) in the United 

8 States. 

9 (3) The SBDC model has successfully been 

10 adopted in Central America, South America, and the 

11 Caribbean, through assistance from the Small Busi12 ness Network of the Americas’ initiative funded 

13 through the Department of State. 

14 (4) The Small Business Network of the Amer15 icas’ initiative is a highly effective program that 

16 works with host governments in the Americas to es17 tablish small business development centers, primarily 

18 funded by the host governments. 

19 (5) SBDC networks outside the United States 

20 serve as important conduits of commerce with the 

21 United States, providing important information, 

22 tools, and regulatory guidance to small businesses 

23 interested in trading with the United States. 

24 (6) The establishment of SBDCs in other parts 

25 of the world promotes opportunities for small busiVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:08 Nov 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8628.IH H8628

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1 nesses to thrive and engage with the United States 

2 economy. 

3 SEC. 3. GLOBAL AND REGIONAL NETWORKS. 

4 (a) GLOBAL SMALL BUSINESS NETWORK.— 

5 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of State, 

6 in consultation with the Administrator of the United 

7 States Agency for International Development and 

8 the Administrator of the Small Business Administra9 tion, is authorized to establish and administer a 

10 Global Small Business Network program. 

11 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Global 

12 Small Business Network program is to— 

13 (A) enhance the ability of small business 

14 concerns in the United States that are affiliated 

15 with a small business development center to ex16 port to foreign markets and take part in inter17 national commerce; and 

18 (B) facilitate partners for small business 

19 concerns in the United States and resilient 

20 business environments in foreign countries 

21 through the development of small business de22 velopment centers in foreign countries. 

23 (3) AFFILIATION.—The Secretary of State shall 

24 determine if a small business development center in 


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1 a foreign country may affiliate with and participate 

2 in the Global Small Business Network program. 

3 (4) COORDINATION.—The Secretary of State 

4 may coordinate with a national or local government 

5 of a foreign country that agrees to assist with devel6 oping small business development centers in such 

7 country pursuant to a grant awarded under sub8 section (c). 

9 (5) DUPLICATION OF EFFORTS.—The Secretary 

10 of State shall leverage existing programs adminis11 tered by the Department of State, the United States 

12 Agency for International Development, and other 

13 United States Government agencies for the purposes 

14 of the Global Small Business Network program. 

15 (b) REGIONAL NETWORKS.— 

16 (1) SMALL BUSINESS NETWORK OF THE AMER17 ICAS.—The Secretary of State may establish a Small 

18 Business Network of the Americas for purposes of 

19 allowing national and local governments of a foreign 

20 country located in Western Hemisphere to partici21 pate in the Global Small Business Network program. 

22 (2) ASEAN SMALL BUSINESS NETWORK.—The 

23 Secretary of State may establish an ASEAN Small 

24 Business Network for purposes of allowing national 

25 and local governments of a foreign country that is 


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1 a member state of the Association of Southeast 

2 Asian Nations to participate in the Global Small 

3 Business Network program. 

4 (c) GRANTS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State may 

6 make grants to any qualified entity that submits an 

7 application in such form, and satisfying such re8 quirements, as the Secretary may require. 

9 (2) TYPES OF GRANTS.—A qualified entity may 

10 receive a grant for one or both of the following pur11 poses: 

12 (A) To assist national and local govern13 ments of a foreign country to develop a small 

14 business development center, or multiple cen15 ters, in such country, regardless of whether 

16 such country participates in a regional network 

17 described in subsection (b). 

18 (B) To promote economic connectivity be19 tween small business concerns in the United 

20 States and economies covered by the Global 

21 Small Business Network, including through an 

22 internet platform to— 

23 (i) enhance the ability of small busi24 ness concerns in the United States to take 

25 part in international commerce; and 


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1 (ii) facilitate the growth of small busi2 nesses in foreign countries through the de3 velopment of small business development 

4 centers in foreign countries. 

5 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

6 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of State 

7 $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026, 

8 in addition to amounts otherwise available for economic 

9 activities and foreign assistance, to carry out this section. 

10 With respect to each such fiscal year, the Secretary is au11 thorized to use— 

12 (1) up to $1,000,000 of such amount to estab13 lish and operate the Small Business Network of the 

14 Americas; and 

15 (2) up to $1,000,000 of such amount to estab16 lish and operate the ASEAN Small Business Net17 work. 

18 (e) REPORT.— 

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

20 after the date of enactment of this Act and every 

21 two years thereafter for a period of four years, the 

22 Secretary of State, in consultation with the Adminis23 trator of the United States Agency for International 

24 Development and the Administrator of the Small 

25 Business Administration, shall submit to the ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:08 Nov 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8628.IH H8628

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1 mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep2 resentatives, the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

3 the Senate, the Committee on Small Business of the 

4 House of Representatives, and the Committee on 

5 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate 

6 a report on the status of the Global Small Business 

7 Network program. 

8 (2) ELEMENTS.—Each report required by para9 graph (1) shall include the following: 

10 (A) An assessment of support provided to 

11 small business concerns in the United States 

12 that have utilized programs through the Global 

13 Small Business Network, including information 

14 on the number of businesses supported, the geo15 graphic location of such businesses, the number 

16 of jobs supported, and the amount of economic 

17 activity generated. 

18 (B) A description of methods and strate19 gies to develop small business development cen20 ters in foreign countries for the two years after 

21 the date of such report. 

22 (C) A list, and the current status, of all 

23 operating small business development centers in 

24 foreign countries that are affiliated with the 

25 Global Small Business Network program. 


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1 (D) A list, and the current status, of all 

2 new small business development centers in for3 eign countries set up through the Global Small 

4 Business Network program in the two years be5 fore the date of the report, even if no longer af6 filiated with the Global Small Business Network 

7 program. 

8 (E) A description of the estimated 

9 timelines for national and local governments of 

10 a foreign country participating in the Small 

11 Business Network of the Americas and the 

12 ASEAN Small Business Network to— 

13 (i) complete the creation of a small 

14 business development center in such coun15 try; and 

16 (ii) establish connections between such 

17 a small business development center with 

18 small business development centers in the 

19 United States. 

20 (F) A description of international commer21 cial activity resulting from participation in the 

22 Global Small Business Network program. 

23 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 (1) QUALIFIED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘qualified 

25 entity’’ means an entity that is— 


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1 (A) an institution of higher education (as 

2 such term is defined in section 102 of the High3 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002)), 

4 except that such term does not include institu5 tions described in section 102(a)(1)(c) of such 

6 Act; 

7 (B) a consortium of two or more institu8 tions of higher education described in subpara9 graph (A); or 

10 (C) a nonprofit entity with experience in 

11 operating or working with small business devel12 opment centers in the United States. 

13 (2) SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN.—The term 

14 ‘‘small business concern’’ has the meaning given the 

15 term under section 3(a) of the Small Business Act 

16 (15 U.S.C. 632(a)). 

17 (3) SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CEN18 TER.—The term ‘‘small business development cen19 ter’’— 

20 (A) with respect to a center located in the 

21 United States— 

22 (i) has the meaning given such term 

23 in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 

24 U.S.C. 632); and 


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1 (ii) includes a women’s business cen2 ter, as such term is used under section 29 

3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

4 656); and 

5 (B) with respect to a center located in a 

6 foreign country, means an entity that— 

7 (i) provides small business-oriented 

8 employment or natural resources develop9 ment programs; 

10 (ii) promotes studies, research, and 

11 counseling concerning the managing, fi12 nancing, and operation of small businesses; 

13 (iii) provides management and tech14 nical assistance regarding small business 

15 participation in international markets and 

16 international commerce, including with the 

17 United States; 

18 (iv) provides delivery or distribution of 

19 services and information described in this 

20 subparagraph; or 

21 (v) provides access to business ana22 lysts who can refer a small business to 

23 available experts. 

Æ 


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