II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3638 

To establish an Office of Entrepreneurial Support within the Small Business 

Administration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 26, 2012 

Ms. LANDRIEU (for herself and Mr. KERRY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business 

and Entrepreneurship 

A BILL 

To establish an Office of Entrepreneurial Support 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 ‘‘Today’s Entrepreneurs 

5 are Advancing Mentorship Act of 2012’’ or the ‘‘TEAM 

6 Act of 2012’’. 

7 SEC. 2. OFFICE OF ENTREPRENEURIAL SUPPORT. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Small Business Act (15 

9 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating section 45 (15 U.S.C. 631 

2 note) as section 46; and 

3 (2) by inserting after section 44 (15 U.S.C. 

4 657q) the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 45. ENTREPRENEURIAL SUPPORT. 

6 ‘‘(a) OFFICE OF ENTREPRENEURIAL SUPPORT.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is in the Administra8 tion an Office of Entrepreneurial Support, which 

9 shall develop and provide innovative entrepreneurial 

10 information, education, and resources, to promote 

11 prospective entrepreneurs and successful small busi12 ness concerns. 

13 ‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The head of the Office of En14 trepreneurial Support is the Director of the Office of 

15 Entrepreneurial Support, who shall report to the As16 sociate Administrator for Entrepreneurial Develop17 ment. 

18 ‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The Director of the Office of 

19 Entrepreneurial Support shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) manage the online courses, online 

21 publications, and other online resources pro22 vided by the Administration to entrepreneurs 

23 and small business concerns; 

24 ‘‘(B) manage the youth entrepreneurship 

25 programs of the Administration, including— 


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1 ‘‘(i) online resources for youth entre2 preneurs; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) coordination and outreach with 

4 entrepreneurial development service pro5 viders that provide counseling and training 

6 to youth entrepreneurs desiring to start or 

7 expand small business concerns; 

8 ‘‘(C) coordinate with nonprofit and other 

9 private sector partners to share educational ma10 terials on money management and financial lit11 eracy for entrepreneurs and small business con12 cerns; and 

13 ‘‘(D) provide assistance and courtesy serv14 ices to individuals and foreign dignitaries vis15 iting the United States who are interested in 

16 issues relating to entrepreneurs and small busi17 ness concerns. 

18 ‘‘(b) ENTREPRENEURIAL SUPPORT PROGRAM.— 

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

20 the date of enactment of the TEAM Act of 2012, 

21 the Associate Administrator for Entrepreneurial De22 velopment (referred to in this subsection as the ‘As23 sociate Administrator’) shall establish a program 

24 under which the Associate Administrator may make 

25 grants to nonprofit organizations, including small 


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1 business development centers, women’s business cen2 ters, chapters of the Service Corps of Retired Execu3 tives, and other resource partners of the Administra4 tion, local government entities, and appropriate pri5 vate sector organizations or entities to provide tech6 nical assistance for the development and implemen7 tation of curricula and mentoring programs designed 

8 to promote entrepreneurship. 

9 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—An entity desiring a grant 

10 under this subsection shall submit to the Associate 

11 Administrator an application that contains— 

12 ‘‘(A) a description of the goals of the 

13 project to be funded using the grant; 

14 ‘‘(B) a list of any partners that plan to 

15 participate in the project to be funded using the 

16 grant; and 

17 ‘‘(C) any other information that the Asso18 ciate Administrator determines is necessary. 

19 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

20 date on which an entity receives a grant under this 

21 subsection, the entity shall submit to the Associate 

22 Administrator a report that describes— 

23 ‘‘(A) the individuals assisted using the 

24 grant; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the number of jobs created or saved 

2 through the use of the grant; and 

3 ‘‘(C) any other information concerning the 

4 use of the grant that the Associate Adminis5 trator may require. 

6 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

7 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

8 this subsection— 

9 ‘‘(A) $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; 

10 ‘‘(B) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 

11 ‘‘(C) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2015.’’. 

12 (b) REPORT ON BEST PRACTICES OF ENTREPRE13 NEURIAL SUPPORT AND TRAINING PROGRAMS.— 

14 (1) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 

15 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Di16 rector of the Office of Entrepreneurial Support shall 

17 submit to the Committee on Small Business and En18 trepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on 

19 Small Business of the House of Representatives a 

20 report that describes best practices of entrepre21 neurial education and training programs throughout 

22 the United States. 

23 (2) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under 

24 paragraph (1) shall include— 


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1 (A) a description of any programs that the 

2 Director of the Office of Entrepreneurial Sup3 port determines are exemplary, including na4 tional programs, regional programs, State pro5 grams, and local programs; and 

6 (B) a summary of entrepreneurial edu7 cation and training programs carried out by— 

8 (i) the Federal Government; 

9 (ii) State and local governments; and 

10 (iii) nonprofit organizations and pri11 vate sector groups. 

12 SEC. 3. EMERGING LEADERS PROGRAM. 

13 Section 8 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637) 

14 is amended by inserting after subsection (n) the following: 

15 ‘‘(o) EMERGING LEADERS PROGRAM.— 

16 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

17 ‘‘(A) the term ‘eligible small business con18 cern’ means a small business concern that— 

19 ‘‘(i) has been in business for at least 

20 2 years; 

21 ‘‘(ii) has at least 1 employee; 

22 ‘‘(iii) demonstrates growth potential, 

23 including the ability to create jobs; and 

24 ‘‘(iv) has an owner or operator that 

25 participates in the day-to-day executiveVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:22 Nov 26, 2012 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3638.IS S3638

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1 level management of the small business 

2 concern; and 

3 ‘‘(B) the term ‘Emerging Leaders Pro4 gram’ means the Emerging Leaders Program 

5 established under paragraph (2)(A). 

6 ‘‘(2) IN GENERAL.— 

7 ‘‘(A) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—Not later 

8 than 1 year after the date of enactment of the 

9 TEAM Act of 2012, the Administrator shall es10 tablish an Emerging Leaders Program to pro11 vide specialized training and executive-level 

12 mentoring to eligible small business concerns. 

13 ‘‘(B) MISSION.—The Emerging Leaders 

14 Program shall provide educational and technical 

15 assistance to eligible small business concerns fo16 cusing on the next level of growth, leadership, 

17 and operational strategies, including the devel18 opment of a strategic plan. 

19 ‘‘(C) AUTHORITY TO CONTRACT.—In order 

20 to carry out the Emerging Leaders Program, 

21 the Administrator may enter into contracts or 

22 cooperative agreements with, or make grants to, 

23 a national service provider. 

24 ‘‘(3) COMMUNITY PARTNERS.—To encourage 

25 community support and engagement, the AdminisVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:22 Nov 26, 2012 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3638.IS S3638

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1 trator may enter into memoranda of understanding 

2 with for-profit, nonprofit and government entities to 

3 jointly support and deliver localized training and 

4 provide executive-level mentoring under the Emerg5 ing Leaders Program. A memorandum of under6 standing entered into with an entity under this para7 graph shall not be construed to constitute or imply 

8 an endorsement by the Administration of any prod9 uct or service of the entity. 

10 ‘‘(4) RECRUITMENT.—The Administrator shall 

11 place special emphasis on recruiting eligible small 

12 business concerns in emerging, underserved, rural, 

13 and urban markets. 

14 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

15 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Ad16 ministration to carry out the Emerging Leaders Pro17 gram $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 

18 through 2015.’’. 

19 SEC. 4. PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND REPORTING. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—To demonstrate program impact, 

21 the Administrator shall develop performance measures for 

22 the Emerging Leaders Program established under section 

23 8(o) of the Small Business Act, as added by this Act, and 

24 the Entrepreneurial Support Program established under 


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1 section 45(b) of the Small Business Act, as added by this 

2 Act. 

3 (b) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Administrator shall 

4 collect and post information relating to the Emerging 

5 Leaders Program and the Entrepreneurial Support Pro6 gram on the website of the Administration, including— 

7 (1) the number of small business concerns par8 ticipating in the Emerging Leaders Program and the 

9 number of grant applicants and grant recipients 

10 under the Entrepreneurial Support Program; 

11 (2) the race, ethnicity, and gender of individ12 uals participating in the Entrepreneurial Support 

13 Program, and the location of their business head14 quarters and regions of operation; 

15 (3) demographic and statistical information re16 lating to small business concerns and individuals 

17 that participated in the Emerging Leaders Program 

18 or the Entrepreneurial Support Program, during the 

19 5-year period following their participation in the pro20 gram; 

21 (4) the annual revenues of each participating 

22 small business concern; 

23 (5) the annual number of jobs created or re24 tained by each participating small business concern; 


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1 (6) the amount of new financing obtained by 

2 each participating small business concern; 

3 (7) the amount of new contracts obtained by 

4 each participating small business concern; and 

5 (8) the amount of Federal tax paid by each 

6 participating small business concern. 

7 (c) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

8 date on which the Administrator establishes the Emerging 

9 Leaders Program, the Comptroller General of the United 

10 States shall submit to the Committee on Small Business 

11 and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee 

12 on Small Business of the House of Representatives a re13 port that contains a comprehensive analysis of the eco14 nomic impact of the Emerging Leaders Program and the 

15 Entrepreneurial Support Program, including the informa16 tion required to be collected and posted under subsection 

17 (b). 

Æ 


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