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[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3277 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3277

   To encourage exporting by small business concerns, and for other 
                               purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 7, 2012

 Ms. Landrieu (for herself and Mrs. Shaheen) introduced the following 
   bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small 
                     Business and Entrepreneurship

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
   To encourage exporting by small business concerns, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Go Global Act of 2012''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the terms ``Administration'' and ``Administrator'' mean 
        the Small Business Administration and the Administrator 
        thereof, respectively;
            (2) the term ``Export Assistance Center'' has the meaning 
        given that term in section 22(m) of the Small Business Act (15 
        U.S.C. 649(m)), as so redesignated by section 303 of this Act; 
        and
            (3) the term ``small business concern'' has the meaning 
        given that term under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 
        U.S.C. 632).

             TITLE I--STATUS OF EXPORTS BY SMALL BUSINESSES

SEC. 101. STATUS OF EXPORTS BY SMALL BUSINESSES.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Ninety-five percent of the world's customers are 
        located outside of the borders of the United States.
            (2) Of the approximately 28,000,000 small business concerns 
        in the United States, fewer than 1 percent export their goods 
        and services to foreign markets.
            (3) The approximately 300,000 small businesses that do 
        export goods and services represent 98 percent of all 
        identified exporters in the United States and account for more 
        than 30 percent of total United States exports.
            (4) Jobs created by exports pay, on average, 15 to 20 
        percent more than jobs created by goods and services sold in 
        the United States.
            (5) Small businesses are well positioned to increase their 
        customer base and create new jobs by expanding to foreign 
        markets.

   TITLE II--FACILITATION OF EXPORT OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMALL BUSINESS 
                                CONCERNS

SEC. 201. EXPORT FINANCE SPECIALISTS.

    Section 22(k)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 649(k)(1)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) Additional export finance specialists.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The Administrator may 
                        employ more than the minimum number of export 
                        finance specialists required under subparagraph 
                        (A) based on the demand for export finance 
                        specialists in the 15 States with the greatest 
                        volume of exports, as determined in accordance 
                        with the study required under section 1205(b) 
                        of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (15 
                        U.S.C. 649 note).
                            ``(ii) Maximum number of export finance 
                        specialists.--The Administrator may not employ 
                        more than 50 export finance specialists.
                    ``(D) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
                authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator such 
                sums as may be necessary to carry out this 
                paragraph.''.

SEC. 202. PROMOTION OF EXPORTS BY RURAL SMALL BUSINESSES.

    (a) Small Business Administration--United States Department of 
Agriculture Interagency Coordination.--
            (1) Export financing programs.--In coordination with the 
        Secretary of Agriculture, the Administrator shall develop a 
        program to cross-train export finance specialists and personnel 
        from the Office of International Trade of the Administration on 
        the export financing programs of the Department of Agriculture 
        and the Foreign Agricultural Service.
            (2) Export assistance and business counseling programs.--In 
        coordination with the Secretary of Agriculture and the Foreign 
        Agricultural Service, the Administrator shall develop a program 
        to cross-train export finance specialists, personnel from the 
        Office of International Trade of the Administration, Small 
        Business Development Centers, women's business centers, the 
        Service Corps of Retired Executives authorized by section 
        8(b)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(b)(1)), Export 
        Assistance Centers, and other resource partners of the 
        Administration on the export assistance and business counseling 
        programs of the Department of Agriculture.
    (b) Report on Lenders.--Section 7(a)(16)(F) of the Small Business 
Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)(16)(F)) is amended--
            (1) in clause (i)--
                    (A) by redesignating subclauses (I) through (III) 
                as items (aa) through (cc), respectively, and adjusting 
                the margins accordingly;
                    (B) by striking ``list, have made'' and inserting 
                the following: ``list--
                                    ``(I) have made'';
                    (C) in item (cc), as so redesignated, by striking 
                the period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
                                    ``(II) were located in a rural 
                                area, as that term is defined in 
                                section 1393(a)(2) of the Internal 
                                Revenue Code of 1986, or a 
                                nonmetropolitan statistical area and 
                                have made--
                                            ``(aa) loans guaranteed by 
                                        the Administration; or
                                            ``(bb) loans through the 
                                        programs offered by the United 
                                        States Department of 
                                        Agriculture or the Foreign 
                                        Agricultural Service.''; and
            (2) in clause (ii)(II), by inserting ``and by resource 
        partners of the Administration'' after ``the Administration''.
    (c) Cooperation With Small Business Development Centers.--Section 
21(c)(3)(M) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(c)(3)(M)) is 
amended by inserting after ``the Department of Commerce,'' the 
following: ``the Department of Agriculture,''.
    (d) List of Rural Export Assistance Resources.--Section 22(c)(7) of 
the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 649(c)(7)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (E); 
        and
            (3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following:
                    ``(D) publishing an annual list of relevant 
                resources and programs of the district and regional 
                offices of the Administration, other Federal agencies, 
                the small business development center network, Export 
                Assistance Centers, the network of women's business 
                centers, chapters of the Service Corps of Retired 
                Executives, State and local export promotion programs, 
                and partners in the private sector, that--
                            ``(i) are administered or offered by 
                        entities located in rural or nonmetropolitan 
                        statistical areas; and
                            ``(ii) offer export assistance or business 
                        counseling services to rural small businesses 
                        concerns; and''.

SEC. 203. REGISTRY OF EXPORT MANAGEMENT AND EXPORT TRADING COMPANIES.

    (a) Coordination With Export Management Companies and Export 
Trading Companies.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Administrator shall establish a program to register 
export management companies, as that term is defined by the Department 
of Commerce, and export trading companies, as that term is defined in 
section 103 of the Export Trading Company Act of 1982 (15 U.S.C. 4002).
    (b) Requirements.--The program established under subsection (a) 
shall--
            (1) be similar to the program of the Administration for 
        registering franchise companies, as in effect on the date of 
        enactment of this Act; and
            (2) require that a list of the export management companies 
        and export trading companies that register under the program, 
        categorized by the type of product exported by the company, be 
        made available on the website of the Administration.

SEC. 204. REVERSE TRADE MISSIONS.

    Section 22(c) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 649(c)) is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (12), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (13), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(14) in coordination with other relevant Federal 
        agencies, encourage the participation of employees and 
        resources partners of the Administration in reverse trade 
        missions hosted or sponsored by the Federal Government.''.

SEC. 205. EXPORT EXPANSION INCENTIVE PROGRAM.

    (a) Fee Waiver.--The Administrator may waive a fee otherwise 
applicable under paragraph (18)(A) or (23)(A) of section 7(a) of the 
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)) for a loan guaranteed under such 
section 7(a) on or after the date of enactment of this Act, if--
            (1) the Administrator determines that the loan will be used 
        to help a small business concern export for the first time; or
            (2) the loan is made to a small business concern certified 
        as eligible to apply for trade adjustment assistance under 
        chapter 3 of title II of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2341 
        et seq.).
    (b) Reporting Requirement.--For each of fiscal years 2013 through 
2016, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Small Business 
and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business 
of the House of Representatives a report on the waiver of fees under 
this section that includes--
            (1) the number of small business concerns that received a 
        fee waiver under this section in the fiscal year;
            (2) an estimate of the number of loans made under 
        paragraphs (18)(A) and (23)(A) of section 7(a) of the Small 
        Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)) that would not have been made 
        without a waiver of fees under this section;
            (3) the number of banks or lending institutions that made a 
        loan guaranteed under section 7(a) of the Small Business Act 
        (15 U.S.C. 636(a)) for the first time because of a waiver of 
        fees under this section;
            (4) the estimated number of jobs created by the waiver of 
        fees under this section;
            (5) the estimated total value of the exports financed using 
        a loan for which the Administrator waived a fee under this 
        section; and
            (6) recommendations, if any, for improving or continuing 
        the provisions of this section.
    (c) Termination.--The authority of the Administrator to waive fees 
under this section shall terminate on September 30, 2016.
    (d) Reallocation of Funds Available for the Community Adjustment 
and Investment Program to the Export Expansion Investment Program.--
            (1) Termination of participation in community adjustment 
        and investment program.--Notwithstanding section 543 of the 
        North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (22 
        U.S.C. 290m-2), the President shall terminate, on and after 
        October 1, 2012, the participation of the Small Business 
        Administration in the community adjustment and investment 
        program established pursuant to that section.
            (2) Reduction of capital paid to the north american 
        development bank.--The President shall reduce the amount of the 
        paid-in capital that would otherwise be paid to the North 
        American Development Bank by the United States for each of the 
        fiscal years 2013 through 2016 by an amount equal to the amount 
        received by the President during fiscal year 2012 under section 
        543(a)(2) of the North American Free Trade Agreement 
        Implementation Act (22 U.S.C. 290m-2(a)(2)) for the 
        participation of the Small Business Administration in the 
        community adjustment and investment program.
            (3) Availability of amounts for the export expansion 
        investment program.--For each of the fiscal years 2013 through 
        2016, an amount equal to the amount by which the President 
        reduces the amount of the paid-in capital paid to the North 
        American Development Bank under paragraph (1)(B) shall be 
        available to the Administrator of the Small Business 
        Administration to carry out subsection (a) of this section.

SEC. 206. STATE TRADE AND EXPORT PROMOTION GRANT PROGRAM.

    Section 1207(a)(5) of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (15 
U.S.C. 649b note) is amended by inserting after ``Guam,'' the 
following: ``the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,''.

    TITLE III--COORDINATION OF EXPORT PROMOTION RESOURCES FOR SMALL 
                           BUSINESS CONCERNS

SEC. 301. INCREASED SMALL BUSINESS REPRESENTATION ON FEDERAL ADVISORY 
              PANELS.

    It is the sense of Congress that the President and the Federal 
agencies that are members of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee 
should include small business concerns on the appropriate advisory 
panels, councils, and boards of such Federal agencies, such that the 
ratio that the number of members of the advisory panels, councils, and 
boards that are small business concerns bears to the total number of 
members of the advisory panels, councils, and boards is similar to the 
ratio that the number of small business concerns that export bears to 
the number of all business concerns in the United States that export.

SEC. 302. PROMOTION OF INTERAGENCY DETAILS.

    It is the sense of Congress that the Administrator should 
periodically detail staff of the Administration to other Federal 
agencies that are members of the Trade Promotion Coordinating 
Committee, to facilitate the cross training of the staff of the 
Administration on the export assistance programs of such other 
agencies.

SEC. 303. ANNUAL EXPORT STRATEGY.

    Section 22 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 649) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (l) as subsection (m); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (k) the following:
    ``(l) Small Business Trade Strategy.--
            ``(1) Development of small business trade strategy.--The 
        Associate Administrator shall develop and maintain a small 
        business trade strategy that is included in the report on the 
        governmentwide strategic plan for Federal trade promotion 
        required to be submitted to Congress by the Trade Promotion 
        Coordinating Committee under section 2312(f)(1) of the Export 
        Enhancement Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4727(f)(1)) that includes, 
        at a minimum--
                    ``(A) strategies to increase export opportunities 
                for small business concerns, including a specific 
                strategy to increase opportunities for small business 
                concerns that are new to exporting;
                    ``(B) recommendations to increase the 
                competitiveness in the global economy of small business 
                concerns in the United States that are part of 
                industries in which small business concerns account for 
                a high proportion of participating businesses;
                    ``(C) recommendations to protect small business 
                concerns from unfair trade practices, including 
                intellectual property violations;
                    ``(D) recommendations for strategies to promote and 
                facilitate opportunities in the foreign markets that 
                are most accessible for small business concerns that 
                are new to exporting; and
                    ``(E) strategies to expand the representation of 
                small business concerns in the formation and 
                implementation of United States trade policy.
            ``(2) Annual report to congress.--At the beginning of each 
        fiscal year, the Associate Administrator shall submit to the 
        Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate 
        and the Committee on Small Business of the House of 
        Representatives a report on the small business trade strategy 
        required under paragraph (1), which shall contain, at a 
        minimum--
                    ``(A) a description of each strategy and 
                recommendation described in paragraph (1);
                    ``(B) specific policies and objectives, together 
                with timelines for the implementation of such policies 
                and objectives; and
                    ``(C) a description of the progress of the 
                Administration in implementing the strategies and 
                recommendations contained in the report submitted for 
                the preceding fiscal year.''.

SEC. 304. REPORT ON MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING.

    (a) Definition.--In this subsection, the term ``covered agreement'' 
means a memorandum of understanding or strategic alliance memorandum--
            (1) between the Administration and another Federal agency, 
        a government agency of a foreign nation, or any business 
        concern; and
            (2) that--
                    (A) was entered during the 10-year period ending on 
                the date of enactment of this Act; or
                    (B) the Administrator intends to enter during the 
                1-year period beginning on the date of enactment of 
                this Act.
    (b) Report Required.--Not later than 6 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Commerce, shall submit to 
the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and 
the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives a 
report on covered agreements that contains--
            (1) the primary purpose of each covered agreement;
            (2) the benefit to small business concerns of each covered 
        agreement;
            (3) the date on which each covered agreement will expire; 
        and
            (4) any additional information determined appropriate by 
        the Administrator.
                                 <all>
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