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Union Calendar No. 189 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4387 

[Report No. 116–238] 

To establish Growth Accelerator Fund Competition within the Small Business 

Administration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019 

Mr. ESPAILLAT (for himself and Mr. BALDERSON) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business 

OCTOBER 17, 2019 

Additional sponsors: Mr. HAGEDORN, Mr. FITZPATRICK, and Mr. EVANS

OCTOBER 17, 2019 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 

and ordered to be printed 


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A BILL 

To establish Growth Accelerator Fund Competition within 

the Small Business Administration, and for other purposes. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. GROWTH ACCELERATOR FUND COMPETITION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a program 

5 within the Small Business Administration to be known as 

6 the ‘‘Growth Accelerator Fund Competition’’ under which 

7 the Administrator of the Small Business Administration 

8 shall award prizes on a competitive basis to covered enti9 ties that— 

10 (1) assist small business concerns with access11 ing capital and finding mentors and networking op12 portunities; and 

13 (2) advise small business concerns, including 

14 advising on market analysis, company strategy, rev15 enue growth, and securing funding. 

16 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—Except as otherwise provided 

17 in this section, the Administrator shall carry out the pro18 gram established under this section in accordance with the 

19 requirements of section 24 of the Stevenson-Wydler Tech20 nology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3719). 

21 (c) APPLICATION.—A prize only may be awarded to 

22 a covered entity that submits to the Administrator an ap23 plication at such time, in such manner, and containing 

24 such information as the Administrator may require. 


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1 (d) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to apply for a prize 

2 under this section, a covered entity— 

3 (1) may not have an outstanding, unresolved fi4 nancial obligation to the Federal Government; and 

5 (2) may not be currently suspended or debarred 

6 as specified under subpart 9.4 of title 48, Code of 

7 Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation). 

8 (e) SELECTION OF COVERED ENTITIES.—From ap9 plications submitted under subsection (c), the Adminis10 trator shall select covered entities that will provide to 

11 small business concerns— 

12 (1) regular networking opportunities, including 

13 introductions to customers, partners, suppliers, advi14 sory boards, and other persons; 

15 (2) mentorship opportunities, including advice 

16 on strategy, technology, finances, and commer17 cialization assistance; 

18 (3) shared working environments focused on 

19 building a strong community amongst other similar 

20 small business concerns; 

21 (4) resources and co-working arrangements; 

22 (5) opportunities to pitch ideas to investors and 

23 other capital formation opportunities; 

24 (6) small amounts of angel money, seed capital, 

25 or structured loans; and 


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1 (7) where appropriate, assistance in securing 

2 funding under the SBIR program or the STTR pro3 gram established under section 9 of the Small Busi4 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 638). 

5 (f) PRIORITY.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in ap7 proving applications under this section, shall give 

8 priority to applications that include methods to pro9 vide assistance and advice to small business concerns 

10 located in underserved communities, including— 

11 (A) small business concerns owned and 

12 controlled by women; 

13 (B) small business concerns owned and 

14 controlled by veterans; and 

15 (C) small business concerns owned and 

16 controlled by socially and economically dis17 advantaged individuals (as defined in section 

18 8(d)(3)(C) of the Small Business Act (15 

19 U.S.C. 637(d)(3)(C))). 

20 (2) ALLOCATION.—Of prizes awarded to cov21 ered entities under this section in a fiscal year, the 

22 Administrator shall ensure that— 

23 (A) not less than 20 percent of such cov24 ered entities will assist and advise small busiVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 Oct 17, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4387.RH H4387

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1 ness concerns owned and controlled by women; 

2 and 

3 (B) not less than 20 percent of such cov4 ered entities will assist and advise small busi5 ness concerns owned and controlled by socially 

6 and economically disadvantaged individuals. 

7 (g) SELECTION OF SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS.— 

8 A covered entity that receives a prize under the Growth 

9 Accelerator Fund Competition shall use a selective process 

10 to identify small business concerns to provide assistance 

11 and advice described under subsection (a). 

12 (h) DEVELOPMENT OF METRICS.—The Adminis13 trator shall develop metrics to evaluate the effectiveness 

14 and the benefit to the people of the United States of the 

15 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition that— 

16 (1) are science-based and statistically driven; 

17 (2) reflect the mission of the Small Business 

18 Administration; and 

19 (3) include factors relating to the economic im20 pact of the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition. 

21 (i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis23 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Small Busi24 ness Administration. 


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1 (2) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en2 tity’’ means a private entity that is incorporated in 

3 and maintains a primary place of business in the 

4 United States. 

5 (3) SMALL BUSINESS ACT DEFINITIONS.—The 

6 terms ‘‘small business concern’’, ‘‘small business 

7 concern owned and controlled by women’’, ‘‘small 

8 business concern owned and controlled by veterans’’ 

9 have the meanings given such terms, respectively, in 

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

11 632). 

12 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

13 are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator 

14 $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020, 2021, 2022, and 

15 2023 to carry out the Growth Accelerator Fund Competi16 tion. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 189 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4387 

[Report No. 116–238] 

A BILL 

To establish Growth Accelerator Fund Competition 

for other purposes. within the Small Business Administration, and 

OCTOBER 17, 2019 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS