I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4407 

To amend the Small Business Act to reauthorize the SCORE program, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2019 

Mr. KEVIN HERN of Oklahoma (for himself and Ms. CRAIG) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business 

A BILL 

To amend the Small Business Act to reauthorize the SCORE 

program, 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 title may be cited as the ‘‘SCORE for Small 

5 Business Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SCORE PROGRAM PROVISIONS AND REQUIRE7 MENTS. 

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

9 is amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (b)(1)(B)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘a Service Corps of Retired 

2 Executives (SCORE)’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

3 SCORE program described in subsection (c)’’; 

4 and 

5 (B) by striking ‘‘SCORE may’’ and insert6 ing ‘‘the SCORE Association (as defined in 

7 subsection (c)) may’’; and 

8 (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(c) SCORE PROGRAM.— 

11 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

12 ‘‘(A) SCORE ASSOCIATION.—The term 

13 ‘SCORE Association’ means the Service Corps 

14 of Retired Executives Association or any suc15 cessor or other organization that enters into a 

16 cooperative agreement (as described under 

17 paragraph (2)) with the Administrator to oper18 ate the SCORE program. 

19 ‘‘(B) SCORE FOUNDATION.—The term 

20 ‘SCORE Foundation’ means an organization 

21 with a mission to support the SCORE Associa22 tion and volunteers of the SCORE program. 

23 ‘‘(C) SCORE PROGRAM.—The term 

24 ‘SCORE program’ means the SCORE program 

25 authorized by subsection (b)(1)(B). 


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1 ‘‘(2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—The Admin2 istrator shall enter into a cooperative agreement 

3 with the SCORE Association to carry out the 

4 SCORE program, which shall include the following 

5 requirements: 

6 ‘‘(A) ADMINISTRATOR DUTIES.—The Ad7 ministrator shall— 

8 ‘‘(i) conduct an annual financial ex9 amination of the SCORE Association to 

10 ensure that any costs paid for with Federal 

11 funds are allowable, allocable, and reason12 able; 

13 ‘‘(ii) for contracts entered into by the 

14 SCORE Association to provide goods or 

15 services for the SCORE program of a 

16 value greater than an amount determined 

17 by the Administrator, review and approve 

18 such contracts; 

19 ‘‘(iii) establish a system through 

20 which the SCORE Association can provide 

21 documentation relating to such contracts; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(iv) within 30 days of the receipt of 

24 a quarterly report on the achievements of 

25 the SCORE program submitted by the 


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1 SCORE Association, reconcile and dif2 ferences between such report and the per3 formance results of the SCORE program 

4 reported in a management information sys5 tem of the Office of Entrepreneurial Devel6 opment. 

7 ‘‘(B) SCORE ASSOCIATION DUTIES.—The 

8 SCORE Association shall— 

9 ‘‘(i) manage nationwide chapters of 

10 the SCORE program; 

11 ‘‘(ii) develop guidance and provide an12 nual training to employees of the SCORE 

13 Association on generating and using pro14 gram income from the SCORE program; 

15 ‘‘(iii) submit documentation to the 

16 Administrator verifying such annual train17 ing is completed; 

18 ‘‘(iv) separate funds donated to the 

19 SCORE Association from program income 

20 and funds received pursuant to a coopera21 tive agreement; and 

22 ‘‘(v) establish requirements for volun23 teers participating in the SCORE program, 

24 including requirements that each such vol25 unteer shall— 


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1 ‘‘(I) based on the business expe2 rience and knowledge of the volun3 teer— 

4 ‘‘(aa) provide personal coun5 seling, mentoring, and coaching 

6 on the process of starting, ex7 panding, managing, buying, and 

8 selling a business at no cost to 

9 individuals who own, or aspire to 

10 own, small business concerns; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(bb) facilitate free or low13 cost education workshops for in14 dividuals who own, or aspire to 

15 own, small business concerns; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(II) as appropriate, use tools, 

18 resources, and expertise of other orga19 nizations to carry out the SCORE 

20 program. 

21 ‘‘(C) JOINT DUTIES.—The Administrator, 

22 in consultation with the SCORE Association, 

23 shall ensure that the SCORE program and each 

24 chapter of the SCORE program— 


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1 ‘‘(i) develop and implement plans and 

2 goals to more effectively and efficiently 

3 provide services to individuals in rural 

4 areas, economically disadvantaged commu5 nities, or other traditionally underserved 

6 communities, including plans for electronic 

7 initiatives, web-based initiatives, chapter 

8 expansion, partnerships, and the develop9 ment of new skills by volunteers partici10 pating in the SCORE program; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) reinforce an inclusive culture by 

12 recruiting diverse volunteers for the chap13 ters of the SCORE program. 

14 ‘‘(3) ONLINE COMPONENT.—In carrying out 

15 this subsection, the SCORE Association shall make 

16 use of online counseling, including by developing and 

17 implementing webinars and an electronic mentoring 

18 platform to expand access to services provided under 

19 this subsection and to further support entre20 preneurs. 

21 ‘‘(4) ACCOUNTING.—Not later than 6 months 

22 after the date of the enactment of this subsection, 

23 the SCORE Association shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) centralize all accounting and finance 

25 systems of each chapter of the SCORE proVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Sep 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4407.IH H4407

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1 gram and develop a uniform policy and proce2 dures to manage Federal funds; and 

3 ‘‘(B) designate an employee of the SCORE 

4 Association to serve as a compliance officer to 

5 ensure expenditures of the SCORE program are 

6 fully compliant with any law, regulation, or co7 operative agreement relating to the SCORE 

8 program. 

9 ‘‘(5) COMPENSATION.— 

10 ‘‘(A) SALARIES.—The salary of an em11 ployee of the SCORE Association may not ex12 ceed the equivalent of the maximum rate of pay 

13 allowable for an individual in the career Senior 

14 Executive Service employed at the Small Busi15 ness Administration. 

16 ‘‘(B) PERFORMANCE AWARDS.—The 

17 SCORE Association may spend up to 1.5 per18 cent of the aggregate salaries of employees of 

19 the SCORE Association on individual perform20 ance awards to employees of the SCORE Asso21 ciation, to be disbursed before the last day of 

22 the fiscal year, if not later than 60 days before 

23 disbursement the SCORE Association submits 

24 to the Administrator a report on the number 

25 and amount of such awards to be disbursed. 


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1 ‘‘(C) SCORE FOUNDATION.—A member of 

2 the Board of Directors of the SCORE Associa3 tion or an employee of the SCORE Association 

4 may not simultaneously serve on the Board of 

5 Directors of, or receive compensation from, the 

6 SCORE Foundation without written approval 

7 from the Administrator. 

8 ‘‘(6) WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION REQUIRE9 MENTS.—The SCORE Association shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) annually update all manuals or other 

11 documents applicable to employees and volun12 teers of the SCORE Association or the SCORE 

13 program to include requirements relating to re14 porting procedures and protectors for whistle15 blowers; and 

16 ‘‘(B) conduct an annual training for em17 ployees and volunteers of the SCORE Associa18 tion or the SCORE program on the require19 ments described in paragraph (1) and empha20 size the use of the hotline established by the Of21 fice of the Inspector General of the Small Busi22 ness Administration to submit whistleblower re23 ports. 

24 ‘‘(7) PUBLISHED MATERIALS.—The SCORE 

25 Association shall ensure all published materials inVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Sep 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4407.IH H4407

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1 clude written acknowledgment of Small Business Ad2 ministration support of the SCORE program if such 

3 materials are paid for in whole or in part by Federal 

4 funds. 

5 ‘‘(8) PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Neither the Adminis7 trator nor the SCORE Association may disclose 

8 the name, address, or telephone number of any 

9 individual or small business concern receiving 

10 assistance from the SCORE Association with11 out the consent of such individual or small busi12 ness concern, unless— 

13 ‘‘(i) the Administrator is ordered to 

14 make such a disclosure by a court in any 

15 civil or criminal enforcement action initi16 ated by a Federal or State agency; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) the Administrator determines 

18 such a disclosure to be necessary for the 

19 purpose of conducting a financial audit of 

20 the SCORE program, in which case disclo21 sure shall be limited to the information 

22 necessary for the audit. 

23 ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATOR USE OF INFORMA24 TION.—This paragraph shall not— 


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1 ‘‘(i) restrict the access of the Adminis2 trator to SCORE program activity data; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) prevent the Administrator from 

4 using SCORE program client information 

5 to conduct client surveys. 

6 ‘‘(C) STANDARDS.— 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

8 shall, after the opportunity for notice and 

9 comment, establish standards for— 

10 ‘‘(I) disclosures with respect to 

11 financial audits under subparagraph 

12 (A)(ii); and 

13 ‘‘(II) conducting client surveys, 

14 including standards for oversight of 

15 the surveys and for dissemination and 

16 use of client information. 

17 ‘‘(ii) MAXIMUM PRIVACY PROTEC18 TION.—The standards issued under this 

19 subparagraph shall, to the extent prac20 ticable, provide for the maximum amount 

21 of privacy protection. 

22 ‘‘(9) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 

23 days after the date of the enactment of this sub24 section and annually thereafter, the Administrator 

25 shall submit to the Committee on Small Business 


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1 and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Com2 mittee on Small Business of the House of Rep3 resentatives a report on the performance and effec4 tiveness of the SCORE program, which may be in5 cluded as part of another report submitted to such 

6 Committees by the Administrator, and which shall 

7 include— 

8 ‘‘(A) the number of individuals counseled 

9 or trained under the SCORE program; 

10 ‘‘(B) the number of hours of counseling 

11 provided under the SCORE program; 

12 ‘‘(C) the number of local workshops; 

13 ‘‘(D) the number of clients attending on14 line and local workshops; 

15 ‘‘(E) the number of unique clients served; 

16 ‘‘(F) to the extent practicable, the demo17 graphics of SCORE program participants and 

18 volunteers, which shall include the gender, race, 

19 and age of each such participant or volunteer; 

20 ‘‘(G) the cost to create a job, the cost to 

21 create a business, and return on investment; 

22 ‘‘(H) the number of referrals to other re23 sources and programs of the Administration; 

24 ‘‘(I) the number of participants in the 

25 SCORE program receiving financial assistance, 


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1 including the type and dollar amount, under 

2 loan programs of the Administration; 

3 ‘‘(J) the results of SCORE program par4 ticipant satisfactory surveys, including a sum5 mary of any comments received from such par6 ticipants; 

7 ‘‘(K) the number of new businesses started 

8 up by SCORE program participants; 

9 ‘‘(L) the number of such new businesses 

10 realizing revenue growth; 

11 ‘‘(M) to the extent practicable, the number 

12 of jobs created with assistance from the 

13 SCORE program; 

14 ‘‘(N) the total cost of the SCORE pro15 gram; 

16 ‘‘(O) any recommendations of the Adminis17 trator to improve the SCORE program; and 

18 ‘‘(P) an explanation of how the SCORE 

19 program has been integrated with other re20 source partners and related resources of the 

21 Administration.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE 

2 SCORE PROGRAM. 

3 Section 20 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 

4 note) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

5 subsection: 

6 ‘‘(h) SCORE PROGRAM.—There are authorized to be 

7 appropriated to the Administrator to carry out the 

8 SCORE program authorized by section 8(b)(1) such sums 

9 as are necessary for the Administrator to make grants or 

10 enter into cooperative agreements in a total amount that 

11 does not exceed $11,700,000 in each of fiscal years 2020, 

12 2021, and 2022.’’. 

13 SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

14 (a) STUDY AND REPORT ON THE FUTURE ROLE OF

15 THE SCORE PROGRAM.— 

16 (1) STUDY.—The SCORE Association shall 

17 carry out a study on the future role of the SCORE 

18 program and develop a strategic plan for how the 

19 SCORE program will meet the needs of small busi20 ness concerns during the 5-year period beginning on 

21 the date of the enactment of this Act, with specific 

22 objectives for the first, third, and fifth years of the 

23 5-year period. 

24 (2) REPORT.—Not later than the end of the 6- 

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1 mit to the Committee on Small Business of the 

2 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

3 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate 

4 a report containing— 

5 (A) all findings and determination made in 

6 carrying out the study required under para7 graph (1); 

8 (B) the strategic plan developed under 

9 paragraph (1); and 

10 (C) an explanation of how the SCORE As11 sociation plans to achieve the strategic plan, as12 suming both stagnant and increased funding 

13 levels. 

14 (b) ADMINISTRATOR REPORT ON LEASED SPACE.— 

15 The Administrator of the Small Business Administration 

16 shall submit to the Committee on Small Business of the 

17 House of Representatives and the Committee on Small 

18 Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate a report 

19 containing an assessment of the cost of leased space that 

20 is donated to the SCORE Association. 

21 (c) ONLINE COMPONENT REPORT.—Before the last 

22 day of fiscal year 2020, the SCORE Association shall sub23 mit to the Committee on Small Business of the House of 

24 Representatives and the Committee on Small Business 

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1 tiveness of the online counseling and webinars required 

2 under paragraph (3) of section 8(c) of the Small Business 

3 Act, as added by section 2 of this Act, including a descrip4 tion of— 

5 (1) how the SCORE Association determines 

6 electronic mentoring and webinar needs, develops 

7 training for electronic mentoring, establishes 

8 webinar criteria curricula, and evaluates webinar 

9 and electronic mentoring results; 

10 (2) the internal controls that are used and a 

11 summary of the topics covered by the webinars; and 

12 (3) performance metrics, including the number 

13 of small business concerns counseled by, the number 

14 of small business concerns created by, the number of 

15 jobs created and retained by, and the funding 

16 amounts directed towards such online counseling 

17 and webinars. 

18 SEC. 5. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

19 (a) SMALL BUSINESS ACT.—The Small Business Act 

20 (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended— 

21 (1) in section 7 (15 U.S.C. 636)— 

22 (A) in subsection (b)(12)— 

23 (i) in the paragraph heading, by in24 serting ‘‘PROGRAM’’ after ‘‘SCORE’’; and 


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1 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

2 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and 

3 inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 

4 (B) in subsection (m)(3)(A)(i)(VIII), by 

5 striking ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 

7 (2) in section 22 (15 U.S.C. 649)— 

8 (A) in subsection (b)— 

9 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking 

10 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 

12 (ii) in paragraph (3), by striking 

13 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and 

14 inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 

15 (B) in subsection (c)(12), by striking 

16 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and in17 serting ‘‘SCORE program’’. 

18 (b) OTHER LAWS.— 

19 (1) SMALL BUSINESS REAUTHORIZATION ACT

20 OF 1997.—Section 707 of the Small Business Reau21 thorization Act of 1997 (15 U.S.C. 631 note) is 

22 amended by striking ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Ex23 ecutives (SCORE) program’’ and inserting ‘‘SCORE 

24 program (as defined in section 8(c)(1) of the Small 

25 Business Act)’’. 


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1 (2) VETERANS ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND

2 SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1999.—Sec3 tion 301 of the Veterans Entrepreneurship and 

4 Small Business Development Act of 1999 (15 U.S.C. 

5 657b note) is amended by striking ‘‘Service Core of 

6 Retired Executives’’ and inserting ‘‘SCORE pro7 gram’’. 

8 (3) MILITARY RESERVIST AND VETERAN SMALL

9 BUSINESS REAUTHORIZATION AND OPPORTUNITY

10 ACT OF 2008.—Section 3(5) of the Military Reservist 

11 and Veteran Small Business Reauthorization and 

12 Opportunity Act of 2008 (15 U.S.C. 636 note) is 

13 amended by striking ‘‘the Service Corps of Retired 

14 Executives’’ and inserting ‘‘the SCORE program’’. 

15 (4) CHILDREN’S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM

16 REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2009.—Section 621 of the 

17 Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthoriza18 tion Act of 2009 (15 U.S.C. 657p) is amended— 

19 (A) in subsection (a), by striking para20 graph (4) and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(4) the term ‘SCORE program’ means the 

22 SCORE program authorized by section 8(b)(1)(B) 

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

24 637(b)(1)(B));’’; and 


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1 (B) in subsection (b)(4)(A)(iv), by striking 

2 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and in3 serting ‘‘SCORE program’’. 

4 (5) ENERGY POLICY AND CONSERVATION

5 ACT.—Section 337(d)(2)(A) of the Energy Policy 

6 and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6307(d)(2)(A)) is 

7 amended by striking ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Ex8 ecutives (SCORE)’’ and inserting ‘‘SCORE pro9 gram’’. 

10 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

12 (1) ADMINISTRATION; ADMINISTRATOR.—The 

13 terms ‘‘Administration’’ and ‘‘Administrator’’ mean, 

14 respectively, the Small Business Administration and 

15 the Administrator thereof. 

16 (2) SCORE ASSOCIATION; SCORE PROGRAM.— 

17 The terms ‘‘SCORE Association’’ and ‘‘SCORE pro18 gram’’ have the meaning given those terms, respec19 tively, under section 8(c)(1) of the Small Business 

20 Act, as added by section 2 of this Act. 

Æ 


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