IB 

Union Calendar No. 192 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4407 

[Report No. 116–241] 

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 

OCTOBER 17, 2019 

Additional sponsors: Mr. HAGEDORN, Mr. EVANS, and Ms. HOULAHAN

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 amend the Small Business Act to reauthorize the SCORE 

program, and for other purposes. 


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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. 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)— 

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

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

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

14 and 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘SCORE may’’ and insert16 ing ‘‘the SCORE Association (as defined in 

17 subsection (c)) may’’; and 

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

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(c) SCORE PROGRAM.— 

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

22 ‘‘(A) SCORE ASSOCIATION.—The term 

23 ‘SCORE Association’ means the Service Corps 

24 of Retired Executives Association or any suc25 cessor or other organization that enters into a 


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1 cooperative agreement (as described under 

2 paragraph (2)) with the Administrator to oper3 ate the SCORE program. 

4 ‘‘(B) SCORE FOUNDATION.—The term 

5 ‘SCORE Foundation’ means an organization 

6 with a mission to support the SCORE Associa7 tion and volunteers of the SCORE program. 

8 ‘‘(C) SCORE PROGRAM.—The term 

9 ‘SCORE program’ means the SCORE program 

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

11 ‘‘(2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—The Admin12 istrator shall enter into a cooperative agreement 

13 with the SCORE Association to carry out the 

14 SCORE program, which shall include the following 

15 requirements: 

16 ‘‘(A) ADMINISTRATOR DUTIES.—The Ad17 ministrator shall— 

18 ‘‘(i) conduct an annual financial ex19 amination of the SCORE Association to 

20 ensure that any costs paid for with Federal 

21 funds are allowable, allocable, and reason22 able; 

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

24 SCORE Association to provide goods or 

25 services for the SCORE program of a 


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1 value greater than an amount determined 

2 by the Administrator, review and approve 

3 such contracts; 

4 ‘‘(iii) establish a system through 

5 which the SCORE Association can provide 

6 documentation relating to such contracts; 

7 and 

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

9 a quarterly report on the achievements of 

10 the SCORE program submitted by the 

11 SCORE Association, reconcile and dif12 ferences between such report and the per13 formance results of the SCORE program 

14 reported in a management information sys15 tem of the Office of Entrepreneurial Devel16 opment. 

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

18 SCORE Association shall— 

19 ‘‘(i) manage nationwide chapters of 

20 the SCORE program; 

21 ‘‘(ii) develop guidance and provide an22 nual training to employees of the SCORE 

23 Association on generating and using pro24 gram income from the SCORE program; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) submit documentation to the 

2 Administrator verifying such annual train3 ing is completed; 

4 ‘‘(iv) separate funds donated to the 

5 SCORE Association from program income 

6 and funds received pursuant to a coopera7 tive agreement; and 

8 ‘‘(v) establish requirements for volun9 teers participating in the SCORE program, 

10 including requirements that each such vol11 unteer shall— 

12 ‘‘(I) based on the business expe13 rience and knowledge of the volun14 teer— 

15 ‘‘(aa) provide personal coun16 seling, mentoring, and coaching 

17 on the process of starting, ex18 panding, managing, buying, and 

19 selling a business at no cost to 

20 individuals who own, or aspire to 

21 own, small business concerns; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(bb) facilitate free or low24 cost education workshops for in25 dividuals who own, or aspire to 


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1 own, small business concerns; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(II) as appropriate, use tools, 

4 resources, and expertise of other orga5 nizations to carry out the SCORE 

6 program. 

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

8 in consultation with the SCORE Association, 

9 shall ensure that the SCORE program and each 

10 chapter of the SCORE program— 

11 ‘‘(i) develop and implement plans and 

12 goals to more effectively and efficiently 

13 provide services to individuals in rural 

14 areas, economically disadvantaged commu15 nities, or other traditionally underserved 

16 communities, including plans for electronic 

17 initiatives, web-based initiatives, chapter 

18 expansion, partnerships, and the develop19 ment of new skills by volunteers partici20 pating in the SCORE program; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) reinforce an inclusive culture by 

22 recruiting diverse volunteers for the chap23 ters of the SCORE program. 

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

25 this subsection, the SCORE Association shall make 


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1 use of online counseling, including by developing and 

2 implementing webinars and an electronic mentoring 

3 platform to expand access to services provided under 

4 this subsection and to further support entre5 preneurs. 

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

7 after the date of the enactment of this subsection, 

8 the SCORE Association shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) centralize all accounting and finance 

10 systems of each chapter of the SCORE pro11 gram and develop a uniform policy and proce12 dures to manage Federal funds; and 

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

14 Association to serve as a compliance officer to 

15 ensure expenditures of the SCORE program are 

16 fully compliant with any law, regulation, or co17 operative agreement relating to the SCORE 

18 program. 

19 ‘‘(5) COMPENSATION.— 

20 ‘‘(A) SALARIES.—The salary of an em21 ployee of the SCORE Association may not ex22 ceed the equivalent of the maximum rate of pay 

23 allowable for an individual in the career Senior 

24 Executive Service employed at the Small Busi25 ness Administration. 


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1 ‘‘(B) PERFORMANCE AWARDS.—The 

2 SCORE Association may spend up to 1.5 per3 cent of the aggregate salaries of employees of 

4 the SCORE Association on individual perform5 ance awards to employees of the SCORE Asso6 ciation, to be disbursed before the last day of 

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

8 disbursement the SCORE Association submits 

9 to the Administrator a report on the number 

10 and amount of such awards to be disbursed. 

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

12 the Board of Directors of the SCORE Associa13 tion or an employee of the SCORE Association 

14 may not simultaneously serve on the Board of 

15 Directors of, or receive compensation from, the 

16 SCORE Foundation without written approval 

17 from the Administrator. 

18 ‘‘(6) WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION REQUIRE19 MENTS.—The SCORE Association shall— 

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

21 documents applicable to employees and volun22 teers of the SCORE Association or the SCORE 

23 program to include requirements relating to re24 porting procedures and protectors for whistle25 blowers; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) conduct an annual training for em2 ployees and volunteers of the SCORE Associa3 tion or the SCORE program on the require4 ments described in paragraph (1) and empha5 size the use of the hotline established by the Of6 fice of the Inspector General of the Small Busi7 ness Administration to submit whistleblower re8 ports. 

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

10 Association shall ensure all published materials in11 clude written acknowledgment of Small Business Ad12 ministration support of the SCORE program if such 

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

14 funds. 

15 ‘‘(8) PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Neither the Adminis17 trator nor the SCORE Association may disclose 

18 the name, address, or telephone number of any 

19 individual or small business concern receiving 

20 assistance from the SCORE Association with21 out the consent of such individual or small busi22 ness concern, unless— 

23 ‘‘(i) the Administrator is ordered to 

24 make such a disclosure by a court in any 


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1 civil or criminal enforcement action initi2 ated by a Federal or State agency; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) the Administrator determines 

4 such a disclosure to be necessary for the 

5 purpose of conducting a financial audit of 

6 the SCORE program, in which case disclo7 sure shall be limited to the information 

8 necessary for the audit. 

9 ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATOR USE OF INFORMA10 TION.—This paragraph shall not— 

11 ‘‘(i) restrict the access of the Adminis12 trator to SCORE program activity data; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) prevent the Administrator from 

14 using SCORE program client information 

15 to conduct client surveys. 

16 ‘‘(C) STANDARDS.— 

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

18 shall, after the opportunity for notice and 

19 comment, establish standards for— 

20 ‘‘(I) disclosures with respect to 

21 financial audits under subparagraph 

22 (A)(ii); and 

23 ‘‘(II) conducting client surveys, 

24 including standards for oversight of 


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1 the surveys and for dissemination and 

2 use of client information. 

3 ‘‘(ii) MAXIMUM PRIVACY PROTEC4 TION.—The standards issued under this 

5 subparagraph shall, to the extent prac6 ticable, provide for the maximum amount 

7 of privacy protection. 

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

9 days after the date of the enactment of this sub10 section and annually thereafter, the Administrator 

11 shall submit to the Committee on Small Business 

12 and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Com13 mittee on Small Business of the House of Rep14 resentatives a report on the performance and effec15 tiveness of the SCORE program, which may be in16 cluded as part of another report submitted to such 

17 Committees by the Administrator, and which shall 

18 include— 

19 ‘‘(A) the number of individuals counseled 

20 or trained under the SCORE program; 

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

22 provided under the SCORE program; 

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

24 ‘‘(D) the number of clients attending on25 line and local workshops; 


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

2 ‘‘(F) to the extent practicable, the demo3 graphics of SCORE program participants and 

4 volunteers, which shall include the gender, race, 

5 and age of each such participant or volunteer; 

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

7 create a business, and return on investment; 

8 ‘‘(H) the number of referrals to other re9 sources and programs of the Administration; 

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

11 SCORE program receiving financial assistance, 

12 including the type and dollar amount, under 

13 loan programs of the Administration; 

14 ‘‘(J) the results of SCORE program par15 ticipant satisfactory surveys, including a sum16 mary of any comments received from such par17 ticipants; 

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

19 up by SCORE program participants; 

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

21 realizing revenue growth; 

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

23 of jobs created with assistance from the 

24 SCORE program; 


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1 ‘‘(N) the total cost of the SCORE pro2 gram; 

3 ‘‘(O) any recommendations of the Adminis4 trator to improve the SCORE program; and 

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

6 program has been integrated with other re7 source partners and related resources of the 

8 Administration.’’. 

9 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE 

10 SCORE PROGRAM. 

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

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

13 subsection: 

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

15 appropriated to the Administrator to carry out the 

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

17 as are necessary for the Administrator to make grants or 

18 enter into cooperative agreements in a total amount that 

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

20 2021, and 2022.’’. 

21 SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

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

23 THE SCORE PROGRAM.— 

24 (1) STUDY.—The SCORE Association shall 

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


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1 program and develop a strategic plan for how the 

2 SCORE program will meet the needs of small busi3 ness concerns during the 5-year period beginning on 

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

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

6 5-year period. 

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

8 month period beginning on the date of the enact9 ment of this Act, the SCORE Association shall sub10 mit to the Committee on Small Business of the 

11 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

12 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate 

13 a report containing— 

14 (A) all findings and determination made in 

15 carrying out the study required under para16 graph (1); 

17 (B) the strategic plan developed under 

18 paragraph (1); and 

19 (C) an explanation of how the SCORE As20 sociation plans to achieve the strategic plan, as21 suming both stagnant and increased funding 

22 levels. 

23 (b) ADMINISTRATOR REPORT ON LEASED SPACE.— 

24 The Administrator of the Small Business Administration 

25 shall submit to the Committee on Small Business of the 


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1 House of Representatives and the Committee on Small 

2 Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate a report 

3 containing an assessment of the cost of leased space that 

4 is donated to the SCORE Association. 

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

6 day of fiscal year 2020, the SCORE Association shall sub7 mit to the Committee on Small Business of the House of 

8 Representatives and the Committee on Small Business 

9 and Entrepreneurship of the Senate a report on the effec10 tiveness of the online counseling and webinars required 

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

12 Act, as added by section 2 of this Act, including a descrip13 tion of— 

14 (1) how the SCORE Association determines 

15 electronic mentoring and webinar needs, develops 

16 training for electronic mentoring, establishes 

17 webinar criteria curricula, and evaluates webinar 

18 and electronic mentoring results; 

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

20 summary of the topics covered by the webinars; and 

21 (3) performance metrics, including the number 

22 of small business concerns counseled by, the number 

23 of small business concerns created by, the number of 

24 jobs created and retained by, and the funding 


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1 amounts directed towards such online counseling 

2 and webinars. 

3 SEC. 5. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

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

5 (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended— 

6 (1) in section 7 (15 U.S.C. 636)— 

7 (A) in subsection (b)(12)— 

8 (i) in the paragraph heading, by in9 serting ‘‘PROGRAM’’ after ‘‘SCORE’’; and 

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

11 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and 

12 inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 

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

14 striking ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 

16 (2) in section 22 (15 U.S.C. 649)— 

17 (A) in subsection (b)— 

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

19 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 

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

22 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 


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

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

4 (b) OTHER LAWS.— 

5 (1) SMALL BUSINESS REAUTHORIZATION ACT

6 OF 1997.—Section 707 of the Small Business Reau7 thorization Act of 1997 (15 U.S.C. 631 note) is 

8 amended by striking ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Ex9 ecutives (SCORE) program’’ and inserting ‘‘SCORE 

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

11 Business Act)’’. 

12 (2) VETERANS ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND

13 SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1999.—Sec14 tion 301 of the Veterans Entrepreneurship and 

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

16 657b note) is amended by striking ‘‘Service Core of 

17 Retired Executives’’ and inserting ‘‘SCORE pro18 gram’’. 

19 (3) MILITARY RESERVIST AND VETERAN SMALL

20 BUSINESS REAUTHORIZATION AND OPPORTUNITY

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

22 and Veteran Small Business Reauthorization and 

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

24 amended by striking ‘‘the Service Corps of Retired 

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


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1 (4) CHILDREN’S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM

2 REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2009.—Section 621 of the 

3 Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthoriza4 tion Act of 2009 (15 U.S.C. 657p) is amended— 

5 (A) in subsection (a), by striking para6 graph (4) and inserting the following: 

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

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

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

10 637(b)(1)(B));’’; and 

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

12 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and in13 serting ‘‘SCORE program’’. 

14 (5) ENERGY POLICY AND CONSERVATION

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

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

17 amended by striking ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Ex18 ecutives (SCORE)’’ and inserting ‘‘SCORE pro19 gram’’. 

20 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this Act: 

22 (1) ADMINISTRATION; ADMINISTRATOR.—The 

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

24 respectively, the Small Business Administration and 

25 the Administrator thereof. 


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1 (2) SCORE ASSOCIATION; SCORE PROGRAM.— 

2 The terms ‘‘SCORE Association’’ and ‘‘SCORE pro3 gram’’ have the meaning given those terms, respec4 tively, under section 8(c)(1) of the Small Business 

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


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Union Calendar No. 192 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4407 

[Report No. 116–241] 

A BILL 

To amend the Small Business Act to reauthorize 

the SCORE program, and for other purposes. 

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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