Union Calendar No. 206

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1497

[Report No. 106–365]

A BILL

To amend the Small Business Act with respect to

the women’s business center program.

OCTOBER 5, 1999

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union,

and ordered to be printed
IB

Union Calendar No. 206

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1497

[Report No. 106–365]

To amend the Small Business Act with respect to the women’s business

center program.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 20, 1999

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico (for himself, Mr. THUNE, Mr. PASCRELL, Mrs.

KELLY, Mr. HILLIARD, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. BRADY of

Pennsylvania, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. PHELPS, Mr. ENGLISH, Mr. DAVIS

of Illinois, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. MOORE, and Mr. WEINER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small

Business

OCTOBER 5, 1999

Additional sponsors: Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. FROST, Mr.

BORSKI, Mr. BALDACCI, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Ms.

NORTON, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mrs. NAPOLITANO,

Mr. ALLEN, Mrs. THURMAN, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Ms. KILPATRICK, Ms. BERKLEY, Ms. GRANGER, Mrs. MALONEY of New York,

Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut, Mr. POMEROY, Mr. CAPUANO, and Mr.

BARRETT of Wisconsin

OCTOBER 5, 1999

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
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[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 20, 1999]

A BILL

To amend the Small Business Act with respect to the

women’s business center program.

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 ‘‘Women’s Business Cen5 ters Sustainability Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. PRIVATE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.

7 Section 29 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656)

8 is amended—

9 (1) in subsection (a)—

10 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and

11 (3) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; and

12 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol13 lowing:

14 ‘‘(2) the term ‘private nonprofit organization’

15 means an entity described in section 501(c) of the In16 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 that is exempt from tax17 ation under section 501(a) of such Code;’’; and

18 (2) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘nonprofit’’

19 after ‘‘private’’.
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1 SEC. 3. INCREASED MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT AND REVIEW

2 OF WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTERS.

3 Section 29 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656)

4 is amended—

5 (1) by striking subsection (h) and inserting the

6 following:

7 ‘‘(h) PROGRAM EXAMINATION.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administration shall—

9 ‘‘(A) develop and implement procedures to

10 annually examine the programs and finances of

11 each women’s business center established pursu12 ant to this section, pursuant to which each such

13 center shall provide to the Administration—

14 ‘‘(i) an itemized cost breakdown of ac15 tual expenditures for costs incurred during

16 the preceding year; and

17 ‘‘(ii) documentation regarding the

18 amount of matching assistance from non19 Federal sources obtained and expended by

20 the center during the preceding year in

21 order to meet the requirements of subsection

22 (c) and, with respect to any in-kind con23 tributions described in subsection (c)(2) that

24 were used to satisfy the requirements of sub25 section (c), verification of the existence and

26 valuation of those contributions; and
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1 ‘‘(B) analyze the results of each such exam2 ination and, based on that analysis, make a de3 termination regarding the viability of the pro4 grams and finances of each women’s business

5 center.

6 ‘‘(2) EXTENSION OF CONTRACTS.—In deter7 mining whether to extend or renew a contract with a

8 women’s business center, the Administration—

9 ‘‘(A) shall consider the results of the most

10 recent examination of the center under para11 graph (1); and

12 ‘‘(B) may withhold such extension or re13 newal, if the Administration determines that—

14 ‘‘(i) the center has failed to provide

15 any information required to be provided

16 under clause (i) or (ii) of paragraph (1)(A),

17 or the information provided by the center is

18 inadequate; or

19 ‘‘(ii) the center has failed to provide

20 any information required to be provided by

21 the center for purposes of the report of the

22 Administration under subsection (j), or the

23 information provided by the center is inad24 equate.’’; and
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1 (2) by striking subsection (j) and inserting the

2 following:

3 ‘‘(j) MANAGEMENT REPORT.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administration shall

5 prepare and submit to the Committees on Small

6 Business of the House of Representatives and the Sen7 ate a report on the effectiveness of all projects con8 ducted under this section.

9 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under

10 paragraph (1) shall include information concerning,

11 with respect to each women’s business center estab12 lished pursuant to this section—

13 ‘‘(A) the number of individuals receiving

14 assistance;

15 ‘‘(B) the number of startup business con16 cerns formed;

17 ‘‘(C) the gross receipts of assisted concerns;

18 ‘‘(D) the employment increases or decreases

19 of assisted concerns;

20 ‘‘(E) to the maximum extent practicable,

21 increases or decreases in profits of assisted con22 cerns;

23 ‘‘(F) documentation detailing the most re24 cent analysis undertaken under subsection

25 (h)(1)(B) and the determinations made by the
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1 Administration with respect to that analysis;

2 and

3 ‘‘(G) demographic data regarding the staff

4 of the center.’’.

5 SEC. 4. WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTER SUSTAINABILITY

6 PILOT PROGRAM.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 29 of the Small Business

8 Act (15 U.S.C. 656) is amended by adding at the end the

9 following:

10 ‘‘(l) SUSTAINABILITY PILOT PROGRAM.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established a 4-year

12 pilot program under which the Administration is au13 thorized to make grants (referred to in this section as

14 ‘sustainability grants’) on a competitive basis for an

15 additional 5-year project under this section to any

16 private nonprofit organization (or a division there17 of)—

18 ‘‘(A) that has received financial assistance

19 under this section pursuant to a grant, contract,

20 or cooperative agreement; and

21 ‘‘(B) that—

22 ‘‘(i) is in the final year of a 5-year

23 project; or

24 ‘‘(ii) to the extent that amounts are

25 available for such purpose under subsection
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1 (k)(4)(B), has completed a project financed

2 under this section (or any predecessor to

3 this section) and continues to provide as4 sistance to women entrepreneurs.

5 ‘‘(2) CONDITIONS FOR PARTICIPATION.—In order

6 to receive a sustainability grant, an organization de7 scribed in paragraph (1) shall submit to the Adminis8 tration an application, which shall include—

9 ‘‘(A) a certification that the applicant—

10 ‘‘(i) is a private nonprofit organiza11 tion;

12 ‘‘(ii) employs a full-time executive di13 rector or program manager to manage the

14 women’s business center for which a grant

15 is sought; and

16 ‘‘(iii) as a condition of receiving a sus17 tainability grant, agrees—

18 ‘‘(I) to an annual examination by

19 the Administration of the center’s pro20 grams and finances; and

21 ‘‘(II) to the maximum extent

22 practicable, to remedy any problems

23 identified pursuant to that examina24 tion;
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1 ‘‘(B) information demonstrating that the

2 applicant has the ability and resources to meet

3 the needs of the market to be served by the wom4 en’s business center site for which a sustain5 ability grant is sought, including the ability to

6 raise financial resources;

7 ‘‘(C) information relating to assistance pro8 vided by the women’s business center site for

9 which a sustainability grant is sought in the

10 area in which the site is located, including—

11 ‘‘(i) the number of individuals assisted;

12 ‘‘(ii) the number of hours of counseling,

13 training, and workshops provided; and

14 ‘‘(iii) the number of startup business

15 concerns formed;

16 ‘‘(D) information demonstrating the effec17 tive experience of the applicant in—

18 ‘‘(i) conducting financial, manage19 ment, and marketing assistance programs,

20 as described in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3)

21 of subsection (b), designed to impart or up22 grade the business skills of women business

23 owners or potential owners;

24 ‘‘(ii) providing training and services

25 to a representative number of women who
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1 are both socially and economically dis2 advantaged;

3 ‘‘(iii) using resource partners of the

4 Administration and other entities, such as

5 universities;

6 ‘‘(iv) complying with the cooperative

7 agreement of the applicant; and

8 ‘‘(v) prudently managing finances and

9 staffing, including the manner in which the

10 performance of the applicant compared to

11 the business plan of the applicant and the

12 manner in which grants made under sub13 section (b) were used by the applicant; and

14 ‘‘(E) a 5-year plan that demonstrates the

15 ability of the women’s business center site for

16 which a sustainability grant is sought—

17 ‘‘(i) to serve women business owners or

18 potential owners in the future by improving

19 fundraising and training activities; and

20 ‘‘(ii) to provide training and services

21 to a representative number of women who

22 are both socially and economically dis23 advantaged.

24 ‘‘(3) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administration

2 shall—

3 ‘‘(i) review each application submitted

4 under paragraph (2) based on the informa5 tion provided under subparagraphs (D) and

6 (E) of that paragraph, and the criteria set

7 forth in subsection (f); and

8 ‘‘(ii) approve or disapprove applica9 tions for sustainability grants simulta10 neously with applications for grants under

11 subsection (b).

12 ‘‘(B) DATA COLLECTION.—Consistent with

13 the annual report to Congress under subsection

14 (j), each women’s business center site that re15 ceives a sustainability grant shall, to the max16 imum extent practicable, collect the information

17 relating to—

18 ‘‘(i) the number of individuals assisted;

19 ‘‘(ii) the number of hours of counseling

20 and training provided and workshops con21 ducted;

22 ‘‘(iii) the number of startup business

23 concerns formed;

24 ‘‘(iv) any available gross receipts of as25 sisted concerns; and
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1 ‘‘(v) the number of jobs created, main2 tained, or lost at assisted concerns.

3 ‘‘(C) RECORD RETENTION.—The Adminis4 tration shall maintain a copy of each applica5 tion submitted under this subsection for not less

6 than 10 years.

7 ‘‘(4) NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBUTION.—

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any

9 other provision of this section, as a condition of

10 receiving a sustainability grant, an organization

11 described in paragraph (1) shall agree to obtain,

12 after its application has been approved under

13 paragraph (3) and notice of award has been

14 issued, cash and in-kind contributions from non15 Federal sources for each year of additional pro16 gram participation in an amount equal to 1

17 non-Federal dollar for each Federal dollar.

18 ‘‘(B) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—Not more

19 than 50 percent of the non-Federal assistance ob20 tained for purposes of subparagraph (A) may be

21 in the form of in-kind contributions that exist

22 only as budget line items, including such con23 tributions of office equipment and office space.

24 ‘‘(5) TIMING OF REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS.—In

25 carrying out this subsection, the Administration shall
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1 issue requests for proposals for women’s business cen2 ters applying for the pilot program under this sub3 section simultaneously with requests for proposals for

4 grants under subsection (b).’’.

5 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section

6 29(k) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656(k)) is

7 amended—

8 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the

9 following:

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be ap11 propriated, to remain available until the expiration

12 of the pilot program under subsection (l)—

13 ‘‘(A) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2000;

14 ‘‘(B) $12,800,000 for fiscal year 2001;

15 ‘‘(C) $13,700,000 for fiscal year 2002; and

16 ‘‘(D) $14,500,000 for fiscal year 2003.’’;

17 (2) in paragraph (2)—

18 (A) by striking ‘‘Amounts made’’ and in19 serting the following:

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

21 subparagraph (B), amounts made’’; and

22 (B) by adding at the end the following:

23 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Of the total amount

24 made available under this subsection for a fiscal

25 year, the following amounts shall be available for
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1 costs incurred in connection with the selection of

2 applicants for assistance under this subsection

3 and with monitoring and oversight of the pro4 gram authorized under this subsection:

5 ‘‘(i) For fiscal year 2000, 2 percent of

6 such total amount.

7 ‘‘(ii) For fiscal year 2001, 1.9 percent

8 of such total amount.

9 ‘‘(iii) For fiscal year 2002, 1.9 percent

10 of such total amount.

11 ‘‘(iv) For fiscal year 2003, 1.6 percent

12 of such total amount.’’; and

13 (3) by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘(4) RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR SUSTAIN15 ABILITY PILOT PROGRAM.—

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the total amount

17 made available under this subsection for a fiscal

18 year, the following amounts shall be reserved for

19 sustainability grants under subsection (l):

20 ‘‘(i) For fiscal year 2000, 17 percent of

21 such total amount.

22 ‘‘(ii) For fiscal year 2001, 18.8 percent

23 of such total amount.

24 ‘‘(iii) For fiscal year 2002, 30.2 per25 cent of such total amount.
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1 ‘‘(iv) For fiscal year 2003, 30.2 percent

2 of such total amount.

3 ‘‘(B) USE OF UNAWARDED RESERVE

4 FUNDS.—

5 ‘‘(i) SUSTAINABILITY GRANTS TO

6 OTHER CENTERS.—Of amounts reserved

7 under subparagraph (A), the Administra8 tion shall use any funds that remain avail9 able after making grants in accordance with

10 subsection (l) to make grants under such

11 subsection to women’s business center sites

12 that have completed a project financed

13 under this section (or any predecessor to

14 this section) and that continue to provide

15 assistance to women entrepreneurs.

16 ‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL GRANTS.—The Ad17 ministration shall use any funds described

18 in clause (i) that remain available after

19 making grants under such clause to make

20 grants to additional women’s business cen21 ter sites, or to increase the grants to exist22 ing women’s business center sites, under

23 subsection (b).’’.

24 (c) GUIDELINES.—Not later than 30 days after the

25 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the
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1 Small Business Administration shall issue guidelines to im2 plement the amendments made by this section.

3 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

4 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall

5 take effect on October 1, 1999.