II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1998 

To improve the programs for veterans of the Small Business Administration, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 26, 2019 

Mr. GARDNER (for himself and Mr. KAINE) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business 

and Entrepreneurship 

A BILL 

To improve the programs for veterans of the Small Business 

Administration, 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 Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Small Busi5 ness Ownership Improvements Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHING THE VETERAN’S BUSINESS OUT7 REACH CENTER PROGRAM. 

8 Section 32 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

9 657b) is amended— 

10 (1) by striking subsections (d) and (f); 


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1 (2) by redesignating subsections (e) and (g) as 

2 subsections (j) and (k), respectively; and 

3 (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(d) VETERAN’S BUSINESS OUTREACH CENTER

6 PROGRAM.— 

7 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

8 ‘‘(A) the term ‘covered individual’ means— 

9 ‘‘(i) a member of the Armed Forces, 

10 without regard to whether the member is 

11 participating in the Transition Assistance 

12 Program of the Department of Defense; 

13 ‘‘(ii) an individual who is participating 

14 in the Transition Assistance Program of 

15 the Department of Defense; 

16 ‘‘(iii) an individual who— 

17 ‘‘(I) served on active duty in any 

18 branch of the Armed Forces, includ19 ing the National Guard and Reserves; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(II) was discharged or released 

22 from such service under conditions 

23 other than dishonorable; and 

24 ‘‘(iv) a spouse or dependent of an in25 dividual described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii); 


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1 ‘‘(B) the term ‘private nonprofit organiza2 tion’ means an entity that is described in sec3 tion 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

4 1986 and exempt from taxation under section 

5 501(a) of such Code; and 

6 ‘‘(C) the term ‘veteran’s business outreach 

7 center site’ means the location of— 

8 ‘‘(i) a veteran’s business outreach cen9 ter; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) 1 or more veteran’s business out11 reach center, established in conjunction 

12 with another veteran’s business outreach 

13 center in another location within a State or 

14 region— 

15 ‘‘(I) that reach a distinct popu16 lation that would otherwise not be 

17 served; 

18 ‘‘(II) whose services are targeted 

19 to veterans; and 

20 ‘‘(III) whose scope, function, and 

21 activities are similar to those of the 

22 primary veteran’s business outreach 

23 center or centers in conjunction with 

24 which it was established. 

25 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY; SERVICES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administration 

2 may provide grants to, or enter into contracts 

3 or cooperatives with, private nonprofit organiza4 tions to establish and operate veteran’s business 

5 outreach centers for the benefit of covered indi6 viduals and small business concerns owned and 

7 controlled by veterans. 

8 ‘‘(B) SERVICES PROVIDED.—Each vet9 eran’s business outreach center established 

10 under this subsection shall carry out projects 

11 providing— 

12 ‘‘(i) 1-to-1 individual counseling to 

13 small businesses, including— 

14 ‘‘(I) financial assistance; 

15 ‘‘(II) management assistance; 

16 ‘‘(III) marketing assistance; 

17 ‘‘(IV) transition assistance; 

18 ‘‘(V) Federal-contracting assist19 ance; and 

20 ‘‘(VI) export assistance; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) small business training and coun22 seling through online and in-person work23 shops and seminars, including— 

24 ‘‘(I) financial assistance; 

25 ‘‘(II) management assistance; 


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1 ‘‘(III) marketing assistance; 

2 ‘‘(IV) transition assistance, in3 cluding the Boots to Business pro4 gram established under subsection (e); 

5 ‘‘(V) Federal-contracting assist6 ance; and 

7 ‘‘(VI) export assistance. 

8 ‘‘(3) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A veteran’s business 

10 outreach center may enter into a contract with 

11 a Federal department or agency to provide spe12 cific assistance to veterans and other under13 served small business concerns. 

14 ‘‘(B) PERFORMANCE.—Performance of a 

15 contract described in subparagraph (A) should 

16 not hinder a veteran’s business outreach center 

17 in carrying out the terms of the grant received 

18 by the veteran’s business outreach center from 

19 the Administration. 

20 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION AND APPROVAL CRITERIA.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A private nonprofit 

22 organization desiring a grant under this sub23 section shall submit an application to the Ad24 ministrator at such time, in such manner, and 


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1 containing such information as the Adminis2 trator may require. 

3 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—The Administration 

4 shall— 

5 ‘‘(i) subject to clause (ii), develop and 

6 publish criteria for the consideration and 

7 approval of applications submitted by pri8 vate nonprofit organizations under this 

9 subsection; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) evaluate and rank applicants in 

11 accordance with predetermined selection 

12 criteria that shall be stated in terms of rel13 ative importance, which— 

14 ‘‘(I) shall be made publicly avail15 able and stated in each solicitation for 

16 applications made by the Administra17 tion; and 

18 ‘‘(II) shall include— 

19 ‘‘(aa) the experience of the 

20 applicant in conducting programs 

21 or ongoing efforts designed to 

22 impart or upgrade the business 

23 skills of veteran business owners 

24 or potential owners; 


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1 ‘‘(bb) the present ability of 

2 the applicant to commence a 

3 project within a minimum 

4 amount of time; and 

5 ‘‘(cc) the location for the 

6 veteran’s business center site 

7 proposed by the applicant. 

8 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION FOR RENEWAL OF

9 GRANT.—A private nonprofit organization that 

10 receives a grant under this subsection may sub11 mit an application for a renewal of the grant at 

12 such time, in such manner, and containing such 

13 information as the Administrator may require. 

14 ‘‘(D) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 60 

15 days after the date of the deadline to submit 

16 applications for each fiscal year, the Adminis17 trator shall approve or deny any application 

18 submitted under this subsection and notify the 

19 applicant for each such application. 

20 ‘‘(5) AWARD OF GRANTS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the avail22 ability of appropriations, the Administrator 

23 shall make a grant for the Federal share of the 

24 cost of activities described in the application to 

25 each applicant approved under this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—A grant under this sub2 section shall be for not less than $225,000 and 

3 not more than $375,000. 

4 ‘‘(C) DURATION.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A grant under 

6 this subsection shall be for a period of 1 

7 year. 

8 ‘‘(ii) RENEWAL.—A grant under this 

9 subsection may be renewed for not more 

10 than 4 additional 1-year periods. 

11 ‘‘(D) PRIORITY.—In allocating funds made 

12 available for grants under this subsection, the 

13 Administrator shall give priority to applicants 

14 for a renewal of a grant over new applicants. 

15 ‘‘(6) PROGRAM EXAMINATION.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administration 

17 shall— 

18 ‘‘(i) develop and implement an annual 

19 programmatic and financial examination of 

20 each veteran’s business outreach center es21 tablished pursuant to this subsection, pur22 suant to which each veteran’s business out23 reach center shall provide to the Adminis24 tration— 


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1 ‘‘(I) an itemized cost breakdown 

2 of actual expenditures for costs in3 curred during the preceding year, 

4 breaking out Boots to Business costs 

5 from all other programmatic costs; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(II) a programmatic breakdown 

8 of veteran’s business outreach center 

9 curriculum, program offerings, and 

10 outcomes; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) analyze the results of each exam12 ination described in clause (i) and, based 

13 on that analysis, make a determination re14 garding the programmatic and financial vi15 ability of each veteran’s business outreach 

16 center. 

17 ‘‘(B) CONDITIONS FOR CONTINUED FUND18 ING.—In determining whether to renew a con19 tract (either as a grant or cooperative agree20 ment) under this subsection with a veteran’s 

21 business outreach center, the Administrator— 

22 ‘‘(i) shall consider the results of the 

23 most recent examination of the veteran’s 

24 business outreach center under subpara25 graph (A); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) may withhold such award or re2 newal, if the Administration determines 

3 that— 

4 ‘‘(I) the veteran’s business out5 reach center has failed to provide any 

6 information required to be provided 

7 under subclause (I) or (II) of sub8 paragraph (A)(i), or the information 

9 provided by the center is inadequate; 

10 or 

11 ‘‘(II) the veteran’s business out12 reach center has failed to provide any 

13 information required to be provided by 

14 the center for purposes of the report 

15 of the Administration under sub16 section (i)(1), or the information pro17 vided by the center is inadequate. 

18 ‘‘(7) EXPEDITED ACQUISITION.—Notwith19 standing any other provision of law, the Adminis20 trator, acting through the Associate Administrator, 

21 may use such expedited acquisition methods as the 

22 Administrator determines to be appropriate to carry 

23 out this subsection, except that the Administrator 

24 shall ensure that all small business sources are pro25 vided a reasonable opportunity to submit proposals. 


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1 ‘‘(8) PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A veteran’s business 

3 outreach center may not disclose the name, ad4 dress, or telephone number of any individual or 

5 small business concern receiving assistance 

6 under this subsection without the consent of the 

7 individual or small business concern, unless— 

8 ‘‘(i) the Administrator is ordered to 

9 make such a disclosure by a court in any 

10 civil or criminal enforcement action initi11 ated by a Federal or State agency; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) the Administrator considers such 

13 a disclosure to be necessary for the pur14 pose of conducting a financial audit of a 

15 veteran’s business outreach center, but a 

16 disclosure under this clause shall be limited 

17 to the information necessary for such 

18 audit. 

19 ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATION USE OF INFORMA20 TION.—This subsection shall not— 

21 ‘‘(i) restrict Administration access to 

22 program activity data; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) prevent the Administration from 

24 using client information, other than the inVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:35 Jul 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1998.IS S1998

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1 formation described in clause (i), to con2 duct client surveys. 

3 ‘‘(C) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator 

4 shall issue regulations to establish standards for 

5 requiring disclosures during a financial audit 

6 under subparagraph (A)(ii). 

7 ‘‘(9) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to 

9 be appropriated to carry out this subsection— 

10 ‘‘(i) $13,500,000 for fiscal year 2020; 

11 ‘‘(ii) $14,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; 

12 ‘‘(iii) $14,500,000 for fiscal year 

13 2022; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 

15 2023. 

16 ‘‘(B) USE OF AMOUNTS.—Amounts made 

17 available under this paragraph for fiscal year 

18 2020 and each fiscal year thereafter— 

19 ‘‘(i) may only be used for grant 

20 awards; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) may not be used for costs in22 curred by the Administration in connection 

23 with the management and administration 

24 of the program under this subsection.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. VETERANS’ BUSINESS PROGRAMS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 32 of the Small Business 

3 Act (15 U.S.C. 657b), as amended by section 2, is amend4 ed by inserting after subsection (d) the following: 

5 ‘‘(e) BOOTS TO BUSINESS PROGRAM.— 

6 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

7 ‘‘(A) the term ‘covered individual’ means— 

8 ‘‘(i) a member of the Armed Forces, 

9 without regard to whether the member is 

10 participating in the Transition Assistance 

11 Program of the Department of Defense; 

12 ‘‘(ii) an individual who is participating 

13 in the Transition Assistance Program of 

14 the Department of Defense; 

15 ‘‘(iii) an individual who— 

16 ‘‘(I) served on active duty in any 

17 branch of the Armed Forces, includ18 ing the National Guard and Reserves; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(II) was discharged or released 

21 from such service under conditions 

22 other than dishonorable; and 

23 ‘‘(iv) a spouse or dependent of an in24 dividual described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii); 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the term ‘Vet Center’ means a center 

2 for readjustment counseling and related mental 

3 health services for veterans under section 

4 1712A of title 38, United States Code. 

5 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a 

6 program to be known as the Boots to Business Pro7 gram to provide entrepreneurship training to covered 

8 individuals, which shall be carried out by the Admin9 istrator. 

10 ‘‘(3) GOALS.—The goals of the Boots to Busi11 ness Program are to— 

12 ‘‘(A) provide exposure, introduction, and 

13 in-depth training for covered individuals inter14 ested in business ownership; and 

15 ‘‘(B) provide covered individuals with the 

16 tools and knowledge necessary to identify a 

17 business opportunity, draft a business plan, 

18 identify sources of capital, connect with local 

19 small business resources, and launch a small 

20 business concern. 

21 ‘‘(4) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Boots to Busi23 ness Program may include— 

24 ‘‘(i) a brief presentation providing ex25 posure to the considerations involved in 


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1 self-employment and small business owner2 ship; 

3 ‘‘(ii) an online, self-study course fo4 cused on the basic skills of entrepreneur5 ship, the language of business, and the 

6 considerations involved in self-employment 

7 and small business ownership; 

8 ‘‘(iii) an in-person classroom instruc9 tion component providing an introduction 

10 to the foundations of self employment and 

11 small business ownership; and 

12 ‘‘(iv) in-depth training delivered 

13 through online instruction, including an 

14 online course that leads to the creation of 

15 a business plan. 

16 ‘‘(B) COLLABORATION.—The Adminis17 trator may— 

18 ‘‘(i) collaborate with public and pri19 vate entities to develop a course curriculum 

20 for the Boots to Business Program; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) modify program components in 

22 coordination with entities participating in 

23 the Warriors in Transition programs, as 

24 defined in section 738(f) of the National 


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1 Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 

2 2013 (10 U.S.C. 1071 note). 

3 ‘‘(C) UTILIZATION OF RESOURCE PART4 NERS.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Associate Ad6 ministrator shall, to the maximum extent 

7 practicable, use a variety of resource part8 ners and entities in administering the 

9 Boots to Business Program. 

10 ‘‘(ii) GRANT AUTHORITY.—In carrying 

11 out clause (i), the Associate Administrator 

12 may make grants to resource partners and 

13 other entities to carry out components of 

14 the Boots to Business Program. 

15 ‘‘(D) AVAILABILITY TO DOD.—The Admin16 istrator shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) make available electronically in18 formation regarding the Boots to Business 

19 Program and all course materials created 

20 for the Boots to Business Program to the 

21 Secretary of Defense for inclusion on the 

22 website of the Department of Defense re23 lating to the Transition Assistance Pro24 gram and in the Transition Assistance 

25 Program manual and other publications 


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1 and materials available for distribution 

2 from the Secretary of Defense; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) fully participate in the inter4 agency governance of the Transition As5 sistance Program. 

6 ‘‘(E) AVAILABILITY TO VETERANS AF7 FAIRS.—In consultation with the Secretary of 

8 Veterans Affairs, the Associate Administrator 

9 shall make available outreach materials regard10 ing the Boots to Business Program for distribu11 tion and display at local facilities of the Depart12 ment of Veterans Affairs (including medical 

13 centers, community-based outpatient clinics, 

14 Vet Centers, and other facilities determined ap15 propriate by the Associate Administrator and 

16 the Secretary), which shall, at a minimum— 

17 ‘‘(i) describe the Boots to Business 

18 Program, including a description of serv19 ices provided; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) include eligibility requirements 

21 for participating in the Boots to Business 

22 Program. 

23 ‘‘(5) REVIEW.—The Inspector General of the 

24 Administration shall submit to the Committee on 

25 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate 


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1 and the Committee on Small Business of the House 

2 of Representatives an annual report regarding the 

3 awarding of grants under the Boots to Business 

4 Program. 

5 ‘‘(f) VETERANS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT OFFI6 CERS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) DESIGNATION.—The Administrator shall 

8 designate not fewer than 1 individual in each district 

9 office of the Administration as a veterans business 

10 development officer, who shall communicate and co11 ordinate activities of the district office with entities 

12 that receive financial assistance under this sub13 section. 

14 ‘‘(2) INITIAL DESIGNATION.—The first indi15 vidual in each district office of the Administration 

16 designated by the Administrator as a veterans busi17 ness development officer under paragraph (1) shall 

18 be an individual that is employed by the Administra19 tion on the date of enactment of this subsection. 

20 ‘‘(g) ONLINE COORDINATION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

22 ‘veterans’ assistance provider’ means— 

23 ‘‘(A) an employee of the Administration 

24 assigned to the Office of Veterans Business De25 velopment; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) a veterans business development offi2 cer designated under subsection (f). 

3 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Associate Admin4 istrator shall establish an online mechanism to— 

5 ‘‘(A) provide information that assists vet6 erans’ assistance providers in carrying out the 

7 activities of the veterans’ assistance providers; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(B) coordinate and leverage the work of 

10 the veterans’ assistance providers, including by 

11 allowing a veterans’ assistance provider to— 

12 ‘‘(i) distribute best practices and 

13 other materials; 

14 ‘‘(ii) communicate with other vet15 erans’ assistance providers regarding the 

16 activities of the veterans’ assistance pro17 vider on behalf of veterans; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) pose questions to and request 

19 input from other veterans’ assistance pro20 viders. 

21 ‘‘(h) LIMITATIONS ON USE FOR OVERSEAS TRAV22 EL.—Financial assistance made available under this sec23 tion may not be used for travel outside of the United 

24 States (as defined in section 202(a)(7) of the State De25 partment Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 


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1 4302(a)(7))) until after the date on which the Adminis2 trator submits to the Committee on Small Business and 

3 Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on 

4 Small Business of the House of Representatives a plan 

5 describing how services will be provided by recipients, and 

6 how the Administrator will oversee the provision of serv7 ices, outside of the United States. 

8 ‘‘(i) REPORTS.—Not later than 180 days after the 

9 date of enactment of the Veterans Small Business Owner10 ship Improvements Act and every year thereafter, the As11 sociate Administrator shall submit to the Committee on 

12 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and 

13 the Committee on Small Business of the House of Rep14 resentatives a report on the performance and effectiveness 

15 for the programs authorized under this section, which may 

16 be included as part of another report submitted to the 

17 Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of 

18 the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the 

19 House of Representatives by the Associate Administrator, 

20 and which shall include the following: 

21 ‘‘(1) VETERAN’S BUSINESS OUTREACH CEN22 TERS.—For the Veteran’s Business Outreach Center 

23 Program under subsection (d), with respect to each 

24 veteran’s business center established under such 

25 subsection— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the effectiveness of all projects con2 ducted by the veteran’s business outreach cen3 ter; 

4 ‘‘(B) the number of individuals receiving 

5 assistance; 

6 ‘‘(C) the number of startup business con7 cerns formed; 

8 ‘‘(D) the gross receipts of assisted con9 cerns; 

10 ‘‘(E) the employment increases or de11 creases of assisted concerns; 

12 ‘‘(F) to the maximum extent practicable, 

13 increases or decreases in profits of assisted con14 cerns; and 

15 ‘‘(G) the most recent analysis, as required 

16 under clause (ii) of subsection (d)(6)(A), and 

17 the subsequent determination made by the Ad18 ministration under that clause. 

19 ‘‘(2) BOOTS TO BUSINESS.—For the Boots to 

20 Business Program under subsection (e)— 

21 ‘‘(A) the number of program participants 

22 using each component of the Boots to Business 

23 Program; 

24 ‘‘(B) the completion rates for each compo25 nent of the Boots to Business Program; 


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1 ‘‘(C) to the extent possible— 

2 ‘‘(i) the demographics of program par3 ticipants, to include gender, age, race, rela4 tionship to military, Military Occupational 

5 Code, and years of service of program par6 ticipants; 

7 ‘‘(ii) the number of small business 

8 concerns formed or expanded with assist9 ance under the Boots to Business Pro10 gram; 

11 ‘‘(iii) the gross receipts of small busi12 ness concerns receiving assistance under 

13 the Boots to Business Program; 

14 ‘‘(iv) the number of jobs created with 

15 assistance under the Boots to Business 

16 Program; 

17 ‘‘(v) the number of referrals to other 

18 resources and programs of the Administra19 tion; 

20 ‘‘(vi) the number of program partici21 pants receiving financial assistance under 

22 loan programs of the Administration; 

23 ‘‘(vii) the type and dollar amount of 

24 financial assistance received by program 


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1 participants under loan programs of the 

2 Administration; and 

3 ‘‘(viii) the results of participant satis4 faction surveys, including a summary of 

5 any comments received from program par6 ticipants; 

7 ‘‘(D) an evaluation of the effectiveness of 

8 the Boots to Business Program in each region 

9 of the Administration during the most recent 

10 fiscal year; 

11 ‘‘(E) an assessment of additional perform12 ance outcome measures for the Boots to Busi13 ness Program, as identified by the Associate 

14 Administrator; 

15 ‘‘(F) any recommendations of the Adminis16 trator for improvement of the Boots to Busi17 ness Program, which may include expansion of 

18 the types of individuals who are covered individ19 uals; 

20 ‘‘(G) an explanation of how the Boots to 

21 Business Program has been integrated with 

22 other transition programs and related resources 

23 of the Administration and other Federal agen24 cies; and 


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1 ‘‘(H) any additional information the Ad2 ministrator determines necessary. 

3 ‘‘(3) OTHER ACTIVITIES AND PROGRAMS AD4 MINISTERED BY THE OFFICE OF VETERANS BUSI5 NESS DEVELOPMENT.—An evaluation of the effec6 tiveness of any other activities and programs admin7 istered by the Office of Veterans Business Develop8 ment, including using the metrics identified in para9 graphs (1) and (2).’’. 

10 (b) GAO REPORTS.— 

11 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

12 (A) the term ‘‘covered individual’’ means— 

13 (i) a veteran; 

14 (ii) a service-disabled veteran; 

15 (iii) a Reservist; 

16 (iv) the spouse of an individual de17 scribed in clause (i), (ii), or (iii); or 

18 (v) the spouse of a member of the 

19 Armed Forces; 

20 (B) the term ‘‘Reservist’’ means a member 

21 of a reserve component of the Armed Forces, as 

22 described in section 10101 of title 10, United 

23 States Code; 

24 (C) the term ‘‘small business concern 

25 owned and controlled by veterans’’— 


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1 (i) has the meaning given the term in 

2 section 3(q) of the Small Business Act (15 

3 U.S.C. 632(q)); and 

4 (ii) includes a small business con5 cern— 

6 (I) not less than 51 percent of 

7 which is owned by 1 or more spouses 

8 of veterans or, in the case of any pub9 licly owned business, not less than 51 

10 percent of the stock of which is owned 

11 by 1 or more spouses of veterans; and 

12 (II) the management and daily 

13 business operations of which are con14 trolled by 1 or more spouses of vet15 erans; 

16 (D) the terms ‘‘service-disabled veteran’’, 

17 ‘‘small business concern’’, and ‘‘veteran’’ have 

18 the meanings given those terms under section 3 

19 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632). 

20 (2) REPORT ON ACCESS TO CREDIT.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

22 after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

23 Comptroller General of the United States shall 

24 submit a report regarding the ability of small 


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1 business concerns owned and controlled by cov2 ered individuals to access credit to— 

3 (i) the Committee on Veterans’ Af4 fairs and the Committee on Small Business 

5 and Entrepreneurship of the Senate; and 

6 (ii) the Committee on Veterans’ Af7 fairs and the Committee on Small Business 

8 of the House of Representatives. 

9 (B) CONTENTS.—The report submitted 

10 under subparagraph (A) shall include an anal11 ysis of— 

12 (i) the sources of credit used by small 

13 business concerns owned and controlled by 

14 covered individuals and the percentage of 

15 the credit obtained by small business con16 cerns owned and controlled by covered in17 dividuals that is obtained from each 

18 source; 

19 (ii) the default rate for small business 

20 concerns owned and controlled by covered 

21 individuals separately for each source of 

22 credit described in clause (i), as compared 

23 to the default rate for the source of credit 

24 for small business concerns generally; 


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1 (iii) the Federal lending programs 

2 available to provide credit to small busi3 ness concerns owned and controlled by cov4 ered individuals; 

5 (iv) gaps, if any, in the availability of 

6 credit for small business concerns owned 

7 and controlled by covered individuals that 

8 are not being filled by the Federal Govern9 ment or private sources; 

10 (v) obstacles faced by covered individ11 uals in trying to access credit; 

12 (vi) the extent to which deployment 

13 and other military responsibilities affect 

14 the credit history of veterans and Reserv15 ists; and 

16 (vii) the extent to which covered indi17 viduals are aware of Federal programs tar18 geted towards helping covered individuals 

19 access credit. 

20 SEC. 4. IMPROVEMENTS TO BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND 

21 ENTREPRENEURIAL PROGRAMS. 

22 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

23 (1) the terms ‘‘Administration’’ and ‘‘Adminis24 trator’’ mean the Small Business Administration 

25 and the Administrator thereof, respectively; 


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1 (2) the term ‘‘individual eligible for a veteran 

2 entrepreneurial development program’’ means— 

3 (A) a covered individual, as defined in sec4 tion 32(d)(1) of the Small Business Act, as 

5 amended by section 2; 

6 (B) a covered individual, as defined in sec7 tion 32(e)(1) of the Small Business Act, as 

8 amended by section 3; and 

9 (C) an individual who qualifies to be the 

10 owner of a small business concern owned and 

11 controlled by veterans, as defined in section 

12 3(b)(1); 

13 (3) the term ‘‘one-stop resource’’ means the 

14 one-stop online resource established under sub15 section (c)(1); and 

16 (4) the term ‘‘small business concern’’ has the 

17 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Small 

18 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632). 

19 (b) VETERAN PEER-TO-PEER NETWORKS.—Not later 

20 than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

21 Administrator shall establish guidelines to improve the 

22 network of peer-to-peer counseling and mentoring for indi23 viduals eligible for a veteran entrepreneurial development 

24 program relating to the business development and entre25 preneurial programs of the Administration. 


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1 (c) ONE-STOP ONLINE RESOURCE.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es3 tablish an online mechanism that serves as a one4 stop online resource for veterans regarding all of the 

5 entrepreneurial development programs of the Admin6 istration. 

7 (2) CONTENTS.—The one-stop resource shall 

8 include descriptions of each entrepreneurial program 

9 of the Administration (which shall include the pro10 grams described in paragraph (3)), including— 

11 (A) target client descriptions for each pro12 gram; 

13 (B) contact information for information on 

14 or assistance regarding each program from lo15 cally, statewide, and nationally available 

16 sources; 

17 (C) a detailed description of the services 

18 available under each program; 

19 (D) a description of any costs associated 

20 with the services under each program; 

21 (E) an outline of program curriculums if 

22 training seminars or courses are offered; and 

23 (F) other resource information that the 

24 Administrator determines appropriate and nec25 essary for veteran entrepreneurs and veterans 


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1 who own small business concerns, in order to 

2 ensure the one-stop online resource provides in3 formation and resources necessary for a veteran 

4 beginning to develop a small business concern. 

5 (3) PROGRAMS.—The programs identified and 

6 described under the one-stop resource shall in7 clude— 

8 (A) the small business development center 

9 program under section 21 of the Small Busi10 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 648); 

11 (B) the women’s business center program 

12 under section 29 of the Small Business Act (15 

13 U.S.C. 656); 

14 (C) the programs of the Office of Entre15 preneurship Education of the Administration; 

16 (D) the Veteran’s Business Outreach Cen17 ter Program under section 32(d) of the Small 

18 Business Act, as amended by section 2 of this 

19 Act; 

20 (E) the Boots to Business Program under 

21 section 32(e) of the Small Business Act, as 

22 amended by section 3(a) of this Act; 

23 (F) the Service Corps of Retired Execu24 tives program authorized by section 8(b)(1) of 


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1 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(b)(1)); 

2 and 

3 (G) any other program of the Administra4 tion determined appropriate by the Adminis5 trator. 

6 SEC. 5. REPORTING REQUIREMENT FOR INTERAGENCY 

7 TASK FORCE. 

8 Section 32(c) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

9 657b(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—Not less frequently than once 

11 each year, the Administrator shall submit to Con12 gress a report— 

13 ‘‘(A) discussing the appointments made to 

14 and activities of the task force; and 

15 ‘‘(B) identifying and outlining a plan for 

16 outreach and promotion of all the programs au17 thorized under the Veterans Small Business 

18 Ownership Improvements Act, or an amend19 ment made by that Act.’’. 

Æ 


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