II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1208 

To amend the Small Business Act to improve export growth opportunities 

for small businesses, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 8, 2009 

Ms. SNOWE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

A BILL 

To amend the Small Business Act to improve export growth 

opportunities for small businesses, 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 ‘‘Small Business Export 

5 Opportunity Development Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act— 

8 (1) the terms ‘‘Administration’’ and ‘‘Adminis9 trator’’ mean the Small Business Administration 

10 and the Administrator thereof, respectively; 


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1 (2) the term ‘‘Export Assistance Center’’ means 

2 a one-stop shop referred to in section 2301(b)(8) of 

3 the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 

4 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4721(b)(8)); 

5 (3) the term ‘‘export loan programs’’ means the 

6 programs of the Administration under paragraphs 

7 (14) and (16) of section 7(a) of the Small Business 

8 Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)) and section 22 of that Act 

9 (15 U.S.C. 649), as amended by this Act; and 

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

11 same meaning as in section 3 of the Small Business 

12 Act (15 U.S.C. 632). 

13 SEC. 3. OFFICE OF SMALL BUSINESS EXPORT DEVELOP14 MENT AND PROMOTION. 

15 (a) OFFICE OF SMALL BUSINESS EXPORT DEVELOP16 MENT AND PROMOTION.—Section 22 of the Small Busi17 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 649) is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 22. OFFICE OF SMALL BUSINESS EXPORT DEVELOP19 MENT AND PROMOTION. 

20 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

21 ‘‘(1) the term ‘accredited export assistance pro22 gram’ means a program— 

23 ‘‘(A) that provides counseling and assist24 ance relating to exporting to small business 

25 concerns; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) in which not less than 20 percent of 

2 the technical assistance staff members are cer3 tified in providing export assistance under sub4 section (g)(2); 

5 ‘‘(2) the term ‘Associate Administrator’ means 

6 the Associate Administrator for Export Development 

7 and Promotion; 

8 ‘‘(3) the term ‘Export Assistance Center’ means 

9 a one-stop shop referred to in section 2301(b)(8) of 

10 the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 

11 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4721(b)(8)); 

12 ‘‘(4) the term ‘export development officer’ 

13 means an individual described in subsection (d)(8); 

14 ‘‘(5) the term ‘Office’ means the Office of Ex15 port Promotion and Development established under 

16 subsection (b)(1); and 

17 ‘‘(6) the term ‘Service Corps of Retired Execu18 tives’ means the Service Corps of Retired Executives 

19 authorized by section 8(b)(1). 

20 ‘‘(b) OFFICE ESTABLISHED.— 

21 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established 

22 within the Administration an Office of Export Pro23 motion and Development, which shall carry out the 

24 programs under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR.—The head of 

2 the Office shall be the Associate Administrator for 

3 Export Development and Promotion, who shall re4 port directly to the Administrator. 

5 ‘‘(c) DUTIES OF OFFICE.—The Associate Adminis6 trator, working in close cooperation with the Department 

7 of Commerce, the United States Trade Representative, the 

8 Export-Import Bank, other relevant Federal agencies, 

9 small business development centers, regional and district 

10 offices of the Administration, the small business commu11 nity, and relevant State and local export promotion pro12 grams, shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) maintain a distribution network for export 

14 promotion, export finance, trade adjustment, trade 

15 remedy assistance, and export data collection pro16 grams through use of the regional and district of17 fices of the Administration, the small business devel18 opment center network, the network of women’s 

19 business centers, chapters of the Service Corps of 

20 Retired Executives, and Export Assistance Centers; 

21 ‘‘(2) aggressively market the programs de22 scribed in paragraph (1) and disseminate informa23 tion, including computerized marketing data, to the 

24 small business community on exporting trends, marVerDate Nov 24 2008 05:46 Jun 09, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1208.IS S1208

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1 ket-specific growth, industry trends, and inter2 national prospects for exports; 

3 ‘‘(3) promote export assistance programs 

4 through the district and regional offices of the Ad5 ministration, the small business development center 

6 network, Export Assistance Centers, the network of 

7 women’s business centers, chapters of the Service 

8 Corps of Retired Executives, State and local export 

9 promotion programs, and partnerships with people 

10 in the private sector; and 

11 ‘‘(4) give preference in hiring or approving the 

12 transfer of any employee into the Office or to an ex13 port development officer position to otherwise quali14 fied applicants who are fluent in a language in addi15 tion to English, who shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) accompany foreign trade missions, if 

17 designated by the Associate Administrator; and 

18 ‘‘(B) be available as needed to translate 

19 documents, interpret conversations, and facili20 tate multilingual transactions, including pro21 viding referral lists for translation services, if 

22 required. 

23 ‘‘(d) PROMOTION OF SALES OPPORTUNITIES.—The 

24 Associate Administrator shall promote sales opportunities 

25 for small business goods and services abroad by— 


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1 ‘‘(1) in cooperation with the Department of 

2 Commerce, other relevant agencies, regional and dis3 trict offices of the Administration, the small busi4 ness development center network, and State pro5 grams, developing a mechanism for— 

6 ‘‘(A) identifying sub-sectors of the small 

7 business community with strong export poten8 tial; 

9 ‘‘(B) identifying areas of demand in for10 eign markets; 

11 ‘‘(C) prescreening foreign buyers for com12 mercial and credit purposes; and 

13 ‘‘(D) assisting in increasing international 

14 marketing by disseminating relevant informa15 tion regarding market leads, linking potential 

16 sellers and buyers, and catalyzing the formation 

17 of joint ventures, where appropriate; 

18 ‘‘(2) in cooperation with the Department of 

19 Commerce, actively assisting small business concerns 

20 in forming and using export trading companies, ex21 port management companies and research and devel22 opment pools authorized under section 9 of this Act; 

23 ‘‘(3) working in conjunction with other Federal 

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1 work, and the private sector to identify and publicize 

2 translation services, including those available 

3 through colleges and universities participating in the 

4 small business development center program; 

5 ‘‘(4) working closely with the Department of 

6 Commerce and other relevant Federal agencies to— 

7 ‘‘(A) collect, analyze, and periodically up8 date relevant data regarding the small business 

9 share of United States exports and the nature 

10 of State exports (including the production of 

11 Gross State Product figures) and disseminate 

12 that data to the public and to Congress; 

13 ‘‘(B) make recommendations to the Sec14 retary of Commerce and to Congress regarding 

15 revision of the North American Industry Classi16 fication System codes to encompass industries 

17 currently overlooked and to create North Amer18 ican Industry Classification System codes for 

19 export trading companies and export manage20 ment companies; 

21 ‘‘(C) improve the utility and accessibility of 

22 export promotion programs for small business 

23 concerns; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) increase the accessibility of the Ex2 port Trading Company contact facilitation serv3 ice; 

4 ‘‘(5) making available to the small business 

5 community information regarding conferences on ex6 porting and international trade sponsored by the 

7 public and private sector; 

8 ‘‘(6) providing small business concerns with ac9 cess to up-to-date and complete export information 

10 by— 

11 ‘‘(A) making available at the district of12 fices of the Administration, through cooperation 

13 with the Department of Commerce, export in14 formation, including the worldwide information 

15 and trade system and world trade data reports; 

16 ‘‘(B) maintaining a list of financial institu17 tions that finance export operations; 

18 ‘‘(C) maintaining a directory of all Fed19 eral, regional, State and private sector pro20 grams that provide export information and as21 sistance to small business concerns; and 

22 ‘‘(D) preparing and publishing such re23 ports as it determines to be necessary con24 cerning market conditions, sources of financing, 

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1 tion pertaining to the needs of small business 

2 export firms so as to insure that the maximum 

3 information is made available to small business 

4 concerns in a readily usable form; 

5 ‘‘(7) encouraging, in cooperation with the De6 partment of Commerce, greater small business par7 ticipation in trade fairs, shows, missions, and other 

8 domestic and overseas export development activities 

9 of the Department of Commerce; 

10 ‘‘(8) facilitating decentralized delivery of export 

11 information and assistance to small businesses by 

12 assigning primary responsibility for export develop13 ment to one individual in each district office, who 

14 shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) assist small business concerns in ob16 taining export information and assistance from 

17 other Federal departments and agencies; 

18 ‘‘(B) maintain a directory of all programs 

19 which provide export information and assistance 

20 to small business concerns in the region; 

21 ‘‘(C) encourage financial institutions to de22 velop and expand programs for export financ23 ing; 

24 ‘‘(D) provide advice to personnel of the 

25 Administration involved in making loans, loan 


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1 guarantees, and extensions and revolving lines 

2 of credit, and providing other forms of assist3 ance to small business concerns engaged in ex4 ports; and 

5 ‘‘(E) not later than 120 days after the 

6 date on which the person is appointed as an ex7 port development officer, and not less fre8 quently than once each year thereafter, partici9 pate in training programs designed by the Ad10 ministrator, in conjunction with the Depart11 ment of Commerce and other Federal depart12 ments and agencies, to study export programs 

13 and to examine the needs of small business con14 cerns for export information and assistance; 

15 ‘‘(9) carrying out a nationwide marketing effort 

16 to promote exporting as a business development op17 portunity for small business concerns that uses tech18 nology, online resources, training, and other strate19 gies; 

20 ‘‘(10) disseminating information to the small 

21 business community through regional and district of22 fices of the Administration, the small business devel23 opment center network, Export Assistance Centers, 

24 the network of women’s business centers, chapters of 

25 the Service Corps of Retired Executives, State and 


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1 local export promotion programs, and partners in 

2 the private sector regarding exporting trends, mar3 ket-specific growth, industry trends, and prospects 

4 for exporting; and 

5 ‘‘(11) establishing and carrying out training 

6 programs for the staff of the district offices of the 

7 Administration and resource partners of the Admin8 istration on export promotion and providing assist9 ance relating to exports. 

10 ‘‘(e) EXPORT FINANCE SPECIALIST PROGRAM.— 

11 ‘‘(1) EXPORT FINANCE SPECIALIST PRO12 GRAM.—The Associate Administrator shall work in 

13 cooperation with the Export-Import Bank of the 

14 United States, the Department of Commerce, other 

15 relevant Federal agencies, and the States to develop 

16 a program through which export finance specialists 

17 in the district offices of the Administration, regional 

18 and local loan officers, and small business develop19 ment center personnel can facilitate the access of 

20 small business concerns to relevant export financing 

21 programs of the Export-Import Bank of the United 

22 States and to export and pre-export financing pro23 grams available from the Administration and the 

24 private sector. 


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1 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—To carry out 

2 paragraph (1), the Associate Administrator shall 

3 work in cooperation with the Export-Import Bank of 

4 the United States and the small business commu5 nity, including small business trade associations, 

6 to— 

7 ‘‘(A) aggressively market Administration 

8 export financing and pre-export financing pro9 grams; 

10 ‘‘(B) identify financing available under 

11 various programs of the Export-Import Bank of 

12 the United States, and aggressively market 

13 those programs to small business concerns; 

14 ‘‘(C) assist in the development of financial 

15 intermediaries and facilitate the access of those 

16 intermediaries to financing programs; 

17 ‘‘(D) promote greater participation by pri18 vate financial institutions, particularly those in19 stitutions already participating in loan pro20 grams under this Act, in export finance; and 

21 ‘‘(E) provide for the participation of appro22 priate Administration personnel in training pro23 grams conducted by the Export-Import Bank of 

24 the United States. 


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1 ‘‘(f) COUNSELING FOR SMALL BUSINESS CON2 CERNS.—The Associate Administrator shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) work in cooperation with other Federal 

4 agencies and the private sector to counsel small 

5 business concerns with respect to initiating and par6 ticipating in any proceedings relating to the adminis7 tration of the United States trade laws; and 

8 ‘‘(2) work with the Department of Commerce, 

9 the Office of the United States Trade Representa10 tive, and the International Trade Commission to in11 crease access to trade remedy proceedings for small 

12 business concerns. 

13 ‘‘(g) EXPORT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Associate Adminis15 trator shall require, as part of the agreement under 

16 section 21, that each small business development 

17 center has an accredited export assistance program. 

18 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION.—The Associate Adminis19 trator shall certify technical assistance staff mem20 bers of small business development centers in pro21 viding export assistance, in accordance with such cri22 teria as the Associate Administrator may establish. 

23 ‘‘(3) TRAINING.—The Associate Administrator 

24 shall provide training relating to export assistance 


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1 programs at the annual conference of small business 

2 development centers. 

3 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—The Associate Administrator 

4 shall submit an annual report to Congress that in5 cludes— 

6 ‘‘(A) the number of small business con7 cerns assisted by accredited export assistance 

8 programs; 

9 ‘‘(B) the export revenue generated by 

10 small business concerns assisted by accredited 

11 export assistance programs; and 

12 ‘‘(C) an estimate of the number of jobs 

13 created or retained because of assistance pro14 vided by accredited export assistance programs. 

15 ‘‘(h) EXPORT ASSISTANCE OFFICER.—The Associate 

16 Administrator shall— 

17 ‘‘(1) assign an export assistance officer with 

18 training in export assistance and marketing to each 

19 district office of the Administration, who shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) conduct training and information ses21 sions for small business concerns interested in 

22 exporting; and 

23 ‘‘(B) conduct outreach to small business 

24 concerns with the potential to export; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) provide annual training for export assist2 ance officers. 

3 ‘‘(i) EXPORT DEVELOPMENT GRANT PROGRAM.— 

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

5 ‘‘(A) the term ‘eligible small-business con6 cern’ means a small-business concern— 

7 ‘‘(i) that— 

8 ‘‘(I) has been in business for not 

9 less than 1 year; 

10 ‘‘(II) has profitable domestic 

11 sales; 

12 ‘‘(III) has demonstrated under13 standing of the costs associated with 

14 exporting and doing business with for15 eign purchasers, including the costs of 

16 freight forwarding, customs brokers, 

17 packing and shipping, as determined 

18 by the Administrator; and 

19 ‘‘(IV) has in place a strategic 

20 plan for exporting; 

21 ‘‘(ii) an employee of which has com22 pleted an accredited export assistance pro23 gram; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) that agrees to provide to the As25 sociate Administrator such information 


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1 and documentation as is necessary for the 

2 Associate Administrator to determine that 

3 the small-business concern is in compliance 

4 with the internal revenue laws of the 

5 United States; 

6 ‘‘(B) the term ‘export initiative’ includes— 

7 ‘‘(i) participation in a trade mission; 

8 ‘‘(ii) a foreign market sales trip; 

9 ‘‘(iii) a subscription to services pro10 vided by the Department of Commerce; 

11 ‘‘(iv) the payment of website trans12 lation fees; 

13 ‘‘(v) the design of international mar14 keting media; 

15 ‘‘(vi) a trade show exhibition; and 

16 ‘‘(vii) participation in training work17 shops; and 

18 ‘‘(C) the term ‘small-business concern’ has 

19 the same meaning as in section 103 of the 

20 Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 

21 U.S.C. 662). 

22 ‘‘(2) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Associate Admin23 istrator shall establish an export development grant 

24 program, under which the Associate Administrator 

25 may make grants to eligible small-business concerns 


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1 to enhance the capability of the eligible small-busi2 ness concerns to be globally competitive, increase 

3 business internationally, and increase export sales. 

4 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.—An eligible small-business 

5 concern that desires a grant under this subsection 

6 shall submit to the Associate Administrator at such 

7 time and in such manner as the Associate Adminis8 trator shall prescribe an application that identifies 

9 not less than 1 specific, achievable export initiative 

10 that the eligible small-business concern will carry out 

11 using a grant under this subsection. 

12 ‘‘(4) AMOUNT.—A grant under this subsection 

13 may not exceed $5,000. 

14 ‘‘(5) MATCHING FUNDS.—The Federal share of 

15 the cost of an export initiative carried out with a 

16 grant under this subsection shall be not more than 

17 50 percent. The non-Federal share of the cost of an 

18 activity carried out with a grant under this sub19 section may be in kind or in cash. 

20 ‘‘(6) INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTATION.—An 

21 eligible small-business concern that receives a grant 

22 under this subsection shall provide to the Associate 

23 Administrator— 

24 ‘‘(A) receipts for all expenditures made 

25 with the grant; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) information relating to any export 

2 sales resulting from the grant. 

3 ‘‘(7) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

4 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

5 this section $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and 

6 each fiscal year thereafter. 

7 ‘‘(j) PERFORMANCE MEASURES.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Associate Adminis9 trator shall develop performance measures for the 

10 Administration to support export growth goals for 

11 the activities of the Office under this section that in12 clude— 

13 ‘‘(A) the number of small business con14 cerns that— 

15 ‘‘(i) receive assistance from the Ad16 ministration; 

17 ‘‘(ii) had not exported goods or serv18 ices before receiving the assistance de19 scribed in clause (i); and 

20 ‘‘(iii) export goods or services; 

21 ‘‘(B) the number of small business con22 cerns receiving assistance from the Administra23 tion that export goods or services to a market 

24 outside the United States into which the small 


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1 business concern did not export before receiving 

2 the assistance; 

3 ‘‘(C) export revenues by small business 

4 concerns assisted by programs of the Adminis5 tration; 

6 ‘‘(D) the number of small business con7 cerns referred to an Export Assistance Center 

8 or a small business development center by the 

9 staff of the Office; and 

10 ‘‘(E) the number of small business con11 cerns referred to the Administration by an Ex12 port Assistance Center or a small business de13 velopment center. 

14 ‘‘(2) CONSISTENCY OF TRACKING.—The Asso15 ciate Administrator, in coordination with the depart16 ments and agencies that are represented on the 

17 Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee estab18 lished under section 2312 of the Export Enhance19 ment Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4727) and the small 

20 business development center network, shall develop a 

21 system to track exports by small business concerns, 

22 including information relating to the performance 

23 measures described in paragraph (1), that is con24 sistent with systems used by the departments and 

25 agencies and the network. 


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1 ‘‘(3) REPORTS.—The Associate Administrator 

2 shall submit an annual report to the Committee on 

3 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate 

4 and the Committee on Small Business of the House 

5 of Representatives that includes— 

6 ‘‘(A) a detailed account of the information 

7 relating to the performance measures described 

8 in paragraph (1); and 

9 ‘‘(B) a description of the export assistance 

10 and services provided to small business con11 cerns by the Administration. 

12 ‘‘(k) REPORT.—The Associate Administrator shall 

13 submit an annual report to the Committee on Small Busi14 ness and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Com15 mittee on Small Business of the House of Representatives 

16 on the progress of the Administration in implementing the 

17 requirements under this section. 

18 ‘‘(l) DISCHARGE OF ADMINISTRATION EXPORT PRO19 MOTION RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Administrator shall en20 sure that— 

21 ‘‘(1) the responsibilities of the Administration 

22 regarding international trade and exporting are car23 ried out through the Associate Administrator; 

24 ‘‘(2) the Associate Administrator has sufficient 

25 resources to carry out such responsibilities; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) the Associate Administrator has direct su2 pervision and control over the staff of the Office, 

3 and over any employee of the Administration whose 

4 principal duty station is an Export Assistance Cen5 ter or any successor entity.’’. 

6 (b) EXPORT DEVELOPMENT OFFICERS.— 

7 (1) APPOINTMENT.—Not later than 90 days 

8 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis9 trator shall ensure that export development officers 

10 are assigned to each district office of the Adminis11 tration, in accordance with section 22(d)(8) of the 

12 Small Business Act, as amended by this section. 

13 (2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

14 ‘‘export development officer’’ has the meaning given 

15 that term in section 22 of the Small Business Act 

16 (15 U.S.C. 649), as amended by this Act. 

17 (c) EXPORT ASSISTANCE CENTERS.— 

18 (1) VACANT POSITIONS.—Not later than 90 

19 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Ad20 ministrator shall ensure that the number of full-time 

21 equivalent employees of the Office of Export Devel22 opment and Promotion assigned to the Export As23 sistance Centers is not less than the number of such 

24 employees so assigned on January 1, 2003. 


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1 (2) EXPORT DEVELOPMENT OFFICERS.—Not 

2 later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 

3 this Act, the Administrator, in coordination with the 

4 Secretary of Commerce, shall ensure that export fi5 nance specialists are assigned to not fewer than 40 

6 Export Assistance Centers. 

7 (3) STUDY.—Not later than 6 months after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act, the Associate Admin9 istrator for Export Development and Promotion 

10 shall carry out a nationwide study to evaluate where 

11 additional export finance specialists are needed. 

12 (4) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

13 ‘‘export finance specialist’’ means an export finance 

14 specialist described in section 22(e)(1) of the Small 

15 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 649(e)(1)), as amended by 

16 this section. 

17 (d) APPOINTMENT OF ASSOCIATE ADMINIS18 TRATOR.—Not later than 90 days after the date of enact19 ment of this Act, the Administrator shall appoint an Asso20 ciate Administrator for Export Development and Pro21 motion under section 22 of the Small Business Act (15 

22 U.S.C. 649), as amended by this section. 

23 (e) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (1) NUMBER OF ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRA2 TORS.—Section 4(b)(1) of the Small Business Act 

3 (15 U.S.C. 633(b)(1)) is amended— 

4 (A) in the fifth sentence, by striking 

5 ‘‘five’’; and 

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

7 ‘‘One of the Associate Administrators shall be 

8 the Associate Administrator for Export Devel9 opment and Promotion, who shall be the head 

10 of the Office of Export Development and Pro11 motion established under section 22.’’. 

12 (2) ROLE OF ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR IN

13 CARRYING OUT INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND EXPORT

14 POLICY.—Section 2(b)(1) of the Small Business Act 

15 (15 U.S.C. 631(b)(1)) is amended in the matter pre16 ceding subparagraph (A) by inserting ‘‘through the 

17 Associate Administrator for Export Development 

18 and Promotion of’’ before ‘‘the Small Business Ad19 ministration’’. 

20 SEC. 4. EXPORT FINANCE PROGRAMS. 

21 (a) EXPORT WORKING CAPITAL PROGRAM.—Section 

22 7(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)) is 

23 amended— 

24 (1) in paragraph (2)(D), by striking ‘‘not ex25 ceed’’ and inserting ‘‘be’’; and 


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1 (2) in paragraph (14)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘(A) The Administration’’ 

3 and inserting the following: ‘‘EXPORT WORKING

4 CAPITAL PROGRAM.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator’’; 

6 (B) by striking ‘‘(B) When considering’’ 

7 and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(C) CONSIDERATIONS.—When consid9 ering’’; 

10 (C) by striking ‘‘(C) The Administration’’ 

11 and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(D) MARKETING.—The Administrator’’; 

13 and 

14 (D) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘(B) TERMS.— 

17 ‘‘(i) LOAN AMOUNT.—The Adminis18 trator may not guarantee a loan under this 

19 paragraph of more than $5,000,000. 

20 ‘‘(ii) FEES.— 

21 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—For a loan 

22 under this paragraph, the Adminis23 trator shall collect the fee assessed 

24 under paragraph (23) not more fre25 quently than once each year. 


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1 ‘‘(II) UNTAPPED CREDIT.—The 

2 Administrator may not assess a fee on 

3 capital that is not accessed by the 

4 small business concern.’’. 

5 (b) PARTICIPATION IN PREFERRED LENDERS PRO6 GRAM.—Section 7(a)(2)(C) of the Small Business Act (15 

7 U.S.C. 636(a)(2)(C)) is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause (iii); 

9 and 

10 (2) by inserting after clause (i) the following: 

11 ‘‘(ii) EXPORT-IMPORT BANK LEND12 ERS.—Any lender that is participating in 

13 the Delegated Authority Lender Program 

14 of the Export-Import Bank of the United 

15 States (or any successor to the Program) 

16 shall be eligible to participate in the Pre17 ferred Lenders Program.’’. 

18 (c) EXPORT EXPRESS PROGRAM.—Section 7(a) of 

19 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)) is amended— 

20 (1) by striking ‘‘(32) INCREASED VETERAN’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘(33) INCREASED VETERAN’’; and 

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

23 ‘‘(34) EXPORT EXPRESS PROGRAM.— 

24 ‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the term ‘export development ac2 tivity’ includes— 

3 ‘‘(I) obtaining a standby letter of 

4 credit when required as a bid bond, 

5 performance bond, or advance pay6 ment guarantee; 

7 ‘‘(II) participation in a trade 

8 show that takes place outside the 

9 United States; 

10 ‘‘(III) translation of product bro11 chures or catalogues for use in mar12 kets outside the United States; 

13 ‘‘(IV) obtaining a general line of 

14 credit for export purposes; 

15 ‘‘(V) performing a service con16 tract from buyers located outside the 

17 United States; 

18 ‘‘(VI) obtaining transaction-spe19 cific financing associated with com20 pleting export orders; 

21 ‘‘(VII) purchasing real estate or 

22 equipment to be used in the produc23 tion of goods or services for export; 

24 ‘‘(VIII) providing term loans or 

25 other financing to enable a small busiVerDate Nov 24 2008 05:46 Jun 09, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1208.IS S1208

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1 ness concern, including an export 

2 trading company and an export man3 agement company, to develop a mar4 ket outside the United States; and 

5 ‘‘(IX) acquiring, constructing, 

6 renovating, modernizing, improving, 

7 or expanding a production facility or 

8 equipment to be used in the United 

9 States in the production of goods or 

10 services for export; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘express loan’ means a 

12 loan in which a lender uses to the max13 imum extent practicable the loan analyses, 

14 procedures, and documentation of the lend15 er to provide expedited processing of the 

16 loan application. 

17 ‘‘(B) AUTHORITY.—The Administrator 

18 may guarantee the timely payment of an ex19 press loan to a small business concern made for 

20 an export development activity. 

21 ‘‘(C) LEVEL OF PARTICIPATION.— 

22 ‘‘(i) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The max23 imum amount of an express loan guaran24 teed under this paragraph shall be 

25 $500,000. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) PERCENTAGE.—For an express 

2 loan guaranteed under this paragraph, the 

3 Administrator shall guarantee— 

4 ‘‘(I) 90 percent of a loan that is 

5 not more than $350,000; and 

6 ‘‘(II) 75 percent of a loan that is 

7 more than $350,000 and not more 

8 than $500,000.’’. 

9 (d) INTERNATIONAL TRADE LOANS.—Section 7(a) of 

10 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)) is amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking 

12 ‘‘$1,750,000, of which not more than $1,250,000’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘$5,000,000, of which not more than 

14 $4,000,000’’; and 

15 (2) in paragraph (16)— 

16 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘a 

17 first lien position’’ and all that follows and in18 serting ‘‘such collateral as is determined ade19 quate by the Administrator.’’; 

20 (B) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

21 clauses (i) and (ii) and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(i) is confronting— 

23 ‘‘(I) increased competition with 

24 foreign firms in the relevant market; 

25 or 


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1 ‘‘(II) an unfair trade practice by 

2 a foreign firm, particularly intellectual 

3 property violations; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) is injured by the competition or 

5 unfair trade practice.’’; and 

6 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(F) GUARANTEE.—For a loan guaranteed 

8 under this paragraph, the Administrator shall 

9 guarantee 90 percent of the loan. 

10 ‘‘(G) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 

11 term ‘small business concern’ has the meaning 

12 given the term ‘small-business concern’ in sec13 tion 103 of the Small Business Investment Act 

14 of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 662).’’. 

15 (e) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

16 Section 7 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636) is 

17 amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (a)— 

19 (A) in paragraph (2)(A), in the matter 

20 preceding clause (i), by inserting ‘‘or (D) of this 

21 paragraph or in paragraph (16) or (34)’’ after 

22 ‘‘in subparagraph (B)’’; and 

23 (B) in paragraph (3), in the matter pre24 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘No’’ and 


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1 inserting ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph 

2 (14)(B), no’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (c)— 

4 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

5 (i) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

6 ‘‘Lender’’ and inserting ‘‘Lenders’’; 

7 (ii) in subparagraph (E)— 

8 (I) by striking ‘‘Lender’’ and in9 serting ‘‘Lenders’’; and 

10 (II) by striking ‘‘subsection 

11 (a)(2)(C)(ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub12 section (a)(2)(C)(iii)’’; and 

13 (B) in paragraph (7)(B)(ii), by striking 

14 ‘‘Lender’’ and inserting ‘‘Lenders’’. 

15 SEC. 5. MARKETING OF EXPORT LOANS. 

16 The Administrator shall make efforts to expand the 

17 network of lenders participating in the export loan pro18 grams, including by— 

19 (1) conducting outreach to regional and com20 munity lenders through the staff of the Administra21 tion assigned to Export Assistance Centers or to dis22 trict offices of the Administration; 

23 (2) developing a lender training program re24 garding the export loan programs for employees of 

25 lenders; 


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1 (3) simplifying and streamlining the applica2 tion, processing, and reporting processes for the ex3 port loan programs; and 

4 (4) establishing online, paperless processing and 

5 application submission for the export loan programs. 

6 SEC. 6. SMALL BUSINESS TRADE POLICY. 

7 (a) ASSISTANT UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENT8 ATIVE FOR SMALL BUSINESS.—Section 141(c) of the 

9 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2171(c)) is amended— 

10 (1) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(6)(A) There is established within the Office the po12 sition of Assistant United States Trade Representative for 

13 Small Business, who shall be appointed by the United 

14 States Trade Representative. 

15 ‘‘(B) The Assistant United States Trade Representa16 tive for Small Business shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) promote the trade interests of small-busi18 ness concerns (as that term is defined in section 103 

19 of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 

20 U.S.C. 662)); 

21 ‘‘(ii) advocate for the reduction of foreign trade 

22 barriers with regard to the trade issues of small23 business concerns that are exporters; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) collaborate with the Administrator of the 

2 Small Business Administration with regard to the 

3 trade issues of small-business concern trade issues; 

4 ‘‘(iv) assist the United States Trade Represent5 ative in developing trade policies that increase op6 portunities for small-business concerns in foreign 

7 and domestic markets, including polices that reduce 

8 trade barriers for small-business concerns; and 

9 ‘‘(v) perform such other duties as the United 

10 States Trade Representative may direct.’’; and 

11 (2) by moving paragraph (5) 2 ems to the left. 

12 (b) TRADE PROMOTION COORDINATING COM13 MITTEE.— 

14 (1) DETAILEE.—Section 2312 of the Export 

15 Enhancement Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4727) is 

16 amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(g) SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION.—The Ad18 ministrator of the Small Business Administration shall de19 tail an employee of the Small Business Administration 

20 having expertise in export promotion to the TPCC to en21 courage the TPCC to— 

22 ‘‘(1) collaborate with the Small Business Ad23 ministration with regard to trade promotion efforts; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(2) consider the interests of small-business 

2 concerns (as that term is defined in section 103 of 

3 the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 

4 U.S.C. 662)) in the development of trade promotion 

5 policies and programs.’’. 

6 (2) NATIONAL EXPORT STRATEGY.—Section 

7 2312 of the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 (15 

8 U.S.C. 4727) is amended— 

9 (A) in subsection (c)— 

10 (i) in paragraph (5), by striking 

11 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

12 (ii) in paragraph (6), by striking the 

13 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

14 and 

15 (iii) by adding at the end the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(7) include an export strategy for small-busi18 ness concerns (as that term is defined in section 103 

19 of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 

20 U.S.C. 662)), which shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) be developed by the Administrator of 

22 the Small Business Administration; and 

23 ‘‘(B) include strategies to— 

24 ‘‘(i) increase export opportunities for 

25 small-business concerns; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) protect small-business concerns 

2 from unfair trade practices, including intel3 lectual property violations; 

4 ‘‘(iii) assist small-business concerns 

5 with international regulatory compliance 

6 requirements; and 

7 ‘‘(iv) coordinate policy and program 

8 efforts throughout the United States with 

9 the TPCC, the Department of Commerce, 

10 and the Export Import Bank of the United 

11 States.’’; and 

12 (B) in subsection (f), in paragraph (1), by 

13 inserting ‘‘(including implementation of the ex14 port strategy for small business concerns de15 scribed in paragraph (7) of that subsection)’’ 

16 after ‘‘the implementation of such plan’’. 

17 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS ON TRADE AGREEMENTS.— 

18 (1) NOTIFICATION BY USTR.—Not later than 

19 90 days before the United States Trade Representa20 tive begins a negotiation with regard to any trade 

21 agreement, the United States Trade Representative 

22 shall notify the Administrator of the date the nego23 tiation will begin. 

24 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 30 

25 days before the United States Trade Representative 


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1 begins a negotiation with regard to any trade agree2 ment, the Administrator shall present to the United 

3 States Trade Representative recommendations relat4 ing to the needs and concerns of small business con5 cerns that are exporters. 

6 (d) TRADE DISPUTES.—The Administrator shall 

7 carry out a comprehensive program to provide technical 

8 assistance, counseling, and reference materials to small 

9 business concerns relating to resources, procedures, and 

10 requirements for mechanisms to resolve international 

11 trade disputes or address unfair international trade prac12 tices under international trade agreements or Federal law, 

13 including— 

14 (1) directing the district offices of the Adminis15 tration to provide referrals, information, and other 

16 services to small business concerns relating to the 

17 mechanisms; 

18 (2) entering agreements and partnerships with 

19 providers of legal services relating to the mecha20 nisms, to ensure small business concerns may 

21 affordably use the mechanisms; and 

22 (3) in consultation with the Director of the 

23 United States Patent and Trademark Office and the 

24 Register of Copyrights, designing counseling services 


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1 and materials for small business concerns regarding 

2 intellectual property protection in other countries. 

Æ 


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