IB 

Union Calendar No. 187 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6450 

[Report No. 117–257] 

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

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 20, 2022 

Mrs. KIM of California (for herself and Ms. CRAIG) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business 

MARCH 7, 2022 

Additional sponsors: Mr. MFUME, Miss GONZA ́LEZ-COLO ́N, Mr. CASE, Ms. 

SALAZAR, and Mr. KAHELE

MARCH 7, 2022 

Reported from the Committee on Small Business; 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 Act may be cited as the ‘‘SCORE for Small 

5 Business Act of 2022’’. 

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) every 2 years, conduct a financial 

19 examination of the SCORE Association to 

20 ensure that any costs paid for with Federal 

21 funds are allowable, allocable, and reason22 able; 

23 ‘‘(ii) review and approve contracts en24 tered into by the SCORE Association to 

25 provide goods or services for the SCORE 


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1 program of a value greater than an 

2 amount determined by the Administrator; 

3 ‘‘(iii) maintain a system through 

4 which the SCORE Association provides 

5 documentation relating to such contracts; 

6 and 

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

8 a quarterly report on the achievements of 

9 the SCORE program submitted by the 

10 SCORE Association, reconcile differences 

11 between such report and the performance 

12 results of the SCORE program reported in 

13 a management information system of the 

14 Office of Entrepreneurial Development. 

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

16 SCORE Association shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) manage nationwide chapters of 

18 the SCORE program; 

19 ‘‘(ii) provide annual training to em20 ployees of the SCORE Association on gen21 erating and using program income from 

22 the SCORE program; 

23 ‘‘(iii) submit documentation to the 

24 Administrator verifying such annual train25 ing is completed; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) separate funds donated to the 

2 SCORE Association from program income 

3 and funds received pursuant to a coopera4 tive agreement; and 

5 ‘‘(v) maintain and enforce require6 ments for volunteers participating in the 

7 SCORE program, including requirements 

8 that each such volunteer shall— 

9 ‘‘(I) based on the business expe10 rience and knowledge of the volun11 teer— 

12 ‘‘(aa) provide personal coun13 seling, mentoring, and coaching 

14 on the process of starting, ex15 panding, managing, buying, and 

16 selling a business at no cost to 

17 individuals who own, or aspire to 

18 own, small business concerns; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(bb) facilitate free or low21 cost education workshops for in22 dividuals who own, or aspire to 

23 own, small business concerns; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(II) as appropriate, use tools, 

2 resources, and expertise of other orga3 nizations to carry out the SCORE 

4 program. 

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

6 in consultation with the SCORE Association, 

7 shall ensure that the SCORE program and each 

8 chapter of the SCORE program— 

9 ‘‘(i) develop and implement plans and 

10 goals to effectively and efficiently provide 

11 services to individuals in rural areas, eco12 nomically disadvantaged communities, or 

13 other traditionally underserved commu14 nities, including plans for virtual, remote, 

15 and web-based initiatives, chapter expan16 sion, partnerships, and the development of 

17 new skills by volunteers participating in 

18 the SCORE program; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) reinforce an inclusive culture by 

20 recruiting diverse volunteers for the chap21 ters of the SCORE program. 

22 ‘‘(3) ONLINE COMPONENT.—In addition to pro23 viding in-person services, the SCORE Association 

24 shall maintain and expand online counseling services 


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1 including webinars, electronic mentoring platforms, 

2 and online toolkits to further support entrepreneurs. 

3 ‘‘(4) ACCOUNTING.—The SCORE Association 

4 shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) maintain a centralized accounting 

6 and financing system for each chapter of the 

7 SCORE program; 

8 ‘‘(B) maintain a uniform policy and proce9 dures to manage Federal funds received pursu10 ant to a cooperative agreement described in 

11 paragraph (2); and 

12 ‘‘(C) maintain an employee of the SCORE 

13 Association to serve as a compliance officer to 

14 ensure expenditures of the SCORE program are 

15 fully compliant with any law, regulation, or co16 operative agreement relating to the SCORE 

17 program. 

18 ‘‘(5) COMPENSATION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) SALARIES.—The salary of an em20 ployee of the SCORE Association may not ex21 ceed the equivalent of the maximum rate of pay 

22 allowable for an individual in the career Senior 

23 Executive Service employed at the Administra24 tion. 


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1 ‘‘(B) PERFORMANCE AWARDS.—The 

2 SCORE Association may spend up to 5 percent 

3 of the aggregate salaries of employees of the 

4 SCORE Association on individual performance 

5 awards to employees of the SCORE Associa6 tion, to be disbursed before the last day of the 

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

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 encour5 age 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 is necessary for the pur5 pose of conducting a financial audit of the 

6 SCORE program, in which case disclosure 

7 shall be limited to the information nec8 essary 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 described under sub22 paragraph (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 total number and the number of 

20 unique clients counseled or trained under the 

21 SCORE program; 

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

23 provided under the SCORE program; 

24 ‘‘(C) the number of local workshops pro25 vided under the SCORE program; 


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1 ‘‘(D) the number of clients attending on2 line and local workshops provided under the 

3 SCORE program; 

4 ‘‘(E) to the extent practicable, the demo5 graphics of SCORE program clients and volun6 teers, which shall include the gender, race, and 

7 age of each such client or volunteer; 

8 ‘‘(F) with respect to businesses assisted 

9 under the SCORE program, the cost to create 

10 a job, the cost to create a business, and return 

11 on investment; 

12 ‘‘(G) the number of referrals of SCORE 

13 program clients to other resources and pro14 grams of the Administration; 

15 ‘‘(H) the number of SCORE program cli16 ents receiving financial assistance, including the 

17 type and dollar amount, under loan programs of 

18 the Administration; 

19 ‘‘(I) the results of SCORE program client 

20 satisfactory surveys, including a summary of 

21 any comments received from such clients; 

22 ‘‘(J) the number of new businesses started 

23 up by SCORE program clients; 

24 ‘‘(K) the number of such new businesses 

25 realizing revenue growth; 


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1 ‘‘(L) to the extent practicable, the number 

2 of jobs created with assistance from the 

3 SCORE program; 

4 ‘‘(M) the total cost of the SCORE pro5 gram; 

6 ‘‘(N) any recommendations of the Adminis7 trator to improve the SCORE program; and 

8 ‘‘(O) an explanation of how the SCORE 

9 program has been integrated with— 

10 ‘‘(i) small business development cen11 ters; 

12 ‘‘(ii) women’s business centers (de13 scribed under section 29); 

14 ‘‘(iii) Veteran Business Outreach Cen15 ters 20 (described under section 32); 

16 ‘‘(iv) other offices of the Administra17 tion; and 

18 ‘‘(v) other public and private entities 

19 engaging in entrepreneurial and small 

20 business development.’’. 

21 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE 

22 SCORE PROGRAM. 

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

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

25 subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(i) SCORE PROGRAM.—There are authorized to be 

2 appropriated to the Administrator to carry out the 

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

4 as are necessary for the Administrator to make grants or 

5 enter into cooperative agreements in a total amount that 

6 does not exceed $13,500,000 in each of fiscal years 2022 

7 and 2023.’’. 

8 SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

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

10 THE SCORE PROGRAM.— 

11 (1) STUDY.—The SCORE Association shall 

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

13 program and develop a strategic plan for how the 

14 SCORE program will meet the needs of small busi15 ness concerns during the 5-year period beginning on 

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

17 objectives for the first, third, and fifth years of such 

18 5-year period. 

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

20 month period beginning on the date of the enact21 ment of this Act, the SCORE Association shall sub22 mit to the Committee on Small Business of the 

23 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

24 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate 

25 a report containing— 


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1 (A) all findings and determination made in 

2 carrying out the study required under para3 graph (1); 

4 (B) the strategic plan developed under 

5 paragraph (1); and 

6 (C) an explanation of how the SCORE As7 sociation plans to achieve the strategic plan, as8 suming both stagnant and increased funding 

9 levels. 

10 (b) ADMINISTRATOR REPORT ON LEASED SPACE.— 

11 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 

12 this Act, the Administrator of the Small Business Admin13 istration shall submit to the Committee on Small Business 

14 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

15 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate a re16 port containing an assessment of the cost of leased space 

17 that is donated to the SCORE Association. 

18 (c) ONLINE COMPONENT REPORT.—Not later than 

19 3 months after the last day of the first full fiscal year 

20 following the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

21 SCORE Association shall submit to the Committee on 

22 Small Business of the House of Representatives and the 

23 Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of 

24 the Senate a report on the effectiveness of the online coun25 seling services required under paragraph (3) of section 


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1 8(c) of the Small Business Act, as added by section 2 of 

2 this Act, including a description of— 

3 (1) how the SCORE Association determines 

4 electronic mentoring and webinar needs, develops 

5 training for electronic mentoring, establishes 

6 webinar criteria curricula, and evaluates webinar 

7 and electronic mentoring results; 

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

9 summary of the topics covered by the webinars; and 

10 (3) performance metrics, including the number 

11 of small business concerns counseled by, the number 

12 of small business concerns created by, the number of 

13 jobs created and retained by, and the funding 

14 amounts directed towards such online counseling 

15 services. 

16 SEC. 5. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

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

18 (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended— 

19 (1) in section 7 (15 U.S.C. 636)— 

20 (A) in subsection (b)(12)— 

21 (i) in the paragraph heading, by in22 serting ‘‘PROGRAM’’ after ‘‘SCORE’’; and 

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

24 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 


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

2 striking ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 

4 (2) in section 22 (15 U.S.C. 649)— 

5 (A) in subsection (b)— 

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

7 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 

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

10 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 

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

13 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and in14 serting ‘‘SCORE program’’. 

15 (b) OTHER LAWS.— 

16 (1) SMALL BUSINESS REAUTHORIZATION ACT

17 OF 1997.—Section 707 of the Small Business Reau18 thorization Act of 1997 (15 U.S.C. 631 note) is 

19 amended by striking ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Ex20 ecutives (SCORE) program’’ and inserting ‘‘SCORE 

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

22 Business Act)’’. 

23 (2) VETERANS ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND

24 SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1999.—Sec25 tion 301 of the Veterans Entrepreneurship and 


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

2 657b note) is amended by striking ‘‘Service Core of 

3 Retired Executives’’ and inserting ‘‘SCORE pro4 gram’’. 

5 (3) MILITARY RESERVIST AND VETERAN SMALL

6 BUSINESS REAUTHORIZATION AND OPPORTUNITY

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

8 and Veteran Small Business Reauthorization and 

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

10 amended by striking ‘‘the Service Corps of Retired 

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

12 (4) CHILDREN’S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM

13 REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2009.—Section 621 of the 

14 Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthoriza15 tion Act of 2009 (15 U.S.C. 657p) is amended— 

16 (A) in subsection (a), by striking para17 graph (4) and inserting the following: 

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

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

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

21 637(b)(1)(B));’’; and 

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

23 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and in24 serting ‘‘SCORE program’’. 


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1 (5) ENERGY POLICY AND CONSERVATION

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

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

4 amended by striking ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Ex5 ecutives (SCORE)’’ and inserting ‘‘SCORE pro6 gram’’. 

7 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) ADMINISTRATION; ADMINISTRATOR.—The 

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

11 respectively, the Small Business Administration and 

12 the Administrator thereof. 

13 (2) SCORE ASSOCIATION; SCORE PROGRAM.— 

14 The terms ‘‘SCORE Association’’ and ‘‘SCORE pro15 gram’’ have the meaning given those terms, respec16 tively, under section 8(c)(1) of the Small Business 

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


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Union Calendar No. 187 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6450 

[Report No. 117–257] 

A BILL 

To amend the Small Business Act to reauthorize 

the SCORE program, and for other purposes. 

MARCH 7, 2022 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 


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