I 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6450 

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 

A BILL 

To amend the Small Business Act to reauthorize the SCORE 

program, 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 ‘‘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)— 


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

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

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

4 and 

5 (B) by striking ‘‘SCORE may’’ and insert6 ing ‘‘the SCORE Association (as defined in 

7 subsection (c)) may’’; and 

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

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(c) SCORE PROGRAM.— 

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

12 ‘‘(A) SCORE ASSOCIATION.—The term 

13 ‘SCORE Association’ means the Service Corps 

14 of Retired Executives Association or any suc15 cessor or other organization that enters into a 

16 cooperative agreement (as described under 

17 paragraph (2)) with the Administrator to oper18 ate the SCORE program. 

19 ‘‘(B) SCORE FOUNDATION.—The term 

20 ‘SCORE Foundation’ means an organization 

21 with a mission to support the SCORE Associa22 tion and volunteers of the SCORE program. 

23 ‘‘(C) SCORE PROGRAM.—The term 

24 ‘SCORE program’ means the SCORE program 

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


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1 ‘‘(2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—The Admin2 istrator shall enter into a cooperative agreement 

3 with the SCORE Association to carry out the 

4 SCORE program, which shall include the following 

5 requirements: 

6 ‘‘(A) ADMINISTRATOR DUTIES.—The Ad7 ministrator shall— 

8 ‘‘(i) every 2 years, conduct a financial 

9 examination of the SCORE Association to 

10 ensure that any costs paid for with Federal 

11 funds are allowable, allocable, and reason12 able; 

13 ‘‘(ii) review and approve contracts en14 tered into by the SCORE Association to 

15 provide goods or services for the SCORE 

16 program of a value greater than an 

17 amount determined by the Administrator; 

18 ‘‘(iii) maintain a system through 

19 which the SCORE Association provides 

20 documentation relating to such contracts; 

21 and 

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

23 a quarterly report on the achievements of 

24 the SCORE program submitted by the 

25 SCORE Association, reconcile differences 


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1 between such report and the performance 

2 results of the SCORE program reported in 

3 a management information system of the 

4 Office of Entrepreneurial Development. 

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

6 SCORE Association shall— 

7 ‘‘(i) manage nationwide chapters of 

8 the SCORE program; 

9 ‘‘(ii) provide annual training to em10 ployees of the SCORE Association on gen11 erating and using program income from 

12 the SCORE program; 

13 ‘‘(iii) submit documentation to the 

14 Administrator verifying such annual train15 ing is completed; 

16 ‘‘(iv) separate funds donated to the 

17 SCORE Association from program income 

18 and funds received pursuant to a coopera19 tive agreement; and 

20 ‘‘(v) maintain and enforce require21 ments for volunteers participating in the 

22 SCORE program, including requirements 

23 that each such volunteer shall— 


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1 ‘‘(I) based on the business expe2 rience and knowledge of the volun3 teer— 

4 ‘‘(aa) provide personal coun5 seling, mentoring, and coaching 

6 on the process of starting, ex7 panding, managing, buying, and 

8 selling a business at no cost to 

9 individuals who own, or aspire to 

10 own, small business concerns; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(bb) facilitate free or low13 cost education workshops for in14 dividuals who own, or aspire to 

15 own, small business concerns; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(II) as appropriate, use tools, 

18 resources, and expertise of other orga19 nizations to carry out the SCORE 

20 program. 

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

22 in consultation with the SCORE Association, 

23 shall ensure that the SCORE program and each 

24 chapter of the SCORE program— 


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1 ‘‘(i) develop and implement plans and 

2 goals to effectively and efficiently provide 

3 services to individuals in rural areas, eco4 nomically disadvantaged communities, or 

5 other traditionally underserved commu6 nities, including plans for virtual, remote, 

7 and web-based initiatives, chapter expan8 sion, partnerships, and the development of 

9 new skills by volunteers participating in 

10 the SCORE program; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) reinforce an inclusive culture by 

12 recruiting diverse volunteers for the chap13 ters of the SCORE program. 

14 ‘‘(3) ONLINE COMPONENT.—In addition to pro15 viding in-person services, the SCORE Association 

16 shall maintain and expand online counseling services 

17 including webinars, electronic mentoring platforms, 

18 and online toolkits to further support entrepreneurs. 

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

20 shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) maintain a centralized accounting 

22 and financing system for each chapter of the 

23 SCORE program; 

24 ‘‘(B) maintain a uniform policy and proce25 dures to manage Federal funds received pursuVerDate Sep 11 2014 15:48 Jan 24, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6450.IH H6450

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1 ant to a cooperative agreement described in 

2 paragraph (2); and 

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

4 Association to serve as a compliance officer to 

5 ensure expenditures of the SCORE program are 

6 fully compliant with any law, regulation, or co7 operative agreement relating to the SCORE 

8 program. 

9 ‘‘(5) COMPENSATION.— 

10 ‘‘(A) SALARIES.—The salary of an em11 ployee of the SCORE Association may not ex12 ceed the equivalent of the maximum rate of pay 

13 allowable for an individual in the career Senior 

14 Executive Service employed at the Administra15 tion. 

16 ‘‘(B) PERFORMANCE AWARDS.—The 

17 SCORE Association may spend up to 5 percent 

18 of the aggregate salaries of employees of the 

19 SCORE Association on individual performance 

20 awards to employees of the SCORE Associa21 tion, to be disbursed before the last day of the 

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

23 disbursement the SCORE Association submits 

24 to the Administrator a report on the number 

25 and amount of such awards to be disbursed. 


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

2 the Board of Directors of the SCORE Associa3 tion or an employee of the SCORE Association 

4 may not simultaneously serve on the Board of 

5 Directors of, or receive compensation from, the 

6 SCORE Foundation without written approval 

7 from the Administrator. 

8 ‘‘(6) WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION REQUIRE9 MENTS.—The SCORE Association shall— 

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

11 documents applicable to employees and volun12 teers of the SCORE Association or the SCORE 

13 program to include requirements relating to re14 porting procedures and protectors for whistle15 blowers; and 

16 ‘‘(B) conduct an annual training for em17 ployees and volunteers of the SCORE Associa18 tion or the SCORE program on the require19 ments described in paragraph (1) and encour20 age the use of the hotline established by the Of21 fice of the Inspector General of the Small Busi22 ness Administration to submit whistleblower re23 ports. 

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

25 Association shall ensure all published materials inVerDate Sep 11 2014 15:48 Jan 24, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6450.IH H6450

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1 clude written acknowledgment of Small Business Ad2 ministration support of the SCORE program if such 

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

4 funds. 

5 ‘‘(8) PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Neither the Adminis7 trator nor the SCORE Association may disclose 

8 the name, address, or telephone number of any 

9 individual or small business concern receiving 

10 assistance from the SCORE Association with11 out the consent of such individual or small busi12 ness concern, unless— 

13 ‘‘(i) the Administrator is ordered to 

14 make such a disclosure by a court in any 

15 civil or criminal enforcement action initi16 ated by a Federal or State agency; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) the Administrator determines 

18 such a disclosure is necessary for the pur19 pose of conducting a financial audit of the 

20 SCORE program, in which case disclosure 

21 shall be limited to the information nec22 essary for the audit. 

23 ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATOR USE OF INFORMA24 TION.—This paragraph shall not— 


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1 ‘‘(i) restrict the access of the Adminis2 trator to SCORE program activity data; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) prevent the Administrator from 

4 using SCORE program client information 

5 to conduct client surveys. 

6 ‘‘(C) STANDARDS.— 

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

8 shall, after the opportunity for notice and 

9 comment, establish standards for— 

10 ‘‘(I) disclosures with respect to 

11 financial audits described under sub12 paragraph (A)(ii); and 

13 ‘‘(II) conducting client surveys, 

14 including standards for oversight of 

15 the surveys and for dissemination and 

16 use of client information. 

17 ‘‘(ii) MAXIMUM PRIVACY PROTEC18 TION.—The standards issued under this 

19 subparagraph shall, to the extent prac20 ticable, provide for the maximum amount 

21 of privacy protection. 

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

23 days after the date of the enactment of this sub24 section and annually thereafter, the Administrator 

25 shall submit to the Committee on Small Business 


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1 and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Com2 mittee on Small Business of the House of Rep3 resentatives a report on the performance and effec4 tiveness of the SCORE program, which may be in5 cluded as part of another report submitted to such 

6 Committees by the Administrator, and which shall 

7 include— 

8 ‘‘(A) the total number and the number of 

9 unique clients counseled or trained under the 

10 SCORE program; 

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

12 provided under the SCORE program; 

13 ‘‘(C) the number of local workshops pro14 vided under the SCORE program; 

15 ‘‘(D) the number of clients attending on16 line and local workshops provided under the 

17 SCORE program; 

18 ‘‘(E) to the extent practicable, the demo19 graphics of SCORE program clients and volun20 teers, which shall include the gender, race, and 

21 age of each such client or volunteer; 

22 ‘‘(F) with respect to businesses assisted 

23 under the SCORE program, the cost to create 

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

25 on investment; 


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

2 program clients to other resources and pro3 grams of the Administration; 

4 ‘‘(H) the number of SCORE program cli5 ents receiving financial assistance, including the 

6 type and dollar amount, under loan programs of 

7 the Administration; 

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

9 satisfactory surveys, including a summary of 

10 any comments received from such clients; 

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

12 up by SCORE program clients; 

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

14 realizing revenue growth; 

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

16 of jobs created with assistance from the 

17 SCORE program; 

18 ‘‘(M) the total cost of the SCORE pro19 gram; 

20 ‘‘(N) any recommendations of the Adminis21 trator to improve the SCORE program; and 

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

23 program has been integrated with— 

24 ‘‘(i) small business development cen25 ters; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) women’s business centers (de2 scribed under section 29); 

3 ‘‘(iii) Veteran Business Outreach Cen4 ters 20 (described under section 32); 

5 ‘‘(iv) other offices of the Administra6 tion; and 

7 ‘‘(v) other public and private entities 

8 engaging in entrepreneurial and small 

9 business development.’’. 

10 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE 

11 SCORE PROGRAM. 

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

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

14 subsection: 

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

16 appropriated to the Administrator to carry out the 

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

18 as are necessary for the Administrator to make grants or 

19 enter into cooperative agreements in a total amount that 

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

21 and 2023.’’. 

22 SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

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

24 THE SCORE PROGRAM.— 


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1 (1) STUDY.—The SCORE Association shall 

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

3 program and develop a strategic plan for how the 

4 SCORE program will meet the needs of small busi5 ness concerns during the 5-year period beginning on 

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

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

8 5-year period. 

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

10 month period beginning on the date of the enact11 ment of this Act, the SCORE Association shall sub12 mit to the Committee on Small Business of the 

13 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

14 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate 

15 a report containing— 

16 (A) all findings and determination made in 

17 carrying out the study required under para18 graph (1); 

19 (B) the strategic plan developed under 

20 paragraph (1); and 

21 (C) an explanation of how the SCORE As22 sociation plans to achieve the strategic plan, as23 suming both stagnant and increased funding 

24 levels. 


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1 (b) ADMINISTRATOR REPORT ON LEASED SPACE.— 

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

3 this Act, the Administrator of the Small Business Admin4 istration shall submit to the Committee on Small Business 

5 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

6 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate a re7 port containing an assessment of the cost of leased space 

8 that is donated to the SCORE Association. 

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

10 3 months after the last day of the first full fiscal year 

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

12 SCORE Association shall submit to the Committee on 

13 Small Business of the House of Representatives and the 

14 Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of 

15 the Senate a report on the effectiveness of the online coun16 seling services required under paragraph (3) of section 

17 8(c) of the Small Business Act, as added by section 2 of 

18 this Act, including a description of— 

19 (1) how the SCORE Association determines 

20 electronic mentoring and webinar needs, develops 

21 training for electronic mentoring, establishes 

22 webinar criteria curricula, and evaluates webinar 

23 and electronic mentoring results; 

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

25 summary of the topics covered by the webinars; and 


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1 (3) performance metrics, including the number 

2 of small business concerns counseled by, the number 

3 of small business concerns created by, the number of 

4 jobs created and retained by, and the funding 

5 amounts directed towards such online counseling 

6 services. 

7 SEC. 5. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

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

9 (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended— 

10 (1) in section 7 (15 U.S.C. 636)— 

11 (A) in subsection (b)(12)— 

12 (i) in the paragraph heading, by in13 serting ‘‘PROGRAM’’ after ‘‘SCORE’’; and 

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

15 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and 

16 inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 

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

18 striking ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 

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

21 (A) in subsection (b)— 

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

23 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 


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

2 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and 

3 inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and in6 serting ‘‘SCORE program’’. 

7 (b) OTHER LAWS.— 

8 (1) SMALL BUSINESS REAUTHORIZATION ACT

9 OF 1997.—Section 707 of the Small Business Reau10 thorization Act of 1997 (15 U.S.C. 631 note) is 

11 amended by striking ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Ex12 ecutives (SCORE) program’’ and inserting ‘‘SCORE 

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

14 Business Act)’’. 

15 (2) VETERANS ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND

16 SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1999.—Sec17 tion 301 of the Veterans Entrepreneurship and 

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

19 657b note) is amended by striking ‘‘Service Core of 

20 Retired Executives’’ and inserting ‘‘SCORE pro21 gram’’. 

22 (3) MILITARY RESERVIST AND VETERAN SMALL

23 BUSINESS REAUTHORIZATION AND OPPORTUNITY

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

25 and Veteran Small Business Reauthorization and 


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

2 amended by striking ‘‘the Service Corps of Retired 

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

4 (4) CHILDREN’S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM

5 REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2009.—Section 621 of the 

6 Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthoriza7 tion Act of 2009 (15 U.S.C. 657p) is amended— 

8 (A) in subsection (a), by striking para9 graph (4) and inserting the following: 

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

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

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

13 637(b)(1)(B));’’; and 

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

15 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and in16 serting ‘‘SCORE program’’. 

17 (5) ENERGY POLICY AND CONSERVATION

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

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

20 amended by striking ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Ex21 ecutives (SCORE)’’ and inserting ‘‘SCORE pro22 gram’’. 

23 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this Act: 


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1 (1) ADMINISTRATION; ADMINISTRATOR.—The 

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

3 respectively, the Small Business Administration and 

4 the Administrator thereof. 

5 (2) SCORE ASSOCIATION; SCORE PROGRAM.— 

6 The terms ‘‘SCORE Association’’ and ‘‘SCORE pro7 gram’’ have the meaning given those terms, respec8 tively, under section 8(c)(1) of the Small Business 

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

Æ 


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