IIB 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6450 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 27, 2022 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and 

Entrepreneurship 

AN ACT 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘SCORE for Small 

3 Business Act of 2022’’. 

4 SEC. 2. SCORE PROGRAM PROVISIONS AND REQUIRE5 MENTS. 

6 Section 8 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637) 

7 is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (b)(1)(B)— 

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

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

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

12 and 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘SCORE may’’ and insert14 ing ‘‘the SCORE Association (as defined in 

15 subsection (c)) may’’; and 

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

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(c) SCORE PROGRAM.— 

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

20 ‘‘(A) SCORE ASSOCIATION.—The term 

21 ‘SCORE Association’ means the Service Corps 

22 of Retired Executives Association or any suc23 cessor or other organization that enters into a 

24 cooperative agreement (as described under 

25 paragraph (2)) with the Administrator to oper26 ate the SCORE program. 


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1 ‘‘(B) SCORE FOUNDATION.—The term 

2 ‘SCORE Foundation’ means an organization 

3 with a mission to support the SCORE Associa4 tion and volunteers of the SCORE program. 

5 ‘‘(C) SCORE PROGRAM.—The term 

6 ‘SCORE program’ means the SCORE program 

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

8 ‘‘(2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—The Admin9 istrator shall enter into a cooperative agreement 

10 with the SCORE Association to carry out the 

11 SCORE program, which shall include the following 

12 requirements: 

13 ‘‘(A) ADMINISTRATOR DUTIES.—The Ad14 ministrator shall— 

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

16 examination of the SCORE Association to 

17 ensure that any costs paid for with Federal 

18 funds are allowable, allocable, and reason19 able; 

20 ‘‘(ii) review and approve contracts en21 tered into by the SCORE Association to 

22 provide goods or services for the SCORE 

23 program of a value greater than an 

24 amount determined by the Administrator; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) maintain a system through 

2 which the SCORE Association provides 

3 documentation relating to such contracts; 

4 and 

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

6 a quarterly report on the achievements of 

7 the SCORE program submitted by the 

8 SCORE Association, reconcile differences 

9 between such report and the performance 

10 results of the SCORE program reported in 

11 a management information system of the 

12 Office of Entrepreneurial Development. 

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

14 SCORE Association shall— 

15 ‘‘(i) manage nationwide chapters of 

16 the SCORE program; 

17 ‘‘(ii) provide annual training to em18 ployees of the SCORE Association on gen19 erating and using program income from 

20 the SCORE program; 

21 ‘‘(iii) submit documentation to the 

22 Administrator verifying such annual train23 ing is completed; 

24 ‘‘(iv) separate funds donated to the 

25 SCORE Association from program income 


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1 and funds received pursuant to a coopera2 tive agreement; and 

3 ‘‘(v) maintain and enforce require4 ments for volunteers participating in the 

5 SCORE program, including requirements 

6 that each such volunteer shall— 

7 ‘‘(I) based on the business expe8 rience and knowledge of the volun9 teer— 

10 ‘‘(aa) provide personal coun11 seling, mentoring, and coaching 

12 on the process of starting, ex13 panding, managing, buying, and 

14 selling a business at no cost to 

15 individuals who own, or aspire to 

16 own, small business concerns; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(bb) facilitate free or low19 cost education workshops for in20 dividuals who own, or aspire to 

21 own, small business concerns; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(II) as appropriate, use tools, 

24 resources, and expertise of other orgaVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:51 Apr 28, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6450.RFS H6450

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1 nizations to carry out the SCORE 

2 program. 

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

4 in consultation with the SCORE Association, 

5 shall ensure that the SCORE program and each 

6 chapter of the SCORE program— 

7 ‘‘(i) develop and implement plans and 

8 goals to effectively and efficiently provide 

9 services to individuals in rural areas, eco10 nomically disadvantaged communities, or 

11 other traditionally underserved commu12 nities, including plans for virtual, remote, 

13 and web-based initiatives, chapter expan14 sion, partnerships, and the development of 

15 new skills by volunteers participating in 

16 the SCORE program; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) reinforce an inclusive culture by 

18 recruiting diverse volunteers for the chap19 ters of the SCORE program. 

20 ‘‘(3) ONLINE COMPONENT.—In addition to pro21 viding in-person services, the SCORE Association 

22 shall maintain and expand online counseling services 

23 including webinars, electronic mentoring platforms, 

24 and online toolkits to further support entrepreneurs. 


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

2 shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) maintain a centralized accounting 

4 and financing system for each chapter of the 

5 SCORE program; 

6 ‘‘(B) maintain a uniform policy and proce7 dures to manage Federal funds received pursu8 ant to a cooperative agreement described in 

9 paragraph (2); and 

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

11 Association to serve as a compliance officer to 

12 ensure expenditures of the SCORE program are 

13 fully compliant with any law, regulation, or co14 operative agreement relating to the SCORE 

15 program. 

16 ‘‘(5) COMPENSATION.— 

17 ‘‘(A) SALARIES.—The salary of an em18 ployee of the SCORE Association may not ex19 ceed the equivalent of the maximum rate of pay 

20 allowable for an individual in the career Senior 

21 Executive Service employed at the Administra22 tion. 

23 ‘‘(B) PERFORMANCE AWARDS.—The 

24 SCORE Association may spend up to 5 percent 

25 of the aggregate salaries of employees of the 


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1 SCORE Association on individual performance 

2 awards to employees of the SCORE Associa3 tion, to be disbursed before the last day of the 

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

5 disbursement the SCORE Association submits 

6 to the Administrator a report on the number 

7 and amount of such awards to be disbursed. 

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

9 the Board of Directors of the SCORE Associa10 tion or an employee of the SCORE Association 

11 may not simultaneously serve on the Board of 

12 Directors of, or receive compensation from, the 

13 SCORE Foundation without written approval 

14 from the Administrator. 

15 ‘‘(6) WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION REQUIRE16 MENTS.—The SCORE Association shall— 

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

18 documents applicable to employees and volun19 teers of the SCORE Association or the SCORE 

20 program to include requirements relating to re21 porting procedures and protectors for whistle22 blowers; and 

23 ‘‘(B) conduct an annual training for em24 ployees and volunteers of the SCORE Associa25 tion or the SCORE program on the requireVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:51 Apr 28, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6450.RFS H6450

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1 ments described in paragraph (1) and encour2 age the use of the hotline established by the Of3 fice of the Inspector General of the Small Busi4 ness Administration to submit whistleblower re5 ports. 

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

7 Association shall ensure all published materials in8 clude written acknowledgment of Small Business Ad9 ministration support of the SCORE program if such 

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

11 funds. 

12 ‘‘(8) PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Neither the Adminis14 trator nor the SCORE Association may disclose 

15 the name, address, or telephone number of any 

16 individual or small business concern receiving 

17 assistance from the SCORE Association with18 out the consent of such individual or small busi19 ness concern, unless— 

20 ‘‘(i) the Administrator is ordered to 

21 make such a disclosure by a court in any 

22 civil or criminal enforcement action initi23 ated by a Federal or State agency; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) the Administrator determines 

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1 pose of conducting a financial audit of the 

2 SCORE program, in which case disclosure 

3 shall be limited to the information nec4 essary for the audit. 

5 ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATOR USE OF INFORMA6 TION.—This paragraph shall not— 

7 ‘‘(i) restrict the access of the Adminis8 trator to SCORE program activity data; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) prevent the Administrator from 

10 using SCORE program client information 

11 to conduct client surveys. 

12 ‘‘(C) STANDARDS.— 

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

14 shall, after the opportunity for notice and 

15 comment, establish standards for— 

16 ‘‘(I) disclosures with respect to 

17 financial audits described under sub18 paragraph (A)(ii); and 

19 ‘‘(II) conducting client surveys, 

20 including standards for oversight of 

21 the surveys and for dissemination and 

22 use of client information. 

23 ‘‘(ii) MAXIMUM PRIVACY PROTEC24 TION.—The standards issued under this 

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1 ticable, provide for the maximum amount 

2 of privacy protection. 

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

4 days after the date of the enactment of this sub5 section and annually thereafter, the Administrator 

6 shall submit to the Committee on Small Business 

7 and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Com8 mittee on Small Business of the House of Rep9 resentatives a report on the performance and effec10 tiveness of the SCORE program, which may be in11 cluded as part of another report submitted to such 

12 Committees by the Administrator, and which shall 

13 include— 

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

15 unique clients counseled or trained under the 

16 SCORE program; 

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

18 provided under the SCORE program; 

19 ‘‘(C) the number of local workshops pro20 vided under the SCORE program; 

21 ‘‘(D) the number of clients attending on22 line and local workshops provided under the 

23 SCORE program; 

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1 teers, which shall include the gender, race, and 

2 age of each such client or volunteer; 

3 ‘‘(F) with respect to businesses assisted 

4 under the SCORE program, the cost to create 

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

6 on investment; 

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

8 program clients to other resources and pro9 grams of the Administration; 

10 ‘‘(H) the number of SCORE program cli11 ents receiving financial assistance, including the 

12 type and dollar amount, under loan programs of 

13 the Administration; 

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

15 satisfactory surveys, including a summary of 

16 any comments received from such clients; 

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

18 up by SCORE program clients; 

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

20 realizing revenue growth; 

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

22 of jobs created with assistance from the 

23 SCORE program; 

24 ‘‘(M) the total cost of the SCORE pro25 gram; 


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1 ‘‘(N) any recommendations of the Adminis2 trator to improve the SCORE program; and 

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

4 program has been integrated with— 

5 ‘‘(i) small business development cen6 ters; 

7 ‘‘(ii) women’s business centers (de8 scribed under section 29); 

9 ‘‘(iii) Veteran Business Outreach Cen10 ters 20 (described under section 32); 

11 ‘‘(iv) other offices of the Administra12 tion; and 

13 ‘‘(v) other public and private entities 

14 engaging in entrepreneurial and small 

15 business development.’’. 

16 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE 

17 SCORE PROGRAM. 

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

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

20 subsection: 

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

22 appropriated to the Administrator to carry out the 

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

24 as are necessary for the Administrator to make grants or 

25 enter into cooperative agreements in a total amount that 


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

2 and 2023.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

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

5 THE SCORE PROGRAM.— 

6 (1) STUDY.—The SCORE Association shall 

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

8 program and develop a strategic plan for how the 

9 SCORE program will meet the needs of small busi10 ness concerns during the 5-year period beginning on 

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

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

13 5-year period. 

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

15 month period beginning on the date of the enact16 ment of this Act, the SCORE Association shall sub17 mit to the Committee on Small Business of the 

18 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

19 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate 

20 a report containing— 

21 (A) all findings and determination made in 

22 carrying out the study required under para23 graph (1); 

24 (B) the strategic plan developed under 

25 paragraph (1); and 


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1 (C) an explanation of how the SCORE As2 sociation plans to achieve the strategic plan, as3 suming both stagnant and increased funding 

4 levels. 

5 (b) ADMINISTRATOR REPORT ON LEASED SPACE.— 

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

7 this Act, the Administrator of the Small Business Admin8 istration shall submit to the Committee on Small Business 

9 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

10 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate a re11 port containing an assessment of the cost of leased space 

12 that is donated to the SCORE Association. 

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

14 3 months after the last day of the first full fiscal year 

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

16 SCORE Association shall submit to the Committee on 

17 Small Business of the House of Representatives and the 

18 Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of 

19 the Senate a report on the effectiveness of the online coun20 seling services required under paragraph (3) of section 

21 8(c) of the Small Business Act, as added by section 2 of 

22 this Act, including a description of— 

23 (1) how the SCORE Association determines 

24 electronic mentoring and webinar needs, develops 

25 training for electronic mentoring, establishes 


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1 webinar criteria curricula, and evaluates webinar 

2 and electronic mentoring results; 

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

4 summary of the topics covered by the webinars; and 

5 (3) performance metrics, including the number 

6 of small business concerns counseled by, the number 

7 of small business concerns created by, the number of 

8 jobs created and retained by, and the funding 

9 amounts directed towards such online counseling 

10 services. 

11 SEC. 5. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

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

13 (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended— 

14 (1) in section 7 (15 U.S.C. 636)— 

15 (A) in subsection (b)(12)— 

16 (i) in the paragraph heading, by in17 serting ‘‘PROGRAM’’ after ‘‘SCORE’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 

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

22 striking ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 

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

25 (A) in subsection (b)— 


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

2 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and 

3 inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and in9 serting ‘‘SCORE program’’. 

10 (b) OTHER LAWS.— 

11 (1) SMALL BUSINESS REAUTHORIZATION ACT

12 OF 1997.—Section 707 of the Small Business Reau13 thorization Act of 1997 (15 U.S.C. 631 note) is 

14 amended by striking ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Ex15 ecutives (SCORE) program’’ and inserting ‘‘SCORE 

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

17 Business Act)’’. 

18 (2) VETERANS ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND

19 SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1999.—Sec20 tion 301 of the Veterans Entrepreneurship and 

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

22 657b note) is amended by striking ‘‘Service Core of 

23 Retired Executives’’ and inserting ‘‘SCORE pro24 gram’’. 


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1 (3) MILITARY RESERVIST AND VETERAN SMALL

2 BUSINESS REAUTHORIZATION AND OPPORTUNITY

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

4 and Veteran Small Business Reauthorization and 

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

6 amended by striking ‘‘the Service Corps of Retired 

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

8 (4) CHILDREN’S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM

9 REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2009.—Section 621 of the 

10 Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthoriza11 tion Act of 2009 (15 U.S.C. 657p) is amended— 

12 (A) in subsection (a), by striking para13 graph (4) and inserting the following: 

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

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

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

17 637(b)(1)(B));’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and in20 serting ‘‘SCORE program’’. 

21 (5) ENERGY POLICY AND CONSERVATION

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

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

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1 ecutives (SCORE)’’ and inserting ‘‘SCORE pro2 gram’’. 

3 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) ADMINISTRATION; ADMINISTRATOR.—The 

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

7 respectively, the Small Business Administration and 

8 the Administrator thereof. 

9 (2) SCORE ASSOCIATION; SCORE PROGRAM.— 

10 The terms ‘‘SCORE Association’’ and ‘‘SCORE pro11 gram’’ have the meaning given those terms, respec12 tively, under section 8(c)(1) of the Small Business 

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

Passed the House of Representatives April 26, 2022. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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