II 

Calendar No. 550 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1784 

To amend the Small Business Act to improve programs for veterans, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 12, 2007 

Mr. KERRY (for himself, Ms. Snowe, Ms. Cantwell, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Hagel, 

Mr. Lieberman, and Mr. Tester) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

DECEMBER 19, 2007 

Committee discharged; considered, amended, read the third time, and ordered 

to be placed on the calendar 

A BILL 

To amend the Small Business Act to improve programs 

for veterans, 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 ‘‘Military Reservist and 

5 Veteran Small Business Reauthorization and Opportunity 

6 Act of 2007’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—VETERANS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 

Sec. 101. Increased funding for the Office of Veterans Business Development. 

Sec. 102. Interagency task force. 

Sec. 103. Permanent extension of SBA Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs. 

Sec. 104. Office of Veterans Business Development. 

Sec. 105. Increasing the number of outreach centers. 

Sec. 106. Independent study on gaps in availability of outreach centers. 

Sec. 201. Veterans assistance and services program. 

Sec. 202. Disaster loans. 

TITLE III—RESERVIST PROGRAMS 

Sec. 301. Reservist programs. 

Sec. 302. Reservist loans. 

Sec. 303. Noncollateralized loans. 

Sec. 304. Loan priority. 

Sec. 305. Relief from time limitations for veteran-owned small businesses. 

Sec. 306. Service-disabled veterans. 

Sec. 307. Study on options for promoting positive working relations between 

employers and their Reserve Component employees. 

Sec. 308. Increased Veteran Participation Program. 

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act— 

5 (1) the term ‘‘activated’’ means receiving an 

6 order placing a Reservist on active duty; 

7 (2) the term ‘‘active duty’’ has the meaning 

8 given that term in section 101 of title 10, United 

9 States Code; 

10 (3) the terms ‘‘Administration’’ and ‘‘Adminis11 trator’’ mean the Small Business Administration 

12 and the Administrator thereof, respectively; 


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1 (4) the term ‘‘Reservist’’ means a member of a 

2 reserve component of the Armed Forces, as de3 scribed in section 10101 of title 10, United States 

4 Code; 

5 (5) the term ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Execu6 tives’’ means the Service Corps of Retired Execu7 tives authorized by section 8(b)(1) of the Small 

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

9 (6) the terms ‘‘service-disabled veteran’’ and 

10 ‘‘small business concern’’ have the meaning as in 

11 section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

12 632); 

13 (7) the term ‘‘small business development cen14 ter’’ means a small business development center de15 scribed in section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 

16 U.S.C. 648); and 

17 (8) the term ‘‘women’s business center’’ means 

18 a women’s business center described in section 29 of 

19 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656). 

20 TITLE I—VETERANS BUSINESS 

21 DEVELOPMENT 

22 SEC. 101. INCREASED FUNDING FOR THE OFFICE OF VET23 ERANS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro25 priated to the Office of Veterans Business Development 


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1 of the Administration, to remain available until ex2 pended— 

3 (1) $2,100,000 for fiscal year 2008; and 

4 (2) $2,300,000 for fiscal year 2009. 

5 (b) FUNDING OFFSET.—Amounts necessary to carry 

6 out subsection (a) shall be offset and made available 

7 through the reduction of the authorization of funding 

8 under section 20(e)(1)(B)(iv) of the Small Business Act 

9 (15 U.S.C. 631 note). 

10 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con11 gress that any amounts provided pursuant to this section 

12 that are in excess of amounts provided to the Administra13 tion for the Office of Veterans Business Development in 

14 fiscal year 2007, should be used to support Veterans Busi15 ness Outreach Centers. 

16 SEC. 102. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE. 

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

18 657b) is amended— 

19 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as (f); and 

20 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(c) INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE.— 

23 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days 

24 after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 

25 President shall establish an interagency task force to 


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1 coordinate the efforts of Federal agencies necessary 

2 to improve capital and business development oppor3 tunities for, and ensure achievement of the pre-es4 tablished Federal contracting goals for, small busi5 ness concerns owned and controlled by service-dis6 abled veterans and small business concerns owned 

7 and controlled by veterans (in this section referred 

8 to as the ‘task force’). 

9 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of the task 

10 force shall include— 

11 ‘‘(A) the Administrator, who shall serve as 

12 chairperson of the task force; and 

13 ‘‘(B) a senior level representative from— 

14 ‘‘(i) the Department of Veterans Af15 fairs; 

16 ‘‘(ii) the Department of Defense; 

17 ‘‘(iii) the Administration (in addition 

18 to the Administrator); 

19 ‘‘(iv) the Department of Labor; 

20 ‘‘(v) the Department of the Treasury; 

21 ‘‘(vi) the General Services Administra22 tion; and 

23 ‘‘(vii) the Office of Management and 

24 Budget. 

25 ‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The task force shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) consult regularly with veterans serv2 ice organizations and military organizations in 

3 performing the duties of the task force; and 

4 ‘‘(B) coordinate administrative and regu5 latory activities and develop proposals relating 

6 to— 

7 ‘‘(i) improving capital access and ca8 pacity of small business concerns owned 

9 and controlled by service-disabled veterans 

10 and small business concerns owned and 

11 controlled by veterans through loans, sur12 ety bonding, and franchising; 

13 ‘‘(ii) ensuring achievement of the pre14 established Federal contracting goals for 

15 small business concerns owned and con16 trolled by service-disabled veterans and 

17 small business concerns owned and con18 trolled by veterans through expanded men19 tor-prote ́ge ́ assistance and matching such 

20 small business concerns with contracting 

21 opportunities; 

22 ‘‘(iii) increasing the integrity of cer23 tifications of status as a small business 

24 concern owned and controlled by serviceVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:47 Dec 29, 2007 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1784.PCS S1784

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1 disabled veterans or a small business con2 cern owned and controlled by veterans; 

3 ‘‘(iv) reducing paperwork and admin4 istrative burdens on veterans in accessing 

5 business development and entrepreneurship 

6 opportunities; 

7 ‘‘(v) increasing and improving train8 ing and counseling services provided to 

9 small business concerns owned and con10 trolled by veterans; and 

11 ‘‘(vi) making other improvements re12 lating to the support for veterans business 

13 development by the Federal Government. 

14 SEC. 103. PERMANENT EXTENSION OF SBA ADVISORY COM15 MITTEE ON VETERANS BUSINESS AFFAIRS. 

16 (a) ASSUMPTION OF DUTIES.—Section 33 of the 

17 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657c) is amended— 

18 (1) by striking subsection (h); and 

19 (2) by redesignating subsections (i) through (k) 

20 as subsections (h) through (j), respectively. 

21 (b) PERMANENT EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY.—Sec22 tion 203 of the Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small 

23 Business Development Act of 1999 (15 U.S.C. 657b note) 

24 is amended by striking subsection (h). 


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1 SEC. 104. OFFICE OF VETERANS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT. 

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

3 657b) is amended by inserting after subsection (c) (as 

4 added by section 102) the following: 

5 ‘‘(d) PARTICIPATION IN TAP WORKSHOPS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Associate Adminis7 trator shall increase veteran outreach by ensuring 

8 that Veteran Business Outreach Centers regularly 

9 participate, on a nationwide basis, in the workshops 

10 of the Transition Assistance Program of the Depart11 ment of Labor. 

12 ‘‘(2) PRESENTATIONS.—In carrying out para13 graph (1), a Veteran Business Outreach Center may 

14 provide grants to entities located in Transition As15 sistance Program locations to make presentations on 

16 the opportunities available from the Administration 

17 for recently separating or separated veterans. Each 

18 presentation under this paragraph shall include, at 

19 a minimum, a description of the entrepreneurial and 

20 business training resources available from the Ad21 ministration. 

22 ‘‘(3) WRITTEN MATERIALS.—The Associate Ad23 ministrator shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) create written materials that provide 

25 comprehensive information on self-employment 

26 and veterans entrepreneurship, including inforVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:47 Dec 29, 2007 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1784.PCS S1784

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1 mation on resources available from the Admin2 istration on such topics; and 

3 ‘‘(B) make the materials created under 

4 subparagraph (A) available to the Secretary of 

5 Labor for inclusion in the Transition Assistance 

6 Program manual. 

7 ‘‘(4) REPORTS.—The Associate Administrator 

8 shall submit to Congress progress reports on the im9 plementation of this subsection. 

10 ‘‘(e) WOMEN VETERANS BUSINESS TRAINING.—The 

11 Associate Administrator shall— 

12 ‘‘(1) compile information on existing resources 

13 available to women veterans for business training, 

14 including resources for— 

15 ‘‘(A) vocational and technical education; 

16 ‘‘(B) general business skills, such as mar17 keting and accounting; and 

18 ‘‘(C) business assistance programs targeted 

19 to women veterans; and 

20 ‘‘(2) disseminate the information compiled 

21 under paragraph (1) through Veteran Business Out22 reach Centers and women’s business centers.’’. 


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1 SEC. 105. INCREASING THE NUMBER OF OUTREACH CEN2 TERS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall use the 

4 authority in section 8(b)(17) of the Small Business Act 

5 (15 U.S.C. 637(b)(17)) to ensure that the number of Vet6 erans Business Outreach Centers throughout the United 

7 States increases— 

8 (1) subject to subsection (b), by at least 2, for 

9 each of fiscal years 2008 and 2009; and 

10 (2) by the number that the Administrator con11 siders appropriate, based on need, for each fiscal 

12 year thereafter. 

13 (b) LIMITATION.—Subsection (a)(1) shall apply in a 

14 fiscal year if, for that fiscal year, the amount made avail15 able for the Office of Veterans Business Development is 

16 more than the amount made available for the Office of 

17 Veterans Business Development for fiscal year 2007. 

18 SEC. 106. INDEPENDENT STUDY ON GAPS IN AVAILABILITY 

19 OF OUTREACH CENTERS. 

20 The Administrator shall sponsor an independent 

21 study on gaps in the availability of Veterans Business Out22 reach Centers across the United States, to inform deci23 sions on funding and on the allocation and coordination 

24 of resources. Not later than 6 months after the date of 

25 enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to 

26 Congress a report on the results of the study. 


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1 SEC. 201. VETERANS ASSISTANCE AND SERVICES PRO2 GRAM. 

3 Section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648) 

4 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(n) VETERANS ASSISTANCE AND SERVICES PRO6 GRAM.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A small business develop8 ment center may apply for a grant under this sub9 section to carry out a veterans assistance and serv10 ices program. 

11 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS OF PROGRAM.—Under a pro12 gram carried out with a grant under this subsection, 

13 a small business development center shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) create a marketing campaign to pro15 mote awareness and education of the services of 

16 the center that are available to veterans, and to 

17 target the campaign toward veterans, service18 disabled veterans, military units, Federal agen19 cies, and veterans organizations; 

20 ‘‘(B) use technology-assisted online coun21 seling and distance learning technology to over22 come the impediments to entrepreneurship 

23 faced by veterans and members of the Armed 

24 Forces; and 

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1 lishing virtual integration of service providers 

2 and offerings for a one-stop point of contact for 

3 veterans who are entrepreneurs or owners of 

4 small business concerns. 

5 ‘‘(3) AMOUNT OF GRANTS.—A grant under this 

6 subsection shall be for not less than $75,000 and 

7 not more than $250,000. 

8 ‘‘(4) FUNDING.—Subject to amounts approved 

9 in advance in appropriations Acts, the Administra10 tion may make grants or enter into cooperative 

11 agreements to carry out the provisions of this sub12 section.’’. 

13 SEC. 202. DISASTER LOANS. 

14 Section 7(b)(3) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

15 636(b)(3)) is amended— 

16 (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘unless’’ 

17 and all that follows and inserting a period; and 

18 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (I), the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(J) There shall be reasonable assurance that a 

21 loan recipient under this paragraph can repay the 

22 loan of personal or business cash flow.’’. 


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1 TITLE III—RESERVIST 

2 PROGRAMS 

3 SEC. 301. RESERVIST PROGRAMS. 

4 (a) APPLICATION PERIOD.—Section 7(b)(3)(C) of the 

5 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(3)(C)) is amend6 ed— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘90 days’’ and inserting ‘‘1 

8 year’’; and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The 

10 Administrator may, when appropriate (as deter11 mined by the Administrator), extend the ending date 

12 specified in the preceding sentence by not more than 

13 1 year.’’. 

14 (b) PRE-CONSIDERATION PROCESS.— 

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

16 ‘‘eligible Reservist’’ means a Reservist who— 

17 (A) has not been ordered to active duty; 

18 (B) expects to be ordered to active duty 

19 during a period of military conflict; and 

20 (C) can reasonably demonstrate that the 

21 small business concern for which that Reservist 

22 is a key employee will suffer economic injury in 

23 the absence of that Reservist. 

24 (2) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 6 

25 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 


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1 Administrator shall establish a pre-consideration 

2 process, under which the Administrator— 

3 (A) may collect all relevant materials nec4 essary for processing a loan to a small business 

5 concern under section 7(b)(3) of the Small 

6 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(3)) before an 

7 eligible Reservist employed by that small busi8 ness concern is activated; and 

9 (B) shall distribute funds for any loan ap10 proved under subparagraph (A) if that eligible 

11 Reservist is activated. 

12 (c) OUTREACH AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PRO13 GRAM.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 

15 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis16 trator, in consultation with the Secretary of Vet17 erans Affairs and the Secretary of Defense, may de18 velop a comprehensive outreach and technical assist19 ance program (in this subsection referred to as the 

20 ‘‘program’’) to— 

21 (A) market the loans available under sec22 tion 7(b)(3) of the Small Business Act (15 

23 U.S.C. 636(b)(3)) to Reservists, and family 

24 members of Reservists, that are on active duty 

25 and that are not on active duty; and 


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1 (B) provide technical assistance to a small 

2 business concern applying for a loan under that 

3 section. 

4 (2) COMPONENTS.—The program shall— 

5 (A) incorporate appropriate websites main6 tained by the Administration, the Department 

7 of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of De8 fense; and 

9 (B) require that information on the pro10 gram is made available to small business con11 cerns directly through— 

12 (i) the district offices and resource 

13 partners of the Administration, including 

14 small business development centers, wom15 en’s business centers, and the Service 

16 Corps of Retired Executives; and 

17 (ii) other Federal agencies, including 

18 the Department of Veterans Affairs and 

19 the Department of Defense. 

20 (3) REPORT.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 

22 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 

23 and every 6 months thereafter until the date 

24 that is 30 months after such date of enactment, 


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1 the Administrator shall submit to Congress a 

2 report on the status of the program. 

3 (B) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted 

4 under subparagraph (A) shall include— 

5 (i) for the 6-month period ending on 

6 the date of that report— 

7 (I) the number of loans approved 

8 under section 7(b)(3) of the Small 

9 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(3)); 

10 (II) the number of loans dis11 bursed under that section; and 

12 (III) the total amount disbursed 

13 under that section; and 

14 (ii) recommendations, if any, to make 

15 the program more effective in serving small 

16 business concerns that employ Reservists. 

17 SEC. 302. RESERVIST LOANS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7(b)(3)(E) of the Small 

19 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(3)(E)) is amended by 

20 striking ‘‘$1,500,000’’ each place such term appears and 

21 inserting ‘‘$2,000,000’’. 

22 (b) LOAN INFORMATION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator and the 

24 Secretary of Defense shall develop a joint website 

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1 ing any program for small business concerns that is 

2 available to veterans or Reservists. 

3 (2) MARKETING.—The Administrator is author4 ized— 

5 (A) to advertise and promote the program 

6 under section 7(b)(3) of the Small Business Act 

7 jointly with the Secretary of Defense and vet8 erans’ service organizations; and 

9 (B) to advertise and promote participation 

10 by lenders in such program jointly with trade 

11 associations for banks or other lending institu12 tions. 

13 SEC. 303. NONCOLLATERALIZED LOANS. 

14 Section 7(b)(3) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

15 636(b)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(G)(i) Notwithstanding any other provi17 sion of law, the Administrator may make a loan 

18 under this paragraph of not more than $50,000 

19 without collateral. 

20 ‘‘(ii) The Administrator may defer pay21 ment of principal and interest on a loan de22 scribed in clause (i) during the longer of— 

23 ‘‘(I) the 1-year period beginning on 

24 the date of the initial disbursement of the 

25 loan; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) the period during which the rel2 evant essential employee is on active 

3 duty.’’. 

4 SEC. 304. LOAN PRIORITY. 

5 Section 7(b)(3) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

6 636(b)(3)), as amended by this Act, is amended by adding 

7 at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(H) The Administrator shall give priority 

9 to any application for a loan under this para10 graph and shall process and make a determina11 tion regarding such applications prior to proc12 essing or making a determination on other loan 

13 applications under this subsection, on a rolling 

14 basis.’’. 

15 SEC. 305. RELIEF FROM TIME LIMITATIONS FOR VETERAN16 OWNED SMALL BUSINESSES. 

17 Section 3(q) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

18 632(q)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(5) RELIEF FROM TIME LIMITATIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any time limitation 

21 on any qualification, certification, or period of 

22 participation imposed under this Act on any 

23 program that is available to small business con24 cerns shall be extended for a small business 

25 concern that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) is owned and controlled by— 

2 ‘‘(I) a veteran who was called or 

3 ordered to active duty under a provi4 sion of law specified in section 

5 101(a)(13)(B) of title 10, United 

6 States Code, on or after September 

7 11, 2001; or 

8 ‘‘(II) a service-disabled veteran 

9 who became such a veteran due to an 

10 injury or illness incurred or aggra11 vated in the active military, naval, or 

12 air service during a period of active 

13 duty pursuant to a call or order to ac14 tive duty under a provision of law re15 ferred to in subclause (I) on or after 

16 September 11, 2001; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) was subject to the time limitation 

18 during such period of active duty. 

19 ‘‘(B) DURATION.—Upon submission of 

20 proper documentation to the Administrator, the 

21 extension of a time limitation under subpara22 graph (A) shall be equal to the period of time 

23 that such veteran who owned or controlled such 

24 a concern was on active duty as described in 

25 that subparagraph. 


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1 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTION FOR PROGRAMS SUBJECT

2 TO FEDERAL CREDIT REFORM ACT OF 1990.— 

3 The provisions of subparagraphs (A) and (B) 

4 shall not apply to any programs subject to the 

5 Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 

6 661 et seq.).’’. 

7 SEC. 306. SERVICE-DISABLED VETERANS. 

8 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

9 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

10 shall submit to the Committee on Small Business and En11 trepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small 

12 Business of the House of Representatives a report describ13 ing— 

14 (1) the types of assistance needed by service15 disabled veterans who wish to become entrepreneurs; 

16 and 

17 (2) any resources that would assist such serv18 ice-disabled veterans. 

19 SEC. 307. STUDY ON OPTIONS FOR PROMOTING POSITIVE 

20 WORKING RELATIONS BETWEEN EMPLOYERS 

21 AND THEIR RESERVE COMPONENT EMPLOY22 EES. 

23 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Comptroller General of 

24 the United States shall conduct a study on options for pro25 moting positive working relations between employers and 


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1 Reserve component employees of such employers, includ2 ing assessing options for improving the time in which em3 ployers of Reservists are notified of the call or order of 

4 such members to active duty other than for training. 

5 (b) REPORT.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

7 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comp8 troller General of the United States shall submit to 

9 the appropriate committees of Congress a report on 

10 the study conducted under subsection (a). 

11 (2) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under 

12 paragraph (1) shall— 

13 (A) provide a quantitative and qualitative 

14 assessment of— 

15 (i) what measures, if any, are being 

16 taken to inform Reservists of the obliga17 tions and responsibilities of such members 

18 to their employers; 

19 (ii) how effective such measures have 

20 been; and 

21 (iii) whether there are additional 

22 measures that could be taken to promote 

23 positive working relations between Reserv24 ists and their employers, including any 

25 steps that could be taken to ensure that 


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1 employers are timely notified of a call to 

2 active duty; and 

3 (B) assess whether there has been a reduc4 tion in the hiring of Reservists by business con5 cerns because of— 

6 (i) any increase in the use of Reserv7 ists after September 11, 2001; or 

8 (ii) any change in any policy of the 

9 Department of Defense relating to Reserv10 ists after September 11, 2001. 

11 (c) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS DE12 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate commit13 tees of Congress’’ means— 

14 (1) the Committee on Armed Services and the 

15 Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

16 of the Senate; and 

17 (2) the Committee on Armed Services and the 

18 Committee on Small Business of the House of Rep19 resentatives. 

20 (d) ADDITIONAL STUDY.—Not later than 180 days 

21 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Office of Advo22 cacy of the Administration shall submit to Congress a re23 port describing— 


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1 (1) the barriers in place arising from Federal 

2 regulations for veterans who wish to become entre3 preneurs; 

4 (2) the barriers in place arising from the tax 

5 code for veterans who wish to become entrepreneurs; 

6 and 

7 (3) any recommendations for how best to elimi8 nate those barriers to better assist current or pro9 spective veteran small business owners. 

10 SEC. 308. INCREASED VETERAN PARTICIPATION PROGRAM. 

11 Section 7(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

12 636(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(32) INCREASED VETERAN PARTICIPATION

14 PROGRAM.— 

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

16 ‘‘(i) the term ‘cost’ has the meaning 

17 given that term in section 502 of the Fed18 eral Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 

19 661a); 

20 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘pilot program’ means 

21 the pilot program established under sub22 paragraph (B); and 

23 ‘‘(iii) the term ‘veteran participation 

24 loan’ means a loan made under this sub25 section to a small business concern owned 


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1 and controlled by veterans of the Armed 

2 Forces or members of the reserve compo3 nents of the Armed Forces. 

4 ‘‘(B) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Adminis5 trator shall establish and carry out a pilot pro6 gram under which the Administrator shall re7 duce the fees for veteran participation loans. 

8 ‘‘(C) DURATION.—The pilot program shall 

9 terminate at the end of the second full fiscal 

10 year after the date that the Administrator es11 tablishes the pilot program. 

12 ‘‘(D) MAXIMUM PARTICIPATION.—A vet13 eran participation loan shall include the max14 imum participation levels by the Administrator 

15 permitted for loans made under this subsection. 

16 ‘‘(E) FEES.— 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The fee on a vet18 eran participation loan shall be equal to 50 

19 percent of the fee otherwise applicable to 

20 that loan under paragraph (18). 

21 ‘‘(ii) WAIVER.—The Administrator 

22 may waive clause (i) for a fiscal year if— 

23 ‘‘(I) for the fiscal year before 

24 that fiscal year, the annual estimated 

25 rate of default of veteran participation 


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1 loans exceeds that of loans made 

2 under this subsection that are not vet3 eran participation loans; 

4 ‘‘(II) the cost to the Administra5 tion of making loans under this sub6 section is greater than zero and such 

7 cost is directly attributable to the cost 

8 of making veteran participation loans; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(III) no additional sources of 

11 revenue authority are available to re12 duce the cost of making loans under 

13 this subsection to zero. 

14 ‘‘(iii) EFFECT OF WAIVER.—If the 

15 Administrator waives the reduction of fees 

16 under clause (ii), the Administrator— 

17 ‘‘(I) shall not assess or collect 

18 fees in an amount greater than nec19 essary to ensure that the cost of the 

20 program under this subsection is not 

21 greater than zero; and 

22 ‘‘(II) shall reinstate the fee re23 ductions under clause (i) when the 

24 conditions in clause (ii) no longer 

25 apply. 


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26 

S 1784 PCS 

1 ‘‘(iv) NO INCREASE OF FEES.—The 

2 Administrator shall not increase the fees 

3 under paragraph (18) on loans made under 

4 this subsection that are not veteran par5 ticipation loans as a direct result of the 

6 pilot program. 

7 ‘‘(F) GAO REPORT.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 

9 year after the date that the pilot program 

10 terminates, the Comptroller General of the 

11 United States shall submit to the Com12 mittee on Small Business of the House of 

13 Representatives and the Committee on 

14 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of 

15 the Senate a report on the pilot program. 

16 ‘‘(ii) CONTENTS.—The report sub17 mitted under clause (i) shall include— 

18 ‘‘(I) the number of veteran par19 ticipation loans for which fees were 

20 reduced under the pilot program; 

21 ‘‘(II) a description of the impact 

22 of the pilot program on the program 

23 under this subsection; 


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S 1784 PCS 

1 ‘‘(III) an evaluation of the effi2 cacy and potential fraud and abuse of 

3 the pilot program; and 

4 ‘‘(IV) recommendations for im5 proving the pilot program.’’. 


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Calendar No. 550 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1784 

A BILL 

To amend the Small Business Act to improve 

programs for veterans, and for other purposes. 

DECEMBER 19, 2007 

Committee discharged; considered, amended, read the 

third time, and ordered to be placed on the calendar 


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