II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2591 

To provide for business incubator activities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 24, 2004 

Mrs. CLINTON introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To provide for business incubator activities, 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 ‘‘Entrepreneurial Incu5 bators Development Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) While small businesses have been an engine 

9 of economic growth over the past decade, they often 

10 lack access to the technology available to larger busi11 nesses. 
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1 (2) Business incubators have proven an effec2 tive source of economic growth in the States. 

3 (3) Scientific discoveries need to be quickly con4 verted into job and community ventures. 

5 SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR SUPPORT OF BUSINESS INCUBATOR 

6 ACTIVITIES. 

7 (a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to 

8 encourage entrepreneurial creativity and risk taking 

9 through the support of the furnishing of business incu10 bator services for newly established small businesses and 

11 medium-sized businesses. 

12 (b) GRANT PROGRAM.—To achieve the purpose of 

13 this section, the Secretary of Commerce (in this section, 

14 referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall carry out a program 

15 to provide, through grants, financial assistance for the es16 tablishment and support of entities that provide business 

17 incubator services in support of the initiation and initial 

18 sustainment of business activities by newly established 

19 small businesses and medium-sized businesses. 

20 (c) AWARDS OF GRANTS.— 

21 (1) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec22 retary shall prescribe the eligibility requirements for 

23 the awarding of grants under this section. 

24 (2) COMPETITIVE SELECTION.—The Secretary 

25 shall use a competitive process for the awarding of 
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1 grants under this section and, under that process, 

2 select recipients of the grants on the basis of merit, 

3 with priority given to underserved rural and urban 

4 communities. 

5 (3) APPLICATIONS FOR GRANTS.—The Sec6 retary shall prescribe the form and content of appli7 cations required for grants under this section. 

8 (d) ADDITIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITIES.— 

9 (1) COST-SHARING.—The Secretary may re10 quire the recipient of a grant under this section to 

11 defray a specific level of its operating expenses for 

12 business incubator services out of funds available 

13 from sources other than the Federal Government. 

14 (2) ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.— 

15 The Secretary, in awarding a grant, may impose any 

16 other terms and conditions for the use of the pro17 ceeds of the grant that the Secretary determines ap18 propriate for carrying out the purpose of this section 

19 and to protect the interests of the United States, in20 cluding the requirement that entities providing busi21 ness incubator services that receive a grant under 

22 this section develop a plan for ultimately becoming 

23 self-sufficient. 

24 (e) DEFINITIONS.— 
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1 (1) BUSINESS INCUBATOR SERVICES.—In this 

2 section, the term ‘‘business incubator services’’ in3 cludes professional and technical services necessary 

4 for the initiation and initial sustainment of oper5 ations of a newly established business, including 

6 such services as the following: 

7 (A) LEGAL SERVICES.—Legal services, in8 cluding aid in preparing corporate charters, 

9 partnership agreements, and basic contracts. 

10 (B) INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SERV11 ICES.—Services in support of the protection of 

12 intellectual property through patents, trade13 marks, or otherwise. 

14 (C) TECHNOLOGY SERVICES.—Services in 

15 support of the acquisition and use of advanced 

16 technology, including the use of Internet serv17 ices and web-based services. 

18 (D) PLANNING.—Advice on— 

19 (i) strategic planning; and 

20 (ii) marketing, including advertising. 

21 (2) SMALL BUSINESS AND MEDIUM-SIZED BUSI22 NESS.— 

23 (A) SECRETARY TO PRESCRIBE.—The Sec24 retary shall prescribe the definitions of the 
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1 terms ‘‘small business’’ and ‘‘medium-sized 

2 business’’ for the purpose of this section. 

3 (B) SMALL BUSINESS STANDARDS.—In de4 fining the term ‘‘small business’’ for the pur5 pose of this section, the Secretary shall apply 

6 the standards applicable for the definition of 

7 the term ‘‘small-business concern’’ under sec8 tion 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

9 632). 

10 (f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe 

11 regulations for the grant program administered under this 

12 section. 

13 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

14 authorized to be appropriated for the Department of Com15 merce for carrying out this section $50,000,000 for fiscal 

16 year 2005, and $200,000,000 for each fiscal year there17 after. 

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