II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3659 

To reauthorize and improve the women’s small business ownership programs 

of the Small Business Administration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 13, 2006 

Ms. SNOWE (for herself and Mr. KERRY) introduced the following bill; which 

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

A BILL 

To reauthorize and improve the women’s small business ownership programs of the Small Business Administration, 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Women’s Small Business Ownership Programs Act of 

6 2006’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Office of Women’s Business Ownership. 


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Sec. 3. Women’s Business Center Program. 

Sec. 4. National Women’s Business Council. 

Sec. 5. Interagency Committee on Women’s Business Enterprise. 

Sec. 6. Preserving the independence of the National Women’s Business Council. 

1 SEC. 2. OFFICE OF WOMEN’S BUSINESS OWNERSHIP. 

2 Section 29(g) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

3 656(g)) is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

5 (A) in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking ‘‘in 

6 the areas’’ and all that follows through the end 

7 of subclause (I), and inserting the following: ‘‘to 

8 address issues concerning management, oper9 ations, manufacturing, technology, finance, re10 tail and product sales, international trade, and 

11 other disciplines required for— 

12 ‘‘(I) starting, operating, and 

13 growing a small business concern;’’; 

14 and 

15 (B) in subparagraph (C), by inserting be16 fore the period at the end the following: ‘‘, the 

17 National Women’s Business Council, and any 

18 association of women’s business centers’’ ; and 

19 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(3) PROGRAMS AND SERVICES FOR WOMEN21 OWNED SMALL BUSINESSES.—The Assistant Admin22 istrator, in consultation with the National Women’s 

23 Business Council, the Interagency Committee on 


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1 Women’s Business Enterprise, and 1 or more asso2 ciations of women’s business centers, shall develop 

3 programs and services for women-owned businesses 

4 (as defined in section 408 of the Women’s Business 

5 Ownership Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 631 note)) in 

6 business areas, which may include— 

7 ‘‘(A) manufacturing; 

8 ‘‘(B) technology; 

9 ‘‘(C) professional services; 

10 ‘‘(D) retail and product sales; 

11 ‘‘(E) travel and tourism; 

12 ‘‘(F) international trade; and 

13 ‘‘(G) Federal Government contract busi14 ness development. 

15 ‘‘(4) TRAINING.—The Administrator shall pro16 vide annual programmatic and financial oversight 

17 training for women’s business ownership representa18 tives and district office technical representatives of 

19 the Administration to enable representatives to carry 

20 out their responsibilities under this section. 

21 ‘‘(5) GRANT PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT.—The 

22 Administrator shall improve the women’s business 

23 center grant proposal process and the programmatic 

24 and financial oversight process by— 


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1 ‘‘(A) providing notice to the public of each 

2 women’s business center grant announcement 

3 for an initial and renewal grant, not later than 

4 6 months before awarding such grant; 

5 ‘‘(B) providing notice to grant applicants 

6 and recipients of program evaluation criteria, 

7 not later than 12 months before any such eval8 uation; 

9 ‘‘(C) reducing paperwork and reporting re10 quirements for grant applicants and recipients; 

11 ‘‘(D) standardizing the oversight and re12 view process of the Administration; and 

13 ‘‘(E) providing to each women’s business 

14 center, not later than 30 days after the comple15 tion of a site visit at that center, a copy of site 

16 visit reports and evaluation reports prepared by 

17 district office technical representatives or Ad18 ministration officials.’’. 

19 SEC. 3. WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTER PROGRAM. 

20 (a) WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTER GRANTS PRO21 GRAM.—Section 29 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

22 656) is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), 

2 and (4), as paragraphs (3), (4), and (5), re3 spectively; and 

4 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(2) the term ‘association of women’s business 

7 centers’ means an organization that represents not 

8 fewer than 30 percent of the women’s business cen9 ters that are participating in a program under this 

10 section, and whose primary purpose is to represent 

11 women’s business centers;’’; and 

12 (2) by striking subsections (b) through (f) and 

13 inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

16 ‘‘(A) ISSUANCE.—The Administrator may 

17 award initial and renewal grants of not more 

18 than $150,000 per year, which shall be known 

19 as ‘women’s business center grants’, to private 

20 nonprofit organizations to conduct projects for 

21 the benefit of small business concerns owned 

22 and controlled by women. 

23 ‘‘(B) RENEWALS.—At the end of the initial 

24 4-year grant period, and every 3 years there25 after, the grant recipient may apply to renew 


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1 the grant in accordance with this subsection 

2 and subsection (e)(2). 

3 ‘‘(C) EQUAL ALLOCATIONS.—In the event 

4 that the Administration has insufficient funds 

5 to provide grants of $150,000 for each eligible 

6 women’s business center, available funds shall 

7 be allocated equally to eligible centers, unless 

8 any center requests a lower amount than the al9 locable amount. 

10 ‘‘(2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT AUTHORITY.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

12 may enter into Federal cooperative agreements 

13 with grant recipients under this subsection to 

14 perform the services described under paragraph 

15 (3), only to the extent and in the amount pro16 vided by appropriated funds. 

17 ‘‘(B) TERMINATION.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If any grant re19 cipient under this subsection does not ful20 fill its grant obligations, after advanced no21 tification, during the period of the grant, 

22 the Administrator may terminate the 

23 grant. 

24 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding a 

25 violation by a grant recipient of a grant 


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1 obligation under this subsection, the Ad2 ministrator may continue to fund the 

3 grant, if the grant recipient is making a 

4 good faith effort to comply with such obli5 gation. 

6 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants awarded under 

7 this subsection may be used to provide training and 

8 counseling in the areas of— 

9 ‘‘(A) pre-business, business startup, and 

10 business operations; 

11 ‘‘(B) financial planning assistance; 

12 ‘‘(C) procurement assistance; 

13 ‘‘(D) management assistance; 

14 ‘‘(E) marketing assistance; and 

15 ‘‘(F) international trade. 

16 ‘‘(4) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

17 ‘‘(A) WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTER

18 GRANTS.—As a condition of receiving financial 

19 assistance under this subsection, the grant re20 cipient shall agree to obtain, after its applica21 tion has been approved and notice of award has 

22 been issued, cash contributions from non-Fed23 eral sources as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(i) In the first and second years, 1 

2 non-Federal dollar for each 2 Federal dol3 lars provided under the 4-year grant. 

4 ‘‘(ii) In the third and fourth years, 1 

5 non-Federal dollar for each Federal dollar 

6 provided under the 4-year grant. 

7 ‘‘(iii) In each renewal period, 1 non8 Federal dollar for each Federal dollar pro9 vided under the 3-year grant. 

10 ‘‘(B) FORM OF NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBUTIONS.—Not more than 1 11 ⁄2 of the non-Federal 

12 sector matching assistance may be in the form 

13 of in-kind contributions that are budget line 

14 items only, including office equipment and of15 fice space. 

16 ‘‘(C) FAILURE TO OBTAIN NON-FEDERAL

17 FUNDING.— 

18 ‘‘(i) ADVANCE DISBURSEMENTS.—If 

19 any grant recipient fails to obtain the re20 quired non-Federal contribution during 

21 any project year, it shall not be eligible for 

22 advance disbursements under subpara23 graph (D) during the remainder of that 

24 project year. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) ABILITY TO OBTAIN NON-FED2 ERAL FUNDING.—Before approving assist3 ance to a grant recipient that has failed to 

4 obtain the required non-Federal contribu5 tion for any other projects under this Act, 

6 the Administrator shall require the grant 

7 recipient to certify that it will be able to 

8 obtain the requisite non-Federal funding 

9 and enter a written finding setting forth 

10 the reasons for making such determina11 tion. 

12 ‘‘(D) FORM OF FEDERAL CONTRIBU13 TIONS.—The financial assistance authorized 

14 under this subsection may be made by grant or 

15 cooperative agreement and may contain such 

16 provisions, as necessary, to provide for pay17 ments in lump sum or installments, and in ad18 vance or by way of reimbursement. The Admin19 istrator may disburse not more than 25 percent 

20 of the Federal share awarded to a grant recipi21 ent for each year after notice of the award has 

22 been issued and before the non-Federal sector 

23 matching funds are obtained. 

24 ‘‘(5) APPLICATION FOR AN INITIAL GRANT.— 

25 Each organization desiring an initial grant under 


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1 this subsection, shall submit to the Administrator an 

2 application that contains— 

3 ‘‘(A) a certification that the applicant— 

4 ‘‘(i) is a private nonprofit organiza5 tion; 

6 ‘‘(ii) has designated an executive di7 rector or program manager, who may be 

8 compensated from grant funds or other 

9 sources, to manage the center; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) as a condition of receiving a 

11 grant under this subsection, agrees— 

12 ‘‘(I) to receive a site visit as part 

13 of the final selection process; 

14 ‘‘(II) to undergo an annual pro15 grammatic and financial examination; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(III) to the maximum extent 

18 practicable, to remedy any problems 

19 identified pursuant to the site visit or 

20 examination under subclauses (I) and 

21 (II); 

22 ‘‘(B) information demonstrating that the 

23 applicant has the ability and resources to meet 

24 the needs of the market to be served by the 

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1 tial grant is sought, including the ability to 

2 comply with the matching requirement under 

3 paragraph (4); 

4 ‘‘(C) information relating to assistance to 

5 be provided by the women’s business center site 

6 for which an initial grant is sought in the area 

7 in which the site is located; 

8 ‘‘(D) information demonstrating the effec9 tive experience of the applicant in— 

10 ‘‘(i) conducting financial, manage11 ment, and marketing assistance programs, 

12 as described under paragraph (3), which 

13 are designed to teach or upgrade the busi14 ness skills of women who are business own15 ers or potential business owners; 

16 ‘‘(ii) providing training and services to 

17 a representative number of women who are 

18 both socially and economically disadvan19 taged; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) using resource partners of the 

21 Administration and other entities, such as 

22 universities; 

23 ‘‘(E) a 4-year plan that projects the ability 

24 of the women’s business center site for which 

25 an initial grant is sought— 


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1 ‘‘(i) to serve women who are business 

2 owners or potential owners in the future by 

3 improving training and counseling activi4 ties; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) to provide training and services 

6 to a representative number of women who 

7 are both socially and economically dis8 advantaged; and 

9 ‘‘(F) any additional information that the 

10 Administrator may reasonably require. 

11 ‘‘(6) REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS

12 FOR AN INITIAL GRANT.— 

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

14 shall— 

15 ‘‘(i) review each application submitted 

16 under paragraph (5), based on the infor17 mation described in such paragraph and 

18 the criteria set forth under subparagraph 

19 (B) of this paragraph; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) as part of the final selection 

21 process, conduct a site visit at each wom22 en’s business center for which an initial 

23 grant is sought. 

24 ‘‘(B) SELECTION CRITERIA.— 


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

2 shall evaluate applicants in accordance 

3 with predetermined selection criteria that 

4 shall be stated in terms of relative impor5 tance. Such criteria and their relative im6 portance shall be made publicly available 

7 and stated in each solicitation for applica8 tions made by the Administrator. 

9 ‘‘(ii) REQUIRED CRITERIA.—The se10 lection criteria for an initial grant under 

11 clause (i) shall include— 

12 ‘‘(I) the experience of the appli13 cant in conducting programs or ongo14 ing efforts designed to teach or up15 grade the business skills of women 

16 who are business owners or potential 

17 owners; 

18 ‘‘(II) the ability of the applicant 

19 to commence a project within a min20 imum amount of time; 

21 ‘‘(III) the ability of the applicant 

22 to provide training and services to a 

23 representative number of women who 

24 are both socially and economically dis25 advantaged; and 


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1 ‘‘(IV) the location for the wom2 en’s business center site proposed by 

3 the applicant. 

4 ‘‘(C) RECORD RETENTION.—The Adminis5 trator shall maintain a copy of each application 

6 submitted under this paragraph for not less 

7 than 7 years. 

8 ‘‘(7) APPLICATION FOR A RENEWAL GRANT.— 

9 Each organization desiring a renewal grant under 

10 this subsection, shall submit to the Administrator, 

11 not later than 3 months before the expiration of an 

12 existing grant under this subsection, an application 

13 that contains— 

14 ‘‘(A) a certification that the applicant— 

15 ‘‘(i) is a private nonprofit organiza16 tion; 

17 ‘‘(ii) has designated an executive di18 rector or program manager to manage the 

19 center; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) as a condition of receiving a 

21 grant under this subsection, agrees— 

22 ‘‘(I) to receive a site visit as part 

23 of the final selection process; 

24 ‘‘(II) to submit, for the preceding 

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1 nancial examination reports or cer2 tified copies of the applicant’s compli3 ance supplemental audits under OMB 

4 Circular A–133; and 

5 ‘‘(III) to the maximum extent 

6 practicable, to remedy any problems 

7 identified pursuant to the site visit or 

8 examination under subclauses (I) and 

9 (II); 

10 ‘‘(B) information demonstrating that the 

11 applicant has the ability and resources to meet 

12 the needs of the market to be served by the 

13 women’s business center site for which a re14 newal grant is sought, including the ability to 

15 comply with the matching requirement under 

16 paragraph (4); 

17 ‘‘(C) information relating to assistance to 

18 be provided by the women’s business center site 

19 for which a renewal grant is sought in the area 

20 in which the site is located; 

21 ‘‘(D) information demonstrating the utili22 zation of resource partners of the Administra23 tion and other entities; 


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1 ‘‘(E) a 3-year plan that projects the ability 

2 of the women’s business center site for which a 

3 renewal grant is sought— 

4 ‘‘(i) to serve women who are business 

5 owners or potential owners in the future by 

6 improving training and counseling activi7 ties; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) to provide training and services 

9 to a representative number of women who 

10 are both socially and economically dis11 advantaged; and 

12 ‘‘(F) any additional information that the 

13 Administrator may reasonably require. 

14 ‘‘(8) REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS

15 FOR A RENEWAL GRANT.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

17 shall— 

18 ‘‘(i) review each application submitted 

19 under paragraph (7), based on the infor20 mation described in such paragraph and 

21 the criteria set forth under subparagraph 

22 (B) of this paragraph; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) as part of the final selection 

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1 en’s business center for which a renewal 

2 grant is sought. 

3 ‘‘(B) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Admin4 istrator shall evaluate applicants in accordance 

5 with predetermined selection criteria that shall 

6 be stated in terms of relative importance. Such 

7 criteria and their relative importance shall be 

8 made publicly available and stated in each solic9 itation for applications made by the Adminis10 trator. 

11 ‘‘(C) CONDITIONS FOR CONTINUED FUND12 ING.—In determining whether to renew a grant 

13 or cooperative agreement with a women’s busi14 ness center, the Administrator— 

15 ‘‘(i) shall consider the results of the 

16 most recent evaluation of the center, and, 

17 to a lesser extent, previous evaluations; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(ii) may withhold such renewal, if 

20 the Administrator determines that the cen21 ter has failed to provide the information 

22 required to be provided under this sub23 section, or the information provided by the 

24 center is inadequate. 


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1 ‘‘(D) CONTINUING GRANT AND COOPERA2 TIVE AGREEMENT AUTHORITY.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The authority of 

4 the Administrator to enter into grants or 

5 cooperative agreements under this sub6 section shall be in effect for each fiscal 

7 year only to the extent and in the amounts 

8 as are provided in advance in appropria9 tions Acts. 

10 ‘‘(ii) RENEWAL.—After the Adminis11 trator has entered into a grant or coopera12 tive agreement with any women’s business 

13 center under this subsection, the Adminis14 trator shall not suspend, terminate, or fail 

15 to renew or extend any such grant or coop16 erative agreement, unless the Adminis17 trator provides the center with written no18 tification setting forth the reasons there19 fore and affords the center an opportunity 

20 for a hearing, appeal, or other administra21 tive proceeding under chapter 5 of title 5, 

22 United States Code. 

23 ‘‘(E) RECORD RETENTION.—The Adminis24 trator shall maintain a copy of each application 


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1 submitted under this paragraph for not less 

2 than 7 years. 

3 ‘‘(9) DATA COLLECTION.—Consistent with the 

4 annual report to Congress under subsection (g), 

5 each women’s business center site that is awarded 

6 an initial or renewal grant under this subsection 

7 shall collect information relating to— 

8 ‘‘(A) the number of individuals counseled 

9 or trained; 

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

11 provided; 

12 ‘‘(C) the number of workshops conducted; 

13 ‘‘(D) the number of startup small business 

14 concerns formed; and 

15 ‘‘(E) the number of jobs created or main16 tained at assisted small business concerns. 

17 ‘‘(10) PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A women’s business 

19 center may not disclose the name, address, or 

20 telephone number of any individual or small 

21 business concern receiving assistance under this 

22 subsection without the consent of such indi23 vidual or small business concern, unless— 

24 ‘‘(i) the Administrator is ordered to 

25 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 considers such 

4 a disclosure to be necessary for the pur5 pose of conducting a financial audit of a 

6 women’s business center, but a disclosure 

7 under this clause shall be limited to the in8 formation necessary for such audit. 

9 ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATION USE OF INFORMA10 TION.—This subsection shall not— 

11 ‘‘(i) restrict Administration access to 

12 program activity data; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) prevent the Administration from 

14 using client information (other than the in15 formation described in subparagraph (A)) 

16 to conduct client surveys. 

17 ‘‘(C) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator 

18 shall issue regulations to establish standards for 

19 requiring disclosures during a financial audit 

20 under subparagraph (A)(ii). 

21 ‘‘(11) TRANSITION RULES.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

23 other provision of law, a grant or cooperative 

24 agreement that was awarded as an eligible sus25 tainability grant, from amounts appropriated 


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1 for fiscal year 2006, to operate a women’s busi2 ness center, shall remain in full force and effect 

3 under the terms, and for the duration, of such 

4 agreement, subject to the grant limitation in 

5 paragraph (1). 

6 ‘‘(B) EXTENSION.—If the sustainability 

7 grant under subparagraph (A) is scheduled to 

8 expire not later than June 30, 2007, a 1-year 

9 extension shall be granted without any interrup10 tion of funding, subject to the grant limitation 

11 in paragraph (1). 

12 ‘‘(C) EFFECT ON CERTAIN EXISTING

13 PROJECTS AND RENEWAL AUTHORITY.—A 

14 project being conducted by a women’s business 

15 center under this subsection on the day before 

16 the date of enactment of the Women’s Small 

17 Business Ownership Programs Act of 2006— 

18 ‘‘(i) as a 5-year project, shall remain 

19 in full force and effect under the terms 

20 and for the duration of that agreement; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(ii) shall be eligible to apply for a 3- 

23 year renewal grant funded at a level equal 

24 to not more than $150,000 per year. 


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1 ‘‘(12) COORDINATION OF SERVICES.—Small 

2 business development centers and women’s business 

3 centers shall, to the extent possible, coordinate serv4 ices to avoid duplication of programmatic efforts. 

5 ‘‘(c) ASSOCIATIONS OF WOMEN’S BUSINESS CEN6 TERS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) RECOGNITION.—The Administrator shall 

8 recognize the existence and activities of any associa9 tion of women’s business centers established to ad10 dress matters of common concern. 

11 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—The Administrator shall 

12 consult with each association of women’s business 

13 centers to develop— 

14 ‘‘(A) a training program for the staff of 

15 the women’s business centers and the Adminis16 tration; and 

17 ‘‘(B) recommendations to improve the poli18 cies and procedures for governing the general 

19 operations and administration of the Women’s 

20 Business Center Program, including grant pro21 gram improvements under subsection (e)(5).’’. 

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 29 of the 

23 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating subsections (g), (h), (i), 

2 (j), and (k) as subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), and (h), 

3 respectively; 

4 (2) in subsection (e)(2), as redesignated by 

5 paragraph (1) of this subsection, by striking ‘‘to 

6 award a contract (as a sustainability grant) under 

7 subsection (l) or’’; 

8 (3) in subsection (g)(1), as redesignated by 

9 paragraph (1) of this subsection, by striking ‘‘The 

10 Administration’’ and inserting ‘‘Not later than No11 vember 1st of each year, the Administrator’’; 

12 (4) in subsection (h), as redesignated by para13 graph (1) of this subsection— 

14 (A) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and 

15 inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

17 appropriated to the Administration to carry out this 

18 section, to remain available until expended— 

19 ‘‘(A) $16,500,000 for fiscal year 2007, of 

20 which $500,000 may be used to provide supple21 mental sustainability grants to women’s busi22 ness centers, except that no such center may re23 ceive more than a total of $125,000 in grant 

24 funding for the grant period beginning on July 

25 1, 2006 and ending on June 30, 2007; 


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1 ‘‘(B) $17,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; and 

2 ‘‘(C) $17,500,000 for fiscal year 2009. 

3 ‘‘(2) USE OF AMOUNTS.—Amounts made avail4 able under this subsection may only be used for 

5 grant awards and may not be used for costs incurred 

6 by the Administration in connection with the man7 agement and administration of the program under 

8 this section.’’; and 

9 (B) by striking paragraph (4); and 

10 (5) by striking subsection (l). 

11 SEC. 4. NATIONAL WOMEN’S BUSINESS COUNCIL. 

12 (a) COSPONSORSHIP AUTHORITY.—Section 406 of 

13 the Women’s Business Ownership Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 

14 7106) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(f) COSPONSORSHIP AUTHORITY.—The Council is 

16 authorized to enter into agreements as a cosponsor with 

17 public and private entities, in the same manner as is pro18 vided in section 8(b)(1)(A) of the Small Business Act (15 

19 U.S.C. 637(b)(1)(A)), to carry out its duties under this 

20 section.’’. 

21 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—Section 407(f) of the Women’s 

22 Business Ownership Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 7107(f)) is 

23 amended by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(3) REPRESENTATION OF MEMBER ORGANIZA25 TIONS.—Notwithstanding subsection (b), a national 


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1 women’s business organization or small business 

2 concern that is represented on the Council may, in 

3 consultation with the chairperson of the Council, re4 place its representative member on the Council at 

5 any time during the service term to which that mem6 ber was appointed.’’. 

7 (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMITTEES.—Title IV of 

8 the Women’s Business Ownership Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 

9 7101 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 410, 

10 the following new section: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 411. COMMITTEES. 

12 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There are established within 

13 the Council— 

14 ‘‘(1) the Committee on Manufacturing, Tech15 nology, and Training and Professional Services; 

16 ‘‘(2) the Committee on Travel, Tourism, Prod17 uct and Retail Sales, and International Trade; and 

18 ‘‘(3) the Committee on Federal Procurement 

19 and Contracting. 

20 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The Committees established under 

21 subsection (a) shall perform such duties as the chairperson 

22 shall direct.’’. 

23 (d) CLEARINGHOUSE FOR HISTORICAL DOCU24 MENTS.—Section 409 of the Women’s Business OwnerVerDate Aug 31 2005 17:00 Jul 15, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3659.IS S3659

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1 ship Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 7109) is amended by adding 

2 at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(c) CLEARINGHOUSE FOR HISTORICAL DOCU4 MENTS.—The Council shall serve as a clearinghouse for 

5 information on small businesses owned and controlled by 

6 women, including research conducted by other organiza7 tions and individuals relating to ownership by women of 

8 small business concerns in the United States.’’. 

9 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

10 410(a) of the Women’s Business Ownership Act of 1988 

11 (15 U.S.C. 7110(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘2001 

12 through 2003, of which $550,000’’ and inserting ‘‘2007 

13 through 2009, of which not less than 30 percent’’. 

14 SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE ON WOMEN’S BUSINESS 

15 ENTERPRISE. 

16 (a) CHAIRPERSON.—Section 403(b) of the Women’s 

17 Business Ownership Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 7103(b)) is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘Not later’’ and inserting the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later’’; and 

22 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(2) VACANCY.—In the event that a chair24 person is not appointed under paragraph (1), the 

25 Deputy Administrator of the Small Business AdminVerDate Aug 31 2005 17:00 Jul 15, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3659.IS S3659

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1 istration shall serve as acting chairperson of the 

2 Interagency Committee until a chairperson is ap3 pointed under paragraph (1).’’. 

4 (b) POLICY ADVISORY GROUP.—Section 401 of the 

5 Women’s Business Ownership Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 

6 7101) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘There’’ and inserting the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There’’; and 

10 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(b) POLICY ADVISORY GROUP.— 

12 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a 

13 Policy Advisory Group to assist the chairperson in 

14 developing policies and programs under this Act. 

15 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Policy Advisory 

16 Group shall be composed of 7 policy making offi17 cials, of whom— 

18 ‘‘(A) 1 shall be a representative of the 

19 Small Business Administration; 

20 ‘‘(B) 1 shall be a representative of the De21 partment of Commerce; 

22 ‘‘(C) 1 shall be a representative of the De23 partment of Labor; 

24 ‘‘(D) 1 shall be a representative of the De25 partment of Defense; 


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1 ‘‘(E) 1 shall be a representative of the De2 partment of the Treasury; and 

3 ‘‘(F) 2 shall be representatives of the 

4 Council.’’. 

5 (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF SUBCOMMITTEES.—Section 

6 401 of the Women’s Business Ownership Act of 1988 (15 

7 U.S.C. 7101), as amended by subsection (b), is amended 

8 by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(c) SUBCOMMITTEES.— 

10 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There are estab11 lished— 

12 ‘‘(A) the Subcommittee on Manufacturing, 

13 Technology, and Training and Professional 

14 Services; 

15 ‘‘(B) the Subcommittee on Travel, Tour16 ism, Product and Retail Sales, and Inter17 national Trade; and 

18 ‘‘(C) the Subcommittee on Federal Pro19 curement and Contracting. 

20 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Subcommittees established 

21 under paragraph (1) shall perform such duties as 

22 the chairperson shall direct. 

23 ‘‘(3) MEETINGS.—The Subcommittees estab24 lished under paragraph (1) shall meet not less fre25 quently than 3 times each year to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) plan activities for the new fiscal year; 

2 ‘‘(B) track year-to-date agency contracting 

3 goals; and 

4 ‘‘(C) evaluate the progress during the fis5 cal year and prepare an annual report.’’. 

6 SEC. 6. PRESERVING THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE NA7 TIONAL WOMEN’S BUSINESS COUNCIL. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

9 (1) The National Women’s Business Council 

10 provides an independent source of advice and policy 

11 recommendations regarding women’s business devel12 opment and the needs of women entrepreneurs in 

13 the United States to— 

14 (A) the President; 

15 (B) Congress; 

16 (C) the Interagency Committee on Wom17 en’s Business Enterprise; and 

18 (D) the Administrator. 

19 (2) The members of the National Women’s 

20 Business Council are small business owners, rep21 resentatives of business organizations, and rep22 resentatives of women’s business centers. 

23 (3) The chair and ranking member of the Com24 mittee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of 

25 the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of 


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1 the House of Representatives make recommenda2 tions to the Administrator to fill 8 of the positions 

3 on the National Women’s Business Council. Four of 

4 the positions are reserved for small business owners 

5 who are affiliated with the political party of the 

6 President and 4 of the positions are reserved for 

7 small business owners who are not affiliated with the 

8 political party of the President. This method of ap9 pointment ensures that the National Women’s Busi10 ness Council will provide Congress with nonpartisan, 

11 balanced, and independent advice. 

12 (4) In order to maintain the independence of 

13 the National Women’s Business Council and to en14 sure that the Council continues to provide Congress 

15 with advice on a nonpartisan basis, it is essential 

16 that the Council maintain the bipartisan balance es17 tablished under section 407 of the Women’s Busi18 ness Ownership Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 7107). 

19 (b) MAINTENANCE OF PARTISAN BALANCE.—Section 

20 407(f) of the Women’s Business Ownership Act of 1988 

21 (15 U.S.C. 7107(f)), as amended by this Act, is amended 

22 by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(4) PARTISAN BALANCE.—When filling vacan24 cies under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall, to 

25 the extent practicable, ensure that there are an 


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1 equal number of members on the Council from each 

2 of the 2 major political parties. 

3 ‘‘(5) ACCOUNTABILITY.—If a vacancy is not 

4 filled within the 30-day period required under para5 graph (1), or if there exists an imbalance of party6 affiliated members on the Council for a period ex7 ceeding 30 days, the Administrator shall submit a 

8 report, not later than 10 days after the expiration 

9 of either such 30-day deadline, to the Committee on 

10 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate 

11 and the Committee on Small Business of the House 

12 of Representatives, that explains why the respective 

13 deadline was not met and provides an estimated date 

14 on which any vacancies will be filled, as applicable.’’. 

Æ 


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