II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3953 

To foster the development of minority-owned small businesses. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2006 

Mr. KERRY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

A BILL 

To foster the development of minority-owned small 

businesses. 

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 ‘‘Minority Entrepre5 neurship Development Act of 2006’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) in 2005, the African American unemploy9 ment rate was 9.5 percent and the Hispanic Amer10 ican unemployment rate was 6 percent, well above 

11 the national average of 4.7 percent; 


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1 (2) Hispanic Americans represent 12.5 percent 

2 of the United States population and approximately 

3 6 percent of all United States businesses; 

4 (3) African Americans account for 12.3 percent 

5 of the population and only 4 percent of all United 

6 States businesses; 

7 (4) Native Americans account for approximately 

8 1 percent of the population and .9 percent of all 

9 United States businesses; 

10 (5) entrepreneurship has proven to be an effec11 tive tool for economic growth and viability of all 

12 communities; 

13 (6) minority-owned businesses are a key ingre14 dient for economic development in the community, 

15 an effective tool for creating lasting and higher-pay16 ing jobs, and a source of wealth in the minority com17 munity; and 

18 (7) between 1987 and 1997, revenue from mi19 nority-owned firms rose by 22.5 percent, an increase 

20 equivalent to an annual growth rate of 10 percent, 

21 and employment opportunities within minority22 owned firms increased by 23 percent. 

23 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this Act— 


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1 (1) the terms ‘‘Administration’’ and ‘‘Adminis2 trator’’ mean the Small Business Administration 

3 and the Administrator thereof, respectively; 

4 (2) the term ‘‘eligible association or organiza5 tion’’ means an association or organization that— 

6 (A) is— 

7 (i) a national minority business asso8 ciation organized in accordance with sec9 tion 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue 

10 Code of 1986; or 

11 (ii) a foundation of national minority 

12 business associations organized in accord13 ance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal 

14 Revenue Code of 1986; 

15 (B) has a well established national network 

16 of local chapters, or a proven national member17 ship; and 

18 (C) has been in existence for at least the 

19 10-year period before the date of awarding a 

20 grant under section 6; 

21 (3) the term ‘‘eligible educational institution’’ 

22 means an institution that is— 

23 (A) a public or private institution of higher 

24 education (including any land-grant college or 

25 university, any college or school of business, enVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:40 Sep 28, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3953.IS S3953

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1 gineering, commerce, or agriculture, or commu2 nity college or junior college) or any entity 

3 formed by 2 or more institutions of higher edu4 cation; and 

5 (B) a— 

6 (i) historically Black college; 

7 (ii) Hispanic-serving institution; or 

8 (iii) tribal college; 

9 (4) the term ‘‘historically Black college’’ means 

10 a part B institution, as that term is defined in sec11 tion 322 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

12 U.S.C. 1061); 

13 (5) the term ‘‘Hispanic-serving institution’’ has 

14 the meaning given that term in section 502 of the 

15 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1101a); 

16 (6) the term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ 

17 has the meaning given that term in section 101 of 

18 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1101) 

19 (7) the term ‘‘small business concern’’ has the 

20 meaning given that term in section 3 of the Small 

21 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 532); 

22 (8) the term ‘‘small business development cen23 ter’’ has the meaning given that term in section 21 

24 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648); and 


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1 (9) the term ‘‘tribal college’’ has the same 

2 meaning as the term ‘‘tribally controlled college or 

3 university’’ under section 2(a)(4) of the Tribally 

4 Controlled Community College Assistance Act of 

5 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1801(a)(4)). 

6 SEC. 4. MINORITY SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Small Business Act (15 

8 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating section 37 as section 38; 

10 and 

11 (2) by inserting after section 36 the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 37. MINORITY SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT. 

13 ‘‘(a) OFFICE OF MINORITY SMALL BUSINESS DE14 VELOPMENT.—There is established in the Administration 

15 an Office of Minority Small Business Development, which 

16 shall be administered by the Associate Administrator for 

17 Minority Small Business Development appointed under 

18 section 4(b)(1) (in this section referred to as the ‘Asso19 ciate Administrator’). 

20 ‘‘(b) ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR FOR MINORITY

21 SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT.—The Associate Ad22 ministrator shall— 

23 ‘‘(1) be— 

24 ‘‘(A) an appointee in the Senior Executive 

25 Service who is a career appointee; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) an employee in the competitive serv2 ice; 

3 ‘‘(2) be responsible for the formulation, execu4 tion, and promotion of policies and programs of the 

5 Administration that provide assistance to small busi6 ness concerns owned and controlled by minorities; 

7 ‘‘(3) act as an ombudsman for full consider8 ation of minorities in all programs of the Adminis9 tration (including those under section 7(j) and 8(a)); 

10 ‘‘(4) work with the Associate Deputy Adminis11 trator for Capital Access of the Administration to 

12 increase the proportion of loans and loan dollars, 

13 and investments and investment dollars, going to mi14 norities through the finance programs under this 

15 Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 

16 (including subsections (a), (b), and (m) of section 7 

17 of this Act and the programs under title V and parts 

18 A and B of title III of the Small Business Invest19 ment Act of 1958); 

20 ‘‘(5) work with the Associate Deputy Adminis21 trator for Entrepreneurial Development of the Ad22 ministration to increase the proportion of counseling 

23 and training that goes to minorities through the en24 trepreneurial development programs of the Adminis25 tration; 


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1 ‘‘(6) work with the Associate Deputy Adminis2 trator for Government Contracting and Minority En3 terprise Development of the Administration to in4 crease the proportion of contracts, including through 

5 the Small Business Innovation Research Program 

6 and the Small Business Technology Transfer Pro7 gram, to minorities; 

8 ‘‘(7) work with the partners of the Administra9 tion, trade associations, and business groups to iden10 tify and carry out policies and procedures to more 

11 effectively market the resources of the Administra12 tion to minorities; 

13 ‘‘(8) work with the Office of Field Operations 

14 of the Administration to ensure that district offices 

15 and regional offices have adequate staff, funding, 

16 and other resources to market the programs of the 

17 Administration to meet the objectives described in 

18 paragraphs (4) through (7); and 

19 ‘‘(9) report to and be responsible directly to the 

20 Administrator. 

21 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

22 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this sec23 tion— 

24 ‘‘(1) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

25 ‘‘(2) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2009.’’. 

2 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 4(b)(1) of 

3 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 633(b)(1)) is amended 

4 in the sixth sentence, by striking ‘‘Minority Small Busi5 ness and Capital Ownership Development’’ and all that 

6 follows through the end of the sentence and inserting ‘‘Mi7 nority Small Business Development.’’. 

8 SEC. 5. MINORITY ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION 

9 PILOT PROGRAM OF 2006. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may make 

11 grants to eligible educational institutions— 

12 (1) to assist in establishing an entrepreneurship 

13 curriculum for undergraduate or graduate studies; 

14 and 

15 (2) for placement of a small business develop16 ment center on the physical campus of the institu17 tion. 

18 (b) USE OF FUNDS.— 

19 (1) CURRICULUM REQUIREMENT.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible educational 

21 institution receiving a grant under this section 

22 shall develop a curriculum that includes train23 ing in various skill sets needed by successful en24 trepreneurs, including— 


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1 (i) business management and mar2 keting, financial management and account3 ing, market analysis and competitive anal4 ysis, and innovation and strategic plan5 ning; and 

6 (ii) additional entrepreneurial skill 

7 sets specific to the needs of the student 

8 population and the surrounding commu9 nity, as determined by the institution. 

10 (B) FOCUS.—The focus of the curriculum 

11 developed under this paragraph shall be to help 

12 students in non-business majors develop the 

13 tools necessary to use their area of expertise as 

14 entrepreneurs. 

15 (2) SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER

16 REQUIREMENT.—Each eligible educational institu17 tion receiving a grant under this section shall open 

18 a small business development center that— 

19 (A) performs studies, research, and coun20 seling concerning the managing, financing, and 

21 operation of small business concerns; 

22 (B) performs management training and 

23 provides technical assistance regarding small 

24 business concern participation in international 

25 markets, export promotion and technology 


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1 transfer, and the delivery or distribution of 

2 such services and information; 

3 (C) offers referral services for entre4 preneurs and small business concerns to busi5 ness development, financing, and legal experts; 

6 and 

7 (D) promotes market-specific innovation, 

8 niche marketing, capacity building, inter9 national trade, and strategic planning as keys 

10 to long term growth for its small business con11 cern and entrepreneur clients. 

12 (c) GRANT AWARDS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may not 

14 award a grant under this section to a single eligible 

15 educational institution— 

16 (A) in excess of $1,000,000 in any fiscal 

17 year; or 

18 (B) for a term of more than 2 years. 

19 (2) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.—Funds 

20 made available under this section may not be used 

21 for— 

22 (A) any purpose other than those associ23 ated with the direct costs incurred by the eligi24 ble educational institution to— 


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1 (i) develop and implement the cur2 riculum described in subsection (b)(1); or 

3 (ii) organize and operate a small busi4 ness development center, as described in 

5 subsection (b)(2); or 

6 (B) building expenses, administrative trav7 el budgets, or other expenses not directly re8 lated to the costs described in subparagraph 

9 (A). 

10 (d) MATCHING NOT REQUIRED.—Subparagraphs (A) 

11 and (B) of section 21(a)(4) of the Small Business Act (15 

12 U.S.C. 648(a)(4)) shall not apply to a grant made under 

13 this section. 

14 (e) REPORT.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than November 1 

16 of each year in which funds are made available for 

17 grants under this section, the Associate Adminis18 trator of Entrepreneurial Development of the Ad19 ministration shall submit to the Committee on Small 

20 Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and 

21 the Committee on Small Business of the House of 

22 Representatives, a report evaluating the success of 

23 the program under this section during the preceding 

24 fiscal year. 


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1 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report under paragraph 

2 (1) shall include— 

3 (A) a description of each entrepreneurship 

4 program developed with grant funds, the date 

5 of the award, and the number of participants in 

6 each such program; 

7 (B) the number of small business assisted 

8 through the small business development center 

9 with grant funds; and 

10 (C) data regarding the economic impact of 

11 the small business development center coun12 seling provided with grant funds. 

13 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATION.—There are 

14 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

15 $24,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2009, 

16 to remain available until expended. 

17 (g) LIMITATION ON USE OF OTHER FUNDS.—The 

18 Administrator shall carry out this section only with 

19 amounts appropriated in advance specifically to carry out 

20 this section. 

21 SEC. 6. MINORITY ACCESS TO INFORMATION DISTANCE 

22 LEARNING PILOT PROGRAM OF 2006. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may make 

24 grants to eligible associations and organizations to— 


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1 (1) assist in establishing the technical capacity 

2 to provide online or distance learning for businesses 

3 seeking to contract with the Federal Government; 

4 (2) develop curriculum for seminars that will 

5 provide businesses with the technical expertise to 

6 contract with the Federal government; and 

7 (3) provide training and technical expertise 

8 through distance learning at low cost, or no cost, to 

9 participant business owners and other interested 

10 parties. 

11 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible association or orga12 nization receiving a grant under this section shall develop 

13 a curriculum that includes training in various areas need14 ed by the owners of small business concerns to successfully 

15 contract with the Federal Government, which may include 

16 training in accounting, marketing to the Federal Govern17 ment, applying for Federal certifications, use of offices of 

18 small and disadvantaged businesses, procurement con19 ferences, the scope of Federal procurement contracts, and 

20 General Services Administration schedules. 

21 (c) GRANT AWARDS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may not 

23 award a grant under this section to a single eligible 

24 association or organization— 


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1 (A) in excess of $250,000 in any fiscal 

2 year; or 

3 (B) for a term of more than 2 years. 

4 (2) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.—Funds 

5 made available under this section may not be used— 

6 (A) for any purpose other than those asso7 ciated with the direct costs incurred by the eli8 gible association or organization to develop the 

9 curriculum described in subsection (b); or 

10 (B) for building expenses, administrative 

11 travel budgets, or other expenses not directly 

12 related to the costs described in subparagraph 

13 (A). 

14 (d) MATCHING NOT REQUIRED.—Subparagraphs (A) 

15 and (B) of section 21(a)(4) of the Small Business Act (15 

16 U.S.C. 648(a)(4)) shall not apply to a grant made under 

17 this section. 

18 (e) REPORT.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than November 1 

20 of each year, the Associate Administrator of Entre21 preneurial Development of the Administration shall 

22 submit to the Committee on Small Business and En23 trepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on 

24 Small Business of the House of Representatives, a 


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1 report evaluating the success of the program under 

2 this section during the preceding fiscal year. 

3 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report under paragraph 

4 (1) shall include— 

5 (A) a description of each distance learning 

6 program developed with grant funds under this 

7 section, the date of the award, and the number 

8 of participants in each program; and 

9 (B) data regarding the economic impact of 

10 the distance learning technical assistance pro11 vided with such grant funds. 

12 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

13 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

14 $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2009, 

15 to remain available until expended. 

16 (g) LIMITATION ON USE OF OTHER FUNDS.—The 

17 Administrator shall carry out this section only with 

18 amounts appropriated in advance specifically to carry out 

19 this section. 

20 SEC. 7. EXTENSION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DIS21 ADVANTAGED BUSINESS PROGRAM. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7102(c) of the Federal 

23 Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 (15 U.S.C. 644 

24 note) is amended by striking ‘‘September 30, 2003’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘September 30, 2009’’. 


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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

2 this section shall take effect 30 days after the date of en3 actment of this Act. 

Æ 


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