I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2424 

To amend the Small Business Act to ensure that certain Federal contracts 

are set aside for small businesses, to enhance services to small businesses 

that are disadvantaged, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 6, 2011 

Mr. RUSH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Small Business, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, Oversight and Government Reform, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Small Business Act to ensure that certain 

Federal contracts are set aside for small businesses, to 

enhance services to small businesses that are disadvantaged, 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 ‘‘Expanding Opportuni5 ties for Main Street Act of 2011’’. 


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1 TITLE I—SMALL BUSINESS 

2 ADMINISTRATION 

3 SEC. 101. CONTRACT OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMALL BUSI4 NESS CONCERNS. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

6 (1) the term ‘‘eligible contract’’ means any con7 tract for the acquisition of goods or services that is 

8 in an amount (including options) of more than 

9 $3,000 and less than $500,000; and 

10 (2) the term ‘‘small business concern’’ has the 

11 meaning given that term under section 3(a) of the 

12 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(a)). 

13 (b) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi14 sion of law, a Federal department or agency shall, to the 

15 extent practicable, award to a small business concern each 

16 eligible contract let by the department or agency. 

17 (c) SOLE SOURCE CONTRACTS.—A Federal depart18 ment or agency may award an eligible contract as a sole 

19 source contract to a small business concern if at least 1 

20 small business concern submits an offer with respect to 

21 the eligible contract. 

22 (d) AWARD TO SMALL BUSINESS NOT PRAC23 TICABLE.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—If a contracting officer of a 

25 Federal department or agency determines that 


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1 awarding an eligible contract to a small business 

2 concern under subsection (b) is not practicable, the 

3 contracting officer shall make available to the Ad4 ministrator of the Small Business Administration 

5 and the public— 

6 (A) the determination and reasoning of 

7 such officer with respect to the eligible contract; 

8 and 

9 (B) the name of each small business con10 cern that submitted an offer with respect to the 

11 eligible contract. 

12 (2) REVIEW.—The Administrator of the Small 

13 Business Administration shall— 

14 (A) review a determination under para15 graph (1); and 

16 (B) if the Administrator determines it is 

17 appropriate, open the eligible contract oppor18 tunity for the submission of additional offers 

19 and award the contract. 

20 SEC. 102. ENHANCEMENT OF SERVICES TO SMALL BUSI21 NESSES THAT ARE DISADVANTAGED. 

22 (a) NET WORTH.—Section 8(a)(6)(A) of the Small 

23 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(a)(6)(A)) is amended by in24 serting after ‘‘disadvantaged individual.’’ the following: 

25 ‘‘For purposes of this section, an individual having a net 


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1 worth of more than $1,500,000 is not economically dis2 advantaged.’’. 

3 (b) TIME LIMIT ON PARTICIPATION.—Section 

4 7(j)(15) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(j)(15)) 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and 

7 (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively; 

8 (2) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(15)’’; and 

9 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(B) No time limitation relating to the period that 

11 a small business concern may receive developmental assist12 ance under the Program and contracts under section 8(a) 

13 shall apply to a small business concern that has not com14 pleted a contract under section 8(a).’’. 

15 SEC. 103. SURETY BOND GUARANTEES. 

16 (a) MAXIMUM BOND AMOUNT.—Section 411(a)(1) of 

17 the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 

18 694b(a)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘(1)’’ and all that fol19 lows and inserting the following: ‘‘(1)(A) The Administra20 tion may, upon such terms and conditions as it may pre21 scribe, guarantee and enter into commitments to guar22 antee any surety against loss resulting from a breach of 

23 the terms of a bid bond, payment bond, performance bond, 

24 or bonds ancillary thereto, by a principal on any total work 


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1 order or contract amount at the time of bond execution 

2 that does not exceed $5,000,000. 

3 ‘‘(B) The Administrator may guarantee a surety 

4 under subparagraph (A) for a total work order or contract 

5 amount that does not exceed $10,000,000, if a contracting 

6 officer of a Federal agency certifies that such a guarantee 

7 is necessary.’’. 

8 (b) DENIAL OF LIABILITY.—Section 411 of the Small 

9 Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 694b) is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(e) REIMBURSEMENT OF SURETY; CONDITIONS.— 

14 Pursuant to any such guarantee or agreement, the Admin15 istration shall reimburse the surety, as provided in sub16 section (c) of this section, except that the Administration 

17 shall be relieved of liability (in whole or in part within 

18 the discretion of the Administration) if— 

19 ‘‘(1) the surety obtained such guarantee or 

20 agreement, or applied for such reimbursement, by 

21 fraud or material misrepresentation; 

22 ‘‘(2) the total contract amount at the time of 

23 execution of the bond or bonds exceeds $5,000,000; 

24 ‘‘(3) the surety has breached a material term or 

25 condition of such guarantee agreement; or 


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1 ‘‘(4) the surety has substantially violated the 

2 regulations promulgated by the Administration pur3 suant to subsection (d).’’; 

4 (2) by striking subsection (k); and 

5 (3) by adding after subsection (i) the following: 

6 ‘‘(j) DENIAL OF LIABILITY.—For bonds made or exe7 cuted with the prior approval of the Administration, the 

8 Administration shall not deny liability to a surety based 

9 upon material information that was provided as part of 

10 the guaranty application.’’. 

11 SEC. 104. BUNDLED CONTRACTS. 

12 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3(o) of the Small Busi13 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 632(o)) is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(o) DEFINITIONS OF BUNDLING OF CONTRACT RE15 QUIREMENTS AND RELATED TERMS.—In this Act: 

16 ‘‘(1) BUNDLED CONTRACT.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘bundled 

18 contract’ means a contract or order that is en19 tered into to meet procurement requirements 

20 that are consolidated in a bundling of contract 

21 requirements, without regard to how the pro22 curing agency has designated the contract or 

23 order or whether a study of the effects of the 

24 solicitation on civilian or military personnel has 

25 been made. 


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1 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.—The term does not in2 clude— 

3 ‘‘(i) a contract or order with an aggre4 gate dollar value below the dollar thresh5 old; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) a contract or order that is en7 tered into to meet an exempted require8 ment. 

9 ‘‘(2) BUNDLING OF CONTRACT REQUIRE10 MENTS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘bundling of 

12 contract requirements’ means the use of any 

13 bundling methodology to satisfy 2 or more pro14 curement requirements for goods or services 

15 previously supplied or performed under separate 

16 smaller contracts or orders, or to satisfy 2 or 

17 more procurement requirements for construc18 tion services of a type historically performed 

19 under separate smaller contracts or orders, that 

20 is likely to be unsuitable for award to a small 

21 business concern due to— 

22 ‘‘(i) the diversity, size, or specialized 

23 nature of the elements of the performance 

24 specified; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the aggregate dollar value of the 

2 anticipated award; 

3 ‘‘(iii) the geographical dispersion of 

4 the contract or order performance sites; or 

5 ‘‘(iv) any combination of the factors 

6 described in clauses (i), (ii), and (iii). 

7 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION OF NEW FEATURES OR

8 FUNCTIONS.—A combination of contract re9 quirements that would meet the definition of a 

10 bundling of contract requirements but for the 

11 addition of a procurement requirement with at 

12 least 1 new good or service shall be considered 

13 to be a bundling of contract requirements un14 less the new features or functions substantially 

15 transform the goods or services and will provide 

16 measurably substantial benefits to the Federal 

17 Government in terms of quality, performance, 

18 or price. 

19 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTIONS.—The term ‘bundling of 

20 contract requirements’ does not include— 

21 ‘‘(i) the use of a bundling method22 ology for an anticipated award with an ag23 gregate dollar value below the dollar 

24 threshold; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the use of a bundling method2 ology to meet an exempted requirement. 

3 ‘‘(3) BUNDLING METHODOLOGY.—The term 

4 ‘bundling methodology’ means— 

5 ‘‘(A) a solicitation to obtain offers for a 

6 single contract or order, or a multiple award 

7 contract or order; or 

8 ‘‘(B) a solicitation of offers for the 

9 issuance of a task or a delivery order under an 

10 existing single or multiple award contract or 

11 order. 

12 ‘‘(4) SEPARATE SMALLER CONTRACT.—The 

13 term ‘separate smaller contract’, with respect to 

14 bundling of contract requirements, means a contract 

15 or order that has been performed by 1 or more small 

16 business concerns or was suitable for award to 1 or 

17 more small business concerns. 

18 ‘‘(5) DOLLAR THRESHOLD.—The term ‘dollar 

19 threshold’ means— 

20 ‘‘(A) $65,000,000, in the case of a con21 tract or order that is solely for construction 

22 services; and 

23 ‘‘(B) $5,000,000 for a contract or order 

24 not described in subparagraph (A). 


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1 ‘‘(6) EXEMPTED REQUIREMENT.—The term 

2 ‘exempted requirement’ means a procurement re3 quirement solely for items that are not commercial 

4 items (as the term ‘commercial item’ is defined in 

5 section 103 of title 41, United States Code). 

6 ‘‘(7) PROCUREMENT REQUIREMENT.—The term 

7 ‘procurement requirement’ means a determination 

8 by a Federal agency that a specified good or service 

9 is needed to satisfy the mission of the Federal agen10 cy.’’. 

11 (b) PROPOSED PROCUREMENT REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

13 644(a)) is amended— 

14 (1) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘necessary 

15 and justified’’ and inserting ‘‘necessary and justified, 

16 and identifying information on the incumbent con17 tract holders, a description of the industries that 

18 might be interested in bidding on the contract re19 quirements, and the number of small businesses list20 ed in the industry categories that could be excluded 

21 from future bidding if the contract is combined or 

22 packaged’’; and 

23 (2) by striking the sixth sentence and inserting 

24 the following: ‘‘Whenever the Administration and the 

25 contracting procurement agency fail to agree, the 


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1 Administrator may review the proposed procurement 

2 or delay the solicitation process for not more than 

3 10 days to make recommendations, and the matter 

4 shall be submitted to the Director of the Office of 

5 Management and Budget to mediate the disagree6 ment.’’. 

7 SEC. 105. FEDERAL CONTRACTING GOALS. 

8 (a) INCREASE IN CERTAIN GOALS.—Section 15(g)(1) 

9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(g)(1)) is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘not less than 23 percent’’ and 

12 inserting ‘‘not less than 25 percent’’; and 

13 (2) by striking ‘‘not less than 5 percent’’ each 

14 place it appears and inserting ‘‘not less than 10 per15 cent’’. 

16 (b) LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF CATEGORIES FOR

17 WHICH A BUSINESS MAY QUALIFY.—Section 15(g) of the 

18 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(g)) is amended by 

19 adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(3) A Federal agency may not include a business 

21 concern in more than 2 specified categories for purposes 

22 of determining whether the Federal agency has met the 

23 Government-wide goals under this subsection for the 

24 award of contracts to business concerns in specified cat25 egories. In this paragraph, the term ‘specified category’ 


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1 means small business concerns, small business concerns 

2 owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, quali3 fied HUBZone small business concerns, small business 

4 concerns owned and controlled by socially and economi5 cally disadvantaged individuals, and small business con6 cerns owned and controlled by women.’’. 

7 SEC. 106. IMPLEMENTATION OF SUBCONTRACTING PLANS. 

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

9 637(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(13) In the case of any contract containing a sub11 contracting plan included pursuant to paragraph (4) or 

12 (5)— 

13 ‘‘(A) the Federal agency awarding the contract 

14 shall include in the contract a clause providing that, 

15 if the contractor does not achieve the percentage 

16 goal for the utilization of small business concerns 

17 owned and controlled by socially and economically 

18 disadvantaged individuals as set forth in the subcon19 tracting plan, the Federal agency shall withhold not 

20 less than— 

21 ‘‘(i) $5,000, if the contract amount is not 

22 more than $100,000; 

23 ‘‘(ii) 3 percent of the contract amount, if 

24 the contract amount is more than $100,000 

25 and not more than $5,000,000; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) 5 percent of the contract amount, if 

2 the contract amount is more than $5,000,000; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(B) the Federal agency awarding the contract 

5 shall require the contractor to provide written jus6 tification to the agency whenever the contractor, in 

7 performing the contract, does not enter into a sub8 contract with, or substitutes another subcontractor 

9 for, a specific small business concern identified in 

10 the subcontracting plan. 

11 ‘‘(14) The Administration shall establish a telephone 

12 line or other electronic means of communication through 

13 which a small business concern identified in a subcon14 tracting plan by an offeror or bidder may communicate 

15 to the Administration any concerns regarding major devi16 ations by prime contractors from the use of small business 

17 concerns as subcontractors under the prime contract as 

18 described in the subcontracting plan.’’. 


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1 SEC. 107. REQUIREMENT TO CONSIDER USE OF SMALL 

2 BUSINESS CONCERNS OWNED AND CON3 TROLLED BY SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY 

4 DISADVANTAGED INDIVIDUALS WHEN CON5 SIDERING PAST COMPLIANCE WITH SUBCON6 TRACTING PLANS. 

7 Section 8(d) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

8 637(d)) is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (4)(C), in the second sentence, 

10 by inserting ‘‘, especially compliance with the goal 

11 set forth in such plans for the utilization of small 

12 business concerns owned and controlled by socially 

13 and economically disadvantaged individuals,’’ after 

14 ‘‘other such subcontracting plans’’; and 

15 (2) in paragraph (5)(B), in the second sentence, 

16 by inserting ‘‘, especially compliance with the goal 

17 set forth in such plans for the utilization of small 

18 business concerns owned and controlled by socially 

19 and economically disadvantaged individuals,’’ after 

20 ‘‘other such subcontracting plans’’. 

21 TITLE II—MINORITY BUSINESS 

22 DEVELOPMENT AGENCY 

23 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this title: 

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1 vidual’’ means any individual who is a member of a 

2 group that is designated as eligible to receive assist3 ance under section 1400.1 of title 15, Code of Fed4 eral Regulations, as in effect on January 1, 2009. 

5 (2) PRINCIPAL.—The term ‘‘principal’’ means 

6 any person that the Director determines to exercise 

7 significant control over the regular operations of a 

8 business entity. 

9 (3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 

10 the Minority Business Development Program estab11 lished under section 202. 

12 SEC. 202. MINORITY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. 

13 The National Director of the Minority Business De14 velopment Agency shall establish the Minority Business 

15 Development Program to assist qualified minority busi16 nesses. The Program shall provide to such businesses the 

17 following: 

18 (1) Technical assistance under section 204. 

19 (2) Loan guarantees under section 205. 

20 (3) Contract procurement assistance under sec21 tion 206. 

22 SEC. 203. QUALIFIED MINORITY BUSINESS. 

23 (a) CERTIFICATION.—For purposes of the Program, 

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1 ment Agency may certify as a qualified minority business 

2 any entity that satisfies each of the following: 

3 (1) Not less than 51 percent of the entity is di4 rectly and unconditionally owned or controlled by 

5 historically disadvantaged individuals. 

6 (2) Each officer or other individual who exer7 cises control over the regular operations of the entity 

8 is a historically disadvantaged individual. 

9 (3) The net worth of each principal of the enti10 ty is not greater than $2,000,000. (The equity of a 

11 disadvantaged owner in a primary personal residence 

12 shall not be considered in this calculation.) 

13 (4) The principal place of business of the entity 

14 is in the United States. 

15 (5) Each principal of the entity maintains good 

16 character in the determination of the National Di17 rector. 

18 (6) The entity engages in competitive and bona 

19 fide commercial business operations in not less than 

20 one sector of industry that has a North American 

21 Industry Classification System code. 

22 (7) The entity submits reports to the National 

23 Director at such time, in such form, and containing 

24 such information as the National Director may re25 quire. 


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1 (8) Such other requirements as the National 

2 Director considers appropriate. 

3 (b) TERM OF CERTIFICATION.—A certification under 

4 this section shall be for a term of 5 years and may not 

5 be renewed. 

6 SEC. 204. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the Program, the 

8 National Director of the Minority Business Development 

9 Agency may provide to qualified minority businesses tech10 nical assistance with regard to the following: 

11 (1) Writing business plans. 

12 (2) Marketing. 

13 (3) Management. 

14 (4) Securing sufficient financing for business 

15 operations. 

16 (b) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—The National Director 

17 may enter into agreements with persons to provide tech18 nical assistance under this section. 

19 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

20 are authorized to be appropriated $200,000,000 to the 

21 National Director to carry out this section. Such sums 

22 shall remain available until expended. 

23 SEC. 205. LOAN GUARANTEES. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the Na25 tional Director of the Minority Business Development 


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1 Agency may guarantee up to 90 percent of the amount 

2 of a loan made to a qualified minority business to be used 

3 for business purposes, including the following: 

4 (1) Purchasing essential equipment. 

5 (2) Payroll expenses. 

6 (3) Purchasing facilities. 

7 (4) Renovating facilities. 

8 (b) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The National Director may 

10 make guarantees under this section for projects on 

11 such terms and conditions as the National Director 

12 determines appropriate, after consultation with the 

13 Secretary of the Treasury, in accordance with this 

14 section. 

15 (2) REPAYMENT.—No guarantee shall be made 

16 under this section unless the National Director de17 termines that there is reasonable prospect of repay18 ment of the principal and interest on the obligation 

19 by the borrower. 

20 (3) DEFAULTS.— 

21 (A) PAYMENT BY NATIONAL DIRECTOR.— 

22 (i) IN GENERAL.—If a borrower de23 faults on the obligation (as defined in reg24 ulations promulgated by the National Di25 rector and specified in the guarantee conVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:09 Jul 07, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2424.IH H2424

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1 tract), the holder of the guarantee shall 

2 have the right to demand payment of the 

3 unpaid amount from the National Direc4 tor. 

5 (ii) PAYMENT REQUIRED.—Within 

6 such period as may be specified in the 

7 guarantee or related agreements, the Na8 tional Director shall pay to the holder of 

9 the guarantee the unpaid interest on, and 

10 unpaid principal of the obligation as to 

11 which the borrower has defaulted, unless 

12 the National Director finds that there was 

13 no default by the borrower in the payment 

14 of interest or principal or that the default 

15 has been remedied. 

16 (iii) FORBEARANCE.—Nothing in this 

17 paragraph precludes any forbearance by 

18 the holder of the obligation for the benefit 

19 of the borrower which may be agreed upon 

20 by the parties to the obligation and ap21 proved by the Director. 

22 (B) SUBROGATION.— 

23 (i) IN GENERAL.—If the National Di24 rector makes a payment under subpara25 graph (A), the National Director shall be 


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1 subrogated to the rights of the recipient of 

2 the payment as specified in the guarantee 

3 or related agreements including, where ap4 propriate, the authority (notwithstanding 

5 any other provision of law) to— 

6 (I) complete, maintain, operate, 

7 lease, or otherwise dispose of any 

8 property acquired pursuant to such 

9 guarantee or related agreements; or 

10 (II) permit the borrower, pursu11 ant to an agreement with the National 

12 Director, to continue to pursue the 

13 purposes of the project if the National 

14 Director determines this to be in the 

15 public interest. 

16 (ii) SUPERIORITY OF RIGHTS.—The 

17 rights of the National Director, with re18 spect to any property acquired pursuant to 

19 a guarantee or related agreements, shall be 

20 superior to the rights of any other person 

21 with respect to the property. 

22 (iii) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—A 

23 guarantee agreement shall include such de24 tailed terms and conditions as the National 

25 Director determines appropriate to— 


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1 (I) protect the interests of the 

2 United States in the case of default; 

3 and 

4 (II) have available all the patents 

5 and technology necessary for any per6 son selected, including the National 

7 Director, to complete and operate the 

8 project. 

9 (C) PAYMENT OF PRINCIPAL AND INTER10 EST BY NATIONAL DIRECTOR.—With respect to 

11 any obligation guaranteed under this section, 

12 the National Director may enter into a contract 

13 to pay, and pay, holders of the obligation, for 

14 and on behalf of the borrower, from funds ap15 propriated for that purpose, the principal and 

16 interest payments which become due and pay17 able on the unpaid balance of the obligation if 

18 the National Director finds that— 

19 (i)(I) the borrower is unable to meet 

20 the payments and is not in default; 

21 (II) it is in the public interest to per22 mit the borrower to continue to pursue the 

23 purposes of the project; and 

24 (III) the probable net benefit to the 

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1 cipal and interest will be greater than that 

2 which would result in the event of a de3 fault; 

4 (ii) the amount of the payment that 

5 the National Director is authorized to pay 

6 shall be no greater than the amount of 

7 principal and interest that the borrower is 

8 obligated to pay under the agreement 

9 being guaranteed; and 

10 (iii) the borrower agrees to reimburse 

11 the National Director for the payment (in12 cluding interest) on terms and conditions 

13 that are satisfactory to the National Direc14 tor. 

15 (D) ACTION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 

16 (i) NOTIFICATION.—If the borrower 

17 defaults on an obligation, the National Di18 rector shall notify the Attorney General of 

19 the default. 

20 (ii) RECOVERY.—On notification, the 

21 Attorney General shall take such action as 

22 is appropriate to recover the unpaid prin23 cipal and interest due from— 


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1 (I) such assets of the defaulting 

2 borrower as are associated with the 

3 obligation; or 

4 (II) any other security pledged to 

5 secure the obligation. 

6 (4) FEES.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The National Director 

8 shall charge and collect fees for guarantees in 

9 amounts the National Director determines are 

10 sufficient to cover applicable administrative ex11 penses, not to exceed 1 percent of the amount 

12 guaranteed. 

13 (B) AVAILABILITY.—Fees collected under 

14 this paragraph shall— 

15 (i) be deposited by the National Di16 rector into the Treasury; and 

17 (ii) remain available until expended, 

18 subject to such other conditions as are con19 tained in annual appropriations Acts. 

20 (c) CREDIT REQUIREMENTS.—To receive a loan 

21 guaranteed under this section a qualified minority busi22 ness shall— 

23 (1) be in good standing with regard to the cred24 it of that business in the determination of the Na25 tional Director; 


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1 (2) have received technical assistance under sec2 tion 104; and 

3 (3) submit reports, at such time, in such form, 

4 and containing such information as the National Di5 rector may require regarding the credit of the busi6 ness. 

7 (d) LIMITS ON GUARANTEE AMOUNTS.— 

8 (1) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF GUARANTEE.—The 

9 National Director may not guarantee more than 

10 $450,000 of any loan under this section. 

11 (2) MAXIMUM GROSS LOAN AMOUNT.—A loan 

12 guaranteed under this section may not be for a gross 

13 loan amount in excess of $500,000. 

14 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

15 are authorized to be appropriated to the National Director 

16 not more than $500,000,000 to carry out this section dur17 ing fiscal years 2012 through 2016. 

18 SEC. 206. SET-ASIDE CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The National Director of the Mi20 nority Business Development Agency may enter into 

21 agreements with the United States Government and any 

22 department, agency, or officer thereof having procurement 

23 powers for purposes of providing for the fulfillment of pro24 curement contracts and providing opportunities for quali25 fied minority businesses with regard to such contracts. 


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1 (b) QUALIFICATIONS ON PARTICIPATION.—The Na2 tional Director shall by rule establish requirements for 

3 participation under this section by a qualified minority 

4 business in a contract. 

5 (c) ANNUAL LIMIT ON NUMBER OF CONTRACTS PER

6 QUALIFIED MINORITY BUSINESS.—A qualified minority 

7 business may not participate under this section in con8 tracts in an amount that exceeds $10,000,000 for goods 

9 and services each fiscal year. 

10 (d) LIMITS ON CONTRACT AMOUNTS.— 

11 (1) GOODS AND SERVICES.—Except as provided 

12 in paragraph (2), a contract for goods and services 

13 under this section may not exceed $6,000,000. 

14 (2) MANUFACTURING AND CONSTRUCTION.—A 

15 contract for manufacturing and construction services 

16 under this section may not exceed $10,000,000. 

17 SEC. 207. TERMINATION FROM PROGRAM. 

18 The National Director of the Minority Business De19 velopment Agency may terminate a qualified minority 

20 business from the Program for any violation of a require21 ment of sections 203 through 206 by that qualified minor22 ity business, including the following: 

23 (1) Conduct by a principal of the qualified mi24 nority business that indicates a lack of business in25 tegrity. 


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1 (2) Willful failure to comply with applicable 

2 labor standards and obligations. 

3 (3) Consistent failure to tender adequate per4 formance with regard to contracts under the Pro5 gram. 

6 (4) Failure to obtain and maintain relevant cer7 tifications. 

8 (5) Failure to pay outstanding obligations owed 

9 to the Federal Government. 

10 SEC. 208. REPORTS. 

11 (a) REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR.—Not later than Oc12 tober 1, 2012, and annually thereafter, the National Di13 rector of the Minority Business Development Agency shall 

14 submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

15 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on En16 ergy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a re17 port describing the activities of the National Director dur18 ing the preceding year with respect to the Program. 

19 (b) REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.— 

20 Not later than October 1, 2012, and annually thereafter, 

21 the Secretary of Commerce shall submit to the Committee 

22 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

23 and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

24 House of Representatives a report describing the activities 


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1 the Secretary engaged in during the preceding year to 

2 build wealth among historically disadvantaged individuals. 

3 SEC. 209. MINORITY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AGENCY 

4 DATABASE. 

5 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact6 ment of this Act, the National Director of the Minority 

7 Business Development Agency shall establish a database 

8 to assist prime contractors in identifying historically dis9 advantaged firms for subcontracting. 

10 TITLE III—COMMUNITY ECO11 NOMIC DEVELOPMENT PRO12 VISIONS 

13 SEC. 301. TARGETED HIRING REQUIREMENT FOR CERTAIN 

14 CONSTRUCTION JOBS. 

15 (a) CONTRACTS SUBJECT TO THIS SECTION.—The 

16 requirements of this section shall apply to all contracts 

17 for construction and rehabilitation of facilities and infra18 structure funded directly by or assisted in whole or in part 

19 by or through the Federal Government in fiscal year 2012. 

20 (b) EMPLOYMENT OF TARGETED WORKERS.— 

21 (1) PROJECT WORK HOURS REQUIREMENT.— 

22 The Secretary of Labor shall establish a minimum 

23 percentage of construction work hours to be per24 formed by targeted workers for each contract subject 

25 to this section in each labor market area. 


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1 (2) UTILIZATION OF APPRENTICESHIP PRO2 GRAMS.— 

3 (A) CONTRACTOR PARTICIPATION RE4 QUIREMENTS.—Each contractor and subcon5 tractor that seeks to provide construction serv6 ices on contracts subject to this section shall 

7 submit adequate assurances with its bid or pro8 posal that it participates in a qualified appren9 ticeship program, with a written arrangement 

10 with a qualified pre-apprenticeship program, as 

11 defined by the Secretary of Labor, for each 

12 craft or trade classification of worker that the 

13 contractor or subcontractor intends to employ 

14 to perform work on the project. 

15 (B) CERTIFICATION OF OTHER PROGRAMS

16 IN CERTAIN LOCALITIES.—In the event that the 

17 Secretary of Labor certifies that a qualified ap18 prenticeship program (as defined in subpara19 graph (A)) for a craft or trade classification 

20 that a prospective contractor or subcontractor 

21 intends to employ, is not operated in the local22 ity where the contract or subcontract will be 

23 performed, an apprenticeship or other training 

24 program that is not an employee welfare benefit 

25 plan (as defined in such section) may be cerVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:09 Jul 07, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2424.IH H2424

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1 tified by the Secretary as a qualified appren2 ticeship or other training program provided it is 

3 registered with the Department of Labor, Office 

4 of Apprenticeship, or a State apprenticeship 

5 agency recognized by the Office of Apprentice6 ship for Federal purposes. 

7 (C) APPRENTICE UTILIZATION.—Each con8 tractor and subcontractor performing work on 

9 contracts subject to this section shall employ 

10 apprentices or trainees enrolled in qualified ap11 prenticeship programs to the maximum extent 

12 permitted in the program’s written standards, 

13 and shall submit adequate assurances that it is 

14 not party to contractual agreements that pre15 clude its ability to meet the targeted hiring re16 quirements set forth in paragraph (1). 

17 (3) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sec18 tion— 

19 (A) the term ‘‘labor market area’’ has the 

20 meaning given such term in section 101(18) of 

21 the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 

22 U.S.C. 2801(18)); 

23 (B) the term ‘‘qualified apprenticeship pro24 gram’’ means an apprenticeship or other train25 ing program that qualifies as an ‘‘employee welVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:09 Jul 07, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2424.IH H2424

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1 fare benefit plan’’ as defined in section 3(1) of 

2 the Employee Retirement Income Security Act 

3 of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1002(1)); and 

4 (C) the term ‘‘targeted workers’’ means in5 dividuals who reside in the same labor market 

6 area as the applicable project and who— 

7 (i)(I) are members of families that re8 ceived a total income, that during the 2- 

9 year period prior to employment on the 

10 project or admission to the pre-apprentice11 ship program, did not exceed 200 percent 

12 of the Federal poverty guidelines (exclusive 

13 of unemployment compensation, child sup14 port payments, payments described in 29 

15 United States Code section 2801(25)(A), 

16 and old-age and survivors insurance bene17 fits received under section 202 of the So18 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402)); and 

19 (II) reside in a census tract in which 

20 not less than 20 percent of the households 

21 have income below the Federal poverty 

22 guidelines; 

23 (ii) are members of a targeted group, 

24 within the meaning of section 51 of the In25 ternal Revenue Code of 1986; or 


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1 (iii) qualify as ‘‘displaced home2 makers’’ as such term is defined in section 

3 3(10) of the Carl D. Perkins Career and 

4 Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 

5 U.S.C. 2302(10)). 

6 (c) FACILITATING COMPLIANCE AND PROJECT EFFI7 CIENCY.—In order to achieve the purposes of this section 

8 and to promote prompt completion of construction projects 

9 undertaken pursuant to this Act, the Secretary of Labor 

10 may require that contractors and subcontractors per11 forming construction work under a contract subject to this 

12 section enter into an agreement consistent with the stand13 ards set forth in section 4 of Executive Order 13502 and 

14 the requirements of subsection (b)(1) of this section. 

15 (d) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—No law or regulation gov17 erning the operations or activities of any agency re18 sponsible for implementing provisions of this section 

19 shall be interpreted to prohibit Federal agencies, 

20 funding recipients, contractors, or subcontractors, 

21 from advancing the purposes of this section through 

22 additional project requirements or actions. The Sec23 retary of Labor shall be responsible for ensuring the 

24 implementation and enforcement of this section, in25 cluding investigating noncompliance, and shall, not 


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1 later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 

2 this Act, adopt such rules, regulations, and guid3 ance, and issue such orders as the Secretary deter4 mines necessary and appropriate to achieve the pur5 poses of this section. 

6 (2) COMPLIANCE.—In the event of material 

7 noncompliance with this section by a recipient, con8 tractor, or subcontractor, the Secretary of Labor 

9 shall have the authority to assess and collect pen10 alties from such recipient, contractor, or subcon11 tractor of not more than 5 percent of the contract 

12 amount. The Secretary shall allow for reduction or 

13 avoidance of penalty assessments for non-compliance 

14 with the targeted hiring requirements of subsection 

15 (b)(1) only where the entity in question dem16 onstrates that— 

17 (A) compliance was impossible because of a 

18 shortage of targeted workers in the local labor 

19 market; and 

20 (B) the employer utilized all specified 

21 measures to obtain targeted workers. 

22 The Secretary may specify measures required to be 

23 taken to obtain targeted workers. 

24 (e) DEDICATED RESOURCES FOR TRAINING AND RE25 CRUITMENT.—In order to facilitate the objectives of this 


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1 section, not less than 1 percent of any funds authorized 

2 and appropriated or otherwise allocated for construction 

3 for fiscal year 2012 shall be set aside to— 

4 (1) provide pre-apprenticeship training and 

5 other support services through programs that have 

6 strong track records of placing targeted workers into 

7 sustained employment in the construction trades and 

8 that have written agreements with qualified appren9 ticeship programs; 

10 (2) provide support to community-based organi11 zations that have written agreements with programs 

12 described in subsection (b)(2) to participate in such 

13 programs by recruiting targeted workers; or 

14 (3) provide support to contractors either— 

15 (A) that are community-based nonprofit 

16 organizations that both— 

17 (i) have a governing body in which a 

18 majority the members qualify as targeted 

19 workers; and 

20 (ii) have less than one million dollars 

21 in annual revenue from construction work 

22 of any type, or 

23 (B) in which such a community-based non24 profit organization has a 100 percent control25 ling interest for work relating to such Act to 


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1 meet the cost of participating in apprenticeship 

2 programs. 

3 (f) SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING PARTICIPATION

4 OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED

5 BUSINESSES.—It is the sense of Congress that each agen6 cy responsible for implementing provisions relating to con7 struction contracting and subcontracting in fiscal year 

8 2012 should ensure that any regulation, policy, or funding 

9 disbursement made provides for the inclusive participation 

10 by socially and economically disadvantaged small business 

11 concerns, as defined under section 8(a) of the Small Busi12 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 637(a)), including through bidding 

13 credits, program eligibility standards, and other means. 

14 SEC. 302. 2-YEAR EXTENSION OF NEW MARKETS TAX CRED15 IT NATIONAL LIMITATION. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (G) of section 

17 45D(f)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amend18 ed by striking ‘‘2010 and 2011’’ and inserting ‘‘2010, 

19 2011, 2012, and 2013’’. 

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

21 this section shall apply to investments made after Decem22 ber 31, 2011. 


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1 SEC. 303. EXTENSION OF EMPOWERMENT ZONE DESIGNA2 TION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Clause (i) of section 

4 1391(d)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

5 amended by striking ‘‘December 31, 2011’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘December 31, 2013’’. 

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

8 this section shall apply to periods after December 31, 

9 2011. 

Æ 


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