I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 6326 
To establish a pilot program awarding competitive grants to organizations 
administering entrepreneurial development programming to formerly in-
carcerated individuals, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 20, 2021 
Mr. CARTER of Louisiana introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Small Business 
A BILL 
To establish a pilot program awarding competitive grants 
to organizations administering entrepreneurial develop-
ment programming to formerly incarcerated individuals, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Necessary Entrepre-
neurship Workshops via the SBA to Transform and Assist 
Re-entry Training Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘NEW START 
Act of 2021’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) according to the Department of Justice, 
every year, over 600,000 individuals are released 
from prison and return home to their communities, 
and almost 77 percent of those individuals will re-
offend within 5 years; 
(2) according to the Center for American 
Progress, an estimated 60 percent of formerly incar-
cerated individuals will remain unemployed for a pe-
riod of 1 year post-incarceration, increasing the risk 
for recidivism; 
(3) according to the Center for Economic and 
Policy Research, the economy of the United States 
loses 
an 
estimated 
$78,000,000,000 
to 
$87,000,000,000 annually due to lost output from 
individuals with criminal records unable to find sta-
ble employment; 
(4) entrepreneurial development programs for 
incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals 
report dramatically lower rates of recidivism; and 
(5) self-employment can provide economic sta-
bility for those who are otherwise locked out of the 
labor market. 
SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act— 
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(1) the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad-
ministrator of the Small Business Administration; 
(2) the term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con-
gress’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship of the Senate; and 
(B) the Committee on Small Business of 
the House of Representatives; 
(3) the term ‘‘covered individual’’ means an in-
dividual who— 
(A) completed a term of imprisonment in 
Federal, State, or local jail or prison; and 
(B) meets the offense eligibility require-
ments set forth in any applicable policy notice 
or other guidance issued by the Small Business 
Administration for the program established 
under section 7(m) of the Small Business Act 
(15 U.S.C. 636(m)); 
(4) the terms ‘‘intermediary’’ and ‘‘microloan’’ 
have the meanings given those terms in section 
7(m)(11) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
636(m)(11)); 
(5) the term ‘‘microloan intermediary’’ means 
an intermediary that is eligible to participate in the 
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program established under section 7(m) of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(m)); and 
(6) the term ‘‘pilot program’’ means the pilot 
program established under subsection (b). 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 6 months after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 
establish a pilot program to award grants to organizations 
over a 5-year period to create or support existing entrepre-
neurship development programs to provide assistance to 
covered individuals. 
(c) GRANT
REQUIREMENTS.—The Administrator 
shall— 
(1) award a grant under the pilot program to 
not fewer than 6 organizations, or partnerships of 
organizations, which shall each receive grants annu-
ally over the 5-year period in which the pilot pro-
gram is in existence; and 
(2) allocate grants under the pilot program to 
ensure that the recipients are geographically varied 
throughout the United States. 
(d) PARTNERSHIPS.—An applicant for a grant under 
the pilot program may form partnerships with other orga-
nizations for the purposes of the application and for con-
ducting entrepreneurial development programming. 
(e) APPLICATION.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—An organization or partner-
ship of organizations desiring a grant under the 
pilot program shall submit an application to the Ad-
ministrator in such form, in such manner, and con-
taining such information as the Administrator may 
reasonably require. 
(2) 
CONTENTS.—An 
application 
submitted 
under paragraph (1) shall— 
(A) demonstrate that the applicant has a 
partnership with, or is, a microloan inter-
mediary that shall provide microloans to quali-
fied covered individuals, or, to the extent that 
the applicant is a national organization in mul-
tiple different markets, that a separate micro-
loan intermediary may be used in each such 
market; 
(B) demonstrate strong community ties, 
including those with the covered individual com-
munity, local businesses, and political leaders; 
(C) demonstrate an ability to provide a full 
range of entrepreneurial development program-
ming on an ongoing basis; 
(D) include a plan for reaching covered in-
dividuals, including by identifying particular 
target populations within the community; 
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(E) clearly define entrepreneurial develop-
ment capabilities, including coordination with 
existing local resource partners of the Adminis-
tration for additional training as necessary; 
(F) present an entrepreneurship develop-
ment curriculum, which may be a nationally 
recognized model or based upon such a model; 
(G) include a list of each partner organiza-
tion; and 
(H) include a comprehensive plan for the 
use of grant funds, including estimates for ad-
ministrative and outreach costs of running and 
evaluating the entrepreneurship development 
program. 
(f) PRIORITY.—In determining whether to award a 
grant under the pilot program, the Administrator may 
give priority to applicants based on— 
(1) whether the application includes a commit-
ment from an existing or new non-Federal funding 
source to meet the matching requirement under sub-
section (g); 
(2) whether the application takes into account 
local economies and markets as a part of the edu-
cational component of the entrepreneurship develop-
ment program; and 
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(3) the ability or plan of the applicant to pro-
vide entrepreneurial development services concurrent 
with employment or job training services. 
(g) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of a grant 
provided under the pilot program, the Administrator 
shall require the recipient of the grant to contribute 
an amount equal to 25 percent of the amount of the 
grant, obtained solely from existing or new non-Fed-
eral sources. 
(2) FORM.—In addition to cash or other direct 
funding, the contribution required under paragraph 
(1) may include indirect costs or in-kind contribu-
tions paid for under non-Federal programs. 
(h) REPORTS.— 
(1) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 
(A) INDIVIDUAL
REPORTS
TO
ADMINIS-
TRATOR.—A recipient of a grant under the pilot 
program shall submit to the Administrator an 
annual report on the use of grant funds under 
the pilot program, which shall contain, with re-
spect to the entrepreneurship development pro-
grams created or supported under the pilot pro-
gram— 
(i) a list of partner organizations; 
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(ii) the characteristics of covered indi-
viduals assisted under the entrepreneurship 
development programs, including race and 
ethnicity, gender, age, marital status, pa-
rental status, employment status, income, 
banking and credit history, and prior busi-
ness experience; 
(iii) the participation and attendance 
rates for all components of the entrepre-
neurship development programs; 
(iv) the program retention rate; 
(v) the percentage of participants who 
remain non-justice involved during the cal-
endar year of the program; 
(vi) the level of the covered individ-
uals’ understanding of business concepts 
and principles; 
(vii) the level of the covered individ-
uals’ greater confidence in leadership 
strengths, including the results of an in-
dustry-recognized behavioral assessment; 
(viii) the covered individuals’ progress 
made toward establishing a business; 
(ix) the experiences and perceptions of 
the covered individuals; 
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(x) the number and dollar amount of 
loans made to qualified covered individuals; 
and 
(xi) such additional information as the 
Administrator may require. 
(B) CONSOLIDATED
REPORT
TO
CON-
GRESS.—Not later than 60 days after the date 
on which the last report with respect to a year 
has been submitted to the Administrator under 
subparagraph (A), the Administrator shall sub-
mit to the appropriate committees of Congress 
a report that summarizes all of the reports sub-
mitted to the Administrator under that sub-
paragraph for that year. 
(2) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date on which the pilot program terminates, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall sub-
mit to the appropriate committees of Congress a re-
port that evaluates— 
(A) the services that grant recipients pro-
vided to covered individuals assisted under en-
trepreneurship development programs; 
(B) oversight of the pilot program by the 
Administrator, including policies and proce-
dures for monitoring the compliance by grant 
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recipients with pilot program requirements and 
an assessment of the effectiveness of the pilot 
program; and 
(C) the overall performance of the pilot 
program and the impacts of the pilot program 
on grant recipients. 
(i) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 
may be construed to affect the program established under 
section 7(m) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
636(m)), including— 
(1) the requirements of that program; 
(2) the manner in which that program is car-
ried out; or 
(3) the use or availability of any amounts that 
have been made available to carry out that program. 
(j) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator 
such sums as are necessary to carry out the pilot program. 
(k) TERMINATION.—The pilot program shall termi-
nate on the date that is 5 years after the date of enact-
ment of this Act. 
Æ 
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