I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6150 
To establish the National Minority Business Enterprise Incubator Program. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 21, 2006 
Mr. HAYWORTH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To establish the National Minority Business Enterprise 
Incubator Program. 
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 ‘‘National Minority 
Business Enterprise Incubator Program Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSES OF NATIONAL MINORITY BUSINESS EN-
TERPRISE INCUBATOR PROGRAM. 
The purposes of the National Minority Business En-
terprise Incubator Program are— 
(1) to promote economic development and the 
creation of wealth and job opportunity in low-income 
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areas and within areas of economic transition, inclu-
sive of parts of the country with declining manufac-
turing bases and among minority individuals living 
in such areas through minority business enterprise 
incubation centers; 
(2) to develop a minority business enterprise in-
cubation program with the mission of providing fo-
cused technical and managerial assistance to aid in 
the development of minority business enterprises; 
(3) to make grants to economic development or-
ganizations and other entities for the purpose of pro-
viding business incubation services to minority busi-
ness enterprises; and 
(4) to revitalize and reuse industrial or com-
mercial sites for entrepreneurship and economic 
growth. 
SEC. 3. NATIONAL MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISE INCU-
BATOR GRANTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with the require-
ments of this section, the National Director of the Minor-
ity Business Development Agency may make 3-year to 5- 
year grants to eligible organizations to establish and oper-
ate minority business enterprise incubator programs. 
(b) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a grant 
under this section, an eligible organization shall submit 
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an application to the National Director at such time and 
in such form and manner as the National Director may 
require. Each such application shall include the grantee’s 
plan for establishing and operating a minority business en-
terprise incubator program. 
(c) SELECTION
OF GRANTEES.—In selecting the 
grantees under this section, the National Director shall 
evaluate and rank applicants in accordance with predeter-
mined selection criteria that will be stated in terms of rel-
evant importance of such criteria. The relative importance 
of the criteria shall be made publicly available and stated 
in each solicitation for applicants made by the National 
Director. The criteria shall include the following: 
(1) The experience of the applicant in con-
ducting business development. 
(2) The experience of the applicant in tech-
nology and manufacturing. 
(3) The extent to which the incubator will assist 
in the development of low-income, women, or minor-
ity business, or the revitalization of rural areas, 
inner cities, central cities, or depressed manufac-
turing areas. 
(4) The extent to which the proposed site is in 
an area of high unemployment and will result in the 
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reuse of a previously used industrial or commercial 
site. 
(5) The extent to which the applicant has a 
management team in place with experience in run-
ning a business incubator or relevant business devel-
opment experience. 
(6) The extent to which the applicant’s plan will 
result in the economic development of low-income 
communities or high-unemployment areas. 
(7) The ability of the applicant to successfully 
establish and operate a minority business enterprise 
incubator program. 
(8) The ability of the applicant to enter into co-
operative agreements with financial institutions to 
provide a streamlined process for business concerns 
utilizing the minority business enterprise incubator 
program to obtain financial assistance. 
(9) The ability of the applicant to provide the 
services of licensed professionals. 
(10) The extent to which the applicant’s plan 
for establishing and operating a minority business 
enterprise incubator program will do the following: 
(A) Enhance minority business enterprise 
development. 
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(B) Meet the needs and goals of the com-
munity in which the incubator is to be located. 
(C) Serve as a catalyst for further entre-
preneurial development. 
(D) Involve the rehabilitation of a ware-
house, factory, or building which has fallen into 
disrepair. 
(E) Assist in redeveloping and reinvesting 
in an economically challenged or disadvantaged 
area. 
(F) Target minority and women entre-
preneurs. 
(G) Focus on the development of manufac-
turing and technology. 
(H) Retain or create jobs. 
(I) Include assistance regarding marketing, 
financial management, human resources devel-
opment, and access to capital (both debt and 
equity). 
(d) GRANT REQUIREMENTS.—Each grantee shall use 
the grant funds to establish a minority business enterprise 
incubator program, which shall make the following assist-
ance available (on a shared or unshared basis, as the 
grantee may determine) to businesses participating in 
such program: 
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(1) Office space. 
(2) Office equipment, including computers, fac-
simile machines, photocopiers, access to tele-
communications services (including broadband serv-
ices), and manufacturing equipment. 
(3) Administrative and technical staff. 
(4) Training and technical assistance in the 
areas of marketing, financial management, human 
resources, and contracting. 
(5) Assistance in obtaining loans. 
(6) Assistance in locating investors and net-
working with local business organizations. 
(7) Individualized reviews of marketing, finan-
cial, and business plans, which shall occur monthly 
for such period as the National Director may deter-
mine and quarterly thereafter. 
(8) Legal, accounting, and marketing services. 
(9) Mentoring program with established, suc-
cessful, large businesses to last the duration of the 
business’ stay in the incubator. 
(e) ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE.—A grantee may use 
grant funds to provide family care services to participating 
business and any other assistance which is approved by 
the National Director. 
(f) ADDITIONAL PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.— 
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(1) PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES.—Each grant-
ee shall select the businesses which will participate 
in the grantee’s minority business enterprise incuba-
tion program. The grantee shall select businesses 
which have the potential to be self-sustaining. Each 
grantee shall require participating businesses to par-
ticipate in the technical and managerial training de-
scribed in subsection (d)(4), to submit marketing, fi-
nancial, and business plans and to participate in the 
review of such plans described in subsection (d)(7). 
(2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS WITH FINAN-
CIAL INSTITUTIONS.—Each grantee shall enter into 
a cooperative agreement with one or more financial 
institutions to provide a streamlined process by 
which participating businesses may obtain loans. 
(3) FEES.—Each grantee may charge partici-
pating businesses a fee for the assistance provided to 
such business by the grantee. The amount of such 
fee shall be determined under a sliding scale based 
on the financial success of the participating busi-
ness. The grantee may only charge a nominal fee for 
the first 2 years of such businesses participation in 
the incubator. 
(g) NON-FEDERAL MATCHING FUNDS.—The Na-
tional Director shall not make available any grant funds 
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under this section until the grantee has contributed non- 
Federal matching funds in an amount equal to 50 percent 
of the amount of such grant funds. 
(h) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.—For purposes of 
this section, the term ‘‘eligible organization’’ means any 
of the following: 
(1) An organization described in section 
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and 
exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such Code. 
(2) A business league, chamber of commerce, or 
board of trade described in section 501(c)(6) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax 
under section 501(a) of such Code. 
(3) A local development agency that is char-
tered, established, or otherwise sanctioned by a 
State or local government. 
(4) A small business development center (within 
the meaning of section 21 of the Small Business 
Act) or equivalent minority business enterprise cen-
ter, as defined by the National Director. 
(5) A college or university. 
(6) A unit of State or local government. 
(i) FEDERAL COORDINATION.—The National Direc-
tor, in consultation with the Economic Development Ad-
ministration, the Rural Development Agency, the Depart-
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ment of Agriculture, the Department of Housing and 
Urban Development, the Delta Regional Authority, and 
the Small Business Administration, shall— 
(1) undertake efforts to coordinate and enhance 
Federal programs that relate to minority business 
enterprise incubation programs; and 
(2) invite State and local governments, lending 
institutions, and other appropriate public and pri-
vate organizations to serve as intermediaries in out-
reach efforts related to minority business enterprise 
incubation programs. 
(j) REPORTS.— 
(1) INITIAL REPORT.—One year after the first 
grant is made under this section, the National Di-
rector shall transmit to the Congress a preliminary 
report regarding the National Minority Business En-
terprise Incubator Program conducted under this 
section. 
(2) FINAL REPORT.—Four years after the first 
grant is made under this section, the National Di-
rector shall transmit to the Congress a final report 
regarding the National Minority Business Enterprise 
Incubator Program conducted under this section. 
Such report shall include any recommendations of 
the National Director regarding ways to improve 
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such program and the recommendation of the Na-
tional Director as to whether such program should 
be extended. 
(k) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 and 2009, which 
amounts shall remain available until expended. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITION. 
As used in this Act, the term ‘‘National Director’’ 
means the National Director of the Minority Business De-
velopment Agency. 
Æ 
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