I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1418
To provide for business incubator activities, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 4, 2001
Mr. QUINN (for himself, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. LAFALCE, Mr. MCNULTY, Ms.
SLAUGHTER, and Mrs. MALONEY of New York) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services
A BILL
To provide for business incubator activities, 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 ‘‘Entrepreneurial Incu-
bators Development Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) While small businesses have been an engine
of economic growth over the past decade, they often
lack access to the technology available to larger busi-
nesses.
(2) Business incubators have proven an effec-
tive source of economic growth in the States.
(3) Scientific discoveries need to be quickly con-
verted into job and community ventures.
SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR SUPPORT OF BUSINESS INCUBATOR
ACTIVITIES.
(a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to
encourage entrepreneurial creativity and risk taking
through the support of the furnishing of business incu-
bator services for newly established small businesses and
medium-sized businesses.
(b) GRANT PROGRAM.—To achieve the purpose of
this section, the Secretary of Commerce (in this section,
referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall carry out a program
to provide, through grants, financial assistance for the es-
tablishment and support of entities that provide business
incubator services in support of the initiation and initial
sustainment of business activities by newly established
small businesses and medium-sized businesses.
(c) AWARDS OF GRANTS.—
(1) ELIGIBILITY
REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec-
retary shall prescribe the eligibility requirements for
the awarding of grants under this section.
(2) COMPETITIVE SELECTION.—The Secretary
shall use a competitive process for the awarding of
grants under this section and, under that process,
select recipients of the grants on the basis of merit,
with priority given to underserved rural and urban
communities.
(3) APPLICATIONS
FOR
GRANTS.—The Sec-
retary shall prescribe the form and content of appli-
cations required for grants under this section.
(d) ADDITIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITIES.—
(1) COST-SHARING.—The Secretary may re-
quire the recipient of a grant under this section to
defray a specific level of its operating expenses for
business incubator services out of funds available
from sources other than the Federal Government.
(2) ADDITIONAL
TERMS
AND
CONDITIONS.—
The Secretary, in awarding a grant, may impose any
other terms and conditions for the use of the pro-
ceeds of the grant that the Secretary determines ap-
propriate for carrying out the purpose of this section
and to protect the interests of the United States, in-
cluding the requirement that entities providing busi-
ness incubator services that receive a grant under
this section develop a plan for ultimately becoming
self-sufficient.
(e) DEFINITIONS.—
(1) BUSINESS INCUBATOR SERVICES.—In this
section, the term ‘‘business incubator services’’ in-
cludes professional and technical services necessary
for the initiation and initial sustainment of oper-
ations of a newly established business, including
such services as the following:
(A) LEGAL SERVICES.—Legal services, in-
cluding aid in preparing corporate charters,
partnership agreements, and basic contracts.
(B) 
INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY
SERV-
ICES.—Services in support of the protection of
intellectual property through patents, trade-
marks, or otherwise.
(C) TECHNOLOGY SERVICES.—Services in
support of the acquisition and use of advanced
technology, including the use of Internet serv-
ices and web-based services.
(D) PLANNING.—Advice on—
(i) strategic planning; and
(ii) marketing, including advertising.
(2) SMALL BUSINESS AND MEDIUM-SIZED BUSI-
NESS.—
(A) SECRETARY TO PRESCRIBE.—The Sec-
retary shall prescribe the definitions of the
terms ‘‘small business’’ and ‘‘medium-sized
business’’ for the purpose of this section.
(B) SMALL BUSINESS STANDARDS.—In de-
fining the term ‘‘small business’’ for the pur-
pose of this section, the Secretary shall apply
the standards applicable for the definition of
the term ‘‘small-business concern’’ under sec-
tion 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
632).
(f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe
regulations for the grant program administered under this
section.
(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is
authorized to be appropriated for the Department of Com-
merce for carrying out this section $50,000,000 for fiscal
year 2002, and $200,000,000 for each fiscal year there-
after.
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