I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4343 
To establish in the Department of Commerce the Minority Business Develop-
ment Program to provide qualified minority businesses with technical 
assistance, loan guarantees, and contracting opportunities, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 16, 2009 
Mr. RUSH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and 
Government Reform, 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 establish in the Department of Commerce the Minority 
Business Development Program to provide qualified mi-
nority businesses with technical assistance, loan guaran-
tees, and contracting opportunities, and for other pur-
poses. 
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 ‘‘Minority Business De-
velopment Improvements Act of 2009’’. 
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SEC. 2. MINORITY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. 
The Director of the Minority Business Development 
Agency shall establish the Minority Business Development 
Program (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Pro-
gram’’) to assist qualified minority businesses. The Pro-
gram shall provide to such businesses the following: 
(1) Technical assistance. 
(2) Loan guarantees. 
(3) Contract procurement assistance. 
SEC. 3. QUALIFIED MINORITY BUSINESS. 
(a) CERTIFICATION.—For purposes of the Program, 
the Director may certify as a qualified minority business 
any entity that satisfies each of the following: 
(1) Not less than 51 percent of the entity is di-
rectly and unconditionally owned or controlled by 
historically disadvantaged individuals. 
(2) Each officer or other individual who exer-
cises control over the regular operations of the entity 
is a historically disadvantaged individual. 
(3) The net worth of each principal of the enti-
ty is not greater than $2,000,000. (The equity of a 
disadvantaged owner in a primary personal residence 
shall be considered in this calculation.) 
(4) The principal place of business of the entity 
is in the United States. 
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(5) Each principal of the entity maintains good 
character in the determination of the Director. 
(6) The entity engages in competitive and bona 
fide commercial business operations in not less than 
one sector of industry that has a North American 
Industry Classification System code. 
(7) The entity submits reports to the Director 
at such time, in such form, and containing such in-
formation as the Director may require. 
(8) Any additional requirements that the Direc-
tor determines appropriate. 
(b) TERM OF CERTIFICATION.—A certification under 
this section shall be for a term of 5 years and may not 
be renewed. 
SEC. 4. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the Program, the 
Director may provide to qualified minority businesses 
technical assistance with regard to the following: 
(1) Writing business plans. 
(2) Marketing. 
(3) Management. 
(4) Securing sufficient financing for business 
operations. 
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(b) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—The Director may enter 
into agreements with persons to provide technical assist-
ance under this section. 
(c) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated $200,000,000 to the Di-
rector to carry out this section. Such sums shall remain 
available until expended. 
SEC. 5. LOAN GUARANTEES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the Di-
rector may guarantee up to 90 percent of the amount of 
a loan made to a qualified minority business to be used 
for business purposes, including the following: 
(1) Purchasing essential equipment. 
(2) Payroll expenses. 
(3) Purchasing facilities. 
(4) Renovating facilities. 
(b) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Director may make 
guarantees under this section for projects on such 
terms and conditions as the Director determines ap-
propriate, after consultation with the Secretary of 
the Treasury, in accordance with this section. 
(2) REPAYMENT.—No guarantee shall be made 
under this section unless the Director determines 
that there is reasonable prospect of repayment of the 
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principal and interest on the obligation by the bor-
rower. 
(3) DEFAULTS.— 
(A) PAYMENT BY DIRECTOR.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—If a borrower de-
faults on the obligation (as defined in reg-
ulations promulgated by the Director and 
specified in the guarantee contract), the 
holder of the guarantee shall have the 
right to demand payment of the unpaid 
amount from the Director. 
(ii) 
PAYMENT
REQUIRED.—Within 
such period as may be specified in the 
guarantee or related agreements, the Di-
rector shall pay to the holder of the guar-
antee the unpaid interest on, and unpaid 
principal of the obligation as to which the 
borrower has defaulted, unless the Director 
finds that there was no default by the bor-
rower in the payment of interest or prin-
cipal or that the default has been rem-
edied. 
(iii) FORBEARANCE.—Nothing in this 
paragraph precludes any forbearance by 
the holder of the obligation for the benefit 
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of the borrower which may be agreed upon 
by the parties to the obligation and ap-
proved by the Director. 
(B) SUBROGATION.— 
(i) IN
GENERAL.—If the Director 
makes a payment under subparagraph (A), 
the Director shall be subrogated to the 
rights of the recipient of the payment as 
specified in the guarantee or related agree-
ments including, where appropriate, the 
authority (notwithstanding any other pro-
vision of law) to— 
(I) complete, maintain, operate, 
lease, or otherwise dispose of any 
property acquired pursuant to such 
guarantee or related agreements; or 
(II) permit the borrower, pursu-
ant to an agreement with the Direc-
tor, to continue to pursue the pur-
poses of the project if the Director de-
termines this to be in the public inter-
est. 
(ii) SUPERIORITY
OF
RIGHTS.—The 
rights of the Director, with respect to any 
property acquired pursuant to a guarantee 
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or related agreements, shall be superior to 
the rights of any other person with respect 
to the property. 
(iii) TERMS
AND
CONDITIONS.—A 
guarantee agreement shall include such de-
tailed terms and conditions as the Director 
determines appropriate to— 
(I) protect the interests of the 
United States in the case of default; 
and 
(II) have available all the patents 
and technology necessary for any per-
son selected, including the Director, to 
complete and operate the project. 
(C) PAYMENT OF PRINCIPAL AND INTER-
EST BY DIRECTOR.—With respect to any obliga-
tion guaranteed under this section, the Director 
may enter into a contract to pay, and pay, hold-
ers of the obligation, for and on behalf of the 
borrower, from funds appropriated for that pur-
pose, the principal and interest payments which 
become due and payable on the unpaid balance 
of the obligation if the Director finds that— 
(i)(I) the borrower is unable to meet 
the payments and is not in default; 
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(II) it is in the public interest to 
permit the borrower to continue to 
pursue the purposes of the project; 
and 
(III) the probable net benefit to 
the Federal Government in paying the 
principal and interest will be greater 
than that which would result in the 
event of a default; 
(ii) the amount of the payment that 
the Director is authorized to pay shall be 
no greater than the amount of principal 
and interest that the borrower is obligated 
to pay under the agreement being guaran-
teed; and 
(iii) the borrower agrees to reimburse 
the Director for the payment (including in-
terest) on terms and conditions that are 
satisfactory to the Director. 
(D) ACTION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 
(i) NOTIFICATION.—If the borrower 
defaults on an obligation, the Director 
shall notify the Attorney General of the de-
fault. 
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(ii) RECOVERY.—On notification, the 
Attorney General shall take such action as 
is appropriate to recover the unpaid prin-
cipal and interest due from— 
(I) such assets of the defaulting 
borrower as are associated with the 
obligation; or 
(II) any other security pledged to 
secure the obligation. 
(4) FEES.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Director shall 
charge and collect fees for guarantees in 
amounts the Director determines are sufficient 
to cover applicable administrative expenses, not 
to exceed 1 percent of the amount guaranteed. 
(B) AVAILABILITY.—Fees collected under 
this paragraph shall— 
(i) be deposited by the Director into 
the Treasury; and 
(ii) remain available until expended, 
subject to such other conditions as are con-
tained in annual appropriations Acts. 
(c) CREDIT REQUIREMENTS.—To receive a loan 
guaranteed under this section a qualified minority busi-
ness shall— 
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(1) be in good standing with regard to the cred-
it of that business in the determination of the Direc-
tor; 
(2) have received technical assistance under sec-
tion 4; and 
(3) submit reports, at such time, in such form, 
and containing such information as the Director 
may require regarding the credit of the business. 
(d) LIMITS ON GUARANTEE AMOUNTS.— 
(1) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF GUARANTEE.—The 
Director may guarantee not more than $450,000 of 
any loan under this section. 
(2) MAXIMUM GROSS LOAN AMOUNT.—A loan 
guaranteed under this section may not be for a gross 
loan amount in excess of $500,000. 
(e) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Director not more 
than $500,000,000 to carry out this section during fiscal 
years 2011 through 2016. 
SEC. 6. SET-ASIDE CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director may enter into 
agreements with the United States Government and any 
department, agency, or officer thereof having procurement 
powers for purposes of providing for the fulfillment of pro-
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curement contracts and providing opportunities for quali-
fied minority businesses with regard to such contracts. 
(b) QUALIFICATIONS ON PARTICIPATION.—The Di-
rector shall by rule establish requirements for participa-
tion under this section by a qualified minority business 
in a contract. 
(c) ANNUAL LIMIT ON NUMBER OF CONTRACTS PER 
QUALIFIED MINORITY BUSINESS.—A qualified minority 
business may not participate under this section in con-
tracts in an amount that exceeds $10,000,000 for goods 
and services each fiscal year. 
(d) LIMITS ON CONTRACT AMOUNTS.— 
(1) GOODS AND SERVICES.—Except as provided 
in paragraph (2), a contract for goods and services 
under this section may not exceed $6,000,000. 
(2) MANUFACTURING AND CONSTRUCTION.—A 
contract for manufacturing and construction services 
under this section may not exceed $10,000,000. 
SEC. 7. TERMINATION FROM THE PROGRAM. 
The Director may terminate a qualified minority 
business from the Program for any violation of a require-
ment of sections 3 through 6 of this Act by that qualified 
minority business, including the following: 
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(1) Conduct by a principal of the qualified mi-
nority business that indicates a lack of business in-
tegrity. 
(2) Willful failure to comply with applicable 
labor standards and obligations. 
(3) Consistent failure to tender adequate per-
formance with regard to contracts under the Pro-
gram. 
(4) Failure to obtain and maintain relevant cer-
tifications. 
(5) Failure to pay outstanding obligations owed 
to the Federal Government. 
SEC. 8. REPORTS. 
(a) REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR.—Not later than Oc-
tober 1, 2011, and annually thereafter, the Director shall 
submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 
describing the activities of the Director during the pre-
ceding year with respect to the Program. 
(b) REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.— 
Not later than October 1, 2011, and annually thereafter, 
the Secretary of Commerce shall submit to the Committee 
on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor-
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tation of the Senate a report describing the activities the 
Secretary engaged in during the preceding year to build 
wealth among historically disadvantaged individuals. 
SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) The term ‘‘historically disadvantaged indi-
vidual’’ means any individual who is a member of a 
group that is designated as eligible to receive assist-
ance under section 1400.1 of title 15 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations, as in effect on January 1, 
2009. 
(2) The term ‘‘principal’’ means any person 
that the Director determines to exercise significant 
control over the regular operations of a business en-
tity. 
Æ 
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