I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4945 
To amend the Small Business Act to establish a growth accelerator fund 
competition, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 6, 2021 
Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER (for herself and Mr. FITZPATRICK) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business 
A BILL 
To amend the Small Business Act to establish a growth 
accelerator fund competition, 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. GROWTH ACCELERATOR FUND COMPETITION. 
The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is 
amended— 
(1) by redesignating section 49 as section 50; 
and 
(2) by inserting after section 48 the following 
new section: 
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‘‘SEC. 49. GROWTH ACCELERATOR FUND COMPETITION. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘disability’ has the meaning given 
the term in section 3 of the Americans with Disabil-
ities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102); 
‘‘(2) the term ‘eligible entity’ means an organi-
zation— 
‘‘(A) that is located in the United States; 
‘‘(B) the primary purpose of which is to 
support new small business concerns; and 
‘‘(C) that is often classified as a growth 
accelerator; 
‘‘(3) the term ‘growth accelerator’ means an or-
ganization that— 
‘‘(A) supports new business concerns with 
a focus on technology, research, and develop-
ment; 
‘‘(B) frequently provides, but is not exclu-
sively designed to provide, seed investment in 
exchange for a small amount of equity; 
‘‘(C) works with a new business concern 
for a predetermined amount of time; 
‘‘(D) provides mentorship and instruction 
to scale businesses; or 
‘‘(E) offers startup capital or the oppor-
tunity to raise capital from outside investors; 
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‘‘(4) the term ‘minority-serving institution’ 
means— 
‘‘(A) an institution described in any of 
paragraphs (1) through (7) of section 371(a) of 
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1067q(a)); or 
‘‘(B) a junior or community college, as 
that term is defined in section 312(f) of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1058(f)); 
‘‘(5) the term ‘new small business concern’ 
means a small business concern that has been in op-
eration for not more than 5 years; and 
‘‘(6) the term ‘State’ means any State of the 
United States, the District of Columbia, the Com-
monwealth of Puerto Rico, and any territory or pos-
session of the United States. 
‘‘(b) FUNDING.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of this section, the Adminis-
trator shall develop and begin implementing a pro-
gram to award cash grants of not less than 
$1,000,000 to eligible entities to support new small 
business concerns. 
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‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—A grant under this sec-
tion— 
‘‘(A) may be used for construction costs, 
space acquisition, and programmatic purposes; 
and 
‘‘(B) may not be used to provide capital to 
new small business concerns directly or through 
the subaward of funds. 
‘‘(3) DISBURSAL
OF
FUNDS.—In disbursing 
funds under this section, the Administrator may use 
incremental or scheduled payments. 
‘‘(c) APPLICATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity desiring a 
grant under this section shall demonstrate that the 
eligible entity will use the grant to provide assistance 
to not less than 10 new small business concerns per 
year. 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—In soliciting applica-
tions and awarding grants to eligible entities under 
this section, the Administrator shall employ a 
streamlined and inclusive approach that— 
‘‘(A) widely publicizes funding opportuni-
ties to a broad audience, including through the 
use of digital resources such as the website of 
the Administration and social media; 
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