I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9433 
To provide for the establishment of a Commission on the Advancement of 
Social Enterprise, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 6, 2022 
Mr. CICILLINE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Oversight and Reform 
A BILL 
To provide for the establishment of a Commission on the 
Advancement of Social Enterprise, 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 ‘‘Social Enterprise Eco-
system and Economic Development Commission Act of 
2022’’ or as the ‘‘SEEED Commission Act of 2022’’. 
SEC. 2. COMMISSION ON THE ADVANCEMENT OF SOCIAL 
ENTERPRISE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com-
mission to be known as the Commission on the Advance-
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ment of Social Enterprise (referred to in this section as 
the ‘‘Commission’’). 
(b) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The 
Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) does not 
apply to the Commission. 
(c) MEMBERS.—The members of the Commission 
shall be each of the following or their designees: 
(1) The Administrator of the Small Business 
Administration. 
(2) The Administrator of the Economic Devel-
opment Administration. 
(3) The Assistant to the President for Domestic 
Policy. 
(4) The Commissioner of Internal Revenue. 
(5) The Secretary of Labor. 
(6) The Director of the National Economic 
Council. 
(7) The Chair of the Council of Economic Advi-
sors. 
(8) The Secretary of the Treasury. 
(9) The Secretary of Commerce. 
(10) The Secretary of Housing and Urban De-
velopment. 
(11) The Chair of the Securities and Exchange 
Commission. 
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(d) OPERATION.— 
(1) CHAIR.—The Director of the Domestic Pol-
icy Council shall serve as the Chair of the Commis-
sion. 
(2) MEETINGS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 
meet at the call of the Chair. 
(B) INITIAL MEETING.—The initial meet-
ing shall take place not later than 30 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(3) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 
the Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a 
lesser number of members may hold hearings. 
(4) RULES.—The Commission may establish, by 
majority vote, any rules for the conduct of Commis-
sion business, in accordance with this Act and other 
applicable law. 
(e) DUTIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall exam-
ine and make recommendations with respect to ways 
the Federal Government can support and utilize the 
transformative power of social enterprises. 
(2) DEFINING SOCIAL ENTERPRISE.—Not later 
than 1 year after the initial meeting of the Commis-
sion, the Commission shall establish criteria for 
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identifying social enterprises, which may include 
nonprofit and for-profit organizations, for purposes 
of Federal programs. The Commission shall consider 
research and scholarship on social enterprise and the 
input of practitioners and policy experts within the 
social enterprise field. 
(3) STUDY ACTIVITIES.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 
identify opportunities for the Federal Govern-
ment to more effectively engage social enter-
prises in creating jobs and strengthening local 
economies while achieving optimal outcomes in 
addressing policy challenges at the national, 
State, and local level. The Commission shall re-
ceive and consider reports and testimony from 
individuals, government departments, State and 
local elected officials, community-based organi-
zations, nonprofit organizations, faith-based or-
ganizations, foundations, and other public and 
private organizations statewide and of national 
significance on the following: 
(i) How social enterprise can accel-
erate progress on social and environmental 
issues. 
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(ii) How social enterprises work in a 
cross-sector manner. 
(iii) How social enterprise can ad-
vance social and economic development 
goals. 
(B) AREAS OF STUDY AND RECOMMENDA-
TION.—The areas studied and potential rec-
ommendations offered by the Commission under 
this paragraph shall include the following: 
(i) The role of social enterprises in the 
United States economy. 
(ii) The role of social enterprises in 
addressing economic, social, and environ-
mental policy challenges across all levels of 
government. 
(iii) The role of social enterprises as 
community support and development enti-
ties. 
(iv) A statistical and qualitative exam-
ination of social enterprise within the 
United States and the contribution of so-
cial enterprise to the social and economic 
development of the United States. 
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(v) Means through which the Federal 
Government can assist in enhancing the 
capacity of social enterprises. 
(vi) Corporate legal structures that 
foster or impede the development of social 
enterprises or the ability of organizations 
that are not social enterprises to partner 
with social enterprises. 
(vii) How to reform the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 to reduce obstacles that 
social enterprises face when addressing so-
cial issues and creating economic value 
through innovative methods. 
(viii) How to encourage impact invest-
ing, including reforming Federal securities 
laws and fiduciary duty for financial rela-
tionships. 
(ix) How to use financial tools, finan-
cial instruments, and financial institutions 
to promote the development and growth of 
social enterprise. 
(x) How the Federal Government can 
make use of community development finan-
cial institutions programs to benefit social 
enterprises. 
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search and the collection and analysis of 
longitudinal data on social enterprises. 
(xvi) Barriers to social enterprise 
growth. 
(xvii) Opportunities for the develop-
ment of an entity or initiative to support 
intermediaries that will promote and invest 
in social enterprise. 
(xviii) Identification of the appro-
priate entity within the Federal Govern-
ment— 
(I) to prepare and submit to 
Congress an annual report on the im-
pact of social enterprises in the 
United States and the extent to which 
the Federal Government interacts 
with, supports, and invests in social 
enterprises; and 
(II) where appropriate, to mon-
itor and update the areas of study 
listed in this subparagraph. 
(xix) Barriers that prevent corpora-
tions or organizations that are not social 
enterprises from operating like social en-
terprises and what incentives or structures 
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would encourage them to operate more like 
social enterprises. 
(f) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.— 
(1) HEARINGS.—The Commission may hold 
such hearings and collect such information as appro-
priate for carrying out this section. 
(2) INFORMATION.—Except as otherwise pro-
hibited by law, the Commission may secure directly 
from any agency information the Commission con-
siders necessary to carry out this section. Upon the 
request of the Commission, the head of the agency 
shall furnish information requested under this para-
graph to the Commission. 
(3) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—The Commission 
may enter into contracts for research to inform the 
deliberations of the Commission. 
(4) MAILS.—The Commission may use the 
United States mails in the same manner and under 
the same conditions as other agencies. 
(5) ADVISORY COUNCIL.—The Commission may 
establish an advisory council of relevant nonprofit 
organizations and for-profit organizations. 
(g) COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.— 
(1) DETAIL OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—On the 
affirmative vote of 2⁄3 of the members of the Com-
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mission and the approval of the appropriate head of 
the agency, an employee of the Federal Government 
at GS–13 level or higher may be detailed to the 
Commission without reimbursement, and such detail 
shall be without interruption or loss of civil service 
status, benefits, or privileges. 
(2) STAFF.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.— 
(i) APPOINTMENT
AND
COMPENSA-
TION.—The Chair of the Commission, in 
accordance with rules agreed upon by the 
Commission, may appoint and fix the com-
pensation of a staff director and such 
other personnel as may be necessary to en-
able the Commission to carry out its func-
tions, without regard to the provisions of 
title 5, United States Code, governing ap-
pointments in the competitive service, and 
without regard to the provisions of chapter 
51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of 
such title relating to classification and 
General Schedule pay rates, except that no 
rate of pay fixed under this subsection may 
exceed the equivalent of that payable for a 
position at Level V of the Executive Sched-
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ule under section 5316 of title 5, United 
States Code. 
(ii) PERSONNEL
AS
FEDERAL
EM-
PLOYEES.— 
(I) IN GENERAL.—Any personnel 
of the Commission who are employees 
shall be employees under section 2105 
of title 5, United States Code, for 
purposes of chapters 63, 81, 83, 84, 
85, 87, 89, and 90 of that title. 
(II) MEMBERS OF THE COMMIS-
SION.—Subparagraph (I) shall not be 
construed to apply to members of the 
Commission. 
(B) 
VOLUNTEER
SERVICES.—Notwith-
standing section 1342 of title 31, United States 
Code, the Commission may accept and use vol-
untary and uncompensated services as the Com-
mission determines necessary. 
(h) CONTRACTS FOR RESEARCH.— 
(1) RESEARCHERS AND EXPERTS.—On an af-
firmative vote of 2⁄3 of the members of the Commis-
sion, the Commission may select nongovernmental 
researchers and experts to assist the Commission in 
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carrying out the duties of the Commission under this 
section. 
(2) OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.—Nothing in this 
subsection limits the ability of the Commission to 
enter into contracts with any other entity or organi-
zation to carry out research necessary to carry out 
the duties of the Commission under this section. 
(i) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the Com-
mission establishes criteria by which to identify social en-
terprise, the Commission shall submit to the President and 
Congress a report on the findings, conclusions, and rec-
ommendations of the Commission. The report shall iden-
tify the Federal programs recommended and shall in-
clude— 
(1) reports on all matters described in sub-
section (e); and 
(2) how existing Federal Government programs 
can be expanded to take advantage of the social and 
economic benefits of social enterprises. 
(j) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate 
90 days after the date on which the Commission submits 
the report of the Commission under subsection (i). 
(k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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(1) AGENCY.—The term agency has the mean-
ing given that term in section 551 of title 5, United 
States Code. 
(2) IMPACT INVESTING.—The term ‘‘impact in-
vesting’’ means investing made with the intention to 
generate positive, measurable, social, and environ-
mental impact alongside a financial return. 
(3) NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATION.—The term 
‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization de-
scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under sec-
tion 501(a) of such Code. 
(l) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Commission such 
funds as are necessary to carry out its duties under this 
section. Such funds shall remain available until the date 
on which the Commission terminates pursuant to subjec-
tion (j). 
Æ 
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