I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4387 
To establish Growth Accelerator Fund Competition within the Small Business 
Administration, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 18, 2019 
Mr. ESPAILLAT (for himself and Mr. BALDERSON) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business 
A BILL 
To establish Growth Accelerator Fund Competition within 
the Small Business Administration, 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. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a program 
within the Small Business Administration to be known as 
the ‘‘Growth Accelerator Fund Competition’’ under which 
the Administrator of the Small Business Administration 
shall award prizes on a competitive basis to covered enti-
ties that— 
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(1) assist small business concerns with access-
ing capital and finding mentors and networking op-
portunities; and 
(2) advise small business concerns, including 
advising on market analysis, company strategy, rev-
enue growth, and securing funding. 
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—Except as otherwise provided 
in this section, the Administrator shall carry out the pro-
gram established under this section in accordance with the 
requirements of section 24 of the Stevenson-Wydler Tech-
nology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3719). 
(c) APPLICATION.—A prize only may be awarded to 
a covered entity that submits to the Administrator an ap-
plication at such time, in such manner, and containing 
such information as the Administrator may require. 
(d) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to apply for a prize 
under this section, a covered entity— 
(1) may not have an outstanding, unresolved fi-
nancial obligation to the Federal Government; and 
(2) may not be currently suspended or debarred 
as specified under subpart 9.4 of title 48, Code of 
Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation). 
(e) SELECTION OF COVERED ENTITIES.—From ap-
plications submitted under subsection (c), the Adminis-
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trator shall select covered entities that will provide to 
small business concerns— 
(1) regular networking opportunities, including 
introductions to customers, partners, suppliers, advi-
sory boards, and other persons; 
(2) mentorship opportunities, including advice 
on strategy, technology, finances, and commer-
cialization assistance; 
(3) shared working environments focused on 
building a strong community amongst other similar 
small business concerns; 
(4) resources and co-working arrangements; 
(5) opportunities to pitch ideas to investors and 
other capital formation opportunities; 
(6) small amounts of angel money, seed capital, 
or structured loans; and 
(7) where appropriate, assistance in securing 
funding under the SBIR program or the STTR pro-
gram established under section 9 of the Small Busi-
ness Act (15 U.S.C. 638). 
(f) PRIORITY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in ap-
proving applications under this section, shall give 
priority to applications that include methods to pro-
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vide assistance and advice to small business concerns 
located in underserved communities, including— 
(A) small business concerns owned and 
controlled by women; 
(B) small business concerns owned and 
controlled by veterans; and 
(C) small business concerns owned and 
controlled by socially and economically dis-
advantaged individuals (as defined in section 
8(d)(3)(C) of the Small Business Act (15 
U.S.C. 637(d)(3)(C))). 
(2) ALLOCATION.—Of prizes awarded to cov-
ered entities under this section in a fiscal year, the 
Administrator shall ensure that— 
(A) not less than 20 percent of such cov-
ered entities will assist and advise small busi-
ness concerns owned and controlled by women; 
and 
(B) not less than 20 percent of such cov-
ered entities will assist and advise small busi-
ness concerns owned and controlled by socially 
and economically disadvantaged individuals. 
(g) SELECTION OF SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS.— 
A covered entity that receives a prize under the Growth 
Accelerator Fund Competition shall use a selective process 
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to identify small business concerns to provide assistance 
and advice described under subsection (a). 
(h) DEVELOPMENT
OF METRICS.—The Adminis-
trator shall develop metrics to evaluate the effectiveness 
and the benefit to the people of the United States of the 
Growth Accelerator Fund Competition that— 
(1) are science-based and statistically driven; 
(2) reflect the mission of the Small Business 
Administration; and 
(3) include factors relating to the economic im-
pact of the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition. 
(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the Small Busi-
ness Administration. 
(2) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en-
tity’’ means a private entity that is incorporated in 
and maintains a primary place of business in the 
United States. 
(3) SMALL BUSINESS ACT DEFINITIONS.—The 
terms ‘‘small business concern’’, ‘‘small business 
concern owned and controlled by women’’, ‘‘small 
business concern owned and controlled by veterans’’ 
have the meanings given such terms, respectively, in 
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section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
632). 
(j) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator 
$2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020, 2021, 2022, and 
2023 to carry out the Growth Accelerator Fund Competi-
tion. 
Æ 
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