I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 408 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish a mentor-prote´ge´ 
program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 21, 2021 
Mr. MCEACHIN (for himself, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, and Mr. TAYLOR) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Homeland Security 
A BILL 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish 
a mentor-prote´ge´ program, 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 ‘‘Department of Home-
land Security Mentor-Prote´ge´ Program Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY MENTOR- 
PROTE´ GE´ PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle H of title VIII of the 
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 451 et seq.) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new section: 
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‘‘SEC. 890B. MENTOR-PROTE´ GE´ PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 
Department a mentor-prote´ge´ program (in this section re-
ferred to as the ‘Program’) under which a mentor firm 
enters into an agreement with a prote´ge´ firm for the pur-
pose of assisting the prote´ge´ firm to compete for prime 
contracts and subcontracts of the Department. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—The Secretary shall establish cri-
teria for mentor firms and prote´ge´ firms to be eligible to 
participate in the Program, including a requirement that 
a firm is not included on any list maintained by the Fed-
eral Government of contractors that have been suspended 
or debarred. 
‘‘(c) PROGRAM APPLICATION AND APPROVAL.— 
‘‘(1) APPLICATION.—The 
Secretary, 
acting 
through the Office of Small and Disadvantaged 
Business Utilization of the Department, shall estab-
lish a process for submission of an application joint-
ly by a mentor firm and the prote´ge´ firm selected by 
the mentor firm. The application shall include each 
of the following: 
‘‘(A) A description of the assistance to be 
provided by the mentor firm, including, to the 
extent available, the number and a brief de-
scription of each anticipated subcontract to be 
awarded to the prote´ge´ firm. 
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‘‘(B) A schedule with milestones for 
achieving the assistance to be provided over the 
period of participation in the Program. 
‘‘(C) An estimate of the costs to be in-
curred by the mentor firm for providing assist-
ance under the Program. 
‘‘(D) Attestations that Program partici-
pants will submit to the Secretary reports at 
times specified by the Secretary to assist the 
Secretary in evaluating the prote´ge´ firm’s devel-
opmental progress. 
‘‘(E) Attestations that Program partici-
pants will inform the Secretary in the event of 
a change in eligibility or voluntary withdrawal 
from the Program. 
‘‘(2) APPROVAL.—Not later than 60 days after 
receipt of an application pursuant to paragraph (1), 
the head of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged 
Business Utilization shall notify applicants of ap-
proval or, in the case of disapproval, the process for 
resubmitting an application for reconsideration. 
‘‘(3) RESCISSION.—The head of the Office of 
Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization may 
rescind the approval of an application under this 
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subsection if it determines that such action is in the 
best interest of the Department. 
‘‘(d) PROGRAM DURATION.—A mentor firm and 
prote´ge´ firm approved under subsection (c) shall enter into 
an agreement to participate in the Program for a period 
of not less than 36 months. 
‘‘(e) PROGRAM BENEFITS.—A mentor firm and 
prote´ge´ firm that enter into an agreement under sub-
section (d) may receive the following Program benefits: 
‘‘(1) With respect to an award of a contract 
that requires a subcontracting plan, a mentor firm 
may receive evaluation credit for participating in the 
Program. 
‘‘(2) With respect to an award of a contract 
that requires a subcontracting plan, a mentor firm 
may receive credit for a prote´ge´ firm performing as 
a first tier subcontractor or a subcontractor at any 
tier in an amount equal to the total dollar value of 
any subcontracts awarded to such prote´ge´ firm. 
‘‘(3) A prote´ge´ firm may receive technical, man-
agerial, financial, or any other mutually agreed upon 
benefit from a mentor firm, including a subcontract 
award. 
‘‘(f) REPORTING.—Not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 
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the head of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Busi-
ness Utilization shall submit to the Committee on Home-
land Security and Governmental Affairs and the Com-
mittee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the 
Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security and the 
Committee on Small Business of the House of Representa-
tives a report that— 
‘‘(1) identifies each agreement between a men-
tor firm and a prote´ge´ firm entered into under this 
section, including the number of prote´ge´ firm par-
ticipants that are— 
‘‘(A) small business concerns; 
‘‘(B) small business concerns owned and 
controlled by veterans; 
‘‘(C) small business concerns owned and 
controlled by service-disabled veterans; 
‘‘(D) qualified HUBZone small business 
concerns; 
‘‘(E) small business concerns owned and 
controlled by socially and economically dis-
advantaged individuals; 
‘‘(F) small business concerns owned and 
controlled by women; 
‘‘(G) historically Black colleges and univer-
sities; and 
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‘‘(H) minority institutions of higher edu-
cation; 
‘‘(2) describes the type of assistance provided 
by mentor firms to prote´ge´ firms; 
‘‘(3) identifies contracts within the Department 
in which a mentor firm serving as the prime con-
tractor provided subcontracts to a prote´ge´ firm 
under the Program; and 
‘‘(4) assesses the degree to which there has 
been— 
‘‘(A) an increase in the technical capabili-
ties of prote´ge´ firms; and 
‘‘(B) an increase in the quantity and esti-
mated value of prime contract and subcontract 
awards to prote´ge´ firms for the period covered 
by the report. 
‘‘(g) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion may be construed to limit, diminish, impair, or other-
wise affect the authority of the Department to participate 
in any program carried out by or requiring approval of 
the Small Business Administration or adopt or follow any 
regulation or policy that the Administrator of the Small 
Business Administration may promulgate, except that, to 
the extent that any provision of this section (including 
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