H. R. 4818—646
(b) REGULATIONS.—The Administration shall, not later than
180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, promulgate regula-
tions to carry out the amendments made by subsection (a).
SEC. 142. SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER PROGRAM.
(a) PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS.—Section 21(a) of the Small Busi-
ness Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
‘‘(7) PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—A small business development
center, consortium of small business development centers,
or contractor or agent of a small business development
center may not disclose the name, address, or telephone
number of any individual or small business concern
receiving assistance under this section without the consent
of such individual or small business concern, unless—
‘‘(i) the Administrator is ordered to make such
a disclosure by a court in any civil or criminal enforce-
ment action initiated by a Federal or State agency;
or
‘‘(ii) the Administrator considers such a disclosure
to be necessary for the purpose of conducting a finan-
cial audit of a small business development center, but
a disclosure under this clause shall be limited to the
information necessary for such audit.
‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATOR USE OF INFORMATION.—This sec-
tion shall not—
‘‘(i) restrict Administrator access to program
activity data; or
‘‘(ii) prevent the Administrator from using client
information to conduct client surveys.
‘‘(C) REGULATIONS.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall issue
regulations to establish standards—
‘‘(I) for disclosures with respect to financial
audits under subparagraph (A)(ii); and
‘‘(II) for client surveys under subparagraph
(B)(ii), including standards for oversight of such
surveys and for dissemination and use of client
information.
‘‘(ii) MAXIMUM PRIVACY PROTECTION.—Regulations
under this subparagraph, shall, to the extent prac-
ticable, provide for the maximum amount of privacy
protection.
‘‘(iii) INSPECTOR GENERAL.—Until the effective date
of regulations under this subparagraph, any client
survey and the use of such information shall be
approved by the Inspector General who shall include
such approval in his semi-annual report.’’.
(b) TERM CHANGE.—Section 21(k) of the Small Business Act
(15 U.S.C. 648(k)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘CERTIFICATION’’ each place it appears and
inserting ‘‘ACCREDITATION’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘certification’’ each place it appears and
inserting ‘‘accreditation’’.
H. R. 4818—647
CHAPTER 2—OFFICE OF VETERANS BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT
SEC. 143. ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON VETERANS BUSINESS AFFAIRS.
(a) RETENTION OF DUTIES.—Section 33(h) of the Small Business
Act (15 U.S.C. 657c(h)) is amended by striking ‘‘October 1, 2004’’
and inserting ‘‘October 1, 2006’’.
(b) EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY.—Section 203(h) of the Veterans
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999
(15 U.S.C. 657b note) is amended by striking ‘‘September 30, 2004’’
and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2006’’.
SEC. 144. OUTREACH GRANTS FOR VETERANS.
Section 8(b)(17) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(b)(17))
is amended by inserting before the period at the end the following:
‘‘, veterans, and members of a reserve component of the Armed
Forces’’.
SEC. 145. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
Section 32 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657b) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this section—
‘‘(1) $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2005; and
‘‘(2) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2006.’’.
SEC. 146. NATIONAL VETERANS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CORPORA-
TION.
Section 33(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657c(a))
is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, the Corporation is a private entity
and is not an agency, instrumentality, authority, entity, or
establishment of the United States Government.’’.
CHAPTER 3—MANUFACTURING AND
ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT
SEC. 147. SMALL BUSINESS MANUFACTURING TASK FORCE.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator of the Small Business
Administration (referred to in this subtitle as the ‘‘Administrator’’)
shall establish a Small Business Manufacturing Task Force
(referred to in this section as the ‘‘Task Force’’) to address the
concerns of small manufacturers.
(b) CHAIR.—The Administrator shall assign a member of the
Task Force to serve as chair of the Task Force.
(c) DUTIES.—The Task Force shall—
(1) evaluate and identify whether programs and services
are sufficient to serve the needs of small manufacturers;
(2) actively promote the programs and services of the Small
Business Administration that serve small manufacturers; and
(3) identify and study the unique conditions facing small
manufacturers and develop and propose policy initiatives to
support and assist small manufacturers.
(d) MEETINGS.—
(1) FREQUENCY.—The Task Force shall meet not less than
4 times per year, and more frequently if necessary to perform
its duties.
H. R. 4818—648
(2) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the Task Force
shall constitute a quorum to approve recommendations or
reports.
(e) PERSONNEL MATTERS.—
(1) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Each member of the Task
Force shall serve without compensation in addition to that
received for services rendered as an officer or employee of
the United States.
(2) DETAIL OF SBA EMPLOYEES.—Any employee of the Small
Business Administration may be detailed to the Task Force
without reimbursement, and such detail shall be without
interruption or loss of civil service status or privilege.
(f) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Task Force shall submit
a report containing the findings and recommendations of the task
force to—
(1) the President;
(2) the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
of the Senate; and
(3) the Committee on Small Business of the House of Rep-
resentatives.
Subtitle E—HUBZone Program
SEC. 151. STREAMLINING AND REVISION OF HUBZONE ELIGIBILITY
REQUIREMENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3(p) of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 632(p)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (3)—
(A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as follows:
‘‘(A) a small business concern that is at least 51 percent
owned and controlled by United States citizens;’’
(B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end;
(C) in subparagraph (D)(ii), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(E) a small business concern that is—
‘‘(i) a small agricultural cooperative organized or
incorporated in the United States;
‘‘(ii) wholly owned by 1 or more small agricultural
cooperatives organized or incorporated in the United
States; or
‘‘(iii) owned in part by 1 or more small agricultural
cooperatives organized or incorporated in the United
States, if all owners are small business concerns or
United States citizens.’’; and
(2) in paragraph (5)(A)(i)(I)(aa), by striking ‘‘or (D)’’ and
inserting ‘‘(C), (D), or (E)’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3(j) of the Small Busi-
ness Act (15 U.S.C. 632(j)) is amended by striking ‘‘of section
7(b)(2)’’.
SEC. 152. EXPANSION OF QUALIFIED AREAS.
(a) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN AREAS AS HUBZONES.—
(1) BASE
CLOSURE
AREAS.—Section 3(p)(1) of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(p)(1)) is amended—