I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4407 
To amend the Small Business Act to reauthorize the SCORE program, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 19, 2019 
Mr. KEVIN HERN of Oklahoma (for himself and Ms. CRAIG) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business 
A BILL 
To amend the Small Business Act to reauthorize the SCORE 
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 title may be cited as the ‘‘SCORE for Small 
Business Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. SCORE PROGRAM PROVISIONS AND REQUIRE-
MENTS. 
Section 8 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637) 
is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)(1)(B)— 
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(A) by striking ‘‘a Service Corps of Retired 
Executives (SCORE)’’ and inserting ‘‘the 
SCORE program described in subsection (c)’’; 
and 
(B) by striking ‘‘SCORE may’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘the SCORE Association (as defined in 
subsection (c)) may’’; and 
(2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(c) SCORE PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) SCORE 
ASSOCIATION.—The term 
‘SCORE Association’ means the Service Corps 
of Retired Executives Association or any suc-
cessor or other organization that enters into a 
cooperative agreement (as described under 
paragraph (2)) with the Administrator to oper-
ate the SCORE program. 
‘‘(B) SCORE FOUNDATION.—The term 
‘SCORE Foundation’ means an organization 
with a mission to support the SCORE Associa-
tion and volunteers of the SCORE program. 
‘‘(C) 
SCORE 
PROGRAM.—The 
term 
‘SCORE program’ means the SCORE program 
authorized by subsection (b)(1)(B). 
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‘‘(2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—The Admin-
istrator shall enter into a cooperative agreement 
with the SCORE Association to carry out the 
SCORE program, which shall include the following 
requirements: 
‘‘(A) ADMINISTRATOR
DUTIES.—The Ad-
ministrator shall— 
‘‘(i) conduct an annual financial ex-
amination of the SCORE Association to 
ensure that any costs paid for with Federal 
funds are allowable, allocable, and reason-
able; 
‘‘(ii) for contracts entered into by the 
SCORE Association to provide goods or 
services for the SCORE program of a 
value greater than an amount determined 
by the Administrator, review and approve 
such contracts; 
‘‘(iii) establish a system through 
which the SCORE Association can provide 
documentation relating to such contracts; 
and 
‘‘(iv) within 30 days of the receipt of 
a quarterly report on the achievements of 
the SCORE program submitted by the 
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SCORE Association, reconcile and dif-
ferences between such report and the per-
formance results of the SCORE program 
reported in a management information sys-
tem of the Office of Entrepreneurial Devel-
opment. 
‘‘(B) SCORE ASSOCIATION DUTIES.—The 
SCORE Association shall— 
‘‘(i) manage nationwide chapters of 
the SCORE program; 
‘‘(ii) develop guidance and provide an-
nual training to employees of the SCORE 
Association on generating and using pro-
gram income from the SCORE program; 
‘‘(iii) submit documentation to the 
Administrator verifying such annual train-
ing is completed; 
‘‘(iv) separate funds donated to the 
SCORE Association from program income 
and funds received pursuant to a coopera-
tive agreement; and 
‘‘(v) establish requirements for volun-
teers participating in the SCORE program, 
including requirements that each such vol-
unteer shall— 
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‘‘(I) based on the business expe-
rience and knowledge of the volun-
teer— 
‘‘(aa) provide personal coun-
seling, mentoring, and coaching 
on the process of starting, ex-
panding, managing, buying, and 
selling a business at no cost to 
individuals who own, or aspire to 
own, small business concerns; 
and 
‘‘(bb) facilitate free or low- 
cost education workshops for in-
dividuals who own, or aspire to 
own, small business concerns; 
and 
‘‘(II) as appropriate, use tools, 
resources, and expertise of other orga-
nizations to carry out the SCORE 
program. 
‘‘(C) JOINT DUTIES.—The Administrator, 
in consultation with the SCORE Association, 
shall ensure that the SCORE program and each 
chapter of the SCORE program— 
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‘‘(i) develop and implement plans and 
goals to more effectively and efficiently 
provide services to individuals in rural 
areas, economically disadvantaged commu-
nities, or other traditionally underserved 
communities, including plans for electronic 
initiatives, web-based initiatives, chapter 
expansion, partnerships, and the develop-
ment of new skills by volunteers partici-
pating in the SCORE program; and 
‘‘(ii) reinforce an inclusive culture by 
recruiting diverse volunteers for the chap-
ters of the SCORE program. 
‘‘(3) ONLINE
COMPONENT.—In carrying out 
this subsection, the SCORE Association shall make 
use of online counseling, including by developing and 
implementing webinars and an electronic mentoring 
platform to expand access to services provided under 
this subsection and to further support entre-
preneurs. 
‘‘(4) ACCOUNTING.—Not later than 6 months 
after the date of the enactment of this subsection, 
the SCORE Association shall— 
‘‘(A) centralize all accounting and finance 
systems of each chapter of the SCORE pro-
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gram and develop a uniform policy and proce-
dures to manage Federal funds; and 
‘‘(B) designate an employee of the SCORE 
Association to serve as a compliance officer to 
ensure expenditures of the SCORE program are 
fully compliant with any law, regulation, or co-
operative agreement relating to the SCORE 
program. 
‘‘(5) COMPENSATION.— 
‘‘(A) SALARIES.—The salary of an em-
ployee of the SCORE Association may not ex-
ceed the equivalent of the maximum rate of pay 
allowable for an individual in the career Senior 
Executive Service employed at the Small Busi-
ness Administration. 
‘‘(B) 
PERFORMANCE
AWARDS.—The 
SCORE Association may spend up to 1.5 per-
cent of the aggregate salaries of employees of 
the SCORE Association on individual perform-
ance awards to employees of the SCORE Asso-
ciation, to be disbursed before the last day of 
the fiscal year, if not later than 60 days before 
disbursement the SCORE Association submits 
to the Administrator a report on the number 
and amount of such awards to be disbursed. 
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‘‘(C) SCORE FOUNDATION.—A member of 
the Board of Directors of the SCORE Associa-
tion or an employee of the SCORE Association 
may not simultaneously serve on the Board of 
Directors of, or receive compensation from, the 
SCORE Foundation without written approval 
from the Administrator. 
‘‘(6) WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION REQUIRE-
MENTS.—The SCORE Association shall— 
‘‘(A) annually update all manuals or other 
documents applicable to employees and volun-
teers of the SCORE Association or the SCORE 
program to include requirements relating to re-
porting procedures and protectors for whistle-
blowers; and 
‘‘(B) conduct an annual training for em-
ployees and volunteers of the SCORE Associa-
tion or the SCORE program on the require-
ments described in paragraph (1) and empha-
size the use of the hotline established by the Of-
fice of the Inspector General of the Small Busi-
ness Administration to submit whistleblower re-
ports. 
‘‘(7) PUBLISHED
MATERIALS.—The SCORE 
Association shall ensure all published materials in-
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clude written acknowledgment of Small Business Ad-
ministration support of the SCORE program if such 
materials are paid for in whole or in part by Federal 
funds. 
‘‘(8) PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Neither the Adminis-
trator nor the SCORE Association may disclose 
the name, address, or telephone number of any 
individual or small business concern receiving 
assistance from the SCORE Association with-
out the consent of such individual or small busi-
ness concern, unless— 
‘‘(i) the Administrator is ordered to 
make such a disclosure by a court in any 
civil or criminal enforcement action initi-
ated by a Federal or State agency; or 
‘‘(ii) the Administrator determines 
such a disclosure to be necessary for the 
purpose of conducting a financial audit of 
the SCORE program, in which case disclo-
sure shall be limited to the information 
necessary for the audit. 
‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATOR USE OF INFORMA-
TION.—This paragraph shall not— 
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‘‘(i) restrict the access of the Adminis-
trator to SCORE program activity data; or 
‘‘(ii) prevent the Administrator from 
using SCORE program client information 
to conduct client surveys. 
‘‘(C) STANDARDS.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 
shall, after the opportunity for notice and 
comment, establish standards for— 
‘‘(I) disclosures with respect to 
financial audits under subparagraph 
(A)(ii); and 
‘‘(II) conducting client surveys, 
including standards for oversight of 
the surveys and for dissemination and 
use of client information. 
‘‘(ii) MAXIMUM
PRIVACY
PROTEC-
TION.—The standards issued under this 
subparagraph shall, to the extent prac-
ticable, provide for the maximum amount 
of privacy protection. 
‘‘(9) ANNUAL
REPORT.—Not later than 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this sub-
section and annually thereafter, the Administrator 
shall submit to the Committee on Small Business 
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and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Com-
mittee on Small Business of the House of Rep-
resentatives a report on the performance and effec-
tiveness of the SCORE program, which may be in-
cluded as part of another report submitted to such 
Committees by the Administrator, and which shall 
include— 
‘‘(A) the number of individuals counseled 
or trained under the SCORE program; 
‘‘(B) the number of hours of counseling 
provided under the SCORE program; 
‘‘(C) the number of local workshops; 
‘‘(D) the number of clients attending on-
line and local workshops; 
‘‘(E) the number of unique clients served; 
‘‘(F) to the extent practicable, the demo-
graphics of SCORE program participants and 
volunteers, which shall include the gender, race, 
and age of each such participant or volunteer; 
‘‘(G) the cost to create a job, the cost to 
create a business, and return on investment; 
‘‘(H) the number of referrals to other re-
sources and programs of the Administration; 
‘‘(I) the number of participants in the 
SCORE program receiving financial assistance, 
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including the type and dollar amount, under 
loan programs of the Administration; 
‘‘(J) the results of SCORE program par-
ticipant satisfactory surveys, including a sum-
mary of any comments received from such par-
ticipants; 
‘‘(K) the number of new businesses started 
up by SCORE program participants; 
‘‘(L) the number of such new businesses 
realizing revenue growth; 
‘‘(M) to the extent practicable, the number 
of jobs created with assistance from the 
SCORE program; 
‘‘(N) the total cost of the SCORE pro-
gram; 
‘‘(O) any recommendations of the Adminis-
trator to improve the SCORE program; and 
‘‘(P) an explanation of how the SCORE 
program has been integrated with other re-
source partners and related resources of the 
Administration.’’. 
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SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE 
SCORE PROGRAM. 
Section 20 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 
note) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection: 
‘‘(h) SCORE PROGRAM.—There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Administrator to carry out the 
SCORE program authorized by section 8(b)(1) such sums 
as are necessary for the Administrator to make grants or 
enter into cooperative agreements in a total amount that 
does not exceed $11,700,000 in each of fiscal years 2020, 
2021, and 2022.’’. 
SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) STUDY AND REPORT ON THE FUTURE ROLE OF 
THE SCORE PROGRAM.— 
(1) STUDY.—The SCORE Association shall 
carry out a study on the future role of the SCORE 
program and develop a strategic plan for how the 
SCORE program will meet the needs of small busi-
ness concerns during the 5-year period beginning on 
the date of the enactment of this Act, with specific 
objectives for the first, third, and fifth years of the 
5-year period. 
(2) REPORT.—Not later than the end of the 6- 
month period beginning on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the SCORE Association shall sub-
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mit to the Committee on Small Business of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate 
a report containing— 
(A) all findings and determination made in 
carrying out the study required under para-
graph (1); 
(B) the strategic plan developed under 
paragraph (1); and 
(C) an explanation of how the SCORE As-
sociation plans to achieve the strategic plan, as-
suming both stagnant and increased funding 
levels. 
(b) ADMINISTRATOR REPORT ON LEASED SPACE.— 
The Administrator of the Small Business Administration 
shall submit to the Committee on Small Business of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Small 
Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate a report 
containing an assessment of the cost of leased space that 
is donated to the SCORE Association. 
(c) ONLINE COMPONENT REPORT.—Before the last 
day of fiscal year 2020, the SCORE Association shall sub-
mit to the Committee on Small Business of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Small Business 
and Entrepreneurship of the Senate a report on the effec-
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tiveness of the online counseling and webinars required 
under paragraph (3) of section 8(c) of the Small Business 
Act, as added by section 2 of this Act, including a descrip-
tion of— 
(1) how the SCORE Association determines 
electronic mentoring and webinar needs, develops 
training 
for 
electronic 
mentoring, 
establishes 
webinar criteria curricula, and evaluates webinar 
and electronic mentoring results; 
(2) the internal controls that are used and a 
summary of the topics covered by the webinars; and 
(3) performance metrics, including the number 
of small business concerns counseled by, the number 
of small business concerns created by, the number of 
jobs created and retained by, and the funding 
amounts directed towards such online counseling 
and webinars. 
SEC. 5. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 
(a) SMALL BUSINESS ACT.—The Small Business Act 
(15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended— 
(1) in section 7 (15 U.S.C. 636)— 
(A) in subsection (b)(12)— 
(i) in the paragraph heading, by in-
serting ‘‘PROGRAM’’ after ‘‘SCORE’’; and 
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(ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and 
inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 
(B) in subsection (m)(3)(A)(i)(VIII), by 
striking ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ 
and inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 
(2) in section 22 (15 U.S.C. 649)— 
(A) in subsection (b)— 
(i) in paragraph (1), by striking 
‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and 
inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 
(ii) in paragraph (3), by striking 
‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and 
inserting ‘‘SCORE program’’; and 
(B) in subsection (c)(12), by striking 
‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and in-
serting ‘‘SCORE program’’. 
(b) OTHER LAWS.— 
(1) SMALL
BUSINESS
REAUTHORIZATION
ACT 
OF 1997.—Section 707 of the Small Business Reau-
thorization Act of 1997 (15 U.S.C. 631 note) is 
amended by striking ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Ex-
ecutives (SCORE) program’’ and inserting ‘‘SCORE 
program (as defined in section 8(c)(1) of the Small 
Business Act)’’. 
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(2) 
VETERANS
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
AND 
SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1999.—Sec-
tion 301 of the Veterans Entrepreneurship and 
Small Business Development Act of 1999 (15 U.S.C. 
657b note) is amended by striking ‘‘Service Core of 
Retired Executives’’ and inserting ‘‘SCORE pro-
gram’’. 
(3) MILITARY RESERVIST AND VETERAN SMALL 
BUSINESS
REAUTHORIZATION
AND
OPPORTUNITY 
ACT OF 2008.—Section 3(5) of the Military Reservist 
and Veteran Small Business Reauthorization and 
Opportunity Act of 2008 (15 U.S.C. 636 note) is 
amended by striking ‘‘the Service Corps of Retired 
Executives’’ and inserting ‘‘the SCORE program’’. 
(4) CHILDREN’S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM 
REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2009.—Section 621 of the 
Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthoriza-
tion Act of 2009 (15 U.S.C. 657p) is amended— 
(A) in subsection (a), by striking para-
graph (4) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(4) the term ‘SCORE program’ means the 
SCORE program authorized by section 8(b)(1)(B) 
of 
the 
Small 
Business 
Act 
(15 
U.S.C. 
637(b)(1)(B));’’; and 
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(B) in subsection (b)(4)(A)(iv), by striking 
‘‘Service Corps of Retired Executives’’ and in-
serting ‘‘SCORE program’’. 
(5) 
ENERGY
POLICY
AND
CONSERVATION 
ACT.—Section 337(d)(2)(A) of the Energy Policy 
and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6307(d)(2)(A)) is 
amended by striking ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Ex-
ecutives (SCORE)’’ and inserting ‘‘SCORE pro-
gram’’. 
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ADMINISTRATION; ADMINISTRATOR.—The 
terms ‘‘Administration’’ and ‘‘Administrator’’ mean, 
respectively, the Small Business Administration and 
the Administrator thereof. 
(2) SCORE ASSOCIATION; SCORE PROGRAM.— 
The terms ‘‘SCORE Association’’ and ‘‘SCORE pro-
gram’’ have the meaning given those terms, respec-
tively, under section 8(c)(1) of the Small Business 
Act, as added by section 2 of this Act. 
Æ 
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