I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 962 
To jump-start economic recovery through the formation and growth of new 
businesses, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 13, 2015 
Mr. DOLD (for himself, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. YODER, 
Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. VALADAO, Mr. POLIS, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. BEYER, Mr. 
NUNES, Mr. GUINTA, and Mr. MURPHY of Florida) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and 
in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Science, Space, and 
Technology, Appropriations, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to 
be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To jump-start economic recovery through the formation and 
growth of new businesses, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Startup Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings. 
Sec. 3. Conditional permanent resident status for immigrants with an advanced 
degree in a STEM field. 
Sec. 4. Immigrant entrepreneurs. 
Sec. 5. Elimination of the per country numerical limitation for employment- 
based visas. 
Sec. 6. Capital gains tax exemption for startup companies. 
Sec. 7. Research credit for startup companies. 
Sec. 8. Accelerated commercialization of taxpayer-funded research. 
Sec. 9. Economic impact of significant Federal agency rules. 
Sec. 10. Biennial State startup business report. 
Sec. 11. New business formation report. 
Sec. 12. Rescission of unspent Federal funds. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) Achieving economic recovery will require the 
formation and growth of new companies. 
(2) Between 1980 and 2005, companies less 
than 5 years old accounted for nearly all net job cre-
ation in the United States. 
(3) New firms in the United States create an 
average of 3,000,000 jobs per year. 
(4) To get Americans back to work, entre-
preneurs must be free to innovate, create new com-
panies, and hire employees. 
SEC. 3. CONDITIONAL PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS FOR 
IMMIGRANTS WITH AN ADVANCED DEGREE 
IN A STEM FIELD. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 2 of title II of the Immi-
gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1181 et seq.) is 
amended by inserting after section 216A the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 216B. CONDITIONAL PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS 
FOR ALIENS WITH AN ADVANCED DEGREE IN 
A STEM FIELD. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro-
vision of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security 
may adjust the status of not more than 50,000 aliens who 
have earned a master’s degree or a doctorate degree at 
an institution of higher education in a STEM field to that 
of an alien conditionally admitted for permanent residence 
and authorize each alien granted such adjustment of sta-
tus to remain in the United States— 
‘‘(1) for up to 1 year after the expiration of the 
alien’s student visa under section 101(a)(15)(F)(i) if 
the alien is diligently searching for an opportunity to 
become actively engaged in a STEM field; and 
‘‘(2) indefinitely if the alien remains actively en-
gaged in a STEM field. 
‘‘(b) APPLICATION FOR CONDITIONAL PERMANENT 
RESIDENT STATUS.—Every alien applying for a condi-
tional permanent resident status under this section shall 
submit an application to the Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity before the expiration of the alien’s student visa in 
such form and manner as the Secretary shall prescribe 
by regulation. 
‘‘(c) INELIGIBILITY FOR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AS-
SISTANCE.—An alien granted conditional permanent resi-
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dent status under this section shall not be eligible, while 
in such status, for— 
‘‘(1) any unemployment compensation (as de-
fined in section 85(b) of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986); or 
‘‘(2) any Federal means-tested public benefit 
(as that term is used in section 403 of the Personal 
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation 
Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1613)). 
‘‘(d) EFFECT ON NATURALIZATION RESIDENCY RE-
QUIREMENT.—An alien granted conditional permanent 
resident status under this section shall be deemed to have 
been lawfully admitted for permanent residence for pur-
poses of meeting the 5-year residency requirement set 
forth in section 316(a)(1). 
‘‘(e) REMOVAL OF CONDITION.—The Secretary of 
Homeland Security shall remove the conditional basis of 
an alien’s conditional permanent resident status under 
this section on the date that is 5 years after the date such 
status was granted if the alien maintained his or her eligi-
bility for such status during the entire 5-year period. 
‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN A STEM FIELD.— 
The term ‘actively engaged in a STEM field’— 
‘‘(A) means— 
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‘‘(i) gainfully employed in a for-profit 
business or nonprofit organization in the 
United States in a STEM field; 
‘‘(ii) teaching 1 or more STEM field 
courses at an institution of higher edu-
cation; or 
‘‘(iii) employed by a Federal, State, or 
local government entity; and 
‘‘(B) includes any period of up to 6 
months during which the alien does not meet 
the requirement under subparagraph (A) if 
such period was immediately preceded by a 1- 
year period during which the alien met the re-
quirement under subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 
The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 
‘‘(3) STEM FIELD.—The term ‘STEM field’ 
means any field of study or occupation included on 
the most recent STEM-Designated Degree Program 
List published in the Federal Register by the De-
partment of Homeland Security (as described in sec-
tion 214.2(f)(11)(i)(C)(2) of title 8, Code of Federal 
Regulations).’’. 
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(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
for the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 
et seq.) is amended by inserting after the item relating 
to section 216A the following: 
‘‘Sec. 216B. Conditional permanent resident status for aliens with an advanced 
degree in a STEM field.’’. 
(c) 
GOVERNMENT
ACCOUNTABILITY
OFFICE 
STUDY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp-
troller General of the United States shall submit to 
Congress a report on the alien college graduates 
granted immigrant status under section 216B of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by sub-
section (a). 
(2) CONTENTS.—The report described in para-
graph (1) shall include— 
(A) the number of aliens described in para-
graph (1) who have earned a master’s degree, 
broken down by the number of such degrees in 
science, technology, engineering, and mathe-
matics; 
(B) the number of aliens described in 
paragraph (1) who have earned a doctorate de-
gree, broken down by the number of such de-
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grees in science, technology, engineering, and 
mathematics; 
(C) the number of aliens described in para-
graph (1) who have founded a business in the 
United States in a STEM field; 
(D) the number of aliens described in 
paragraph (1) who are employed in the United 
States in a STEM field, broken down by em-
ployment sector (for profit, nonprofit, or gov-
ernment); and 
(E) the number of aliens described in para-
graph (1) who are employed by an institution of 
higher education. 
(3) DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘institution of 
higher education’’ and ‘‘STEM field’’ have the 
meaning given such terms in section 216B(f) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by sub-
section (a). 
SEC. 4. IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURS. 
(a) QUALIFIED ALIEN ENTREPRENEURS.— 
(1) ADMISSION AS IMMIGRANTS.—Chapter 1 of 
title II of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1151 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 210A. QUALIFIED ALIEN ENTREPRENEURS. 
‘‘(a) ADMISSION AS IMMIGRANTS.—The Secretary of 
Homeland Security, in accordance with the provisions of 
this section and section 216A, may issue a conditional im-
migrant visa to not more than 75,000 qualified alien en-
trepreneurs. 
‘‘(b) APPLICATION FOR CONDITIONAL PERMANENT 
RESIDENT STATUS.—Every alien applying for a condi-
tional immigrant visa under this section shall submit an 
application to the Secretary of Homeland Security in such 
form and manner as the Secretary shall prescribe by regu-
lation. 
‘‘(c) REVOCATION.—If, during the 4-year period be-
ginning on the date that an alien is granted a visa under 
this section, the Secretary of Homeland Security deter-
mines that such alien is no longer a qualified alien entre-
preneur, the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(1) revoke such visa; and 
‘‘(2) notify the alien that the alien— 
‘‘(A) may voluntarily depart from the 
United States in accordance to section 240B; or 
‘‘(B) will be subject to removal proceedings 
under section 240 if the alien does not depart 
from the United States not later than 6 months 
after receiving such notification. 
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‘‘(d) REMOVAL OF CONDITIONAL BASIS.—The Sec-
retary of Homeland Security shall remove the conditional 
basis of the status of an alien issued an immigrant visa 
under this section on that date that is 4 years after the 
date on which such visa was issued if such visa was not 
revoked pursuant to subsection (c). 
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘full- 
time employee’ means a United States citizen or 
legal permanent resident who is paid by the new 
business entity registered by a qualified alien entre-
preneur at a rate that is comparable to the median 
income of employees in the region. 
‘‘(2) QUALIFIED ALIEN ENTREPRENEUR.—The 
term ‘qualified alien entrepreneur’ means an alien 
who— 
‘‘(A) at the time the alien applies for an 
immigrant visa under this section— 
‘‘(i) is lawfully present in the United 
States; and 
‘‘(ii)(I) holds a nonimmigrant visa 
pursuant to section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b); or 
‘‘(II) holds a nonimmigrant visa pur-
suant to section 101(a)(15)(F)(i); 
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‘‘(B) during the 1-year period beginning on 
the date the alien is granted a visa under this 
section— 
‘‘(i) registers at least 1 new business 
entity in a State; 
‘‘(ii) employs, at such business entity 
in the United States, at least 2 full-time 
employees who are not relatives of the 
alien; and 
‘‘(iii) invests, or raises capital invest-
ment of, not less than $100,000 in such 
business entity; and 
‘‘(C) during the 3-year period beginning on 
the last day of the 1-year period described in 
paragraph (2), employs, at such business entity 
in the United States, an average of at least 5 
full-time employees who are not relatives of the 
alien.’’. 
(2) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The 
table of contents in the first section of the Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is 
amended by adding after the item relating to section 
210 the following: 
‘‘Sec. 210A. Qualified alien entrepreneurs.’’. 
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(b) CONDITIONAL
PERMANENT
RESIDENT
STA-
TUS.—Section 216A of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1186b) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ each place 
such term appears and inserting ‘‘Secretary of 
Homeland Security’’; 
(2) 
in 
subsection 
(b)(1)(C), 
by 
striking 
‘‘203(b)(5),’’ and inserting ‘‘203(b)(5) or 210A, as 
appropriate,’’; 
(3) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘alien en-
trepreneur must’’ each place such term appears and 
inserting ‘‘alien entrepreneur shall’’; 
(4) in subsection (d)(1)(B), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting ‘‘or 210A, as appro-
priate.’’; and 
(5) in subsection (f)(1), by striking the period 
at the end and inserting ‘‘or 210A.’’. 
(c) 
GOVERNMENT
ACCOUNTABILITY
OFFICE 
STUDY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp-
troller General of the United States shall submit to 
Congress a report on the qualified alien entre-
preneurs granted immigrant status under section 
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210A of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as 
added by subsection (a). 
(2) CONTENTS.—The report described in para-
graph (1) shall include information regarding— 
(A) the number of qualified alien entre-
preneurs who have received immigrant status 
under section 210A of the Immigration and Na-
tionality Act, as added by subsection (a), listed 
by country of origin; 
(B) the localities in which such qualified 
alien entrepreneurs have initially settled; 
(C) whether such qualified alien entre-
preneurs generally remain in the localities in 
which they initially settle; 
(D) the types of commercial enterprises 
that such qualified alien entrepreneurs have es-
tablished; and 
(E) the types and number of jobs created 
by such qualified alien entrepreneurs. 
SEC. 5. ELIMINATION OF THE PER COUNTRY NUMERICAL 
LIMITATION 
FOR 
EMPLOYMENT-BASED 
VISAS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 202(a)(2) of the Immi-
gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1152(a)(2)) is 
amended— 
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(1) in the paragraph heading, by striking ‘‘AND 
EMPLOYMENT-BASED’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘(3), (4), and (5),’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘(3) and (4),’’; 
(3) by striking ‘‘subsections (a) and (b) of sec-
tion 203’’ and inserting ‘‘section 203(a)’’; 
(4) by striking ‘‘7’’ and inserting ‘‘15’’; and 
(5) by striking ‘‘such subsections’’ and inserting 
‘‘such section’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 202 of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1152) is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(3), by striking ‘‘both sub-
sections (a) and (b) of section 203’’ and inserting 
‘‘section 203(a)’’; 
(2) by striking subsection (a)(5); and 
(3) by amending subsection (e) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(e) SPECIAL RULES FOR COUNTRIES AT CEILING.— 
If it is determined that the total number of immigrant 
visas made available under section 203(a) to natives of 
any single foreign state or dependent area will exceed the 
numerical limitation specified in subsection (a)(2) in any 
fiscal year, in determining the allotment of immigrant visa 
numbers to natives under section 203(a), visa numbers 
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with respect to natives of that state or area shall be allo-
cated (to the extent practicable and otherwise consistent 
with this section and section 203) in a manner so that, 
except as provided in subsection (a)(4), the proportion of 
the visa numbers made available under each of paragraphs 
(1) through (4) of section 203(a) is equal to the ratio of 
the total number of visas made available under the respec-
tive paragraph to the total number of visas made available 
under section 203(a).’’. 
(c) COUNTRY-SPECIFIC OFFSET.—Section 2 of the 
Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992 (8 U.S.C. 1255 
note) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘subsection 
(e))’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (d))’’; and 
(2) by striking subsection (d) and redesignating 
subsection (e) as subsection (d). 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect as if enacted on September 
30, 2014, and shall apply to fiscal years beginning with 
fiscal year 2015. 
(e) TRANSITION RULES FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED 
IMMIGRANTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to the succeeding 
paragraphs of this subsection and notwithstanding 
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title II of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1151 et seq.), the following rules shall apply: 
(A) For fiscal year 2015, 15 percent of the 
immigrant visas made available under each of 
paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 203(b) of 
such Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)) shall be allotted to 
immigrants who are natives of a foreign state 
or dependent area that was not one of the two 
states with the largest aggregate numbers of 
natives obtaining immigrant visas during fiscal 
year 2013 under such paragraphs. 
(B) For fiscal year 2016, 10 percent of the 
immigrant visas made available under each of 
such paragraphs shall be allotted to immigrants 
who are natives of a foreign state or dependent 
area that was not one of the two states with the 
largest aggregate numbers of natives obtaining 
immigrant visas during fiscal year 2014 under 
such paragraphs. 
(C) For fiscal year 2017, 10 percent of the 
immigrant visas made available under each of 
such paragraphs shall be allotted to immigrants 
who are natives of a foreign state or dependent 
area that was not one of the two states with the 
largest aggregate numbers of natives obtaining 
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immigrant visas during fiscal year 2015 under 
such paragraphs. 
(2) PER-COUNTRY LEVELS.— 
(A) RESERVED
VISAS.—With respect to 
the visas reserved under each of subparagraphs 
(A) through (C) of paragraph (1), the number 
of such visas made available to natives of any 
single foreign state or dependent area in the ap-
propriate fiscal year may not exceed 25 percent 
(in the case of a single foreign state) or 2 per-
cent (in the case of a dependent area) of the 
total number of such visas. 
(B) UNRESERVED VISAS.—With respect to 
the immigrant visas made available under each 
of paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 203(b) of 
such Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)) and not reserved 
under paragraph (1), for each of fiscal years 
2015, 2016, and 2017, not more than 85 per-
cent shall be allotted to immigrants who are na-
tives of any single foreign state. 
(3) SPECIAL
RULE
TO
PREVENT
UNUSED 
VISAS.—If, with respect to fiscal year 2015, 2016, or 
2017, the operation of paragraphs (1) and (2) of 
this subsection would prevent the total number of 
immigrant visas made available under paragraph (2) 
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or (3) of section 203(b) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 
1153(b)) from being issued, such visas may be 
issued during the remainder of such fiscal year with-
out regard to paragraphs (1) and (2) of this sub-
section. 
(4) 
RULES
FOR
CHARGEABILITY.—Section 
202(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1152(b)) shall apply in determining the for-
eign state to which an alien is chargeable for pur-
poses of this subsection. 
SEC. 6. CAPITAL GAINS TAX EXEMPTION FOR STARTUP 
COMPANIES. 
(a) PERMANENT FULL EXCLUSION.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 
1202 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(a) EXCLUSION.—In the case of a taxpayer other 
than a corporation, gross income shall not include 100 
percent of any gain from the sale or exchange of qualified 
small business stock held for more than 5 years.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(A) The heading for section 1202 of such 
Code is amended by striking ‘‘PARTIAL’’. 
(B) The item relating to section 1202 in 
the table of sections for part I of subchapter P 
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of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘Partial exclusion’’ and inserting ‘‘Exclu-
sion’’. 
(C) Section 1223(13) of such Code is 
amended by striking ‘‘1202(a)(2),’’. 
(b) REPEAL OF MINIMUM TAX PREFERENCE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 57 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by 
striking paragraph (7). 
(2) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Subclause (II) 
of section 53(d)(1)(B)(ii) of such Code is amended 
by striking ‘‘, (5), and (7)’’ and inserting ‘‘and (5)’’. 
(c) REPEAL OF 28-PERCENT CAPITAL GAINS RATE 
ON QUALIFIED SMALL BUSINESS STOCK.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (A) of section 
1(h)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(A) collectibles gain, over’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(A) Section 1(h) of such Code is amended 
by striking paragraph (7). 
(B)(i) Section 1(h) of such Code is amend-
ed by redesignating paragraphs (8), (9), (10), 
(11), (12), and (13) as paragraphs (7), (8), (9), 
(10), (11), and (12), respectively. 
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(ii) 
Sections 
163(d)(4)(B), 
854(b)(5), 
857(c)(2)(D) of such Code are each amended 
by striking ‘‘section 1(h)(11)(B)’’ and inserting 
‘‘section 1(h)(10)(B)’’. 
(iii) The following sections of such Code 
are 
each 
amended 
by 
striking 
‘‘section 
1(h)(11)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 1(h)(10)’’: 
(I) Section 301(f)(4). 
(II) Section 306(a)(1)(D). 
(III) Section 584(c). 
(IV) Section 702(a)(5). 
(V) Section 854(a). 
(VI) Section 854(b)(2). 
(iv) The heading of section 857(c)(2) is 
amended by striking ‘‘1(h)(11)’’ and inserting 
‘‘1(h)(10)’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section apply to stock acquired after December 31, 
2015. 
SEC. 7. RESEARCH CREDIT FOR STARTUP COMPANIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 41 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the 
end the following new subsection: 
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‘‘(i) TREATMENT OF CREDIT TO QUALIFIED SMALL 
BUSINESSES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—At the election of a quali-
fied small business, the payroll tax credit portion of 
the credit determined under subsection (a) shall be 
treated as a credit allowed under section 3111(f) 
(and not under this section). 
‘‘(2) PAYROLL
TAX
CREDIT
PORTION.—For 
purposes of this subsection, the payroll tax credit 
portion of the credit determined under subsection 
(a) for any taxable year is so much of such credit 
as does not exceed $250,000. 
‘‘(3) QUALIFIED SMALL BUSINESS.—For pur-
poses of this subsection— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 
small business’ means, with respect to any tax-
able year— 
‘‘(i) a corporation, partnership, or S 
corporation if— 
‘‘(I) the gross receipts (as deter-
mined under subsection (c)(7)) of 
such entity for the taxable year is less 
than $5,000,000, and 
‘‘(II) such entity did not have 
gross receipts (as so determined) for 
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any period preceding the 5-taxable- 
year period ending with such taxable 
year, and 
‘‘(ii) any person not described in sub-
paragraph (A) if clauses (i) and (ii) of sub-
paragraph (A) applied to such person, de-
termined— 
‘‘(I) by substituting ‘person’ for 
‘entity’ each place it appears), and 
‘‘(II) in the case of an individual, 
by only taking into account the aggre-
gate gross receipts received by such 
individual in carrying on trades or 
businesses of such individual. 
‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Such term shall not 
include an organization which is exempt from 
taxation under section 501. 
‘‘(4) ELECTION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a part-
nership or S corporation, an election under this 
subsection shall be made at the entity level. 
‘‘(B) REVOCATION.—An election under 
this subsection may not be revoked without the 
consent of the Secretary. 
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‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—A taxpayer may not 
make an election under this subsection if such 
taxpayer has made an election under this sub-
section for 5 or more preceding taxable years. 
‘‘(5) AGGREGATION RULES.—For purposes of 
determining the $250,000 limitation under para-
graph (2) and determining gross receipts under 
paragraph (3), all members of the same controlled 
group of corporations (within the meaning of section 
267(f)) and all persons under common control (with-
in the meaning of section 52(b) but determined by 
treating an interest of more than 50 percent as a 
controlling interest) shall be treated as 1 person. 
‘‘(6) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall pre-
scribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry 
out the purposes of this subsection, including— 
‘‘(A) regulations to prevent the avoidance 
of the purposes of paragraph (3) through the 
use of successor companies or other means, 
‘‘(B) regulations to minimize compliance 
and record-keeping burdens under this sub-
section for start-up companies, and 
‘‘(C) regulations for recapturing the ben-
efit of credits determined under section 3111(f) 
in cases where there is a subsequent adjustment 
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to the payroll tax credit portion of the credit 
determined under subsection (a), including re-
quiring amended returns in the cases where 
there is such an adjustment.’’. 
(2) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section 
280C(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(5) TREATMENT OF QUALIFIED SMALL BUSI-
NESS
CREDIT.—For purposes of determining the 
amount of any credit under section 41(a) under this 
subsection, any election under section 41(i) shall be 
disregarded.’’. 
(b) CREDIT ALLOWED AGAINST FICA TAXES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3111 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the 
end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(f) CREDIT
FOR RESEARCH EXPENDITURES
OF 
QUALIFIED SMALL BUSINESSES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a qualified 
small business which has made an election under 
section 41(i), there shall be allowed as a credit 
against the tax imposed by subsection (a) on wages 
paid with respect to the employment of all employees 
of the qualified small business for days in an appli-
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cable calendar quarter an amount equal to the pay-
roll tax credit portion of the research credit deter-
mined under section 41(a). 
‘‘(2) CARRYOVER OF UNUSED CREDIT.—In any 
case in which the payroll tax credit portion of the re-
search credit determined under section 41(a) exceeds 
the tax imposed under subsection (a) for an applica-
ble calendar quarter— 
‘‘(A) the succeeding calendar quarter shall 
be treated as an applicable calendar quarter, 
and 
‘‘(B) the amount of credit allowed under 
paragraph (1) shall be reduced by the amount 
of credit allowed under such paragraph for all 
preceding applicable calendar quarters. 
‘‘(3) ALLOCATION
OF
CREDIT
FOR
CON-
TROLLED
GROUPS, 
ETC.—In 
determining 
the 
amount of the credit under this subsection— 
‘‘(A) all persons treated as a single tax-
payer under section 41 shall be treated as a 
single taxpayer under this section, and 
‘‘(B) the credit (if any) allowable by this 
section to each such member shall be its pro-
portionate share of the qualified research ex-
penses, basic research payments, and amounts 
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paid or incurred to energy research consor-
tiums, giving rise to the credit allowable under 
section 41. 
‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub-
section— 
‘‘(A) APPLICABLE CALENDAR QUARTER.— 
The term ‘applicable calendar quarter’ means— 
‘‘(i) the first calendar quarter fol-
lowing the date on which the qualified 
small business files a return under section 
6012 for the taxable year for which the 
payroll tax credit portion of the research 
credit under section 41(a) is determined, 
and 
‘‘(ii) any succeeding calendar quarter 
treated as an applicable calendar quarter 
under paragraph (2)(A). 
‘‘For purposes of determining the date on 
which a return is filed, rules similar to the rules 
of section 6513 shall apply. 
‘‘(B) OTHER TERMS.—Any term used in 
this subsection which is also used in section 41 
shall have the meaning given such term under 
section 41.’’. 
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(2) TRANSFERS
TO
FEDERAL
OLD-AGE
AND 
SURVIVORS
INSURANCE
TRUST
FUND.—There are 
hereby appropriated to the Federal Old-Age and 
Survivors Trust Fund and the Federal Disability In-
surance Trust Fund established under section 201 
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401) amounts 
equal to the reduction in revenues to the Treasury 
by reason of the amendments made by paragraph 
(1). Amounts appropriated by the preceding sen-
tence shall be transferred from the general fund at 
such times and in such manner as to replicate to the 
extent possible the transfers which would have oc-
curred to such Trust Fund had such amendments 
not been enacted. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 
December 31, 2014. 
SEC. 8. ACCELERATED COMMERCIALIZATION OF TAX-
PAYER-FUNDED RESEARCH. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 
Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneur-
ship of the Department of Commerce established 
pursuant to section 25(c) of the Stevenson-Wydler 
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Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 
3720(c)). 
(2) EXTRAMURAL BUDGET.—The term ‘‘extra-
mural budget’’ means the sum of the total obliga-
tions minus amounts obligated for such activities by 
employees of the agency in or through Government- 
owned, Government-operated facilities, except that 
for the Department of Energy it shall not include 
amounts obligated for atomic energy defense pro-
grams solely for weapons activities or for naval reac-
tor programs, and except that for the Agency for 
International Development it shall not include 
amounts obligated solely for general institutional 
support of international research centers or for 
grants to foreign countries. 
(3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 
(4) RESEARCH OR RESEARCH AND DEVELOP-
MENT.—The term ‘‘research’’ or ‘‘research and de-
velopment’’ means any activity that is— 
(A) a systematic, intensive study directed 
toward greater knowledge or understanding of 
the subject studied; 
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(B) a systematic study directed specifically 
toward applying new knowledge to meet a rec-
ognized need; or 
(C) a systematic application of knowledge 
toward the production of useful materials, de-
vices, and systems or methods, including design, 
development, and improvement of prototypes 
and new processes to meet specific require-
ments. 
(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Commerce. 
(b) GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each Federal agency that 
has an extramural budget for research or research 
and development that is in excess of $100,000,000 
for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2020, shall 
transfer 0.15 percent of such extramural budget for 
each of such fiscal years to the Secretary to enable 
the Secretary to carry out a grant program in ac-
cordance with this subsection. 
(2) GRANTS.— 
(A) AWARDING OF GRANTS.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—From funds trans-
ferred under paragraph (1), the Secretary 
shall use the criteria developed by the 
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Council to award grants to institutions of 
higher education, including consortia of in-
stitutions of higher education, for initia-
tives to improve commercialization and 
transfer of technology. 
(ii) REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.—Not 
later than 30 days after the Council sub-
mits the recommendations for criteria to 
the Secretary under subsection (c)(4)(B), 
and annually thereafter for each fiscal year 
for which the grant program is authorized, 
the Secretary shall release a request for 
proposals. 
(iii) APPLICATIONS.—Each institution 
of higher education that desires to receive 
a grant under this subsection shall submit 
an application to the Secretary not later 
than 90 days after the Secretary releases 
the request for proposals under clause (ii). 
(iv) COUNCIL REVIEW.— 
(I) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 
shall submit each application received 
under clause (iii) to the Council for 
Council review. 
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(II) 
RECOMMENDATIONS.—The 
Council shall review each application 
received under subclause (I) and sub-
mit 
recommendations 
for 
grant 
awards to the Secretary, including 
funding recommendations for each 
proposal. 
(III) 
PUBLIC
RELEASE.—The 
Council shall publicly release any rec-
ommendations made under subclause 
(II). 
(IV) CONSIDERATION
OF
REC-
OMMENDATIONS.—In awarding grants 
under this subsection, the Secretary 
shall take into consideration the rec-
ommendations of the Council under 
subclause (II). 
(B) 
COMMERCIALIZATION
CAPACITY 
BUILDING GRANTS.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
award grants to support institutions of 
higher education pursuing specific innova-
tive initiatives to improve an institution’s 
capacity to commercialize faculty research 
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that can be widely adopted if the research 
yields measurable results. 
(ii) 
CONTENT
OF
PROPOSALS.— 
Grants shall be awarded under this sub-
paragraph to proposals demonstrating the 
capacity for accelerated commercialization, 
proof-of-concept proficiency, and trans-
lating scientific discoveries and cutting- 
edge inventions into technological innova-
tions and new companies. In particular, 
grant funds shall seek to support innova-
tive approaches to achieving these goals 
that can be replicated by other institutions 
of higher education if the innovative ap-
proaches are successful. 
(C) COMMERCIALIZATION
ACCELERATOR 
GRANTS.—The Secretary shall award grants to 
support institutions of higher education pur-
suing initiatives that allow faculty to directly 
commercialize research in an effort to accel-
erate research breakthroughs. The Secretary 
shall prioritize those initiatives that have a 
management structure that encourages collabo-
ration between other institutions of higher edu-
cation or other entities with demonstrated pro-
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ficiency in creating and growing new companies 
based on verifiable metrics. 
(3) ASSESSMENT OF SUCCESS.—Grants award-
ed under this subsection shall use criteria for assess-
ing the success of programs through the establish-
ment of benchmarks. 
(4) TERMINATION.—The Secretary shall have 
the authority to terminate grant funding to an insti-
tution of higher education in accordance with the 
process and performance metrics recommended by 
the Council. 
(5) LIMITATIONS.— 
(A) PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
COSTS.—A 
grant recipient may use not more than 10 per-
cent of grant funds awarded under this sub-
section for the purpose of funding project man-
agement costs of the grant program. 
(B) SUPPLEMENT, NOT
SUPPLANT.—An 
institution of higher education that receives a 
grant under this subsection shall use the grant 
funds to supplement, and not supplant, non- 
Federal funds that would, in the absence of 
such grant funds, be made available for activi-
ties described in this section. 
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(6) UNSPENT FUNDS.—Any funds transferred 
to the Secretary under paragraph (1) for a fiscal 
year that are not expended by the end of such fiscal 
year may be expended in any subsequent fiscal year 
through fiscal year 2020. Any funds transferred 
under paragraph (1) that are remaining at the end 
of the grant program’s authorization under this sub-
section shall be transferred to the Treasury for def-
icit reduction. 
(c) COUNCIL.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Council shall convene and develop recommendations 
for criteria in awarding grants to institutions of 
higher education under subsection (b). 
(2) SUBMISSION TO COMMERCE AND PUBLICLY 
RELEASED.—The Council shall— 
(A) submit the recommendations described 
in subparagraph (A) to the Secretary; and 
(i) release the recommendations to the 
public. 
(B) MAJORITY VOTE.—The recommenda-
tions submitted by the Council, as described in 
this paragraph, shall be determined by a major-
ity vote of Council members. 
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(C) PERFORMANCE METRICS.—The Coun-
cil shall develop and provide to the Secretary 
recommendations on performance metrics to be 
used to evaluate grants awarded under sub-
section (b). 
(3) EVALUATION.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 
days before the date that the grant program 
authorized under subsection (b) expires, the 
Council shall conduct an evaluation of the effect 
that the grant program is having on accel-
erating the commercialization of faculty re-
search. 
(B) INCLUSIONS.—The evaluation shall in-
clude— 
(i) the recommendation of the Council 
as to whether the grant program should be 
continued or terminated; 
(ii) quantitative data related to the ef-
fect, if any, that the grant program has 
had on faculty research commercialization; 
and 
(iii) a description of lessons learned in 
administering the grant program, and how 
those lessons could be applied to future ef-
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forts to accelerate commercialization of 
faculty research. 
(C) AVAILABILITY.—Upon completion of 
the evaluation, the evaluation shall be made 
available on a public website and submitted to 
Congress. The Secretary shall notify all institu-
tions of higher education when the evaluation is 
published and how it can be accessed. 
(d) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section may be 
construed to alter, modify, or amend any provision of 
chapter 18 of title 35, United States Code (commonly 
known as the ‘‘Bayh-Dole Act’’). 
SEC. 9. ECONOMIC IMPACT OF SIGNIFICANT FEDERAL 
AGENCY RULES. 
Section 553 of title 5, United States Code, is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(f) REQUIRED REVIEW BEFORE ISSUANCE OF SIG-
NIFICANT RULES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Before issuing a notice of 
proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register regard-
ing the issuance of a proposed significant rule, the 
head of the Federal agency or independent regu-
latory agency seeking to issue the rule shall complete 
a review, to the extent permitted by law, that— 
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‘‘(A) analyzes the problem that the pro-
posed rule intends to address, including— 
‘‘(i) the specific market failure, such 
as externalities, market power, or lack of 
information, that justifies such rule; or 
‘‘(ii) any other specific problem, such 
as the failures of public institutions, that 
justifies such rule; 
‘‘(B) analyzes the expected impact of the 
proposed rule on the ability of new businesses 
to form and expand; 
‘‘(C) identifies the expected impact of the 
proposed rule on State, local, and tribal govern-
ments, including the availability of resources— 
‘‘(i) to carry out the mandates im-
posed by the rule on such government enti-
ties; and 
‘‘(ii) to minimize the burdens that 
uniquely or significantly affect such gov-
ernmental entities, consistent with achiev-
ing regulatory objectives; 
‘‘(D) identifies any conflicting or duplica-
tive regulations; 
‘‘(E) determines— 
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‘‘(i) if existing laws or regulations cre-
ated, or contributed to, the problem that 
the new rule is intended to correct; and 
‘‘(ii) if the laws or regulations re-
ferred to in clause (i) should be modified 
to more effectively achieve the intended 
goal of the rule; and 
‘‘(F) includes the cost-benefit analysis de-
scribed in paragraph (2). 
‘‘(2) COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS.—A cost-benefit 
analysis described in this paragraph shall include— 
‘‘(A)(i) an assessment, including the un-
derlying analysis, of benefits anticipated from 
the proposed rule, such as— 
‘‘(I) promoting the efficient func-
tioning of the economy and private mar-
kets; 
‘‘(II) enhancing health and safety; 
‘‘(III) protecting the natural environ-
ment; and 
‘‘(IV) eliminating or reducing dis-
crimination or bias; and 
‘‘(ii) the quantification of the benefits de-
scribed in clause (i), to the extent feasible; 
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‘‘(B)(i) an assessment, including the un-
derlying analysis, of costs anticipated from the 
proposed rule, such as— 
‘‘(I) the direct costs to the Federal 
Government to administer the rule; 
‘‘(II) the direct costs to businesses 
and others to comply with the rule; and 
‘‘(III) any adverse effects on the effi-
cient functioning of the economy, private 
markets (including productivity, employ-
ment, and competitiveness), health, safety, 
and the natural environment; and 
‘‘(ii) the quantification of the costs de-
scribed in clause (i), to the extent feasible; 
‘‘(C)(i) an assessment, including the un-
derlying analysis, of costs and benefits of poten-
tially effective and reasonably feasible alter-
natives to the proposed rule, which have been 
identified by the agency or by the public, in-
cluding taking reasonably viable nonregulatory 
actions; and 
‘‘(ii) an explanation of why the proposed 
rule is preferable to the alternatives identified 
under clause (i). 
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‘‘(3) REPORT.—Before issuing a notice of pro-
posed rulemaking in the Federal Register regarding 
the issuance of a proposed significant rule, the head 
of the Federal agency or independent regulatory 
agency seeking to issue the rule shall— 
‘‘(A) submit the results of the review con-
ducted under paragraph (1) to the appropriate 
congressional committees; and 
‘‘(B) post the results of the review con-
ducted under paragraph (1) on a publicly avail-
able website. 
‘‘(4) JUDICIAL
REVIEW.—Any determinations 
made, or other actions taken, by an agency or inde-
pendent regulatory agency under this subsection 
shall not be subject to judicial review. 
‘‘(5) DEFINED TERM.—In this subsection the 
term ‘significant rule’ means a rule that is likely 
to— 
‘‘(A) have an annual effect on the economy 
of $100,000,000 or more; 
‘‘(B) adversely affect, in a material way, 
the economy, a sector of the economy, produc-
tivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public 
health or safety, or State, local, or tribal gov-
ernments or communities; or 
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‘‘(C) create a serious inconsistency or oth-
erwise interfere with an action taken or planned 
by another agency.’’. 
SEC. 10. BIENNIAL STATE STARTUP BUSINESS REPORT. 
(a) DATA COLLECTION.—The Secretary of Com-
merce shall regularly compile information from each of the 
50 States and the District of Columbia on State laws that 
affect the formation and growth of new businesses within 
the State or District. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and every 2 years there-
after, the Secretary, using data compiled under subsection 
(a), shall prepare a report that— 
(1) analyzes the economic effect of State and 
District laws that either encourage or inhibit busi-
ness formation and growth; and 
(2) ranks the States and the District based on 
the effectiveness with which their laws foster new 
business creation and economic growth. 
(c) DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary shall— 
(1) submit each report prepared under sub-
section (b) to Congress; and 
(2) make each report available to the public on 
the Department of Commerce’s website. 
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(d) INCLUSION OF LARGE METROPOLITAN AREAS.— 
Not later than 90 days after the submission of the first 
report under this section, the Secretary of Commerce shall 
submit to Congress a study on the feasibility and advis-
ability of including, in future reports, information about 
the effect of local laws and ordinances on the formation 
and growth of new businesses in large metropolitan areas 
within the United States. 
(e) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this section. 
SEC. 11. NEW BUSINESS FORMATION REPORT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce shall 
regularly compile quantitative and qualitative information 
on businesses in the United States that are not more than 
1 year old. 
(b) DATA COLLECTION.—The Secretary shall— 
(1) regularly compile information from the Bu-
reau of the Census’ business register on new busi-
ness formation in the United States; and 
(2) conduct quarterly surveys of business own-
ers who start a business during the 1-year period 
ending on the date on which such survey is con-
ducted to gather qualitative information about the 
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factors that influenced their decision to start the 
business. 
(c) RANDOM
SAMPLING.—In conducting surveys 
under subsection (b)(2), the Secretary may use random 
sampling to identify a group of business owners who are 
representative of all the business owners described in sub-
section (b)(2). 
(d) BENEFITS.—The Secretary shall inform business 
owners selected to participate in a survey conducted under 
this section of the benefits they would receive from partici-
pating in the survey. 
(e) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION.—Business owners 
selected to participate in a survey conducted under this 
section may decline to participate without penalty. 
(f) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and every 3 months 
thereafter, the Secretary shall use the data compiled under 
subsection (b) to prepare a report that— 
(1) lists the aggregate number of new busi-
nesses formed in the United States; 
(2) lists the aggregate number of persons em-
ployed by new businesses formed in the United 
States; 
(3) analyzes the payroll of new businesses 
formed in the United States; 
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(4) summarizes the data collected under sub-
section (b); and 
(5) identifies the most effective means by which 
government officials can encourage the formation 
and growth of new businesses in the United States. 
(g) DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary shall— 
(1) submit each report prepared under sub-
section (f) to Congress; and 
(2) make each report available to the public on 
the Department of Commerce’s website. 
(h) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this section. 
SEC. 12. RESCISSION OF UNSPENT FEDERAL FUNDS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, of all available unobligated funds for fiscal 
year 2015, the amount necessary to carry out this Act and 
the amendments made by this Act in appropriated discre-
tionary funds are hereby rescinded. 
(b) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget shall determine and identify 
from which appropriation accounts the rescission under 
subsection (a) shall apply and the amount of such rescis-
sion that shall apply to each such account. Not later than 
60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
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Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall 
submit a report to the Secretary of the Treasury and Con-
gress of the accounts and amounts determined and identi-
fied for rescission under the preceding sentence. 
Æ 
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