106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1497
AN ACT
To amend the Small Business Act with respect to
the women’s business center program.
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1497
AN ACT
To amend the Small Business Act with respect to the
women’s business center program.
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 ‘‘Women’s Business
Centers Sustainability Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. PRIVATE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.
Section 29 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656)
is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)—
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and
(3) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; and
(B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the
following:
‘‘(2) the term ‘private nonprofit organization’
means an entity described in section 501(c) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that is exempt from
taxation under section 501(a) of such Code;’’; and
(2) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘nonprofit’’
after ‘‘private’’.
SEC. 3. INCREASED MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT AND RE-
VIEW OF WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTERS.
Section 29 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656)
is amended—
(1) by striking subsection (h) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(h) PROGRAM EXAMINATION.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administration shall—
‘‘(A) develop and implement procedures to
annually examine the programs and finances of
each women’s business center established pur-
suant to this section, pursuant to which each
such 
center 
shall 
provide 
to 
the
Administration—
‘‘(i) an itemized cost breakdown of ac-
tual expenditures for costs incurred during
the preceding year; and
‘‘(ii) documentation regarding the
amount of matching assistance from non-
Federal sources obtained and expended by
the center during the preceding year in
order to meet the requirements of sub-
section (c) and, with respect to any in-kind
contributions described in subsection (c)(2)
that were used to satisfy the requirements
of subsection (c), verification of the exist-
ence and valuation of those contributions;
and
‘‘(B) analyze the results of each such ex-
amination and, based on that analysis, make a
determination regarding the viability of the pro-
grams and finances of each women’s business
center.
‘‘(2) EXTENSION
OF
CONTRACTS.—In deter-
mining whether to extend or renew a contract with
a women’s business center, the Administration—
‘‘(A) shall consider the results of the most
recent examination of the center under para-
graph (1); and
‘‘(B) may withhold such extension or re-
newal, if the Administration determines that—
‘‘(i) the center has failed to provide
any information required to be provided
under clause (i) or (ii) of paragraph
(1)(A), or the information provided by the
center is inadequate; or
‘‘(ii) the center has failed to provide
any information required to be provided by
the center for purposes of the report of the
Administration under subsection (j), or the
information provided by the center is inad-
equate.’’; and
(2) by striking subsection (j) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(j) MANAGEMENT REPORT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administration shall
prepare and submit to the Committees on Small
Business of the House of Representatives and the
Senate a report on the effectiveness of all projects
conducted under this section.
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under
paragraph (1) shall include information concerning,
with respect to each women’s business center estab-
lished pursuant to this section—
‘‘(A) the number of individuals receiving
assistance;
‘‘(B) the number of startup business con-
cerns formed;
‘‘(C) the gross receipts of assisted con-
cerns;
‘‘(D) the employment increases or de-
creases of assisted concerns;
‘‘(E) to the maximum extent practicable,
increases or decreases in profits of assisted con-
cerns;
‘‘(F) documentation detailing the most re-
cent analysis undertaken under subsection
(h)(1)(B) and the determinations made by the
Administration with respect to that analysis;
and
‘‘(G) demographic data regarding the staff
of the center.’’.
SEC. 4. WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTER SUSTAINABILITY
PILOT PROGRAM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 29 of the Small Business
Act (15 U.S.C. 656) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(l) SUSTAINABILITY PILOT PROGRAM.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established a 4-
year pilot program under which the Administration
is authorized to make grants (referred to in this sec-
tion as ‘sustainability grants’) on a competitive basis
for an additional 5-year project under this section to
any private nonprofit organization (or a division
thereof)—
‘‘(A) that has received financial assistance
under this section pursuant to a grant, con-
tract, or cooperative agreement; and
‘‘(B) that—
‘‘(i) is in the final year of a 5-year
project; or
‘‘(ii) to the extent that amounts are
available for such purpose under sub-
section (k)(4)(B), has completed a project
financed under this section (or any prede-
cessor to this section) and continues to
provide assistance to women entrepreneurs.
‘‘(2) CONDITIONS
FOR
PARTICIPATION.—In
order to receive a sustainability grant, an organiza-
tion described in paragraph (1) shall submit to the
Administration an application, which shall include—
‘‘(A) a certification that the applicant—
‘‘(i) is a private nonprofit organiza-
tion;
‘‘(ii) employs a full-time executive di-
rector or program manager to manage the
women’s business center for which a grant
is sought; and
‘‘(iii) as a condition of receiving a sus-
tainability grant, agrees—
‘‘(I) to an annual examination by
the Administration of the center’s
programs and finances; and
‘‘(II) to the maximum extent
practicable, to remedy any problems
identified pursuant to that examina-
tion;
‘‘(B) information demonstrating that the
applicant has the ability and resources to meet
the needs of the market to be served by the
women’s business center site for which a sus-
tainability grant is sought, including the ability
to raise financial resources;
‘‘(C) information relating to assistance
provided by the women’s business center site
for which a sustainability grant is sought in the
area in which the site is located, including—
‘‘(i) the number of individuals as-
sisted;
‘‘(ii) the number of hours of coun-
seling, training, and workshops provided;
and
‘‘(iii) the number of startup business
concerns formed;
‘‘(D) information demonstrating the effec-
tive experience of the applicant in—
‘‘(i) conducting financial, manage-
ment, and marketing assistance programs,
as described in paragraphs (1), (2), and
(3) of subsection (b), designed to impart or
upgrade the business skills of women busi-
ness owners or potential owners;
‘‘(ii) providing training and services to
a representative number of women who are
both socially and economically disadvan-
taged;
‘‘(iii) using resource partners of the
Administration and other entities, such as
universities;
‘‘(iv) complying with the cooperative
agreement of the applicant; and
‘‘(v) prudently managing finances and
staffing, including the manner in which the
performance of the applicant compared to
the business plan of the applicant and the
manner in which grants made under sub-
section (b) were used by the applicant; and
‘‘(E) a 5-year plan that demonstrates the
ability of the women’s business center site for
which a sustainability grant is sought—
‘‘(i) to serve women business owners
or potential owners in the future by im-
proving fundraising and training activities;
and
‘‘(ii) to provide training and services
to a representative number of women who
are both socially and economically dis-
advantaged.
‘‘(3) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Administration
shall—
‘‘(i) review each application submitted
under paragraph (2) based on the informa-
tion provided under subparagraphs (D)
and (E) of that paragraph, and the criteria
set forth in subsection (f); and
‘‘(ii) approve or disapprove applica-
tions for sustainability grants simulta-
neously with applications for grants under
subsection (b).
‘‘(B) DATA COLLECTION.—Consistent with
the annual report to Congress under subsection
(j), each women’s business center site that re-
ceives a sustainability grant shall, to the max-
imum extent practicable, collect the information
relating to—
‘‘(i) the number of individuals as-
sisted;
‘‘(ii) the number of hours of coun-
seling and training provided and work-
shops conducted;
‘‘(iii) the number of startup business
concerns formed;
‘‘(iv) any available gross receipts of
assisted concerns; and
‘‘(v) the number of jobs created,
maintained, or lost at assisted concerns.
‘‘(C) RECORD RETENTION.—The Adminis-
tration shall maintain a copy of each applica-
tion submitted under this subsection for not
less than 10 years.
‘‘(4) NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBUTION.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any
other provision of this section, as a condition of
receiving a sustainability grant, an organization
described in paragraph (1) shall agree to ob-
tain, after its application has been approved
under paragraph (3) and notice of award has
been issued, cash and in-kind contributions
from non-Federal sources for each year of addi-
tional program participation in an amount
equal to 1 non-Federal dollar for each Federal
dollar.
‘‘(B) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—Not more
than 50 percent of the non-Federal assistance
obtained for purposes of subparagraph (A) may
be in the form of in-kind contributions that
exist only as budget line items, including such
contributions of office equipment and office
space.