‘‘(8) the term ‘qualified investor’ means a per-
son that— 
‘‘(A) invests equity in a small business 
concern owned and operated under the Program 
by a fellow; and 
‘‘(B) has not more than $250,000,000 in 
assets; 
‘‘(9) the term ‘SCORE’ means the Service 
Corps of Retired Executives established under sec-
tion 8(b)(1)(B); 
‘‘(10) the term ‘State’ means any State of the 
United States, the District of Columbia, and any 
territory of the United States; 
‘‘(11) the term ‘veteran business outreach cen-
ter’ means a veteran business outreach center de-
scribed in section 32; and 
‘‘(12) the term ‘women’s business center’ means 
a women’s business center operating pursuant to 
section 29. 
‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established within 
the Administration an independent fellowship pilot 
program to be known as the ‘Next Generation En-
trepreneurship Corps Program’ to foster entrepre-
neurship in the most distressed regions of the 
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United States, including distressed regions affected 
by the COVID–19 pandemic. 
‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATION.—The Program shall be 
administered by the Office of Entrepreneurial Devel-
opment of the Administration. 
‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Under the Program, 
there shall be 1 group of fellows selected each 
year for 5 years of the Program, with each 
group serving for a 2-year period. 
‘‘(B) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year 
after the second group of fellows is selected 
under the Program, and every 2 years there-
after, the Committee shall submit to Congress 
an evaluation of the Program, along with any 
recommendations and options to expand the 
Program and make the Program permanent. 
‘‘(4) THIRD PARTY CONTRACTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Office of Entre-
preneurial Development of the Administration 
may contract with third party nonprofit organi-
zations that— 
‘‘(i) do or plan to do service work to 
execute the Program; and 
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‘‘(ii) the Committee determines have 
relevant experience to carry out the Pro-
gram. 
‘‘(B) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days 
after the date of enactment of the Next Genera-
tion Entrepreneurship Corps Act, the Adminis-
trator shall submit to Congress a report on— 
‘‘(i) the requirements and plans relat-
ing to third party contractors described in 
subparagraph (A); and 
‘‘(ii) how those third party contractors 
will begin to carry out the Program. 
‘‘(5) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Not later than 
90 days after the date of enactment of the Next 
Generation Entrepreneurship Corps Act, the Admin-
istrator shall submit to Congress a report discussing 
the plan of the Administrator to implement this sec-
tion, which shall include a discussion of— 
‘‘(A) how the Administrator will provide 
administrative support to the Committee; 
‘‘(B) the plan of the Administrator to co-
ordinate the implementation of the Program 
with the Committee; and 
‘‘(C) the status of the appointment of 
members of the Committee. 
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‘‘(c) STIPENDS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each fiscal year, the Com-
mittee may select not more than 320 fellows to par-
ticipate in the Program and receive a 2-year stipend 
of $120,000 to start and grow a new small business 
concern. 
‘‘(2) AUTHORITY TO REJECT.—The Assistant 
Administrator of the Office of Entrepreneurial De-
velopment of the Administration shall have the au-
thority to reject any fellow selected by the Com-
mittee to participate in the Program. 
‘‘(3) ALLOWABLE USES.—The Committee shall 
determine the allowable uses of a stipend awarded 
under this subsection. 
‘‘(4) STIPEND AMOUNT.—The amount of a sti-
pend made under this subsection shall be adjusted 
every 3 years to reflect increases in the Consumer 
Price Index for All Urban Consumers during that 
period. 
‘‘(5) APPLICATIONS.—Each applicant for a sti-
pend under this subsection shall— 
‘‘(A) propose a small business concern idea 
that will be located in a distressed region; and 
‘‘(B) submit to the Committee a small 
business concern plan that demonstrates— 
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‘‘(i) that the applicant will have pri-
mary decision making authority in the 
small business concern; 
‘‘(ii) a need for the small business 
concern of the applicant in the community 
or how the small business concern solves 
an economic or social problem in the area 
to be served by the small business concern 
or the United States; 
‘‘(iii) how the applicant plans to build 
their small business concern to employ 
local talent in entry-level and mid-level po-
sitions to ensure quality job growth; 
‘‘(iv) a vision for long-term growth in 
the area to be served by the small business 
concern; and 
‘‘(v) that the applicant does not, at 
the time of application, have the resources 
to start and grow a small business concern 
on their own without assistance. 
‘‘(6) REQUIREMENTS.—To receive a stipend 
under this subsection, the applicant shall— 
‘‘(A) live or be willing to relocate to live in 
the distressed region in which the small busi-
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ness concern of the applicant is located, as de-
termined by the Committee; 
‘‘(B) indicate that the applicant intends to 
provide products or services to such distressed 
region through such small business concern; 
and 
‘‘(C) agree to make a good faith effort to, 
if the applicant is hiring employees during the 
period of participation in the Program or the 3 
years following such participation, hire— 
‘‘(i) locally from distressed regions in 
the area served by the business of the ap-
plicant; 
‘‘(ii) racial or ethnic minorities; 
‘‘(iii) persons with criminal convic-
tions; or 
‘‘(iv) the hard to employ. 
‘‘(7) PREFERENCE.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall 
give preference to applicants for a stipend 
under this subsection that are— 
‘‘(i) individuals moving to a distressed 
region to encourage new small business 
concern owners in those areas post- 
COVID–19; 
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‘‘(ii) individuals who can demonstrate 
a connection to the State or locality in 
which the proposed small business concern 
will be located; 
‘‘(iii) owners of small business con-
cerns whose businesses were closed or who 
had to significant change their business 
model or services due to the COVID–19 
public health crisis; 
‘‘(iv) entrepreneurs within populations 
underrepresented among small business 
concern owners in the United States, in-
cluding women and racial and ethnic mi-
nority groups; 
‘‘(v) veterans; 
‘‘(vi) individuals who can demonstrate 
residence of not less than 2 years in a low- 
income census tract; 
‘‘(vii) individuals who have taken non- 
traditional pathways for professional devel-
opment, including individuals without a 
bachelor’s degree or who received Federal 
Pell Grants under section 401 of the High-
er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1070a), who shall not be required to estab-
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lish a small business concern in a dis-
tressed region; or 
‘‘(viii) individuals with business plans 
that have potential, if successful, to be eli-
gible for any contracting assistance pro-
gram of the Administration, including the 
business development program under sec-
tion 8(a), the Women Owned Small Busi-
ness Federal contracting program under 
section 8(m), the service-disabled veteran- 
owned small business program under sec-
tion 36, and the HUBZone program under 
section 31. 
‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—When evaluating 
applicants for a stipend under this subsection, 
the Committee— 
‘‘(i) shall differentiate between appli-
cants for a stipend under this subsection 
that aim to be a high-growth startup and 
a traditional small business concern; 
‘‘(ii) shall consider similar categories 
of applicants concurrently; 
‘‘(iii) should seek to encourage both 
high-growth and traditional startups across 
all geographic areas; and 
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‘‘(iv) shall— 
‘‘(I) not prioritize applicants with 
prior experience with starting and 
growing a small business concern over 
applications without that experience; 
and 
‘‘(II) give equal consideration to 
applicants with and without the expe-
rience described in subclause (I). 
‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL
METRICS.—The Com-
mittee shall establish additional metrics by 
which to evaluate applicants for a stipend under 
this subsection, including by creating local and 
State level applicant competitions. 
‘‘(8) NEW ENTREPRENEURS.—The Committee 
may award stipends under this subsection to appli-
cants both at the beginning stages of building their 
small business concern as well as to applicants who 
have had limited prior business experience. 
‘‘(9) NUMBER OF FELLOWS PER SCORE CHAP-
TER.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each year, the Com-
mittee shall, to the maximum extent prac-
ticable, designate 1 fellow per SCORE chapter 
in the United States, provided that the selection 
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process under this subsection remains competi-
tive. 
‘‘(B) 
DISTRIBUTION.—The 
Committee 
shall ensure a fair geographic distribution of 
fellows selected under this subsection, including 
between urban and rural areas, and may create 
a process for ensuring that distribution if the 
Committee determines necessary. 
‘‘(d) BENEFITS.— 
‘‘(1) STUDENT LOAN DEFERMENT.—For each 
fellow who notifies the Committee that the fellow 
has a loan made, insured, or guaranteed under part 
B, D, or E of title IV of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq.; 1087a et seq.; 
1087aa et seq.) that is in repayment— 
‘‘(A) the Committee shall— 
‘‘(i) inform the Secretary of Edu-
cation that the fellow is participating in a 
fellowship through the Program; and 
‘‘(ii) provide any additional informa-
tion requested by the Secretary of Edu-
cation regarding the fellow and the loan; 
and 
‘‘(B) the Secretary of Education shall, for 
the period of the fellowship— 
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‘‘(i) in the case of a loan made under 
part B or E of title IV of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071 et 
seq.; 1087aa et seq.), require that the 
holder of the loan place the loan in 
deferment, in which interest shall accrue 
and be paid by the Secretary, in the same 
manner as a deferment made under section 
428(b)(1)(M) of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078(b)(1)(M)); and 
‘‘(ii) in the case of a loan made under 
part D of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1087a et 
seq.), place the loan in deferment, during 
which interest shall not accrue, in the 
same manner as a deferment made under 
section 455(f)(1) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 
1087e(f)(1)) for a Federal Direct Stafford 
Loan under such part. 
‘‘(2) HEALTH CARE.—With respect to any fel-
low that is not otherwise covered under a health care 
policy, the Administrator shall provide or make 
available a basic health care policy in accordance 
with section 140(d) of the National and Community 
Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12594(d)) for the 2- 
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year period during which the fellow serves under the 
Program. 
‘‘(e) MENTOR SUPPORT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each fellow— 
‘‘(A) shall be assigned by the designated 
SCORE chapter of the fellow a local mentor, 
and the designated SCORE chapter may work 
in partnership with a small business develop-
ment center, a veteran business outreach cen-
ter, a women’s business center, or other local 
resources to pair the fellow with a mentor and 
provide mentorship; 
‘‘(B) following completion of the Program 
is encouraged to join SCORE, a small business 
development center, a veteran business outreach 
center, or a women’s business center to con-
tribute back to the Program and facilitate part-
nerships with local resource partners of the Ad-
ministration; and 
‘‘(C) shall be assigned by the Committee a 
mentor from the Next Generation Entrepre-
neurship Corps Board, which shall be created 
by the Committee and consist of notable chief 
executive officers of companies and venture cap-
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