I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1838 
To amend the Small Business Act to modify certain provisions relating 
to women’s business centers, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 1, 2009 
Ms. FALLIN (for herself, Ms. CLARKE, and Mrs. MCMORRIS RODGERS) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small 
Business 
A BILL 
To amend the Small Business Act to modify certain provi-
sions relating to women’s business centers, 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. NOTIFICATION OF GRANTS; PUBLICATION OF 
GRANT AMOUNTS. 
Section 29 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656) 
is amended by adding the following new subsection at the 
end thereof: 
‘‘(o) NOTIFICATION OF GRANTS; PUBLICATION OF 
GRANT AMOUNTS.—The Administrator shall disburse 
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funds to a women’s business center not later than one 
month after the center’s application is approved under this 
section. At the end of each fiscal year the Administrator 
(acting through the Office of Women’s Business owner-
ship) shall publish on the Administration’s website a re-
port setting forth the total amount of the grants made 
under this Act to each women’s business center in the fis-
cal year for which the report is issued, the total amount 
of such grants made in each prior fiscal year to each such 
center, and the total amount of private matching funds 
provided by each such center over the lifetime of the cen-
ter.’’. 
SEC. 2. COMMUNICATIONS. 
Section 29 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
656), as amended, is further amended by adding the fol-
lowing new subsection at the end thereof: 
‘‘(p) COMMUNICATIONS.—The Administrator shall 
establish, by rule, a standardized process to communicate 
with women’s business centers regarding program admin-
istration matters, including reimbursement, regulatory 
matters, and programmatic changes. The Administrator 
shall notify each women’s business center of the oppor-
tunity for notice and comment on the proposed rule.’’. 
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SEC. 3. FUNDING. 
(a) FORMULA.—Section 29(b) of the Small Business 
Act (15 U.S.C. 656(b)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(b) AUTHORITY.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Administrator may 
provide financial assistance to private nonprofit or-
ganizations to conduct projects for the benefit of 
small business concerns owned and controlled by 
women. The projects shall provide— 
‘‘(A) financial assistance, including train-
ing and counseling in how to apply for and se-
cure business credit and investment capital, 
preparing and presenting financial statements, 
and managing cash flow and other financial op-
erations of a business concern; 
‘‘(B) management assistance, including 
training and counseling in how to plan, orga-
nize, staff, direct, and control each major activ-
ity and function of a small business concern; 
and 
‘‘(C) marketing assistance, including train-
ing and counseling in identifying and seg-
menting domestic and international market op-
portunities, preparing and executing marketing 
plans, developing pricing strategies, locating 
contract opportunities, negotiating contracts, 
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‘‘(F) geographic distribution within and 
across the 10 regions of the Small Business Ad-
ministration.’’. 
(b) MATCHING.—Subparagraphs (A) and (B) of sec-
tion 29(c)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
656(c)(1)) are amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(A) For the first and second years of the 
project, 1 non-Federal dollar for each 2 Federal 
dollars. 
‘‘(B) Each year after the second year of 
the project— 
‘‘(i) 1 non-Federal dollar for each 
Federal dollar; or 
‘‘(ii) if the center is in a community 
at least 50 percent of the population of 
which is below the median income for the 
State or United States territory in which 
the center is located, 1 non-Federal dollar 
for each 2 Federal dollars.’’. 
(c) AUTHORIZATION.—Section 20 of the Small Busi-
ness Act (15 U.S.C. 631 note) is amended by inserting 
the following new subsection after subsection (e): 
‘‘(f) WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTERS.—There is au-
thorized to be appropriated for purposes of grants under 
section 29 to women’s business centers not more than 
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$20,000,000 in fiscal year 2010 and not more than 
$22,000,000 in fiscal year 2011.’’. 
SEC. 4. PERFORMANCE AND PLANNING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 29(h)(1) of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656(h)(1)) is amended by strik-
ing the ‘‘and’’ at the end of subparagraph (A), redesig-
nating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (D), and in-
serting the following new subparagraphs after subpara-
graph (A): 
‘‘(B) establish performance measures, tak-
ing into account the demographic differences of 
populations served by women’s business centers, 
which measures shall include— 
‘‘(i) outcome-based measures of the 
amount of job creation or economic activity 
generated in the local community as a re-
sult of efforts made and services provided 
by each women’s business center, and 
‘‘(ii) service-based measures of the 
amount of services provided to individuals 
and small business concerns served by each 
women’s business center; 
‘‘(C) require each women’s business center 
to submit an annual plan for the next year that 
includes the center’s funding sources and 
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amounts, strategies for increasing outreach to 
women-owned businesses, strategies for increas-
ing job growth in the community, and other 
content as determined by the Administrator; 
and’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 29(h)(1) of 
the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656(h)(1)), as amend-
ed, is further amended by adding the following at the end 
thereof: 
‘‘The Administrator’s evaluation of each women’s 
business center as required by this subsection shall 
be in part based on the performance measures under 
subparagraphs (B) and (C). These measures and the 
Administrator’s evaluations thereof shall be made 
publicly available.’’. 
SEC. 5. NATIONAL WOMEN’S BUSINESS COUNCIL. 
The Women’s Business Ownership Act of 1988 is 
amended as follows: 
(1) In section 409(a) (15 U.S.C. 7109(a)), add 
the following at the end thereof: ‘‘Such studies shall 
include a study on the impact of the 2008–2009 fi-
nancial markets crisis on women-owned businesses, 
and a study of the use of the Small Business Admin-
istration’s programs by women-owned businesses.’’. 
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(2) In section 410(a) (15 U.S.C. 7110(a)), 
strike out ‘‘2001 through 2003’’ and insert ‘‘2010 
and 2011’’. 
Æ 
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