NEW START Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.6326 | Sponsor: Rep. Carter, Troy (D-LA)
Policy area: Commerce

Summary:
Necessary Entrepreneurship Workshops via the SBA to Transform and Assist Re-entry Training Act of 2021 or the NEW START Act of 2021
This bill establishes a pilot program for providing entrepreneurial development assistance to formerly incarcerated individuals.
Specifically, the bill requires the Small Business Administration to establish a pilot program whereby it awards grants to organizations or partnerships that create or support entrepreneurship programs for providing assistance to formerly incarcerated individuals. Such assistance shall be in the form of entrepreneurial development programming that includes the disbursement of microloans.
The Government Accountability Office must submit a report evaluating the (1) services that grant recipients provide to formerly incarcerated individuals, (2) oversight of the pilot program by the SBA, and (3) overall performance and impacts of the pilot program.

To establish a pilot program awarding competitive grants to 
organizations administering entrepreneurial development programming to 
       formerly incarcerated individuals, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Necessary Entrepreneurship Workshops 
via the SBA to Transform and Assist Re-entry Training Act of 2021'' or 
the ``NEW START Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) according to the Department of Justice, every year, 
        over 600,000 individuals are released from prison and return 
        home to their communities, and almost 77 percent of those 
        individuals will reoffend within 5 years;
            (2) according to the Center for American Progress, an 
        estimated 60 percent of formerly incarcerated individuals will 
        remain unemployed for a period of 1 year post-incarceration, 
        increasing the risk for recidivism;
            (3) according to the Center for Economic and Policy 
        Research, the economy of the United States loses an estimated 
        $78,000,000,000 to $87,000,000,000 annually due to lost output 
        from individuals with criminal records unable to find stable 
        employment;
            (4) entrepreneurial development programs for incarcerated 
        and formerly incarcerated individuals report dramatically lower 
        rates of recidivism; and
            (5) self-employment can provide economic stability for 
        those who are otherwise locked out of the labor market.

SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) Definitions.--In this Act--
            (1) the term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of 
        the Small Business Administration;
            (2) the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Small Business and 
                Entrepreneurship of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Small Business of the House of 
                Representatives;
            (3) the term ``covered individual'' means an individual 
        who--
                    (A) completed a term of imprisonment in Federal, 
                State, or local jail or prison; and
                    (B) meets the offense eligibility requirements set 
                forth in any applicable policy notice or other guidance 
                issued by the Small Business Administration for the 
                program established under section 7(m) of the Small 
                Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(m));
            (4) the terms ``intermediary'' and ``microloan'' have the 
        meanings given those terms in section 7(m)(11) of the Small 
        Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(m)(11));
            (5) the term ``microloan intermediary'' means an 
        intermediary that is eligible to participate in the program 
        established under section 7(m) of the Small Business Act (15 
        U.S.C. 636(m)); and
            (6) the term ``pilot program'' means the pilot program 
        established under subsection (b).
    (b) Establishment.--Not later than 6 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall establish a pilot 
program to award grants to organizations over a 5-year period to create 
or support existing entrepreneurship development programs to provide 
assistance to covered individuals.
    (c) Grant Requirements.--The Administrator shall--
            (1) award a grant under the pilot program to not fewer than 
        6 organizations, or partnerships of organizations, which shall 
        each receive grants annually over the 5-year period in which 
        the pilot program is in existence; and
            (2) allocate grants under the pilot program to ensure that 
        the recipients are geographically varied throughout the United 
        States.
    (d) Partnerships.--An applicant for a grant under the pilot program 
may form partnerships with other organizations for the purposes of the 
application and for conducting entrepreneurial development programming.
    (e) Application.--
            (1) In general.--An organization or partnership of 
        organizations desiring a grant under the pilot program shall 
        submit an application to the Administrator in such form, in 
        such manner, and containing such information as the 
        Administrator may reasonably require.
            (2) Contents.--An application submitted under paragraph (1) 
        shall--
                    (A) demonstrate that the applicant has a 
                partnership with, or is, a microloan intermediary that 
                shall provide microloans to qualified covered 
                individuals, or, to the extent that the applicant is a 
                national organization in multiple different markets, 
                that a separate microloan intermediary may be used in 
                each such market;
                    (B) demonstrate strong community ties, including 
                those with the covered individual community, local 
                businesses, and political leaders;
                    (C) demonstrate an ability to provide a full range 
                of entrepreneurial development programming on an 
                ongoing basis;
                    (D) include a plan for reaching covered 
                individuals, including by identifying particular target 
                populations within the community;
                    (E) clearly define entrepreneurial development 
                capabilities, including coordination with existing 
                local resource partners of the Administration for 
                additional training as necessary;
                    (F) present an entrepreneurship development 
                curriculum, which may be a nationally recognized model 
                or based upon such a model;
                    (G) include a list of each partner organization; 
                and
                    (H) include a comprehensive plan for the use of 
                grant funds, including estimates for administrative and 
                outreach costs of running and evaluating the 
                entrepreneurship development program.
    (f) Priority.--In determining whether to award a grant under the 
pilot program, the Administrator may give priority to applicants based 
on--
            (1) whether the application includes a commitment from an 
        existing or new non-Federal funding source to meet the matching 
        requirement under subsection (g);
            (2) whether the application takes into account local 
        economies and markets as a part of the educational component of 
        the entrepreneurship development program; and
            (3) the ability or plan of the applicant to provide 
        entrepreneurial development services concurrent with employment 
        or job training services.
    (g) Matching Requirement.--
            (1) In general.--As a condition of a grant provided under 
        the pilot program, the Administrator shall require the 
        recipient of the grant to contribute an amount equal to 25 
        percent of the amount of the grant, obtained solely from 
        existing or new non-Federal sources.
            (2) Form.--In addition to cash or other direct funding, the 
        contribution required under paragraph (1) may include indirect 
        costs or in-kind contributions paid for under non-Federal 
        programs.
    (h) Reports.--
            (1) Annual reports.--
                    (A) Individual reports to administrator.--A 
                recipient of a grant under the pilot program shall 
                submit to the Administrator an annual report on the use 
                of grant funds under the pilot program, which shall 
                contain, with respect to the entrepreneurship 
                development programs created or supported under the 
                pilot program--
                            (i) a list of partner organizations;
                            (ii) the characteristics of covered 
                        individuals assisted under the entrepreneurship 
                        development programs, including race and 
                        ethnicity, gender, age, marital status, 
                        parental status, employment status, income, 
                        banking and credit history, and prior business 
                        experience;
                            (iii) the participation and attendance 
                        rates for all components of the 
                        entrepreneurship development programs;
                            (iv) the program retention rate;
                            (v) the percentage of participants who 
                        remain non-justice involved during the calendar 
                        year of the program;
                            (vi) the level of the covered individuals' 
                        understanding of business concepts and 
                        principles;
                            (vii) the level of the covered individuals' 
                        greater confidence in leadership strengths, 
                        including the results of an industry-recognized 
                        behavioral assessment;
                            (viii) the covered individuals' progress 
                        made toward establishing a business;
                            (ix) the experiences and perceptions of the 
                        covered individuals;
                            (x) the number and dollar amount of loans 
                        made to qualified covered individuals; and
                            (xi) such additional information as the 
                        Administrator may require.
                    (B) Consolidated report to congress.--Not later 
                than 60 days after the date on which the last report 
                with respect to a year has been submitted to the 
                Administrator under subparagraph (A), the Administrator 
                shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress 
                a report that summarizes all of the reports submitted 
                to the Administrator under that subparagraph for that 
                year.
            (2) GAO report.--Not later than 1 year after the date on 
        which the pilot program terminates, the Comptroller General of 
        the United States shall submit to the appropriate committees of 
        Congress a report that evaluates--
                    (A) the services that grant recipients provided to 
                covered individuals assisted under entrepreneurship 
                development programs;
                    (B) oversight of the pilot program by the 
                Administrator, including policies and procedures for 
                monitoring the compliance by grant recipients with 
                pilot program requirements and an assessment of the 
                effectiveness of the pilot program; and
                    (C) the overall performance of the pilot program 
                and the impacts of the pilot program on grant 
                recipients.
    (i) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act may be construed to 
affect the program established under section 7(m) of the Small Business 
Act (15 U.S.C. 636(m)), including--
            (1) the requirements of that program;
            (2) the manner in which that program is carried out; or
            (3) the use or availability of any amounts that have been 
        made available to carry out that program.
    (j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Administrator such sums as are necessary to carry 
out the pilot program.
    (k) Termination.--The pilot program shall terminate on the date 
that is 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act.
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