Title: Military Spouse Entrepreneurs Act of 2021
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Military Spouse Entrepreneurs Act of 2021
This bill requires the Small Business Administration to conduct a pilot program to award federal contracts to small businesses owned and controlled by military spouses. It also generally authorizes federal contracting officers to limit contract awards to only small businesses owned and controlled by military spouses under certain circumstances.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6347 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6347

 To require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to 
  establish a pilot procurement program for military spouses, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 23, 2021

 Ms. Strickland (for herself, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, and Mr. Carson) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             Small Business

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to 
  establish a pilot procurement program for military spouses, 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 ``Military Spouse Entrepreneurs Act of 
2021''.

SEC. 2. PILOT PROCUREMENT PROGRAM FOR MILITARY SPOUSES.

    (a) Establishment.--The Administrator of the Small Business 
Administration shall carry out a pilot program to establish a 
procurement program for military spouses.
    (b) Authority To Restrict Competition.--In accordance with this 
subsection, a contracting officer may restrict competition for any 
contract for the procurement of goods or services by the Federal 
Government to small business concerns owned and controlled by military 
spouses, if--
            (1) each of the concerns is not less than 51 percent owned 
        by one or more military spouses;
            (2) the contracting officer has a reasonable expectation 
        that two or more small business concerns owned and controlled 
        by military spouses will submit offers for the contract;
            (3) in the estimation of the contracting officer, the 
        contract award can be made at a fair and reasonable price; and
            (4) each of the concerns is certified by the Administrator 
        or a third party certifying entity as a small business concern 
        owned and controlled by military spouses.
    (c) Authority for Sole Source Contracts.--A contracting officer may 
award a sole source contract under this subsection to any small 
business concern owned and controlled by military spouses described in 
subsection (b) if--
            (1) such concern is determined to be a responsible 
        contractor with respect to performance of the contract 
        opportunity and the contracting officer does not have a 
        reasonable expectation that 2 or more small business concerns 
        owned and controlled by military spouses will submit offers for 
        the contract; and
            (2) in the estimation of the contracting officer, the 
        contract award can be made at a fair and reasonable price.
    (d) Governmentwide Goal.--The Administrator shall establish a 
Governmentwide goal for participation by small business concerns owned 
and controlled by military spouses at not less than 5 percent of the 
total value of all prime contract and subcontract awards for each year 
of the pilot program.
    (e) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the termination date 
described in subsection (f), the Administrator shall submit to Congress 
a report on the pilot program established under this section, 
including--
            (1) the number of small business concerns owned and 
        controlled by military spouses that participated in the pilot 
        program;
            (2) data on the effectiveness of the pilot program in 
        encouraging contracting with small business concerns owned and 
        controlled by military spouses;
            (3) information on whether the goal described in subsection 
        (e) was met;
            (4) data on oversight of the pilot program; and
            (5) recommendations for--
                    (A) any improvements to the pilot program; and
                    (B) whether to make the pilot program permanent.
    (f) Termination.--The pilot program established under this section 
shall terminate not later than 5 years after the date of the enactment 
of this Act.
    (g) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Small Business Administration.
            (2) Contracting officer.--The term ``contracting officer'' 
        has the meaning given such term in section 27(f)(5) of the 
        Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 423(f)(5)).
            (3) Military spouse.--The term ``military spouse'' means a 
        current or former spouse of--
                    (A) a veteran; or
                    (B) a member of the Armed Forces (as those terms 
                are defined in section 101 of title 10, United States 
                Code).
            (4) Small business concern owned and controlled by military 
        spouses.--The term ``small business concern owned and 
        controlled by military spouses'' means a small business 
        concern--
                    (A)(i) not less than 51 percent of which is owned 
                by one or more military spouses or, in the case of any 
                publicly owned business, not less than 51 percent of 
                the stock of which is owned by one or more military 
                spouses; and
                    (ii) the management and daily business operations 
                of which are controlled by one or more military 
                spouses; or
                    (B) that is 50 percent owned by a veteran and 50 
                percent owned by a military spouse of such veteran.
            (5) Veteran.--The term ``veteran'' has the meaning given in 
        section 101 of title 38, United States Code.
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