Veterans Small Business Ownership Improvements Act

Bill: 115-s-121
Sponsor: Sen. Heller, Dean [R-NV]
Introduced: 2017-01-12 in the Senate
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Business education
Business investment and capital
Congressional oversight
Credit and credit markets
Disability and paralysis
Government information and archives
Government lending and loan guarantees
Government studies and investigations
Military personnel and dependents
National Guard and reserves
Self-employed
Small business
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Women in business
Women's employment

Summary:
action_date: 2017-01-12
text: 

Veterans Small Business Ownership Improvements Act 
 
 
This bill amends the Small Business Act to establish the Boots to Business Program under which the Small Business Administration (SBA) shall provide entrepreneurship training to:
 
 
members of the Armed Forces,
 
individuals participating in the Transition Assistance Program (Department of Defense),
 
individuals who served on active duty and who were discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable, and 
 
 their spouses or dependents.
 
 
The SBA shall establish: (1) a Women Veterans Business Training Program, and (2) a Business Training Program for Service Disabled Veterans. 
 
The SBA shall establish a veterans' business outreach center program to provide financial assistance to educational institutions, veterans' nonprofit community-based organizations, and federal, state, and local departments and agencies to conduct renewable five-year projects for the benefit of small businesses owned and controlled by veterans. 
 
 An assisted entity shall establish or operate a veterans' business outreach center to provide veterans, service-disabled veterans, and reservists, as well as their spouses, and the spouses of active duty members of the Armed Forces with: 
 
 
financial, management, and marketing advice and training; and 
 
technical assistance and training for obtaining federal procurement opportunities. 
 
 
 The SBA may discontinue financial assistance to an entity at any time for poor performance.
 
The SBA shall designate at least one individual in each SBA district office as a veterans business development officer to coordinate district office activities with entities receiving financial assistance under this bill.
 
 The SBA shall establish the Veterans Business Owners Initiative Pilot Program to provide grants to nonprofit entities for peer support groups that provide small business career training to: 

 
 members of the Armed Forces, 
 
 individuals participating in the Transition Assistance Program (Department of Defense), 
 
 Reservists, 
 
 veterans, and 
 
 their spouses or dependents.
 
 
 The SBA shall establish an online mechanism to assist veterans' assistance providers. 
 
The SBA shall establish an online mechanism that serves as a one-stop online resource for veterans regarding SBA entrepreneurial development programs.
 
The SBA's duties are expanded to include making grants to, or entering into cooperative agreements with, nonprofit entities to operate federal contracting training programs for veteran-owned small businesses.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-01-12
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
action_date: 2017-01-12
text: Introduced in Senate