[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4983 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4983

To amend the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to include expansion 
  of business development by individuals with disabilities among the 
     public policy goals of State and local development companies.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 26, 2000

   Ms. Velazquez (for herself, Ms. Millender-McDonald, Mr. Davis of 
 Illinois, Mrs. McCarthy of New York, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Hinojosa, Mr. 
Gonzalez, Mr. Moore, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Baird, Mr. Udall of Colorado, 
Ms. Berkley, Mrs. Christensen, and Mr. Phelps) introduced the following 
      bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to include expansion 
  of business development by individuals with disabilities among the 
     public policy goals of State and local development companies.

    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 ``Access to Capital for Individuals 
With Disabilities Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The United States is experiencing the greatest period 
        of prolonged economic prosperity in the Nation's history.
            (2) More than 99 percent of the employers in the United 
        States are small business owners, and they employ 52 percent of 
        the Nation's private sector workers.
            (3) There are segments of the American population that have 
        yet to experience the benefits of the Nation's historic 
        economic growth.
            (4) Every American should be able to participate in our 
        national prosperity and Congress should encourage 
        entrepreneurship among all Americans.
            (5) Increased access to capital for entrepreneurs means 
        increased access to opportunity.
            (6) There are 49,000,000 individuals with disabilities in 
        the United States.
            (7) Fifteen percent of working age adults in the United 
        States are disabled small business owners.
            (8) Congress should encourage and increase entrepreneurship 
        among individuals with disabilities in the United States.
            (9) Increased access to capital for entrepreneurs who are 
        individuals with disabilities means increased business 
        opportunities for such individuals.
            (10) Increased business opportunities for entrepreneurs who 
        are individuals with disabilities will create more jobs for all 
        Americans, benefit the national economy, and help provide a 
        sense of accomplishment and self-worth for the disabled 
        entrepreneur.

SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT BY INDIVIDUALS WITH 
              DISABILITIES.

    (a) In General.--Section 501(d)(3)(C) of the Small Business 
Investment Act (15 U.S.C. 695(d)(3)(C)) is amended by inserting before 
the comma at the end ``or business development by individuals with 
disabilities''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 103 of the Small Business 
Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 662) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (15), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (16), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(17) the term `disability' has the meaning given such 
        term in section 3(2) of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 
        1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102).''.
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