[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3691 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3691

To amend the Small Business Act, to reform and reauthorize the National 
   Veterans Business Development Corporation, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 19, 2006

     Mr. Kerry (for himself, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Akaka, and Mr. Talent) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
            Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Small Business Act, to reform and reauthorize the National 
   Veterans Business Development Corporation, 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 ``Veterans Corporation Reauthorization 
Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES OF THE CORPORATION.

    (a) Purposes.--Section 33(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
657c(b)) is amended--
            (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
            ``(1) to establish and maintain a national network of 
        information and assistance centers for use by veterans and the 
        public by--
                    ``(A) providing information regarding small 
                business oriented employment or development programs;
                    ``(B) providing access to studies and research 
                concerning the management, financing, and operation of 
                small business enterprises, small business 
                participation in international markets, export 
                promotion, and technology transfer;
                    ``(C) providing referrals to business analysts who 
                can provide direct counseling to veteran small business 
                owners regarding the subjects described in this 
                section;
                    ``(D) serving as an information clearinghouse for 
                business development and entrepreneurial assistance 
                materials, as well as other veteran assistance 
                materials, as deemed necessary, that are provided by 
                Federal, State and local governments; and
                    ``(E) providing assistance to veterans and service-
                disabled veterans in efforts to gain access to Federal 
                prime contracts and subcontracts; and''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``including service-
        disabled veterans'' and inserting ``particularly service-
        disabled veterans''.

SEC. 3. MANAGEMENT OF THE CORPORATION.

    (a) Appointments to the Board.--Section 33(c)(2) of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657c(c)(2)) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(2) Appointment of voting members.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The President shall, after 
                considering recommendations proposed under subparagraph 
                (B), appoint the 9 voting members of the Board, all of 
                whom shall be United States citizens, and not more than 
                5 of whom shall be members of the same political party.
                    ``(B) Recommendations.--Recommendations shall be 
                submitted to the President for appointments under this 
                paragraph by the chairman or ranking member (or both) 
                of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 
                or the Committee on Veterans Affairs (or both) of the 
                Senate or the Committee on Small Business or the 
                Committee on Veterans Affairs (or both) of the House of 
                Representatives.
                    ``(C) Consultation with veteran organizations.--
                Recommendations under subparagraph (B) shall be made 
                after consultation with such veteran service 
                organizations as are determined appropriate by the 
                member of Congress making the recommendation.
                    ``(D) Considerations.--Consideration for 
                eligibility for membership on the Board shall include 
                business experience, knowledge of veterans' issues, and 
                ability to raise funds for the Corporation.
                    ``(E) Limitation on internal recommendations.--No 
                member of the Board may recommend an individual for 
                appointment to another position on the Board.''.
    (b) Terms.--Section 33(c)(6) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
657c(c)(6)) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(6) Terms of appointed members.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Each member of the Board of 
                Directors appointed under paragraph (2) shall serve for 
                a term of 4 years.
                    ``(B) Unexpired terms.--Any member of the Board of 
                Directors appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before 
                the expiration of the term for which the member's 
                predecessor was appointed shall be appointed only for 
                the remainder of the term. A member of the Board of 
                Directors may not serve beyond the expiration of the 
                term for which the member is appointed.''.
    (c) Removal of Board Members.--Section 33(c) of the Small Business 
Act (15 U.S.C. 657c(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(12) Removal of members.--With the approval of a majority 
        of the Board of Directors and the approval of the chairmen and 
        ranking members of the Committee on Small Business and 
        Entrepreneurship and the Committee on Veterans Affairs of the 
        Senate, the Corporation may remove a member of the Board of 
        Directors that is deemed unable to fulfill his or her duties, 
        as established under this section.''.

SEC. 4. TIMING OF TRANSFER OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE DUTIES.

    Section 33(h) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657c(h)) is 
amended by striking ``October 1, 2006'' and inserting ``October 1, 
2009''.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 33(k) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657c(k)(1)) is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by inserting ``, through the Office of 
                Veteran's Business Development of the Administration,'' 
                after ``to the Corporation''; and
                    (B) by striking subparagraphs (A) through (D) and 
                inserting the following:
                    ``(A) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2007;
                    ``(B) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; and
                    ``(C) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2009.'';
            (2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
            ``(2) Matching requirements.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Administration shall 
                require, as a condition of any grant (or amendment or 
                modification thereto) made to the Corporation under 
                this section, that a matching amount (excluding any 
                fees collected from recipients of such assistance) 
                equal to the amount of such grant be provided from 
                sources other than the Federal Government.
                    ``(B) Limitation.--Not more than 33 percent of the 
                total revenue of the Corporation, including the funds 
                raised for use at the Veteran's Business Resource 
                Centers, may be acquired from fee-for-service tools or 
                direct charge to the veteran receiving services, as 
                described in this section, except that the amount of 
                any such fee or charge may not exceed the amount of 
                such fee or charge in effect on the date of enactment 
                of the Veterans Corporation Reauthorization Act of 
                2006.
                    ``(C) Mission-related limitation.--The Corporation 
                may not engage in revenue producing programs, services, 
                or related business ventures that are not intended to 
                carry out the mission and activities described in 
                section (b).
                    ``(D) Return to treasury.--Funds appropriated under 
                this section that have not been expended at the end of 
                the fiscal year for which they were appropriated shall 
                revert back to the Treasury.''; and
            (3) by striking paragraph (3).

SEC. 6. PRIVATIZATION.

    Section 33 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657c) is amended--
            (1) by striking subsections (f) and (i); and
            (2) by redesignating subsections (g), (h), (j), and (k) as 
        subsections (f) through (i), respectively; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(j) Privatization.--
            ``(1) Development of plan.--Not later than 6 months after 
        the date of enactment of the Veterans Corporation 
        Reauthorization Act of 2006, the Corporation shall develop, 
        institute, and implement a plan to raise private funds and 
        become a self-sustaining corporation.
            ``(2) GAO audit and report.--
                    ``(A) Audit.--The Comptroller General of the United 
                States shall conduct an audit of the Corporation, in 
                accordance with generally accepted accounting 
                principles and generally accepted audit standards.
                    ``(B) Inclusions.--The audit required by this 
                paragraph shall include--
                            ``(i) an evaluation of the efficacy of the 
                        Corporation in carrying out the purposes under 
                        section (b); and
                            ``(ii) an analysis of the feasibility of 
                        the sustainability plan developed by the 
                        Corporation.
                    ``(C) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date 
                of enactment of the Veterans Corporation 
                Reauthorization Act of 2006, the Comptroller General 
                shall submit a report on the audit conducted under this 
                paragraph to the Committee on Small Business and 
                Entrepreneurship and the Committee on Veterans Affairs 
                of the Senate and to the Committee on Small Business 
                and the Committee on Veterans Affairs of the House of 
                Representatives.''.
                                 <all>