[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2366 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2366

To reauthorize the veterans entrepreneurial development programs of the 
         Small Business Administration, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 17, 2007

 Mr. Buchanan (for himself, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Shuler, and Mr. Chabot) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             Small Business

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To reauthorize the veterans entrepreneurial development programs of the 
         Small Business Administration, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``SBA Veterans' 
Programs Act of 2007''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
            TITLE I--OFFICE OF VETERANS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Sec. 101. Office of Veterans Business Development.
               TITLE II--VETERANS ASSISTANCE AND SERVICES

Sec. 201. Veterans Assistance and Services program.
        TITLE III--EXPANDING VETERANS BUSINESS OUTREACH CENTERS

Sec. 301. Increasing the number of outreach centers.
Sec. 302. Independent study on gaps in availability of outreach 
                            centers.

            TITLE I--OFFICE OF VETERANS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

SEC. 101. OFFICE OF VETERANS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT.

    Section 32 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657b) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (e); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
    ``(c) Participation in TAP Workshops.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Associate Administrator shall 
        increase veteran outreach by ensuring that Veteran Business 
        Outreach Centers regularly participate, on a nationwide basis, 
        in the workshops of the Transition Assistance Program of the 
        Department of Labor.
            ``(2) Presentations.--In carrying out paragraph (1), a 
        Center may provide grants to eligible entities located in 
        Transition Assistance Program locations to make presentations 
        on the opportunities available from the Administration for 
        recently separating veterans. Each such presentation must 
        include, at a minimum, the entrepreneurial and business 
        training resources available from the Administration.
            ``(3) Reports.--The Associate Administrator shall submit to 
        Congress progress reports on the implementation of this 
        subsection.
    ``(d) Women Veterans Business Training Resource Program.--The 
Associate Administrator shall establish a Women Veterans Business 
Training Resource Program. The program shall--
            ``(1) compile information on resources available to women 
        veterans for business training, including resources for--
                    ``(A) vocational and technical education;
                    ``(B) general business skills, such as marketing 
                and accounting; and
                    ``(C) business assistance programs targeted to 
                women veterans; and
            ``(2) disseminate the information through Veteran Business 
        Outreach Centers and women's business centers.''.

               TITLE II--VETERANS ASSISTANCE AND SERVICES

SEC. 201. VETERANS ASSISTANCE AND SERVICES PROGRAM.

    Section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``(n) Veterans Assistance and Services Program.--
            ``(1) In general.--A Small Business Development Center may 
        apply for an additional grant to carry out a veterans 
        assistance and services program.
            ``(2) Elements of program.--Under a program under paragraph 
        (1), the Center shall--
                    ``(A) create a marketing campaign to promote 
                awareness and education of the services of the Center 
                that are available to veterans, and to target the 
                campaign toward veterans, disabled veterans, military 
                units, Federal agencies, and veterans organizations;
                    ``(B) use technology-assisted online counseling and 
                distance learning technology to overcome the 
                impediments to entrepreneurship faced by veterans and 
                members of the Armed Forces; and
                    ``(C) increase coordination among organizations 
                that assist veterans, including by establishing virtual 
                integration of service providers and offerings for a 
                one-stop point of contact for veterans who are 
                entrepreneurs or small business owners.
            ``(3) Minimum amount.--Each grant under this subsection 
        shall be for at least $75,000.
            ``(4) Maximum amount.--A grant under this subsection may 
        not exceed $250,000.
            ``(5) Funding.--Subject to amounts approved in advance in 
        appropriations Acts, the Administration may make grants or 
        enter into cooperative agreements to carry out the provisions 
        of this subsection.''.

        TITLE III--EXPANDING VETERANS BUSINESS OUTREACH CENTERS

SEC. 301. INCREASING THE NUMBER OF OUTREACH CENTERS.

    The Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall use 
the authority in section 8(b)(17) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
647(b)) to ensure that the number of Veterans Business Outreach Centers 
throughout the United States increases--
            (1) by at least 2, for each of fiscal years 2008 and 2009; 
        and
            (2) by the number that the Administrator considers 
        appropriate, based on existing need, for each fiscal year 
        thereafter.

SEC. 302. INDEPENDENT STUDY ON GAPS IN AVAILABILITY OF OUTREACH 
              CENTERS.

    The Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall 
sponsor an independent study on gaps in the availability of Veterans 
Business Outreach Centers across the United States. The purpose of the 
study shall be to identify the gaps that do exist so as to inform 
decisions on funding and on the allocation and coordination of 
resources. Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a report on the 
results of the study.
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