[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2499 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2499

 To amend the Small Business Act to expand and improve the assistance 
      provided by Small Business Development Centers to Colonias.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 24, 2007

 Mr. Cuellar (for himself, Mr. Reyes, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Gonzalez, Ms. 
Clarke, Mr. Hinojosa, Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Ortiz, Mr. Farr, Mr. Thompson 
 of California, Mr. Rodriguez, and Mr. Brady of Texas) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Small Business Act to expand and improve the assistance 
      provided by Small Business Development Centers to Colonias.

    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 ``SBDC Colonias Outreach Act of 
2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Colonias are found in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and 
        California and are composed of families with very low incomes 
        and usually lack basic services such as clean and abundant 
        water, roads, sewer systems, schools, and law enforcement.
            (2) Across the Southwest there are approximately 3,000 
        Colonias with nearly three quarters of a million people living 
        in these communities.
            (3) Improving the living situation within Colonias is not 
        limited to fixing basic infrastructure but must also include 
        spurring economic growth.
            (4) Studies have found that the unemployment rate in 
        Colonias was upwards of 60 percent.
            (5) The average yearly salary of people living in these 
        communities is less than $10,000, well below the Nation's 
        poverty line.
            (6) Many Colonias residents cannot find year-round work due 
        to the seasonal nature of their primary occupations--fieldwork 
        represents 29.5 percent of their jobs, construction work 24.4 
        percent, and factory work, 14.9 percent.
            (7) The Small Business Development Center program has been 
        proven to be a cost effective solution to providing the 
        resources and technical assistance needed to grow existing 
        businesses and to start new enterprises.
            (8) Business counseling and technical assistance is 
        critical in Colonias where similar services are in short supply 
        and are costly.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are the following:
            (1) To stimulate economic development in Colonias.
            (2) To assist in the creation of new small businesses 
        located in Colonias and expand existing ones.
            (3) To provide management, technical, and research 
        assistance to entrepreneurs located in Colonias.
            (4) To ensure that residents of Colonias have full access 
        to existing business counseling and technical assistance 
        available through the Small Business Development Center 
        program.

SEC. 3. SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER ASSISTANCE TO COLONIAS.

    Section 21(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(8) Additional grant to assist individuals residing in 
        colonias.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Any applicant in an eligible 
                State that is funded by the Administration as a Small 
                Business Development Center may apply for an additional 
                grant to be used solely to provide services described 
                in subsection (c)(3) to assist with outreach, 
                development, and enhancement of small business startups 
                and expansions within Colonias.
                    ``(B) Eligible states.--For purposes of 
                subparagraph (A), an eligible State is a State along 
                the United States-Mexico border that has individuals 
                residing in Colonias.
                    ``(C) Grant applications.--An applicant for a grant 
                under subparagraph (A) shall submit to the 
                Administration an application that is in such form as 
                the Administration may require. The application shall 
                include information regarding the applicant's goals and 
                objectives for the services to be provided using the 
                grant, including--
                            ``(i) the capability of the applicant to 
                        provide training and services to individuals 
                        residing in Colonias;
                            ``(ii) the location of the Small Business 
                        Development Center site proposed by the 
                        applicant; and
                            ``(iii) the required amount of grant 
                        funding needed by the applicant to implement 
                        the program.
                    ``(D) Applicability of grant requirements.--An 
                applicant for a grant under subparagraph (A) shall 
                comply with all of the requirements of this section, 
                except that the matching funds requirements under 
                paragraph (4)(A) shall not apply.
                    ``(E) Maximum amount of grants.--No applicant may 
                receive more than $300,000 in grants under this 
                paragraph for one fiscal year.
                    ``(F) Regulations.--After providing notice and an 
                opportunity for comment and after consulting with the 
                Association recognized by the Administration pursuant 
                to paragraph (3)(A) (but not later than 180 days after 
                the date of enactment of this paragraph), the 
                Administration shall issue final regulations to carry 
                out this paragraph, including regulations that 
                establish--
                            ``(i) standards relating to educational, 
                        technical, and support services to be provided 
                        by Small Business Development Centers receiving 
                        assistance under this paragraph; and
                            ``(ii) standards relating to any work plan 
                        that the Administration may require a Small 
                        Business Development Center receiving 
                        assistance under this paragraph to develop.
                    ``(G) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
                            ``(i) The term `Colonias' means a community 
                        that--
                                    ``(I) is located within 150 miles 
                                of the United States-Mexico border;
                                    ``(II) is a city or town with a 
                                population of less than 10,000, 
                                according to the latest United States 
                                Census, or is unincorporated;
                                    ``(III) has a majority population 
                                composed of individuals and families of 
                                low and very low income; and
                                    ``(IV) generally lacks a basic 
                                physical infrastructure.
                            ``(ii) The term `basic physical 
                        infrastructure' means safe, sanitary, and sound 
                        housing, as well as basic services such as 
                        potable water, adequate sewage systems, 
                        drainage, paved streets and utilities.
                    ``(H) Authorization of appropriations.--There is 
                authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 
                paragraph $7,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 
                through 2010.
                    ``(I) Funding limitations.--
                            ``(i) Nonapplicability of certain 
                        limitations.--Funding under this paragraph 
                        shall be in addition to the dollar program 
                        limitations specified in paragraph (4).
                            ``(ii) Limitation on use of funds.--The 
                        Administration may carry out this paragraph 
                        only with amounts appropriated in advance 
                        specifically to carry out this paragraph.''.
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