[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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