1.This Act may be cited as the
Today’s Entrepreneurs are America’s
Mentors Act
or the TEAM Act
.
2.In this Act—
(1)the terms Administration and
Administrator mean the Small Business Administration and the
Administrator thereof, respectively; and
(2)the term
small business concern has the meaning given that term under
section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632).
3.Office of
Entrepreneurial Education
(a)The Small Business
Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended—
(1)by redesignating section 45 (15 U.S.C. 631
note) as section 47; and
(2)by inserting after section 44 (15 U.S.C.
657q) the following:
45.Entrepreneurial
education
(a)Office of
Entrepreneurial Education
(1)There is in the Administration an Office of
Entrepreneurial Education, which shall develop and provide innovative
entrepreneurial information, education, and resources, to promote prospective
entrepreneurs and successful small business concerns.
(2)The
head of the Office of Entrepreneurial Education is the Director of the Office
of Entrepreneurial Education, who shall report to the Associate Administrator
for Entrepreneurial Development.
(3)The
Director of the Office of Entrepreneurial Education shall—
(A)manage the online
courses, online publications, and other online resources provided by the
Administration to entrepreneurs and small business concerns;
(B)manage the youth
entrepreneurship programs of the Administration, including—
(i)online resources
for youth entrepreneurs; and
(ii)coordination and
outreach with entrepreneurial development service providers that provide
counseling and training to youth entrepreneurs desiring to start or expand
small business concerns;
(C)coordinate with
nonprofit and other private sector partners to share educational materials on
money management and financial literacy for entrepreneurs and small business
concerns; and
(D)provide assistance
and courtesy services to individuals and foreign dignitaries visiting the
United States who are interested in issues relating to entrepreneurs and small
business concerns.
(b)National Primary
and Secondary School Entrepreneurial Education Program
(1)Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the
Today’s Entrepreneurs are America’s Mentors
Act, the Associate Administrator for Entrepreneurial Development
(referred to in this subsection as the Associate Administrator
)
shall establish a program under which the Associate Administrator may make
grants to nonprofit organizations, including small business development
centers, women’s business centers, chapters of the Service Corps of Retired
Executives, and other resource partners of the Administration, to provide
technical assistance to primary and secondary schools for the development and
implementation of curricula and mentoring programs designed to promote
entrepreneurship.
(2)A
nonprofit organization desiring a grant under this subsection shall submit to
the Associate Administrator an application that contains—
(A)a description of
the goals of the project to be funded using the grant;
(B)a list of any
partners that plan to participate in the project to be funded using the grant;
and
(C)any other
information that the Associate Administrator determines is necessary.
(3)Not
later than 1 year after the date on which a nonprofit organization receives a
grant under this subsection, the nonprofit organization shall submit to the
Associate Administrator a report that describes—
(A)the individuals
assisted using the grant;
(B)the number of jobs
created or saved through the use of the grant; and
(C)any other
information concerning the use of the grant that the Associate Administrator
may require.
(4)Authorization of
appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this subsection $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013, 2014, and
2015.
.
(b)Report on best
practices of entrepreneurial education and training programs
(1)Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Director of the Office of Entrepreneurial Education shall submit
to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the
Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives a report that
describes best practices of entrepreneurial education and training programs
throughout the United States.
(2)The
report submitted under paragraph (1) shall include—
(A)a description of
any programs that the Director of the Office of Entrepreneurial Education
determines are exemplary, including national programs, regional programs, State
programs, and local programs; and
(B)a summary of
entrepreneurial education and training programs carried out by—
(i)the
Federal Government;
(ii)State and local
governments; and
(iii)nonprofit
organizations and private sector groups.
4.University and
college entrepreneurial education programSection 21 of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 648) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(o)University and
college entrepreneurial education program
(1)A small business development center may apply for a grant
under this subsection to carry out a university and college entrepreneurial
education program.
(2)A program carried out using a grant under this subsection
may include—
(A)connecting
university and college students with small business concerns that are clients
of a small business development center;
(B)providing
assistance to faculty members of universities and colleges with respect to
entrepreneurial education programs for students of the universities and
colleges; and
(C)improving
university and college business curricula or developing university and college
curricula concerning entrepreneurial education.
(3)The
Administration may make grants under this subsection subject to amounts
provided in advance in appropriations
Acts.
.
5.Entrepreneurial
innovators partnership programThe Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et
seq.) is amended by inserting after section 45, as added by this Act, the
following:
46.Entrepreneurial
innovators partnership program
(a)In
this section—
(1)the term
Associate Administrator means the Associate Administrator for
Entrepreneurial Development; and
(2)the term
eligible entity—
(A)means a nonprofit
organization; and
(B)includes a small
business development center, a women's business center, a chapter of the
Service Corps of Retired Executives, or any other nonprofit resource partner of
the Administration.
(b)The Associate Administrator shall establish an
entrepreneurial innovators partnership program under which the Associate
Administrator shall make grants to eligible entities to carry out innovative
programs that expand entrepreneurship, improve partnerships between nonprofit
organizations and entrepreneurs, and promote job creation by small business
concerns.
(c)A grant under this section may be used to develop or
expand—
(1)a program that
promotes entrepreneurship among youth or veterans;
(2)a program under
which students pursing a Masters of Business Administration degree provide free
technical assistance, counseling, or other assistance to small business
concerns;
(3)a program that
provides entrepreneurial education to professional services providers,
including attorneys and accountants; or
(4)any other program
that the Associate Administrator determines is appropriate.
(d)
(1)The
amount of a grant under this section may not exceed $250,000.
(2)
(A)Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the Federal share
of the cost of a project carried out using a grant under this section may not
exceed 50 percent.
(B)The
Federal share of the cost of a project carried out using a grant under this
section may exceed 50 percent if the Associate Administrator determines that
the project would—
(i)assist a program
to become self-sustaining; or
(ii)create not fewer
than 100 new jobs.
(e)
(1)An
eligible entity that desires a grant under this section shall submit an
application to the Associate Administrator at such time and in such form as the
Associate Administrator shall determine.
(2)In
awarding grants the Associate Administrator shall give priority to an
application that—
(A)includes a
proposal for an innovative or novel approach to entrepreneurial
education;
(B)is made by an
eligible entity with demonstrated success in—
(i)creating
jobs;
(ii)increasing the
size of small business concerns; or
(iii)working with
small business concerns; or
(C)includes a
proposal for a program to be carried out through a partnership between
nonprofit organizations, resource partners of the Administration, and
educational institutions.
(f)Authorization of
appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this section $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013, 2014, and
2015.
.
6.Regional
entrepreneurial competitions
(a)The Administrator, acting through the Associate
Administrator for Field Operations, shall establish a program to host regional
competitions and a national conference to address regional challenges through
entrepreneurial research and business planning.
(b)
(1)The regional administrator of each regional office of the
Administration shall—
(A)identify a
prominent public-private issue that challenges a broad range of individuals in
the region;
(B)sponsor a single
regional competition among local small business concerns, inventors, and
entrepreneurs under which persons or groups of persons submit research and
business plans to address the issue identified under subparagraph (A);
(C)provide outreach
to universities, colleges, business communities, industry leaders and
organizations, and nonprofit organizations to promote the competition and to
request proposals for research and business plans;
(D)in coordination
with the Director of the Office of Entrepreneurship Education, select the 3
research or business plans that best address the issue identified under
subparagraph (A); and
(E)submit to the
Administrator a report that contains the research or business plans selected
under subparagraph (D).
(2)
(A)The Administrator, acting through the Associate
Administrator for Field Operations, shall organize a single national conference
for the presentation of the research and business plans selected under
paragraph (1)(D) by the regional administrators.
(B)
(i)The Administrator shall designate 11 employees of the
Administration to serve on a panel that shall select, from among the research
and business plans presented at the conference, 1 plan from each region that
best addresses the issue identified under paragraph (1)(A) for that
region.
(ii)The
Administrator shall designate as a member of the panel under clause (i)—
(I)1
employee of the principal office of the Administration; and
(II)1 employee from
each of the regional offices of the Administration.
(3)
(A)The Administrator shall award a grant of $50,000 to each
person or group of persons who submitted a plan selected under paragraph
(2)(B).
(B)Not
later than 1 year after the date on which the Administrator awards a grant
under subparagraph (A), the recipient of the grant shall submit to the
Administrator a report on the use of the grant.
(4)Authorization of
appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated to the
Administrator $750,000 to carry out this section.
7.Study on
entrepreneurial deferment of student loansNot later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary of
Education, shall submit to Congress a report that includes detailed
recommendations for legislation establishing a program—
(1)to forgive student loans in a manner that
assists youth entrepreneurship by making available capital for business
formation; and
(2)to defer student loan repayments in a
manner that assists youth entrepreneurship by making available capital for
business formation.