[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4059 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4059

     To amend the Small Business Act to create a grant program for 
  governmental and other nonprofit organizations that support startup 
     businesses in formation and early growth stages by providing 
entrepreneurs with resources and services to produce viable businesses, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 14, 2014

Mr. Schneider introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Small Business

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Small Business Act to create a grant program for 
  governmental and other nonprofit organizations that support startup 
     businesses in formation and early growth stages by providing 
entrepreneurs with resources and services to produce viable businesses, 
                        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 ``Accelerate Our Startups Act of 
2014''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR ORGANIZATIONS THAT SUPPORT STARTUP BUSINESSES.

    Add at the end of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) 
the following:

``SEC. 48. GRANTS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS THAT SUPPORT STARTUP 
              BUSINESSES.

    ``(a) Grants.--The Administrator shall develop and implement, 
beginning not later than one year after the date of the enactment of 
this section, a grant program under this section for State and local 
governmental and other nonprofit organizations that are located in the 
United States and support startup businesses in the United States to 
provide those organizations assistance to use for construction costs, 
space acquisition, and programmatic purposes.
    ``(b) Requirement for Recipients.--A recipient of a grant under 
this section must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Administrator 
that it will use the grant to provide assistance to at least 5 client 
businesses per year that have been in business for less than 5 years.
    ``(c) Criteria for Grants.--The Administrator shall establish 
criteria for grants under this section favoring recipients that provide 
startups the following:
            ``(1) Office, manufacturing, or warehouse space, including 
        appropriate operations infrastructure.
            ``(2) Access to capital (either directly from the 
        organization or though guidance and contacts for acquiring 
        capital from outside investors), except that such capital may 
        not be made available from the grant funds (including by making 
        subgrants).
            ``(3) Access to professional services (either directly from 
        the organization or guidance and contacts for acquiring those 
        services) including accounting and legal services, except that 
        litigation expenses may not be made available from the grant 
        funds.
            ``(4) A formal structured mentorship or developmental 
        program that assists startups with building business skills and 
        competencies.
    ``(d) Considerations To Be Applied in Choosing Recipients.--In 
determining whether or not to make a grant under this section to an 
organization, the Administrator shall take into account the following:
            ``(1) If the organization is an existing organization, the 
        previous record of that organization, as measured by--
                    ``(A) the number of participating client businesses 
                each of the previous 3 years, if applicable;
                    ``(B) the number of businesses applying each of the 
                previous 3 years, if applicable;
                    ``(C) the retention rate of client businesses;
                    ``(D) the average duration of client business 
                participation in program; total, average, and median 
                capital raised by participation client businesses;
                    ``(E) the total, average, and median number of 
                employees of participating client businesses; and
                    ``(F) other metrics deemed appropriate by the 
                Administrator.
            ``(2) Promoting growth in underserviced geographic areas 
        with sufficient population density.
            ``(3) How experienced the entrepreneurial leadership of the 
        organization is.
            ``(4) The ability of the organization to utilize and 
        leverage local strengths, including human resources, 
        infrastructure, or educational institutions.
    ``(e) Requirement of Fee Paid by Participating Startups.--Each 
recipient of a grant under this section shall require each 
participating client business in the program assisted under this 
section to pay, at minimum, a entry fee for participation in the 
program.
    ``(f) Matching Public Funding Requirement.--The Small Business 
Administration shall require as condition of grant under this section, 
that the recipient obtain a grant from a local or State government for 
the same purposes as a grant may be made under this section, to carry 
out the program of the recipient assisted under this section. The 
amount of that grant from a local or State government may not be less 
than \1/2\ the amount received by that recipient under this section.
    ``(g) Matching Nonpublic Funding Requirement.--The Small Business 
Administration shall require as condition of grant under this section, 
that the recipient obtain nonpublic (defined as private or nonprofit) 
funding for the same purposes as a grant may be made under this 
section, to carry out the program of the recipient assisted under this 
section. The amount of that funding from a nonpublic source may not be 
less than \1/2\ the amount received by that recipient under this 
section.
    ``(h) Consequences of Failure To Abide by Terms and Conditions of 
Grant or Requirements of This Section.--Each recipient shall be 
notified that failure to abide by the terms and conditions of the grant 
or the requirements of this section may, in the discretion of the 
Administrator and in addition to any other civil or criminal 
consequences, result in recapture by the Administration of the grant 
funds.
    ``(i) Annual Progress Reporting by Recipients of Grants.--Each 
recipient of a grant under this section shall annually report to the 
Administrator on the progress of the program assisted under this 
section, including--
            ``(1) the number of participating client businesses each of 
        the previous 3 years, if applicable;
            ``(2) the number of businesses applying each of the 
        previous 3 years, if applicable;
            ``(3) the retention rate of client businesses;
            ``(4) the average duration of client business participation 
        in program;
            ``(5) the total, average, and median capital raised by 
        participation client businesses;
            ``(6) the total, average, and median number of employees of 
        participating client businesses; and
            ``(7) other metrics deemed appropriate by the 
        Administrator.
    ``(j) Report to Congress.--The Administrator shall report annually 
to Congress the Administrator's assessment of the effectiveness of the 
grant program under this section including the metrics listed in 
subsection (i).
    ``(k) Coordination With Other Small Business Administration 
Programs.--The Administrator shall take appropriate action to encourage 
grantees under this section to utilize and incorporate Small Business 
Administration programs, such as Small Business Development Centers; 
Small Business Investment Companies, section 7(a) loans, and section 
504 loans.
    ``(l) Listing on Website.--The Administrator shall include a list 
of recipients of the grants under this section on the Small Business 
Administration website.
    ``(m) Definition.--In this section, the term `State' includes the 
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any other 
territory or possession of the United States.
    ``(n) Authorization of Appropriation.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for each fiscal year 
beginning with the first fiscal year that begins after the date of the 
enactment of this Act and each of the succeeding 4 fiscal years.''.
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