[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7844 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7844

 To authorize the Director of the Minority Business Development Agency 
   of the Department of Commerce to provide assistance for nonprofit 
  economic development organizations to provide services for low- and 
 moderate-income individuals who are aspiring entrepreneurs or seeking 
    employment and for owners of smaller businesses, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 29, 2020

Mr. Panetta (for himself, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Ms. Sanchez, and Mr. 
    Gomez) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on 
   Small Business, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize the Director of the Minority Business Development Agency 
   of the Department of Commerce to provide assistance for nonprofit 
  economic development organizations to provide services for low- and 
 moderate-income individuals who are aspiring entrepreneurs or seeking 
    employment and for owners of smaller 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 ``Community Economic Development 
Center Support Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that, in the United States--
            (1) the number of African-American business owners dropped 
        from 1.1 million to 640,000, or 41 percent, from February 2020 
        to April 2020;
            (2) the number of immigrant business owners dropped from 
        3.1 million to 2 million, or 36 percent, from February 2020 to 
        April 2020;
            (3) the number of Latinx business owners dropped from 2.1 
        million to 1.4 million, or 32 percent, from February 2020 to 
        April 2020;
            (4) the number of Asian-American business owners dropped 
        from 890,000 to 657,000, or 26 percent, from February 2020 to 
        April 2020; and
            (5) the number of Native American business owners dropped 
        from 12 million to 9.7 million, or 18 percent, from February 
        2020 to April 2020.

SEC. 3. PROGRAM AUTHORITY.

    The Director of the Minority Business Development Agency of the 
Department of Commerce shall carry out a program under this Act to 
provide financial assistance, through eligible intermediaries, for 
providing financial and technical assistance to eligible minority-
serving economic development organizations that provide services to 
benefit low- and moderate-income individuals who are aspiring 
entrepreneurs or seeking employment, or both, and to owners of 
businesses having annual revenues in an amount less than $500,000.

SEC. 4. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Grants.--The Director shall select, and make grants under this 
Act to, multiple eligible intermediaries.
    (b) Use of Assistance by Eligible Intermediaries.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and 
        (3), an eligible intermediary that receives a grant under this 
        Act shall use the grant amounts to provide grants to eligible 
        minority-serving community development organizations for use 
        for carrying out economic development activities of such 
        organizations, including activities described in section 
        5(1)(A).
            (2) Capacity building expenses.--An eligible intermediary 
        that receives a grant under this Act may use not more than 5 
        percent of the grant to provide training and technical 
        assistance activities designed primarily to build the capacity 
        of eligible minority-serving economic development 
        organizations.
            (3) Indirect expenses.--An eligible intermediary that 
        receives a grant under this Act may use not more than 5 percent 
        of the grant amounts for indirect expenses incurred in 
        disbursing and administering such grants.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act, the following definitions shall apply:
            (1) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Minority Business Development Agency of the Department of 
        Commerce.
            (2) Eligible intermediary.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``eligible intermediary'' 
                means a nonprofit organization that--
                            (i) operates on a national basis;
                            (ii) has demonstrated experience in 
                        delivering and administering grants and 
                        capacity-building support to eligible minority-
                        serving economic development organizations; and
                            (iii) has a governing board or executive 
                        leadership that reasonably reflects the 
                        communities to be served by the organization 
                        with assistance provided pursuant to this 
                        section, with respect to race, ethnicity, and 
                        tribal affiliation.
                    (B) Exclusions.--Such term does not include--
                            (i) any organization that has received 
                        funding through the Small Business Development 
                        Center, Women's Business Center, or SCORE 
                        programs of the Small Business Administration 
                        or the intermediary funding program of the 
                        Department of Housing and Urban Development 
                        under section 4 of the HUD Demonstration Act of 
                        1993 (42 U.S.C. 9816 note); or
                            (ii) the Neighborhood Reinvestment 
                        Corporation.
            (3) Eligible minority-serving economic development 
        organization.--The term ``eligible minority-serving economic 
        development organization'' means a nonprofit organization 
        that--
                    (A) has among its primary functions--
                            (i) providing technical assistance related 
                        to the formation, operation, and expansion of 
                        smaller businesses having annual revenues of 
                        less than $500,000;
                            (ii) lending to and equity investment in 
                        small businesses to facilitate growth and 
                        sustainability; and
                            (iii) providing training, skills 
                        development, and technical assistance to 
                        aspiring entrepreneurs and individuals who are 
                        independent contractors for purposes of Form 
                        1099 of the Internal Revenue Service; and
                    (B) primarily serves low- and moderate-income 
                persons and communities that are--
                            (i) African-American and other Black 
                        communities, Hispanic, including Afro-Latino 
                        communities, Asian and Pacific American 
                        communities, Native Hawaiian communities, 
                        Native American communities, or Alaskan Native 
                        communities; or
                            (ii) immigrants or refugees,
                as such terms are defined by the Director.

SEC. 6. OTHER REQUIREMENTS.

     The Director shall by notice establish other such requirements as 
may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act and such 
notice shall take effect upon issuance.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to the Director $75,000,000 
for grants under this Act.
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