[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2521 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2521

 To require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to 
        establish an SBIC Working Group, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 28, 2021

 Mr. Cardin (for himself and Mr. Risch) introduced the following bill; 
 which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business 
                          and Entrepreneurship

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to 
        establish an SBIC Working Group, 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 ``SBIC Working Group Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. SBIC WORKING GROUP.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the terms ``Administration'' and ``Administrator'' mean 
        the Small Business Administration and the Administrator 
        thereof, respectively;
            (2) the term ``covered Members'' means the Chair and 
        Ranking Member of--
                    (A) the Committee on Small Business and 
                Entrepreneurship of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Small Business of the House of 
                Representatives;
            (3) the terms ``licensee'', ``small business investment 
        company'', and ``underlicensed State'' have the meanings given 
        those terms in section 301 of the Small Business Investment Act 
        of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 662);
            (4) the term ``low-income community'' has the meaning given 
        the term in section 45D(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
        1986;
            (5) the term ``rural area'' has the meaning given the term 
        by the Bureau of the Census;
            (6) the terms ``small business concern'', ``small business 
        concern owned and controlled by veterans'', and ``small 
        business concern owned and controlled by women'' have the 
        meanings given those terms in section 3 of the Small Business 
        Act (15 U.S.C. 632);
            (7) the term ``socially or economically disadvantaged 
        individual'' means a socially disadvantaged individual or 
        economically disadvantaged individual, as described in 
        paragraphs (5) and (6)(A), respectively, of section 8(a) of the 
        Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(a));
            (8) the term ``underfinanced State'' means a State that has 
        below median financing, as determined by the Administrator; and
            (9) the term ``underserved community'' means--
                    (A) a HUBZone, as defined in section 31(b) of the 
                Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657a(b));
                    (B) a community that has been designated as an 
                empowerment zone or an enterprise community under 
                section 1391 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
                    (C) a community that has been designated as a 
                promise zone by the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
                Development; and
                    (D) a community that has been designated as a 
                qualified opportunity zone under section 1400Z-1 of the 
                Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
    (b) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date on which 
the covered Members submit to the Administrator a notification that the 
covered Members have made all selections described in subparagraphs 
(A)(ii), (B)(ii), and (D) of paragraph (1) (and that the individuals so 
selected have accepted those assignments), the Administrator shall 
establish an SBIC Working Group (referred to in this section as the 
``Working Group''), which shall--
            (1) include--
                    (A) 4 representatives--
                            (i) among general partners of licensees 
                        that have a demonstrated record of investing 
                        in--
                                    (I) low-income communities;
                                    (II) communities that have been 
                                designated as qualified opportunity 
                                zones under section 1400Z-1 of the 
                                Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
                                    (III) businesses primarily engaged 
                                in research and development;
                                    (IV) manufacturers;
                                    (V) businesses primarily owned or 
                                controlled by individuals in 
                                underserved communities before 
                                receiving capital from the licensee; 
                                and
                                    (VI) rural areas; and
                            (ii) of whom--
                                    (I) 1 shall be selected by the 
                                Chair of the Committee on Small 
                                Business and Entrepreneurship of the 
                                Senate;
                                    (II) 1 shall be selected by the 
                                Ranking Member of the Committee on 
                                Small Business and Entrepreneurship of 
                                the Senate;
                                    (III) 1 shall be selected by the 
                                Chair of the Committee on Small 
                                Business of the House of 
                                Representatives; and
                                    (IV) 1 shall be selected by the 
                                Ranking Member of the Committee on 
                                Small Business of the House of 
                                Representatives;
                    (B) 4 representatives--
                            (i) from licensees, of whom 1 shall be an 
                        owner of a small business investment company or 
                        fund manager that is located in--
                                    (I) a low-income community;
                                    (II) a community that has been 
                                designated as a qualified opportunity 
                                zone under section 1400Z-1 of the 
                                Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
                                    (III) an underserved community;
                                    (IV) a rural area; or
                                    (V) an underfinanced State; and
                            (ii) of whom--
                                    (I) 1 shall be selected by the 
                                Chair of the Committee on Small 
                                Business and Entrepreneurship of the 
                                Senate;
                                    (II) 1 shall be selected by the 
                                Ranking Member of the Committee on 
                                Small Business and Entrepreneurship of 
                                the Senate;
                                    (III) 1 shall be selected by the 
                                Chair of the Committee on Small 
                                Business of the House of 
                                Representatives; and
                                    (IV) 1 shall be selected by the 
                                Ranking Member of the Committee on 
                                Small Business of the House of 
                                Representatives;
                    (C) the Associate Administrator for the Office of 
                Investment and Innovation of the Administration, who 
                shall--
                            (i) serve as the Chair of the Working 
                        Group; and
                            (ii) select not more than 4 additional 
                        representatives from the Office of Investment 
                        and Innovation of the Administration to serve 
                        as representatives of the Working Group; and
                    (D) 4 representatives from the investment industry 
                or academia, or who are bank limited partners, with 
                expertise in developing and monitoring interventions to 
                expand the investment industry, of whom--
                            (i) 1 shall be selected by the Chair of the 
                        Committee on Small Business and 
                        Entrepreneurship of the Senate;
                            (ii) 1 shall be selected by the Ranking 
                        Member of the Committee on Small Business and 
                        Entrepreneurship of the Senate;
                            (iii) 1 shall be selected by the Chair of 
                        the Committee on Small Business of the House of 
                        Representatives; and
                            (iv) 1 shall be selected by the Ranking 
                        Member of the Committee on Small Business of 
                        the House of Representatives;
            (2) develop recommendations regarding how the Administrator 
        could increase the number of--
                    (A) applicants to become small business investment 
                companies, with a focus on management teams or 
                companies located in--
                            (i) low-income communities;
                            (ii) communities that have been designated 
                        as qualified opportunity zones under section 
                        1400Z-1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
                            (iii) underserved communities; and
                            (iv) rural areas; and
                    (B) investments made in underfinanced States;
            (3) develop recommendations for incentives for small 
        business investment companies to--
                    (A) invest and locate in underlicensed States and 
                underfinanced States; and
                    (B) invest in small business concerns, including 
                those owned and controlled by socially or economically 
                disadvantaged individuals, small business concerns 
                owned and controlled by veterans, and small business 
                concerns owned and controlled by women; and
            (4) develop recommendations for metrics of success, and 
        benchmarks for success, with respect to the goals described in 
        this section.
    (c) Availability of Meetings.--The Working Group may make the 
meetings of the Working Group open to the public without regard to 
whether those meetings are held in-person, virtually, or by some other 
means.
    (d) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date on which the 
Administrator establishes the Working Group under subsection (b), the 
Working Group 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 includes--
            (1) the recommendations of the Working Group; and
            (2) a recommended plan and timeline for implementing the 
        recommendations described in paragraph (1).
    (e) Termination.--The Working Group shall terminate on the date on 
which the Working Group submits the report required under subsection 
(d).
    (f) Applicability of Federal Advisory Committee Act.--The Federal 
Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply with respect to 
the Working Group or the activities of the Working Group.
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