118 HR 4499 IH: Increasing and Developing Entrepreneurship Access Act of 2023 U.S. House of Representatives 2023-07-06 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I118th CONGRESS1st SessionH. R. 4499IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESJuly 6, 2023Ms. Stevens (for herself and Mrs. Beatty) 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 concernedA BILLTo establish a grant program to provide minority business enterprises access to entrepreneurship opportunities, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Increasing and Developing Entrepreneurship Access Act of 2023 or the IDEA Act of 2023.

2.

Grants to provide minority business enterprises access to entrepreneurship opportunities

(a)

Establishment

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development shall establish a program to provide grants to business accelerator entities to provide entrepreneurship opportunities to minority business enterprises.(b)

Application

The Under Secretary may provide a grant under this section to a business accelerator entity only if the entity submits to the Under Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Under Secretary may reasonably require.(c)

Amount and duration

The amount of a grant provided under this section shall be $1,000,000 each year for five consecutive years.(d)

Federal share

The Federal share of a grant provided this section to a business accelerator entity may not exceed 75 percent of the total amount of funds provided by the entity to carry out activities using grant funds.(e)

Use of funds

(1)

In general

A grant provided under this section shall be used by a business accelerator entity to provide—(A)capital, including direct cash transfers of grant funds, to minority business enterprises in the region; (B)networking programs that connect minority business enterprises to sources of capital and innovation in the region; and(C)any other assistance that the Under Secretary determines to be appropriate for minority business enterprises in the region.(2)

Region described

A region described in this subsection is a region in which not less than 15 minority business enterprises with revenues not less than $250,000 are located. (f)

Report

The Under Secretary shall submit to Congress, for each fiscal year in which the Under Secretary provides grants under this section, a report on the program established under this section, including—(1)an identification of the number of grants provided in such fiscal year and the total amount of such grants;(2)an identification of the number of minority business enterprises that have received assistance from such entities in such fiscal year; and(3)a description of any noncompliance by any business accelerator entity and the amount of funds such entity has received.(g)

Misdemeanor

A business accelerator entity that receives a grant under this section that knowingly uses amounts under the grant for any purpose not otherwise permitted under the program established by this section or who knowingly attempts to do so, shall be fined as provided in title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.(h)

Definitions

In this section:(1)

Business accelerator entity

The term business accelerator entity means an entity that—(A)engages in a partnership with public or private organizations that target minority business enterprises;(B)provides opportunities to scale minority owned business enterprises through seed investment or networking opportunities; or(C)offers start-up capital or opportunities to raise capital from outside investors for minority business enterprises.(2)

Minority business enterprise

The term minority business enterprise has the meaning given such term in section 1108(a) of the CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9007(a)).(3)

Under Secretary

The term Under Secretary means the Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development. (i)

Authorization of appropriations

There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2024 through 2028.