[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 112 (Wednesday, July 25, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5383-S5401]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself and Mr. Hatch):
S. 3431. A bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act to more
effectively regulate anabolic steroids; to the Committee on the
Judiciary.
Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, today I am pleased to join Senator
Hatch in introducing the bipartisan Designer Anabolic Steroid Control
Act of 2012. This measure will help keep American children and families
safe from dangerous designer drugs that masquerade as healthy dietary
supplements. This legislation is based on Senator Specter's work in the
previous Congress, and I thank him for his leadership on this issue.
Doctors and scientists have long recognized the health hazards of
non-medical use of anabolic steroids. For that reason, Congress has
previously acted to ensure that these drugs are listed as controlled
substances. Nonetheless, according to investigative reporting and
Congressional testimony, a loophole in current law allows for designer
anabolic steroids to easily be found on the Internet, in gyms, and even
in retail stores.
Designer steroids are produced by reverse engineering existing
illegal steroids and then slightly modifying the chemical composition,
so that the resulting product is not on the Drug Enforcement
Administration's, DEA, list of controlled substances. When taken by
consumers, designer steroids can cause serious medical consequences,
including liver injury and increased risk of heart attack and stroke.
They may also lead to psychological effects such as aggression,
hostility, and addiction.
These designer products can be even more dangerous than traditional
steroids because they are often untested, produced from overseas raw
materials, and manufactured without quality controls. As one witness
testified at a Crime Subcommittee hearing in the last Congress, ``all
it takes to cash in on the storefront steroid craze is a credit card to
import raw products from China or India where most of the raw
ingredients come from, the ability to pour powders into a bottle or
pill and a printer to create shiny, glossy labels.''
The unscrupulous actors responsible for manufacturing and selling
these products often market them with misleading and inaccurate labels.
That can cause consumers who are looking for a healthy supplement--not
just elite athletes, but also high school students, law enforcement
personnel, and mainstream Americans--to be deceived into taking these
dangerous products.
Loopholes in existing law allow these dangerous designer steroids to
evade regulation. Under current law, in order to classify new
substances as steroids, the DEA must complete a burdensome and time-
consuming series of chemical and pharmacological testing. As a DEA
official testified before Congress: ``in the time that it takes DEA to
administratively schedule an anabolic steroid used in a dietary
supplement product, several new products can enter the market to take
the place of those products.''
The Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2012 would quickly
protect consumers from these dangerous products. First, it would
immediately place 27 known designer anabolic steroids on the list of
controlled substances. Second, it would grant the DEA authority to
temporarily schedule new designer steroids on the controlled substances
list, so that if bad actors develop new variations, these products can
be removed from the market. Third, it would create new penalties for
importing, manufacturing, or distributing anabolic steroid's under
false labels.
Senator Hatch and I have worked closely with a range of consumer and
industry organizations to ensure that this legislation would not
interfere with consumers' access to legitimate dietary supplements. I
am pleased that the measure has been endorsed by the United States
Anti-Doping Agency, the Alliance for Natural Health, the Council for
Responsible Nutrition, the American Herbal Products Association, the
Natural Products Association, the Consumer Health Products Association,
and the United Natural Products Alliance.
I thank these organizations for their support, and look forward to
working with them, with Senator Hatch, and with colleagues from both
sides of the aisle to enact this common sense measure into law.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that letters of support be
printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record as follows:
American Herbal Products
Association,
Silver Spring, MD, July 23, 2012.
Hon. Orrin Hatch,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Sheldon Whitehouse,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senators Hatch and Whitehouse, This letter is to
communicate to you the support of the American Herbal
Products Association (AHPA) for your pending legislation, the
Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2012. AHPA
recognizes the need to more effectively regulate anabolic
steroids, as this bill's amendment of the Controlled
Substances Act would do. The expanded controls on these
substances that would be implemented by your legislation
would protect consumers by better ensuring that these are not
misrepresented as legitimate dietary supplements, when
clearly they are not.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if there is anything
that AHPA and its members can do to assist in the passage of
this important legislation.
Sincerely,
Michael McGuffin,
President.
____
Natural Products Association,
Washington, DC, July 23, 2012.
Hon. Orrin Hatch,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Senator Hatch, I write today on behalf of the Natural
Products Association (NPA) to thank you for introducing the
Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2012 (DASCA). As the
leading representative of the dietary supplement industry
with over 1,900 members, including suppliers and retailers of
vitamins and other dietary supplements, NPA works to ensure
that consumers have access to safe dietary supplements. We
believe that this bill will make the marketplace safer.
Our support for this legislation demonstrates NPA's
commitment to removing anabolic steroids, which are not
dietary ingredients, from the market. NPA has worked in
conjunction with the FDA to bring attention to spiked
products masquerading as dietary supplements. This bill helps
protect consumers who believe they are purchasing ``legal''
supplements but may suffer health effects from steroid use.
Even with the passage of the Anabolic Steroid Control Act
of 2004, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has
removed very few substances. The DEA has to follow a strict
set of testing standards to schedule a substance and remove
it from the market. This process can take up to three years
to complete; but while this process is taking place, the
products remain on the market. This bill gives the DEA the
power to temporarily remove products from the market while
testing is completed, giving them the ability to stay ahead
of the individuals who are creating these designer drugs.
Thank you for introducing this important legislation and
your tireless work on behalf of the dietary supplement
industry.
Regards,
John Shaw,
NPA Executive Director and CEO.
[[Page S5384]]
____
Council for Responsible Nutrition,
July 20, 2012.
Re Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act (DASCA).
Hon. Orrin Hatch,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Sheldon Whitehouse,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senators Hatch and Whitehouse: On behalf of the
Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) \1\ and its members,
I am writing to express our support for the Designer Anabolic
Steroid Control Act (DASCA). We want to thank you both for
your commitment to providing the Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA) with new authority to place designer
anabolic steroids on the Controlled Substance Schedules more
expeditiously and providing that agency with new tools to
quickly respond when new anabolic substances are introduced.
This legislation will provide DEA with new enforcement tools
to prosecute irresponsible and disreputable companies that
develop and market anabolic steroids as products labeled as
dietary supplements. Your efforts in this regard are
laudable, and CRN stands in support of your legislation.
Misbranded products that contain designer anabolic steroids
present serious health risks to consumers, particularly young
men who are unaware of the dangers of anabolic steroid use.
Maintaining the trust of consumers in the safety and benefit
of dietary supplements is essential to preserving a vibrant
market for legitimate dietary supplements. Currently,
unscrupulous companies can design these illicit substances
and illegally introduce them into the dietary supplement
marketplace before DEA can demonstrate their anabolic effects
and declare them controlled substances under the present law.
We believe DASCA's provisions will go a long way to help DEA
more quickly identify and restrict new designer anabolic
steroids by declaring them to be ``controlled substances.''
It will allow DEA to target substances whose chemical
structures mimic other anabolic steroids and whose
manufacturers and marketers promote their anabolic or muscle-
building effects. This legislation will assuage concerns of
Americans who use sports supplements, and foster an even
greater working relationship between FDA, DEA and
responsible, mainstream industry. DASCA is strong step
forward, adding teeth to prevention and enforcement efforts
in the battle against steroid abuse.
CRN understands that you intend to request this legislation
be referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, whose
jurisdiction traditionally handles DEA and controlled
substance issues. We hope the committee will give the
legislation expedient and thoughtful consideration on its way
to passage by the full Senate, and are eager to work with
your office to ensure that the Judiciary Committee
understands the concerns of industry and consumers that have
led to this bill. CRN stands ready to work with you and all
of Congress to deliver a strong bill to the President.
Please don't hesitate to contact me or Mike Greene on my
staff at 202-204-7690 or [email protected] if CRN may be of
any assistance in your endeavors.
Best regards,
Steve Mister,
President and CEO.
____
United Natural Products Alliance,
Salt Lake city, UT, July 23, 2012.
Hon. Sheldon Whitehouse,
Hon. Orrin Hatch,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senators Whitehouse and Hatch: Thank you for your
considerable efforts to draft the ``Designer Anabolic Steroid
Control Act of 2012'' and to close loopholes that might allow
continued sale of anabolic steroids, steroid lookalikes or
steroid precursors--all of which are a significant threat to
public health. We greatly commend your work.
The United Natural Products Alliance has appreciated the
opportunity to work with you in developing this bill. As you
know, sale of the products it would address are a significant
concern to our members who believe, quite simply, these
products should be outlawed.
We have reviewed your most recent legislation and wanted to
advise you we are completely in support of the goals of this
legislation. We do have minor drafting concerns, which have
been shared with your staff, and we appreciate their
commitment to address these issues as the legislation moves
forward.
Thank you again for your work on this important issue.
Kind regards,
Loren Israelsen,
Executive Director.
____
Consumers Healthcare
Products Association,
Washington, DC, July 23, 2012.
Hon. Sheldon Whitehouse,
Senate Committee on the Judiciary,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Orrin Hatch,
Senate Committee on the Judiciary,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senators Whitehouse and Hatch: On behalf of the more
than 200 members of the Consumer Healthcare Products
Association, the 131-year-old trade association representing
the leading U.S. manufacturers and distributors of over-the-
counter (OTC) medicines and dietary supplements, thank you
for sponsoring the Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act
(DASCA).
This important legislation would designate additional
chemicals as anabolic steroids, and increase the penalties
for violators of anabolic steroid labeling laws, specifically
those rogue supplement manufacturers that ``spike'' their
products with anabolic steroids and attempt to pass them off
as dietary supplements. We applaud introduction of this
legislation to further protect the public health of our
citizens, and pledge to work closely with you and your staff
to advance this bill.
Please do not hesitate to call on us if you need any
assistance, and thank you, again, for your leadership on this
important issue.
Sincerely,
Scott M. Melville,
President and CEO.
____
Alliance for Natural Health USA,
Washington, DC, July 23, 2012.
Hon. Orrin Hatch,
United States Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Hatch: The Alliance for Natural Health USA
strongly supports the Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act
(DASCA) of 2012. Not only are anabolic steroids masquerading
as nutritional supplements illegal, they also risk the health
of those who use them, and tarnish the reputation of the
dietary supplement industry. The harm from these steroid-
tainted supplements is real. Health risks include serious
liver injury, stroke, kidney failure, and pulmonary embolism.
It is clear that the complex and cumbersome regulatory
system has failed to stop designer anabolic steroids. We
understand that your bill closes the loopholes in laws that
currently allow the creation and easy distribution of
anabolic steroids masquerading as dietary supplements.
We are thankful for the opportunity to discuss the bill
with your staff, and support its passage.
Sincerely,
Gretchen DuBeau,
Executive and Legal Director.
____
United States Anti-Doping Agency,
Colorado Springs, CO, July 23, 2012.
Senator Orrin G. Hatch,
Hart Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse,
Hart Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Hatch and Senator Whitehouse: On behalf of the
United States Anti-Doping Agency (``USADA''), I am writing to
express our full support for the Designer Anabolic Control
Steroid Act of 2012. As the Congressionally recognized
independent anti-doping agency for the U.S. Olympic,
Paralympic and Pan American movement, USADA represents
literally millions of participants including athletes,
coaches and sports organizers who want to ensure sport in
this country continues to be a teacher of life lessons for
participants at all ages, is safe and drug free and that
clean athletes can compete and win without having to resort
to using dangerous performance enhancing drugs.
As we have seen over the last few years the current law
regulating dietary supplements has been exploited by rogue
manufacturers who have produced and sold products
masquerading as otherwise safe and legitimate dietary
supplements that are not but are in fact illegal products
containing steroids and other prohibited performance
enhancing drugs. This legislation is important to USADA and
our mission in order to close this loophole and ensure these
fly-by-night operations cannot easily and without risk
continue to produce these products.
We greatly appreciate your efforts in drafting and
introducing the Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2012
and look forward to assisting you in any way possible to
achieve its passage into law at the earliest opportunity.
Sincerely,
Travis T. Tygart,
Chief Executive Officer.
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I am pleased to cosponsor the Designer
Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2012, DASCA, introduced by Senator
Whitehouse. The use of anabolic steroids or dietary supplements that
contain designer steroids may trigger numerous adverse health effects,
and thus Congress has passed legislation over the years to address
these chemicals.
The Drug Enforcement Agency, DEA, continues to investigate and
uncover dietary supplement products that contain either controlled
anabolic steroids or designer steroids that are structurally similar to
testosterone. In the tin that it takes the DEA to administratively
schedule an anabolic steroid used in a dietary supplement product,
several new products can enter the market to take its place. Certain
individuals have taken advantage of this
[[Page S5385]]
lengthy DEA administrative process by continuing to create and market
new derivative products by substituting and altering the testosterone
molecule and then marketing them as ``dietary supplements.'' Very
often, these new formulations have not been adequately tested.
I worked in the previous Congress on legislation to address this
issue and continued that work with Senator Whitehouse to develop a bill
that would amend the Controlled Substances Act to expand the list of
substances defined as anabolic steroids, and authorize the Attorney
General to issue a temporary order adding a drug or substance to the
list of anabolic steroids. The bill would also create new criminal and
civil penalties for importing, manufacturing, or selling any product
containing an anabolic steroid unless it bears a label clearly
identifying the chemicals contained in the product.
This bill is supported by American Herbal Products Association, AHPA,
Natural Products Association, NPA, Council for Responsible Nutrition,
CRN, United Natural Products Alliance, UNPA, Consumer Healthcare
Products Association, CHPA, Alliance for Natural Health, ANH, and the
U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, USADA.
______
By Ms. SNOWE (for herself and Mr. Warner):
S. 3433. A bill to require a radio spectrum inventory of bands
managed by the Federal Communications Commission and the National
Telecommunications & Information Administration; to the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today, along with Senator Warner, to
reintroduce the Radio Spectrum Inventory Act. Simply put, in order to
make more spectrum available to meet the growing demand for wireless
broadband and other radio-based services, decision makers at the FCC,
NTIA, and Congress must have a clear, detailed, up-to-date
understanding of how spectrum is currently being used and by whom--data
essential to sound policy decisions.
Specifically, the Radio Spectrum Inventory Act directs the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration, NTIA, the Federal
Communications Commission, FCC, with assistance from the Office of
Science and Technology, to create a comprehensive and accurate
inventory of each spectrum band, at a minimum, between 300 Megahertz to
6.5 Gigahertz. The information collected would include the licenses
assigned in that band, number and type of end-user devices deployed,
amount of deployed infrastructure, type of missions and activities
supported in the band, as well as any relevant unlicensed end user
devices operating in the band. This information is fundamental to
constructing a comprehensive framework for spectrum policy.
The Radio Spectrum Inventory Act also provides more transparency
related to spectrum use by creating a centralized website or portal
that would include relevant spectrum and license information accessible
by the public. Given that radio spectrum is a public good, we are
obligated to provide the public more clarity and accountability on how
it is being utilized by both Federal and non-Federal licensees. But let
me be clear, given the sensitive nature of some spectrum assignments
and allocations, this bill makes the appropriate disclosure exceptions
for spectrum utilized or reserved for national security and public
safety activities.
A comprehensive inventory is a critical step in reforming our
spectrum policy and management. The FCC manages over 2 million active
licenses and NTIA administers more than 450,000 frequency assignments.
And while I appreciate the FCC's effort in conducting a ``baseline''
inventory and NTIA's evaluation--both the fast track and ten year
plan--I do not believe they are sufficient substitutes to conducting a
full inventory since those efforts were limited in scope and seemingly
didn't capture or make available more detailed data on spectrum use.
In addition, there has been a growing call for a comprehensive
spectrum inventory from Members of Congress, former FCC officials, and
industry--even the House Energy & Commerce Committee bipartisan Federal
Spectrum Working Group requested what amounts to a complete inventory
of Federal frequency assignments between 300 MHz and 3 GHz. But if we
are to examine Federal use, we must also look at non-Federal use in
order to gain a truly comprehensive picture and understanding of the
heterogeneous spectrum ecosystem.
The ultimate goals this legislation sets the path towards achieving
are to implement more efficient use of spectrum and to locate
additional spectrum to meet the future demands of all spectrum users--
commercial, Federal, and military. A comprehensive inventory would
yield a significant amount more of data that would be extremely useful
for conducting measurements, implementing more robust management, and
developing greater strategic planning of spectrum resources.
With the enactment of P.L. 112-96 earlier this year, Congress took a
notable but incremental step in an effort to free up additional
spectrum to meet the growing demand of wireless broadband. As I have
stated before, I believe more can and must be done to meet the future
needs of all spectrum users and properly address existing spectrum
challenges. This includes a comprehensive spectrum inventory, more
strategic and longterm planning of spectrum resources, and greater
collaboration between the FCC and NTIA. In addition, we must also
continually promote more investment in infrastructure and foster
greater technical innovation. That is why I sincerely hope that my
colleagues join Senator Warner and me in supporting this critical
legislation and continuing our focus on implementing spectrum reform.
______
By Ms. SNOWE (for herself and Mr. Warner):
S. 3439. A bill to amend title 40, United States Code, to direct the
Administrator of General Services to install Wi-Fi hotspots and
wireless neutral host systems in all Federal buildings in order to
improve in-building wireless communications coverage and commercial
network capacity by offloading wireless traffic onto wireline broadband
networks; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today, along with Senator Warner, to
reintroduce pro-consumer wireless legislation, which will improve
wireless coverage indoors. Specifically, the Federal Wi-Net Act would
require the installation of small wireless base stations, such as
femtocells or similar technologies, and Wi-Fi hot-spots in all publicly
accessible Federal buildings to improve wireless coverage and network
capacity.
Over the past several years, there has been growing concern about a
looming spectrum crisis given the significant growth in the wireless
industry. Currently, there are more than 331 million wireless
subscribers in the U.S., and American consumers used more than 2.3
trillion minutes in 2010--that is more than 6.4 billion minutes per
day. And while the foundation for wireless services has been voice
communication, more subscribers are utilizing it for broadband.
According to Cisco, global mobile data traffic grew 159 percent in
2010, nearly tripling for the third year in a row. That growth is only
expected to continue--there is expected to be over seven billion mobile
devices globally by 2015 producing more than six exabytes per month. To
put it in context, all the words ever spoken by human beings would
equate to five exabytes worth of data.
To meet this growing demand, a multi-faceted solution is required
that includes fostering technological advancement and more robust
spectrum management. Technologies, such as femtocells, distributed
antenna system, DAS, and Wi-Fi hotspots, will help alleviate growing
wireless demand by offloading that traffic onto wireline broadband
networks. The Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission
recently announced plans to open a proceeding on utilizing small cells
in the 3.5 GHz band. And a recent spectrum report by the President's
Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, PCAST, highlighted how
reducing cell sizes of wireless networks to femtocell or Wi-Fi ranges
could provide 400 times as much aggregate network capacity than current
macro cells network topologies.
To that point, the need is there--approximately 40 percent of cell
phone
[[Page S5386]]
calls are made indoors and more than 26 percent of U.S. households have
``cut-the-cord,'' relying solely on cell phones to make voice calls. On
the data side, Cisco's Virtual Network Index reports approximately 60
percent of mobile Internet use is done inside--either at home or at
work. Consumers are also utilizing Wi-Fi more frequently--more than 80
percent of smartphone users prefer Wi-Fi connections over cellular for
mobile data usage, and approximately 75 percent of tablet users use Wi-
Fi connections only. In addition, several new tablets, such as the
Microsoft Surface, Google Nexus 7, and Samsung Galaxy Tab, were
introduced as Wi-Fi only versions.
As the FCC's National Broadband Plan highlights, most smartphones
sold today have Wi-Fi capabilities to take advantage of the growing
ubiquity of Wi-Fi routers and devices. According to a May 2011 report
from comScore, approximately 48 percent of all iPhone traffic was
transported over Wi-Fi/LAN networks. So installing more mini-base
stations, such as femtocells, DAS, and Wi-Fi hotspots will improve
indoor coverage and wireless network capacity. It will also increase
battery life of phones and tablets since the indoor signal will be
stronger so devices will use less power.
The increasing importance of wireless communications and broadband
has a direct correlation to our nation's competitiveness, economy, and
national security and therefore demands we make the appropriate changes
to current spectrum policy and management to avert a spectrum crisis
and continue to realize the boundless benefits of spectrum-based
services. Congress has taken some steps but more must be done. That is
why I sincerely hope that my colleagues join Senator Warner and me in
supporting this important legislation.
______
By Ms. LANDRIEU:
S. 3442. A bill to provide tax incentives for small businesses,
improve programs of the Small Business Administration, and for other
purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to discuss the
importance of small businesses in the United States. It cannot be
stated enough that small businesses are the economic engines of our
country. Small businesses also represent the essence of the American
Dream. They are creators of new jobs and innovative technologies. In
fact, over the last 15 years, businesses employing less than 500 people
have created 93 percent of all new jobs and employed 58.6 million
workers. Businesses employing less than 20 people alone employed 21.3
million workers. In my home state of Louisiana, small businesses make
up about 98 percent of businesses. As Chair of the Senate Committee on
Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I remain focused on the needs of
these small businesses. That is why I am here today to introduce a bill
that I believe will help spur job creation among small businesses.
As you know, right now our country is still mired in an historic
economic downturn. This economic downturn is disproportionately
affecting small businesses and, in turn, stifling opportunities for
them to generate economic growth for the country. Sadly, since November
2008 80 percent of the job losses have come from small businesses. 2.16
million jobs were lost in the private sector from July to February
2008--nearly half from businesses with less than 50 employees. While
corporate layoffs get the headlines, small business layoffs increase
the breadlines. Ten jobs lost here and five jobs there add up. These
are the job losses that hurt our economy, our communities and our
families.
With this in mind, I was proud to lead Congressional efforts to enact
the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, Public Law 111-240. President
Obama signed this legislation into law on September 27, 2010. This
legislation focused on the three ``C's'' important to small businesses:
Capital, Contracting, and Counseling. 332 community banks in 47 states
have received $4.01 billion in funding from the Small Business Lending
Fund in the bill, which is $9.3 billion in leverage potential for small
businesses. Furthermore, a total of 54 states/territories applied for
funding through the Small Business State Credit Initiative Program to
support State-run small business lending programs. Approximately, $1.3
billion for 47 states and territories has been approved. Lastly, $30
million of Round 1 of State Trade and Export, STEP, export grant
funding was awarded in the Fall 2011 to 52 states and territories to
promote small business exports. To date, the Small Business Jobs Act
has provided an important boost to small businesses looking to get
credit or open new markets overseas.
Given the importance of small businesses to our economy, I believe
that there is no better time than now for Congress to build off the
success of the Small Business Jobs Act. But the key question is how to
best assist our country's 28 million small businesses? This is
complicated because Federal law defines a small business as ``those
having 500 employees or less.'' They may all fit under the same broad
category of small business, but they are not all the same. So it makes
no sense for the Federal government or Congress to have a ``one size
fits all'' policy for helping them grow. We must put a special focus on
maximizing strategies to help those small firms that have the capacity
to grow in the near term.
The approach I have taken is to focus on the entrepreneurial
ecosystems in our communities. This is because an ecosystem is defined
as ``a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms
with their environment.'' I am particularly interested in the
relationship between entrepreneurs, the current environment for
entrepreneurship, and how we can make them more robust. In my view
strengthening these ecosystems is an avenue to spur small business
growth, create jobs, and grow our economy.
Babson College, one of the country's top colleges for undergraduate/
graduate entrepreneurship programs, has looked into what makes up an
entrepreneurial ecosystem. Babson has identified the ``six domains'' of
any entrepreneurial ecosystem: a conducive culture that rewards
innovation, creativity and experimentation; enabling policies and
leadership that provide regulatory and capital support; availability of
appropriate finance, including micro-loans, private equity and public
capital; quality human capital that include both skilled and unskilled
workers from at home and abroad; venture-friendly markets for products
by creating distribution channels and entrepreneurship networks; and a
range of institutional and infrastructural supports, including
incubation centers and legal and accounting advisers.
Building off this research and with feedback from other stakeholders,
late last year my committee began preparations to conduct a series of
roundtables on strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem for small
businesses. The goal of these roundtables, which were conducted between
February and April 2012, was to take the ideas that come out of these
discussions and use them as the foundation for a major piece of
legislation to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The first
roundtable on February 1, 2012, was entitled ``Developing and
Strengthening High-Growth Entrepreneurship.'' This roundtable set the
stage for our discussions by exploring the recent success of high-
growth firms in job creation and why it is so important that we
replicate that success. The second roundtable was on March 22, 2012,
and was entitled ``A Spotlight on Small Business Investment Companies
and Their Role in the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem.'' That roundtable
looked at how we could enhance an already successful program that gets
capital into the hands of America's job creators. The last roundtable
was on April 18, 2012, and was entitled ``Perspectives from the
Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: Creating Jobs and Growing Businesses through
Entrepreneurship.'' That roundtable discussed how different
stakeholders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem are creating new
entrepreneurs and growing businesses. It brought together key
stakeholders from different levels of an entrepreneurial ecosystem:
universities and entrepreneurship programs, Federal and local
officials, investors, private sector accelerators, mentors, and
successful entrepreneurs.
As a result of these three roundtables, my committee received almost
60 specific policy recommendations from the 41 participants. Some of
these recommendations fell under the
[[Page S5387]]
jurisdictions of other Senate committees, while other proposals had a
significant cost associated with them or lacked the strong bipartisan
support necessary to move them forward in the Senate. After further
consulting with my colleagues on the committee, I was able to identify
our own six ``domains'' of proposals to focus our efforts on: Tax and
Finance; Access to Capital; Access to Global Markets; Access to
Mentoring, Education and Strategic Partnerships; Access to Government
Contracting; and Transparency, Accountability, and Effectiveness. These
domains form the six titles of the Success Ultimately Comes from
Capital, Contracting, Education, Strategic Partnerships, and Smart
Regulations, SUCCESS, Act of 2012.
First, Title I of the SUCCESS Act provides almost $12 billion in tax
incentives to assist small businesses. All five tax provisions within
the SUCCESS Act were based on parts of legislation, S. 2050, that was
introduced in January by Senator Snowe and myself. S. 2050, the Small
Business Tax Extenders Act, reflects the work of many of my Senate
colleagues, including Senators Snowe, Kerry, Merkley, Cardin, Isakson,
and Shaheen.
Section 102 of the SUCCESS Act extends the 100 percent exclusion from
tax the gain on the sale of qualified small businesses, QSB, stock that
non-corporate taxpayers purchase in 2012 and 2013 and hold for 5 years.
Qualifying small business stock is stock of C-corporation whose gross
assets do not exceed $50 million, including the proceeds received from
the issuance of the stock, and who meets a specific active business
requirement. The amount of gain eligible for the exclusion is limited
to the greater of ten times the taxpayer's basis in the stock or $10
million of gain from stock in that corporation. Until 2009, non-
corporate taxpayers were allowed to exclude 50 percent of the gain from
the sale of stock of QSB if the taxpayers held the stock for 5 years.
The Recovery Act of 2009 increased the 50 percent exclusion to 75
percent and the Small Business Jobs Act and subsequent legislation
increased and extended the exclusion to 100 percent through 2011.
However, as of January 1, 2012, the 100 percent exclusion has reverted
to 50 percent and startup investments are no longer entitled to
preferential capital gains treatment.
Senator Kerry, a senior member of my committee as well as the Finance
Committee, has been a leader in the Senate in getting this provision
extended in previous Congresses. I also note that this proposal has
bipartisan and White House support. President Obama has repeatedly
called on Congress to make permanent the 100 percent capital gains
exclusion and included this proposal in his Startup America Legislative
Agenda. Senators Moran, Warner, Coons and Rubio have all called for
making this provision permanent and included a version of this
provision in S. 3217, the Startup Act 2.0 that was introduced in May.
According to a Kauffman Foundation paper published earlier this year,
the 100 percent exclusion ``boosts the after-tax returns on such
investments in startups and should induce substantial levels of new
investments in startup firms.'' They further estimate that making this
provision permanent would increase risky investments by conservatively
50 percent more than overall cost of the provision.
Section 103 of the bill extends the increased deduction for business
start-up expenditures in 2012 and 2013 from $5,000 to $10,000, subject
to a $60,000 threshold. Under current law, taxpayers can elect to
deduct up to $5,000 of ``start-up expenditures'' in the taxable year in
which they start a trade or business. The $5,000 is reduced--but not
below zero--by the amount by which start-up costs exceed $50,000.
Examples of startup costs include studies of potential markets,
products, labor markets, or transportation systems; advertisements for
the opening of a new business; compensation for consultants and
employees undergoing training and their instructors; and travel for the
purpose of securing suppliers, distributors, and customers.
The Small Business Jobs Act temporarily increased the amount of
start-up expenditures entrepreneurs could deduct from their taxes in
2010 from $5,000 to $10,000, with a phase-out threshold of $60,000. We
need to bring this provision back to aid our small businesses.
I note that there is also support within this chamber and from the
White House for this proposal. As part of his Startup America
Legislative Agenda, President Obama has called for making permanent the
increased deduction for start-up expenditures. Senator Merkley
successfully fought for the initial increase in deduction to be
included in the Small Business Jobs Act. Over the past several years,
this proposal has been repeatedly endorsed by the National Association
for the Self-Employed and the National Federation of Independent
Businesses, NFIB. Furthermore, according to a Kauffman Foundation
survey, on average, new firms inject about $80,000 into their business
during the first year of operation. The vast majority of small business
owners--between 80 percent and 90 percent--also invest significant
amounts of their own money into their businesses. These budding
enterprises are also more dependent on personal capital at startup than
after they become established businesses. Doubling the deduction for
start-up costs puts cash in the hands of small businesses owners who
need it most--those who are just getting started. According to
estimates from Third Way, a non-partisan group, this proposal would
help the more than 600,000 Americans who start their own business every
year.
Under current law, when a corporation becomes an S-Corporation, it is
required to hold its business assets for 10 years or pay punitive
taxes. This 10- year holding period is too long and ties up assets that
could be sold to raise capital. In 2010, Congress reduced this holding
period to 5 years to better match business planning cycles. Section 104
of my bill will extend the 5-year holding period for 2012 and 2013,
costing $251 million over 10 years. As with other provisions in the
SUCCESS Act, this provision has bipartisan support. Senator Cardin has
fought to make this proposal permanent. Senators Snowe, Vitter, and
Roberts have also been long-time supporters and are co-sponsors of
legislation introduced by Senator Cardin to make this provision
permanent. By granting this extension, we will give the more than 4
million S-Corporations in the U.S. the flexibility they need to raise
capital.
Section 105 would allow sole proprietorships, partnerships and non-
publicly traded corporations with less than $50M in average gross
annual receipts for the prior 3 years, to carryback unused general
business credits earned in 2012 and 2013 for 5 previous years. Under
current law, if a business has no tax liability in its current tax
year, it may carry the general business tax credit back to the previous
tax year to offset taxes paid in the previous year and obtain a refund.
If the current credit exceeds taxes paid in the previous year, the
remaining credit may be carried forward for 20 years, without interest,
and used to offset tax liability in future years. The general business
credit is limited to the difference between the regular tax liability
of a business and the greater of its tentative minimum tax or 25
percent of regular tax liability in excess of $25,000. The general
business tax credit is comprised of several different tax credits
including the R&D tax credit, energy credits, the Low-Income Housing
Tax Credit and the Work Opportunity Tax Credit.
This extension would provide tax refunds to businesses that were
previously healthy but are currently running losses. It would improve
the effectiveness of business credits that are intended to expand
investment and employment, in the case of the Work Opportunity Tax
Credit. It would also allow businesses greater immediate benefit from
credits designed to encourage specific types of economic activity, such
as hiring disadvantaged workers or investments in renewable energy. By
providing businesses with greater opportunity to claim business
credits, the provisions would also give an infusion of cash to
businesses, which might promote investment. This could be particularly
important if businesses have trouble borrowing because of financial
market problems.
Section 106 of the SUCCESS Act extends a generous Section 179
provision that allows small businesses to immediately write-off up to
$500,000, up from $250,000, for tangible personal property
[[Page S5388]]
and up to $250,000 for improvements to leasehold property and retail
property.
Under the Small Business Jobs Act and other subsequent legislation,
for taxable years beginning in 2010 and 2011, small businesses could
write-off for capital expenditures for ``qualifying Sec. 179 property''
up to $500,000 and the phase-out threshold has been increased to
$2,000,000. These thresholds were up from prior law thresholds of
$25,000/$200,000. In addition, for the first time, the Small Business
Jobs Act allowed taxpayers to expense $250,000 of the cost of
improvements to real property including qualified restaurant property
and qualified retail property. To qualify for the section 179
deduction, property must have been acquired for use in the trade or
business. Examples of qualifying property include machinery and
equipment; property contained in or attached to a building, other than
structural components, such as refrigerators, grocery store counters,
office equipment, printing presses, testing equipment, and signs.;
gasoline storage tanks and pumps at retail service stations.;
livestock, including horses, cattle, hogs, sheep, goats, and mink and
other furbearing animals.
Extending the enhanced Section 179 deduction has bipartisan Senate
support, White House support, and industry support. The President
supports extending Section 179. My colleague Senator Snowe is a strong
supporter of the enhanced Section 179 provision that allows businesses
to expense improvements to restaurant and retail property. She
developed this particular proposal in connection with her work on the
Small Business Jobs Act. Finally, 26 National business groups such as
the NFIB, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of
Homebuilders, and the National Association of the Self-Employed
endorsed extending Section 179 and including expensing for real
property improvements in a May 21, 2012 letter to Congress.
The next title of the SUCCESS Act focuses on improving access to
capital for small businesses. In particular, Subtitle A under Title II
was previously introduced as S. 3253, the Expanding Access to Capital
for Entrepreneurial Leaders, EXCEL, Act. It provides necessary and
timely enhancements to the Small Business Investment Company, SBIC,
program. SBICs are government backed and regulated private equity funds
which invest in U.S. small businesses. The SBIC program was created in
1958 by then Senator Lyndon Johnson and Senator William Fulbright, and
signed into law by President Eisenhower. During a Senate hearing on the
creation of the program, Senator Joseph Clark said the legislation is
``necessary to increase the availability of long-term credit and equity
capital for small businesses.''
Since 1958, SBICs have invested $56 billion in over 100,000 small
businesses. The core debenture program operates at no cost to
taxpayers. SBIC success stories include: Apple Computer, Callaway Golf,
Costco, Outback Steakhouse, Jenny Craig, Annie's food company, and
Center Rock of Berlin, PA, the manufacturers of the drill bit that
saved the Chilean miners in October 2010.
The SBIC program has seen strong growth in the past few years. For
example, the program grew 50 percent in fiscal year 2011 alone.
However, the authorization level has not been permanently raised since
2003. To continue fulfilling the intent of the original legislation, it
is time to make some improvements. The Landrieu-Snowe EXCEL Act has two
main components. First, it raises the statutory cap for the SBIC
Program from $3 billion to $4 billion. Second, it increases the amount
of leverage by SBIC licensees under common control from $225 million to
$350 million ``Family of Funds''. The components of this provision were
also included in the President's Startup America legislative package.
Subtitle B of Title II was originally introduced as S. 2364 by
Senators Snowe, Landrieu, Isakson and Shaheen. The 504 loan program is
a long-term financing tool for economic development that provides small
businesses with long-term, fixed-rate loans to help them acquire major
fixed assets and real estate for expansion or modernization. The Small
Business Jobs Act allowed small businesses to use the 504 loan program
to refinance certain qualifying existing debt for two years, but the
SBA did not promulgate regulations to implement the refinancing
provision until February 17, 2012.
This subtitle would extend for a year and a half a provision allowing
small business owners to use Small Business Administration, SBA, 504
loans to refinance existing commercial mortgages. Extending the 504
refinancing program is a common-sense way to help small businesses and
create jobs. By allowing small businesses to refinance qualified
commercial real estate debt, this program lowers their monthly mortgage
payments at no cost to taxpayers. That's right, this provision has zero
subsidy cost. At a time when we are still facing high unemployment,
this extension is one of many things that we should be doing to put
more capital in the hands of America's job creators.
Subtitle C of Title II is a new proposal introduced for the first
time as part of the SUCCESS Act. SBA currently releases some
information publicly about SBA lending activity, but it is almost
impossible to find and comprehend if you are not an SBA lending
professional. If a small business, mayor, or governor wants to
determine SBA lending activity in their area, they lack the ability to
do so easily.
This subtitle would require the SBA to post a user friendly Lender
Activity Index on the SBA website. Users will immediately be able to
access the following data for any given bank: name of bank, number of
SBA loans each bank made, total dollar amount of SBA loans of each
bank, zip code of bank activity, not where every single loan was made,
but a list of every zip code where the bank has made an SBA loan,
industries lent to, hospitality, manufacturing, service, software,
etc., stage of business cycle, new, or existing business, and business
specific information, i.e. Women Owned Businesses, Minority Owned
Businesses, or Veteran Owned Businesses. Data will be available for the
year to date and users will be able to compare to 3 previous fiscal
years. Both quarterly and annual data will be included.
Title III of the SUCCESS Act focuses on promoting exports from small
businesses. The Small Business Jobs Act made major changes to the
international trade work done by the SBA. Now that those provisions
have been in place for several years, there are additional refinements
and direction needed. I would like to specifically thank Senators
Shaheen and Ayotte for their bipartisan export contributions to this
effort. The export provisions of Tile III are taken from S. 3218, their
Small Business Growth Act of 2012, as well as S. 3277, the Go Global
Act of 2012 that Senator Shaheen and I authored this year.
95 percent of the world's customers are located outside of the
borders of the United States, and in the last twelve months we have
exported more than $2 trillion of goods and services to these
consumers. Yet only 1 percent of our approximately 28 million small
businesses export. Our agencies need to be working together to ensure
our small businesses have the resources they need to expand their
customer base and be part of the more than $180 billion in exports that
the United States sends around the world each month.
This title aids our small business exporters by addressing federal
government coordination, resources for rural businesses, and export
control education. It establishes, in Section 306, an interagency task
force of SBA, the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Export-Import
Bank, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation on export
financing to review, improve, and increase collaboration on current
finance programs. Then, to further coordination, Section 307(a) begins
a cross training program with SBA and USDA to inform their respective
export finance specialists more about each other's programs. Our small
businesses face enough challenges--we should be bringing our resources
to them. In Section 304, this bill requires SBA, in coordination with
other agencies, to do at least one export outreach event per year in
each state. Section 307(b) also aids our rural small businesses by
posting a list of rural lenders who participate in SBA and USDA loan
programs and a list of rural small businesses counseling and technical
assistance resources. Jobs created by exports pay, on average, 15 to 20
percent more than jobs created by goods and services sold
[[Page S5389]]
in the United States. This bill will continue to support entrepreneurs
who want to create and grow these employment opportunities for all
Americans.
Title IV of the bill focuses on promoting small business access to
mentoring, education and strategic partnerships. Subtitle A of this
title was originally introduced by Senator Snowe and I as S. 3198, the
Strengthening Resources for America's Entrepreneurs Act of 2012. The
SBA Office of Entrepreneurial Development, OED, oversees a network of
programs and services that support the training and counseling needs of
small business. According to the SBA, OED helps hundreds of thousands
of small business clients start, grow and compete in global markets by
providing quality training, counseling and access to resources. SBA
delivers these services through non-profit, college and university, and
community-based organization resource partners. Through its network of
over 1,000 resource partners across the country, OED programs include
Small Business Development Centers, SBDCs, Women's Business Centers,
SCORE, and Entrepreneurship Education. However, it is currently
difficult to track effectiveness and ensure our resources are being
used in the best ways possible. To solve this challenge, this subtitle
has four primary components. First, it requires the SBA to coordinate
and make consistent data collection and outcome metrics for
Entrepreneurial Development programs. Second, it increases planning for
utilizing Entrepreneurial Development programs to create jobs. Third,
it increases coordination between Entrepreneurial Development programs
and Resource Partners at the national level. Finally, it increases
accountability measures and reports to Congress regarding the
effectiveness of Entrepreneurial Development programs.
Subtitle B of the bill comes from S. 3197, the Women's Small Business
Ownership Act which was sponsored by Senator Snowe and myself. This
subtitle is focused on the SBA Women's Business Center (WBC) program.
The WBC program was established in 1988 and implemented through the
SBA's Office of Women's Business Ownership. It provides quality
counseling and training services to all entrepreneurs, primarily women,
especially those who are socially and economically disadvantaged.
Through a network of over 100 non-profit organizations, WBCs help more
than 150,000 clients annually to start and grow small firms in the
local area in which they serve and to stimulate economic growth.
Subtitle B reauthorizes the WBC program through Fiscal Year 2015 and
makes improvements to the program, including a Government
Accountability Office review of Women's Business Center program
performance as compared with other SBA Entrepreneurial Development
programs.
Subtitle C of the SUCCESS Act is Senator Snowe's Strengthening
America's Small Business Development Centers Act. Small Business
Development Centers (SBDCs) are considered to be the backbone of the
SBA's Office of Entrepreneurial Development efforts, and are the
largest of the agency's OED programs. SBDCs are the university based
resource partners that provide counseling and training needs for more
than 600,000 business clients annually. From 2007 to 2008, the
counseling and technical assistance services they offered lead to the
creation of 58,501 new jobs, at a cost of $3,462 per job. Additionally,
they estimate that their counseling services helped to save 88,889
jobs. This subtitle would reauthorize SBDC program at the current $135
million authorization level through fiscal year 15. Beyond
reauthorizing the SBDC program, this provision also encourages SBDCs to
improve outreach and communications to universities, community
colleges, and junior colleges and allows the SBA Administrator to
authorize out-of-state SBDCs to provide assistance in declared disaster
areas.
Subtitle D of Title IV was originally introduced as S. 3281 by
Senators Snowe, Kerry, and Coburn. This subtitle repeals Federal
authorization of the National Veterans Business Development
Corporation, TVC, eliminating an ineffective government program. The
National Veterans Business Development Corporation, also known as The
Veterans Corporation or simply TVC, has been ineffective and
controversial since its inception as part of the Veterans
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act, P.L. 106-50, in
1999. In December of 2008, former Small Business Committee Chairman
Kerry and Ranking Member Snowe investigated TVC, and issued a report
detailing the organization's blatant mismanagement and wasting of
taxpayers' dollars. Since the issuing of the Small Business Committee's
report, Congress has appropriated no further funding for TVC, and the
Small Business Administration has incorporated the Veteran Business
Resource Centers, VBRCs, that TVC previously funded into its existing
network of Veteran Business Outreach Centers, VBOCs. At present, TVC
still exists as an organization, and it is still technically federally
chartered. At the same time, it receives no Federal funds, has no
Department or Agency oversight. It is time for it to be eliminated.
Title V of the SUCCESS Act focuses on promoting Federal government
contracting opportunities for small businesses. Section 511 under
Subtitle A of Title V was originally introduced by Senators Cardin,
Landrieu and Snowe as S. 2187, the Small Business Administration Surety
Bond Increase Act. The SBA administers a surety bond guarantee program,
designed to encourage sureties to issue bonds when they would otherwise
determine that a small business presents an unacceptable degree of
risk. Under the program, SBA may guarantee bid, performance, and
payment bonds for individual contracts of $2 million or less for small
businesses that cannot obtain surety bonds through regular commercial
channels. In the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009, Senator
Cardin was able to temporarily increase the size of SBA surety bond
guarantee from $2 million to $5 million. Section 511 would make that
permanent. It would ensure that small businesses have the means to the
secure the necessary surety bonding to compete for contracts during the
economic downturn.
Subtitle B of Title V was originally introduced by Senators Snowe,
Landrieu, Enzi, Brown, Merkley, Cantwell and eight other senators as S.
633, the Small Business Contracting Fraud Prevention Act. Fraud in
small business contracting programs has starkly increased over the
years. Recently we have all read about instances where large businesses
misrepresent their size and status to receive the benefits of SBA
programs designed for small businesses. Firms that engage in this
activity have long been subject to civil and/or criminal penalties
under various laws and government-wide policies.
The provisions in Subtitle B provide the SBA Inspector General with
enhanced tools to eliminate fraud in small business contracting
programs by: imposing greater penalties for fraud; requiring that firms
be debarred for five years if they misrepresent their status as
veteran-owned for purposes of programs under the act; and requiring the
SBA to submit annual reports to Congress on the number of persons
debarred or suspended from government contracting, or considered for
debarment or suspension from government contracting, for violations of
the bill. This will deter fraud in government small business
contracting and will keep Congress in the loop on small business fraud
issues.
Subtitle C under Title V was originally introduced by Senators Snowe,
Landrieu, Gillibrand and seven other senators as S. 2172, the Fairness
in Women-Owned Small Business Contracting Act. Currently, the Women-
Owned Small Business, WOSB, contracting program caps contract awards to
woman-owned businesses at $4 million for goods/services and $6.5
million for manufacturing. In addition, sole-source contract awards
under the program are prohibited. In other words, this program has
limits that no other contracting program has.
The provisions in Subtitle C would remove the contract award price
limits for women-owned small businesses, create a provision allowing
sole-source contract awards to WOSBs, direct the SBA to periodically
conduct a study to identify any U.S. industry in which women are
underrepresented, and every five years report the study results to
Congress. From these improvements, more contracting opportunities will
emerge for women-owned businesses in the Federal marketplace.
[[Page S5390]]
Subtitle D of the Title V of the SUCCESS originated with our
colleagues in the House of Representatives as H.R. 3851, the Small
Business Champion Act. The Small Business Act established an Office of
Small and Disadvantaged Business, OSDBU, within all major Federal
Executive Agencies. The OSDBU is the primary advocate within each
Agency responsible for promoting the maximum use of all small business
programs within the Federal contracting process. The OSDBU is tasked
with ensuring that each Federal agency and their large prime vendors
comply with federal laws, regulations, and policies to include small
businesses as sources for goods and services, both as prime contractors
and subcontractors. Approximately 35 Federal Agencies have fully
functioning OSDBU offices.
In an effort to assist agencies with meeting contracting goals,
Subtitle D makes three major modifications to OSDBU offices. First, it
elevates the OSDBU Director at each agency to the Senior Executive
Service, SES, rank. Second, it prohibits combining the duties of the
OSDBU Director with unrelated duties. Finally, it requires that
agencies consult with the OSDBU office on decisions to insource work
performed by small businesses. I would note that the House of
Representatives Committee on Small Business approved H.R. 3851 by voice
vote on March 7, 2012.
The final title of the SUCCESS Act is focused on improving Federal
Government transparency, accountability, and effectiveness. A key
component of this title is a result of the work of my colleague Senator
Hagan from North Carolina. In particular, Subtitle A of Title VI is
based upon Senator Hagan's legislation, S. 3194, the Small Business
Common Application Act of 2012.
Whether it is applying for a grant, seeking technical assistance, or
bidding on a contract, small businesses face a dizzying array of
paperwork when interacting with the Federal government. As a result,
many small businesses avoid Federal programs altogether, missing out on
potentially lucrative business opportunities. Senator Hagan's bill aims
to streamline assistance for small businesses facing layers of
paperwork when they apply for a grant, seek technical assistance or bid
on a contract from the Federal government.
Furthermore, according to a 2010 study from the SBA Office of
Advocacy, it costs small businesses with 20 employees or less more than
$10,500 per employee to comply with Federal regulations. When compared
to their larger counterparts, it costs small firms over $2,800--or
approximately 36 percent more--for each employee.
Subtitle A builds off provisions in S. 3194 by establishing an
Executive Committee of 12 Federal agency representatives, headed by the
SBA Administrator, to review the feasibility of establishing a Small
Business Common Application. This Executive Committee would then
provide recommendations to the Executive Branch and Congress within 270
days on establishing a common application and web portal for small
businesses.
The small business ``common app'' would function much like the one
that students complete to apply to multiple colleges and universities
simultaneously. It would ensure that small businesses across the
country can concentrate on growing and creating jobs--not wasting time,
filling out mountains of repetitive paperwork.
Lastly, I recognize that it is important to provide sufficient
oversight of the programs and assistance authorized in this bill.
Subtitle B of Title VI would authorize a GAO review of the bill--
including whether programs receive necessary funding, have been
successfully implemented, and are promoting job creation among small
businesses. This report would go to the House and Senate Small Business
Committees not later than 2 years after the date of enactment.
In closing, I would like to reiterate that the SUCCESS Act is a
combination of numerous bipartisan bills that have been introduced this
Congress. So these proposals are neither new nor untested--they are
ready for prime time. On July 12, 2012 the Senate voted on the SUCCESS
Act as part of Senate Amendment 2521 to S. 2237, the Small Business
Jobs and Tax Relief Act of 2012. Although the amendment came up short
of the 60 votes needed to end debate, Senate Amendment 2521 did receive
a strong 57 bipartisan votes. My Republican colleagues Senators Snowe,
Collins, Vitter, Scott Brown, and Heller all voted in support of the
amendment. I thank them for joining with us to try to move this
legislation forward in the Senate. It is my understanding that some of
my Republican colleagues may have voted for the amendment if it did not
contain the underlying provisions from S. 2237. Procedurally, it was
necessary to include these provisions to ensure a vote on the SUCCESS
Act. However, recognizing these concerns, our bill that is being
introduced today only includes Subtitle B of Senate Amendment 2521--the
bipartisan SUCCESS Act provisions. I hope that additional colleagues
from both sides of the aisle will now support the SUCCESS Act,
especially as we are only a few votes short of being able to move it
forward here in the Senate.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be
printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 3442
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 ``Success Ultimately Comes
from Capital, Contracting, Education, Strategic Partnerships,
and Smart Regulations Act of 2012'' or the ``SUCCESS Act of
2012''.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
TITLE I--SMALL BUSINESS TAX EXTENDERS
Sec. 101. References.
Sec. 102. Extension of temporary exclusion of 100 percent of gain on
certain small business stock.
Sec. 103. Extension of increased amount allowed as a deduction for
start-up expenditures.
Sec. 104. Extension of reduction in recognition period for built-in
gains tax.
Sec. 105. Extension of 5-year carryback of general business credits of
eligible small businesses.
Sec. 106. Extension of increased expensing limitations and treatment of
certain real property as section 179 property.
TITLE II--ACCESS TO CAPITAL
Subtitle A--Expanding Access to Capital for Entrepreneurial Leaders
Sec. 211. Short title.
Sec. 212. Program authorization.
Sec. 213. Family of funds.
Sec. 214. Adjustment for inflation.
Sec. 215. Public availability of information.
Sec. 216. Authorized uses of licensing fees.
Sec. 217. Sense of Congress.
Subtitle B--Low-Interest Refinancing
Sec. 221. Low-interest refinancing under the local development business
loan program.
Subtitle C--SBA Lender Activity Index
Sec. 231. SBA lender activity index.
TITLE III--ACCESS TO GLOBAL MARKETS
Sec. 301. Short title.
Sec. 302. Report on improvements to Export.gov as a single window for
export information.
Sec. 303. Report on developing a single window for information about
export control compliance.
Sec. 304. Promotion of exporting.
Sec. 305. Export control education.
Sec. 306. Small Business Inter-Agency Task Force on Export Financing.
Sec. 307. Promotion of exports by rural small businesses.
Sec. 308. Registry of export management and export trading companies.
Sec. 309. Reverse trade missions.
Sec. 310. State Trade and Export Promotion Grant Program.
Sec. 311. Promotion of interagency details.
Sec. 312. Annual export strategy.
TITLE IV--ACCESS TO MENTORING, EDUCATION, AND STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS
Subtitle A--Measuring the Effectiveness of Resource Partners
Sec. 411. Expanding entrepreneurship.
Subtitle B--Women's Small Business Ownership
Sec. 421. Short title.
Sec. 422. Definition.
Sec. 423. Office of Women's Business Ownership.
Sec. 424. Women's Business Center Program.
Sec. 425. Study and report on economic issues facing women's business
centers.
Sec. 426. Study and report on oversight of women's business centers.
Subtitle C--Strengthening America's Small Business Development Centers
Sec. 431. Institutions of higher education.
[[Page S5391]]
Sec. 432. Updating funding levels for small business development
centers.
Sec. 433. Assistance to out-of-state small businesses.
Sec. 434. Termination of small business development center defense
economic transition assistance.
Sec. 435. National Small Business Development Center Advisory Board.
Sec. 436. Repeal of Paul D. Coverdell drug-free workplace program.
Subtitle D--Terminating the National Veterans Business Development
Corporation
Sec. 441. National Veterans Business Development Corporation.
TITLE V--ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING
Subtitle A--Bonds
Sec. 511. Removal of sunset dates for certain provisions of the Small
Business Investment Act of 1958.
Subtitle B--Small Business Contracting Fraud Prevention
Sec. 521. Short title.
Sec. 522. Definitions.
Sec. 523. Fraud deterrence at the Small Business Administration.
Sec. 524. Veterans integrity in contracting.
Sec. 525. Section 8(a) program improvements.
Sec. 526. HUBZone improvements.
Sec. 527. Annual report on suspension, debarment, and prosecution.
Subtitle C--Fairness in Women-Owned Small Business Contracting
Sec. 531. Short title.
Sec. 532. Procurement program for women-owned small business concerns.
Sec. 533. Study and report on representation of women.
Subtitle D--Small Business Champion
Sec. 541. Short title.
Sec. 542. Offices of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization.
Sec. 543. Small Business Procurement Advisory Council.
TITLE VI--TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND EFFECTIVENESS
Subtitle A--Small Business Common Application
Sec. 611. Definitions.
Sec. 612. Sense of Congress.
Sec. 613. Executive Committee On a Small Business Common Application.
Sec. 614. Authorization of appropriations.
Subtitle B--Government Accountability Office Review
Sec. 621. Government Accountability Office review.
TITLE I--SMALL BUSINESS TAX EXTENDERS
SEC. 101. REFERENCES.
Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this
title an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an
amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the
reference shall be considered to be made to a section or
other provision of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
SEC. 102. EXTENSION OF TEMPORARY EXCLUSION OF 100 PERCENT OF
GAIN ON CERTAIN SMALL BUSINESS STOCK.
(a) In General.--Paragraph (4) of section 1202(a) is
amended--
(1) by striking ``January 1, 2012'' and inserting ``January
1, 2014'', and
(2) by striking ``and 2011'' and inserting ``, 2011, 2012,
and 2013'' in the heading thereof.
(b) Technical Amendments.--
(1) Special rule for 2009 and certain period in 2010.--
Paragraph (3) of section 1202(a) is amended by adding at the
end the following new flush sentence:
``In the case of any stock which would be described in the
preceding sentence (but for this sentence), the acquisition
date for purposes of this subsection shall be the first day
on which such stock was held by the taxpayer determined after
the application of section 1223.''.
(2) 100 percent exclusion.--Paragraph (4) of section
1202(a) is amended by adding at the end the following new
flush sentence:
``In the case of any stock which would be described in the
preceding sentence (but for this sentence), the acquisition
date for purposes of this subsection shall be the first day
on which such stock was held by the taxpayer determined after
the application of section 1223.''.
(c) Effective Dates.--
(1) In general.--The amendments made by subsection (a)
shall apply to stock acquired after December 31, 2011.
(2) Subsection (b)(1).--The amendment made by subsection
(b)(1) shall take effect as if included in section 1241(a) of
division B of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009.
(3) Subsection (b)(2).--The amendment made by subsection
(b)(2) shall take effect as if included in section 2011(a) of
the Creating Small Business Jobs Act of 2010.
SEC. 103. EXTENSION OF INCREASED AMOUNT ALLOWED AS A
DEDUCTION FOR START-UP EXPENDITURES.
(a) In General.--Paragraph (3) of section 195(b) is
amended--
(1) by inserting ``, 2012, or 2013'' after ``2010'', and
(2) by inserting ``2012, and 2013'' in the heading thereof.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall apply to amounts paid or incurred in taxable years
beginning after December 31, 2011.
SEC. 104. EXTENSION OF REDUCTION IN RECOGNITION PERIOD FOR
BUILT-IN GAINS TAX.
(a) In General.--Paragraph (7) of section 1374(d) is
amended--
(1) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (D),
and
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following new
subparagraph:
``(C) Special rule for 2012 and 2013.--For dispositions of
property in taxable years beginning in 2012 or 2013,
subparagraphs (A) and (D) shall be applied by substituting
`5-year' for `10-year'.''.
(b) Technical Amendment.--Subparagraph (B) of section
1374(d)(2) is amended by inserting ``described in
subparagraph (A)'' after ``, for any taxable year''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a)
shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31,
2011.
SEC. 105. EXTENSION OF 5-YEAR CARRYBACK OF GENERAL BUSINESS
CREDITS OF ELIGIBLE SMALL BUSINESSES.
(a) In General.--Subparagraph (A) of section 39(a)(4) is
amended by inserting ``or in taxable years beginning in 2012,
or 2013'' after ``2010''.
(b) Technical Amendment.--Section 38(c)(5)(B) is amended--
(1) by striking ``the sum of'', and
(2) by inserting ``for any taxable year to which
subparagraph (A) applies'' after ``or (4)''.
(c) Effective Date.--
(1) In general.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall
apply to credits determined in taxable years beginning after
December 31, 2011.
(2) Technical amendments.--The amendments made by
subsection (b) shall take effect as if included in section
2013(a) of the Creating Small Business Jobs Act of 2010.
SEC. 106. EXTENSION OF INCREASED EXPENSING LIMITATIONS AND
TREATMENT OF CERTAIN REAL PROPERTY AS SECTION
179 PROPERTY.
(a) In General.--
(1) Dollar limitation.--Section 179(b)(1) is amended--
(A) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (C),
(B) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (E),
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following new
subparagraph:
``(D) $500,000 in the case of taxable years beginning in
2013, and'', and
(D) in subparagraph (E), as so redesignated, by striking
``2012'' and inserting ``2013''.
(2) Reduction in limitation.--Section 179(b)(2) is
amended--
(A) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (C),
(B) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (E),
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following new
subparagraph:
``(D) $2,000,000 in the case of taxable years beginning in
2013, and'', and
(D) in subparagraph (E), as so redesignated, by striking
``2012'' and inserting ``2013''.
(b) Computer Software.--Section 179(d)(1)(A)(ii) is amended
by striking ``2013'' and inserting ``2014''.
(c) Election.--Section 179(c)(2) is amended by striking
``2013'' and inserting ``2014''.
(d) Special Rules for Treatment of Qualified Real
Property.--
(1) In general.--Section 179(f)(1) is amended by striking
``2010 or 2011'' and inserting ``2010, 2011, or 2013''.
(2) Carryover limitation.--Section 179(f)(4) is amended by
striking subparagraphs (A) through (C) and inserting the
following:
``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding subsection (b)(3)(B)--
``(i) no amount attributable to qualified real property
placed in service in any taxable year beginning in 2010 or
2011 may be carried over to any taxable year beginning after
2011, and
``(ii) no amount attributable to qualified real property
placed in service in any taxable year beginning in 2013 may
be carried over to any taxable year beginning after 2013.
``(B) Treatment of disallowed amounts.--Except as provided
in subparagraph (C)--
``(i) Taxable years beginning after 2011.--To the extent
that any amount is not allowed to be carried over to a
taxable year beginning after 2011 by reason of subparagraph
(A)(i), this title shall be applied as if no election under
this section had been made with respect to such amount.
``(ii) Taxable years beginning after 2013.--To the extent
that any amount is not allowed to be carried over to a
taxable year beginning after 2013 by reason of subparagraph
(A)(ii), this title shall be applied as if no election under
this section had been made with respect to such amount.
``(C) Amounts carried over from certain taxable years.--
``(i) Amounts carried over from 2010.--If subparagraph
(B)(i) applies to any amount (or portion of an amount) which
is carried over from a taxable year other than the taxpayer's
last taxable year beginning in 2011, such amount (or portion
of an amount) shall be treated for purposes of this title as
attributable to property placed in service on the first day
of the taxpayer's last taxable year beginning in 2011.
``(ii) Amounts carried over from 2013.--If subparagraph
(B)(ii) applies to any amount (or portion of an amount) which
is carried over from a taxable year other than the taxpayer's
last taxable year beginning in 2013,
[[Page S5392]]
such amount (or portion of an amount) shall be treated for
purposes of this title as attributable to property placed in
service on the first day of the taxpayer's last taxable year
beginning in 2013.''.
(e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31,
2012.
TITLE II--ACCESS TO CAPITAL
Subtitle A--Expanding Access to Capital for Entrepreneurial Leaders
SEC. 211. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``EXCEL Act of 2012''.
SEC. 212. PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION.
Section 303(b) of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958
(15 U.S.C. 683(b)) is amended, in the matter preceding
paragraph (1), in the first sentence, by inserting after
``issued by such companies'' the following: ``, in a total
amount that does not exceed $4,000,000,000 each fiscal year
(adjusted annually to reflect increases in the Consumer Price
Index established by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
Department of Labor)''.
SEC. 213. FAMILY OF FUNDS.
Section 303(b)(2)(B) of the Small Business Investment Act
of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 683(b)(2)(B)) is amended by striking
``$225,000,000'' and inserting ``$350,000,000''.
SEC. 214. ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.
Section 303(b)(2) of the Small Business Investment Act of
1958 (15 U.S.C. 683(b)(2)) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``(E) Adjustments.--
``(i) In general.--The dollar amounts in subparagraph
(A)(ii), subparagraph (B), and subparagraph (C)(ii)(I) shall
be adjusted annually to reflect increases in the Consumer
Price Index established by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of
the Department of Labor (in this subparagraph referred to as
the `CPI').
``(ii) Applicability.--The adjustments required by clause
(i)--
``(I) with respect to dollar amounts in subparagraphs
(A)(ii) and (C)(ii)(I) shall initially reflect increases in
the CPI during the period beginning on the effective date of
section 505 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009 (Public Law 111-5; 123 Stat. 156) through the date of
enactment of this subparagraph and annually thereafter;
``(II) with respect to dollar amounts in subparagraph (B)
shall reflect increases in the CPI annually on and after the
date of enactment of this subparagraph.''.
SEC. 215. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.
Section 303 of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958
(15 U.S.C. 683) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(l) Access to Fund Information.--Annually, the
Administrator shall make public on its website the following
information with respect to each small business investment
company:
``(1) The amount of capital deployed since fund inception.
``(2) The amount of leverage drawn since fund inception.
``(3) The number of investments since fund inception.
``(4) The number of businesses receiving capital since fund
inception.
``(5) Industry sectors receiving investment since fund
inception.
``(6) The amount of leverage principal repaid by the small
business investment company since fund inception.
``(7) A basic description of investment strategy.''.
SEC. 216. AUTHORIZED USES OF LICENSING FEES.
Section 301 of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958
(15 U.S.C. 681) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (d); and
(2) in subsection (d)(2)(B), as so redesignated, by
inserting before the period at the end the following: ``and
other small business investment company program needs''.
SEC. 217. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) small business investment companies would benefit from
partnerships with community banks and other lenders, and
should work with community banks and other lenders, to ensure
that if community banks and other lenders deny an application
by a small business concern for a loan, the community banks
or other lenders will refer the small business concern to
small business investment companies; and
(2) the Administrator of the Small Business Administration
(in this Act referred to as the ``Administrator'') should--
(A) increase outreach to community banks and other lenders
to encourage community banks and other lenders to invest in
small business investment companies;
(B) use the Internet to make publicly available in a timely
manner which small business investment companies are actively
soliciting investments and making investments in small
business concerns;
(C) partner with governors, mayors, States, and
municipalities to increase outreach by small business
investment companies to underserved and rural areas; and
(D) continue to make changes to the webpage for the small
business investment company program, to make the webpage--
(i) a more prominent part of the website of the
Administration; and
(ii) more user-friendly.
Subtitle B--Low-Interest Refinancing
SEC. 221. LOW-INTEREST REFINANCING UNDER THE LOCAL
DEVELOPMENT BUSINESS LOAN PROGRAM.
Section 1122(b) of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (15
U.S.C. 696 note) is amended by striking ``2 years'' and
inserting ``on the date that is 3 years and 6 months''.
Subtitle C--SBA Lender Activity Index
SEC. 231. SBA LENDER ACTIVITY INDEX.
Section 4 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 633) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(g) SBA Lender Activity Index.--
``(1) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `covered
loan' means a loan made or debenture issued under this Act or
the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 661 et
seq.) by a private individual or entity.
``(2) Requirement.--Not later than 6 months after the date
of enactment of this subsection, the Administrator shall make
publicly available on the website of the Administration a
user-friendly database of information relating to lenders
making covered loans (to be known as the `Lender Activity
Index').
``(3) Data included.--
``(A) In general.--The database made available under
paragraph (2) shall include, for each lender making a covered
loan--
``(i) the name of the lender;
``(ii) the number of covered loans made by the lender;
``(iii) the total dollar amount of covered loans made by
the lender;
``(iv) a list of each ZIP code in which a recipient of a
covered loan made by the lender is located;
``(v) a list of the industries of the recipients to which
the lender made a covered loan;
``(vi) whether the covered loan is for an existing business
or a new business;
``(vii) the number and total dollar amount of covered loans
made by the lender to--
``(I) small business concerns owned and controlled by
women;
``(II) socially and economically disadvantaged small
business concerns (as defined in section 8(a)(4)(A)); and
``(III) small business concerns owned and controlled by
veterans; and
``(viii) whether the covered loan was made under section
7(a) or under the program to provide financing to small
business concerns through guarantees of loans under title V
of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 695
et seq.).
``(B) Incorporation of data.--The Administrator shall--
``(i) include in the database made available under
paragraph (2) information relating to covered loans made
during fiscal years 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012; and
``(ii) incorporate information relating to covered loans on
an ongoing basis.
``(C) Period of data availability.--The Administrator shall
retain information relating to a covered loan in the database
made available under paragraph (2) until not earlier than the
end of the third fiscal year beginning after the fiscal year
during which the covered loan was made.''.
TITLE III--ACCESS TO GLOBAL MARKETS
SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ``Small Business Export
Growth Act of 2012''.
SEC. 302. REPORT ON IMPROVEMENTS TO EXPORT.GOV AS A SINGLE
WINDOW FOR EXPORT INFORMATION.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director of International Trade of
the Small Business Administration shall, after consultation
with the entities specified in subsection (b), submit to the
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the
Senate and the Committee on Small Business and the Committee
on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a report
that includes the recommendations of the Director for
improving the experience provided by the website Export.gov
(or a successor website) as--
(1) a comprehensive resource for information about
exporting articles from the United States; and
(2) a single website for exporters to submit all
information required by the Federal Government with respect
to the exportation of articles from the United States.
(b) Entities Specified.--The entities specified in this
subsection are--
(1) small business concerns (as defined in section 3 of the
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)) that are exporters; and
(2) the President's Export Council, State agencies with
responsibility for export promotion or export financing,
district export councils, and trade associations.
SEC. 303. REPORT ON DEVELOPING A SINGLE WINDOW FOR
INFORMATION ABOUT EXPORT CONTROL COMPLIANCE.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the
Small Business Administration shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report assessing the benefits of
developing a website to serve as--
(1) a comprehensive resource for complying with and
information about the export control laws and regulations of
the United States; and
(2) a single website for exporters to submit all
information required by the Federal Government with respect
to export controls.
(b) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this
section, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
[[Page S5393]]
(1) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation,
the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and the
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the
Senate; and
(2) the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Small Business of the
House of Representatives.
SEC. 304. PROMOTION OF EXPORTING.
Section 22(c)(11) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
649(c)(11)) is amended by inserting ``, which shall include
conducting not fewer than 1 outreach event each fiscal year
in each State that promotes exporting as a business
development opportunity for small business concerns'' before
the semicolon.
SEC. 305. EXPORT CONTROL EDUCATION.
Section 22 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 649) is
amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (l) as subsection (n); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (k) the following:
``(l) Export Control Education.--The Associate
Administrator shall ensure that all programs of the
Administration to support exporting by small business
concerns place a priority on educating small business
concerns about Federal export control regulations.''.
SEC. 306. SMALL BUSINESS INTER-AGENCY TASK FORCE ON EXPORT
FINANCING.
The Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary of
Agriculture, the President of the Export-Import Bank of the
United States, and the President of the Overseas Private
Investment Corporation shall jointly establish a Small
Business Inter-Agency Task Force on Export Financing to--
(1) review and improve Federal export finance programs for
small business concerns; and
(2) coordinate the activities of the Federal Government to
assist small business concerns seeking to export.
SEC. 307. PROMOTION OF EXPORTS BY RURAL SMALL BUSINESSES.
(a) Small Business Administration-United States Department
of Agriculture Interagency Coordination.--
(1) Export financing programs.--In coordination with the
Secretary of Agriculture, the Administrator shall develop a
program to cross-train export finance specialists and
personnel from the Office of International Trade of the
Administration on the export financing programs of the
Department of Agriculture and the Foreign Agricultural
Service.
(2) Export assistance and business counseling programs.--In
coordination with the Secretary of Agriculture and the
Foreign Agricultural Service, the Administrator shall develop
a program to cross-train export finance specialists,
personnel from the Office of International Trade of the
Administration, Small Business Development Centers, women's
business centers, the Service Corps of Retired Executives
authorized by section 8(b)(1) of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 637(b)(1)), Export Assistance Centers, and other
resource partners of the Administration on the export
assistance and business counseling programs of the Department
of Agriculture.
(b) Report on Lenders.--Section 7(a)(16)(F) of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)(16)(F)) is amended--
(1) in clause (i)--
(A) by redesignating subclauses (I) through (III) as items
(aa) through (cc), respectively, and adjusting the margins
accordingly;
(B) by striking ``list, have made'' and inserting the
following: ``list--
``(I) have made'';
(C) in item (cc), as so redesignated, by striking the
period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(II) were located in a rural area, as that term is
defined in section 1393(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, or a nonmetropolitan statistical area and have made--
``(aa) loans guaranteed by the Administration; or
``(bb) loans through the programs offered by the United
States Department of Agriculture or the Foreign Agricultural
Service.''; and
(2) in clause (ii)(II), by inserting ``and by resource
partners of the Administration'' after ``the
Administration''.
(c) Cooperation With Small Business Development Centers.--
Section 21(c)(3)(M) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
648(c)(3)(M)) is amended by inserting after ``the Department
of Commerce,'' the following: ``the Department of
Agriculture,''.
(d) List of Rural Export Assistance Resources.--Section
22(c)(7) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 649(c)(7)) is
amended--
(1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (E);
and
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following:
``(D) publishing an annual list of relevant resources and
programs of the district and regional offices of the
Administration, other Federal agencies, the small business
development center network, Export Assistance Centers, the
network of women's business centers, chapters of the Service
Corps of Retired Executives, State and local export promotion
programs, and partners in the private sector, that--
``(i) are administered or offered by entities located in
rural or nonmetropolitan statistical areas; and
``(ii) offer export assistance or business counseling
services to rural small businesses concerns; and''.
SEC. 308. REGISTRY OF EXPORT MANAGEMENT AND EXPORT TRADING
COMPANIES.
(a) Coordination With Export Management Companies and
Export Trading Companies.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall
establish a program to register export management companies,
as that term is defined by the Department of Commerce, and
export trading companies, as that term is defined in section
103 of the Export Trading Company Act of 1982 (15 U.S.C.
4002).
(b) Requirements.--The program established under subsection
(a) shall--
(1) be similar to the program of the Administration for
registering franchise companies, as in effect on the date of
enactment of this Act; and
(2) require that a list of the export management companies
and export trading companies that register under the program,
categorized by the type of product exported by the company,
be made available on the website of the Administration.
SEC. 309. REVERSE TRADE MISSIONS.
Section 22(c) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 649(c))
is amended--
(1) in paragraph (12), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (13), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(14) in coordination with other relevant Federal
agencies, encourage the participation of employees and
resource partners of the Administration in reverse trade
missions hosted or sponsored by the Federal Government.''.
SEC. 310. STATE TRADE AND EXPORT PROMOTION GRANT PROGRAM.
Section 1207(a)(5) of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010
(15 U.S.C. 649b note) is amended by inserting after ``Guam,''
the following: ``the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands,''.
SEC. 311. PROMOTION OF INTERAGENCY DETAILS.
It is the sense of Congress that the Administrator should
periodically detail staff of the Administration to other
Federal agencies that are members of the Trade Promotion
Coordinating Committee, to facilitate the cross training of
the staff of the Administration on the export assistance
programs of such other agencies.
SEC. 312. ANNUAL EXPORT STRATEGY.
Section 22 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 649), as
amended by section 305 of this Act, is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``(m) Small Business Trade Strategy.--
``(1) Development of small business trade strategy.--The
Associate Administrator shall develop and maintain a small
business trade strategy that is included in the report on the
governmentwide strategic plan for Federal trade promotion
required to be submitted to Congress by the Trade Promotion
Coordinating Committee under section 2312(f)(1) of the Export
Enhancement Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4727(f)(1)) that includes,
at a minimum--
``(A) strategies to increase export opportunities for small
business concerns, including a specific strategy to increase
opportunities for small business concerns that are new to
exporting;
``(B) recommendations to increase the competitiveness in
the global economy of small business concerns in the United
States that are part of industries in which small business
concerns account for a high proportion of participating
businesses;
``(C) recommendations to protect small business concerns
from unfair trade practices, including intellectual property
violations;
``(D) recommendations for strategies to promote and
facilitate opportunities in the foreign markets that are most
accessible for small business concerns that are new to
exporting; and
``(E) strategies to expand the representation of small
business concerns in the formation and implementation of
United States trade policy.
``(2) Annual report to congress.--At the beginning of each
fiscal year, the Associate Administrator 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 on the small business trade strategy
required under paragraph (1), which shall contain, at a
minimum--
``(A) a description of each strategy and recommendation
described in paragraph (1);
``(B) specific policies and objectives, together with
timelines for the implementation of such policies and
objectives; and
``(C) a description of the progress of the Administration
in implementing the strategies and recommendations contained
in the report submitted for the preceding fiscal year.''.
TITLE IV--ACCESS TO MENTORING, EDUCATION, AND STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS
Subtitle A--Measuring the Effectiveness of Resource Partners
SEC. 411. EXPANDING ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
Section 4 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 633), as
amended by this Act, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(h) Management and Direction.--
[[Page S5394]]
``(1) Plan for entrepreneurial development and job creation
strategy.--
``(A) Plan required.--The Administrator, in consultation
with a representative from each entrepreneurial development
program of the Administration, shall develop and submit to
Congress a plan for using the entrepreneurial development
programs of the Administration to create jobs during fiscal
years 2013 and 2014.
``(B) Contents of plan.--The plan required under
subparagraph (A) shall--
``(i) include the plan of the Administrator for using
existing programs, including small business development
centers, women's business centers, the Service Corps of
Retired Executives authorized by section 8(b)(1), Veterans
Business Outreach Centers, and programs of the Office of
Native American Affairs, to create jobs;
``(ii) identify a strategy for each region of the
Administration to use programs of the Administration to
create or retain jobs in the region; and
``(iii) establish performance measures and criteria,
including goals for job creation, job retention, and job
retraining, to evaluate the success of the plan.
``(2) Data collection process.--
``(A) In general.--The Administrator shall, after notice
and opportunity for comment, promulgate a rule to develop and
implement a consistent data collection process for the
entrepreneurial development programs.
``(B) Contents.--The data collection process developed
under subparagraph (A) shall collect data relating to job
creation and performance and any other data determined
appropriate by the Administrator.
``(3) Coordination and alignment of sba entrepreneurial
development programs.--The Administrator, in consultation
with other Federal departments and agencies as the
Administrator determines is appropriate, shall submit an
annual report to Congress describing opportunities to foster
coordination of, limit duplication among, and improve program
delivery for Federal entrepreneurial development programs.
``(4) Database of entrepreneurial development service
providers.--
``(A) Establishment.--After providing a period of 60 days
for public comment, the Administrator shall--
``(i) establish a database of providers of entrepreneurial
development services; and
``(ii) make the database available through the website of
the Administration.
``(B) Searchability.--The database established under
subparagraph (A) shall be searchable by industry, geographic
location, and service required.
``(5) Community specialist.--
``(A) Designation.--The Administrator shall designate not
fewer than 1 staff member in each district office of the
Administration as a community specialist whose full-time
responsibility is working with local providers of
entrepreneurial development services to increase coordination
with Federal entrepreneurial development programs.
``(B) Performance.--The Administrator shall develop
benchmarks for measuring the performance of community
specialists under this paragraph.''.
Subtitle B--Women's Small Business Ownership
SEC. 421. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Women's Small Business
Ownership Act of 2012''.
SEC. 422. DEFINITION.
In this subtitle, the term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the Small Business Administration.
SEC. 423. OFFICE OF WOMEN'S BUSINESS OWNERSHIP.
(a) In General.--Section 29(g) of the Small Business Act
(15 U.S.C. 656(g)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2)--
(A) in subparagraph (B)--
(i) in clause (i), by striking ``in the areas'' and all
that follows through the end of subclause (I), and inserting
the following: ``to address issues concerning the management,
operations, manufacturing, technology, finance, retail and
product sales, international trade, Government contracting,
and other disciplines required for--
``(I) starting, operating, and increasing the business of a
small business concern;''; and
(ii) in clause (ii), by striking ``Women's Business Center
program'' each place that term appears and inserting
``women's business center program''; and
(B) in subparagraph (C), by inserting before the period at
the end the following: ``, the National Women's Business
Council, and any association of women's business centers'';
and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Training.--The Administrator may provide annual
programmatic and financial examination training for women's
business ownership representatives and district office
technical representatives of the Administration to enable
representatives to carry out their responsibilities.
``(4) Program and transparency improvements.--The
Administrator shall maximize the transparency of the women's
business center financial assistance proposal process and the
programmatic and financial examination process by--
``(A) providing public notice of any announcement for
financial assistance under subsection (b) or a grant under
subsection (l) not later than the end of the first quarter of
each fiscal year;
``(B) in the announcement described in subparagraph (A),
outlining award and program evaluation criteria and
describing the weighting of the criteria for financial
assistance under subsection (b) and grants under subsection
(l);
``(C) minimizing paperwork and reporting requirements for
applicants for and recipients of financial assistance under
this section;
``(D) standardizing the programmatic and financial
examination process; and
``(E) providing to each women's business center, not later
than 60 days after the completion of a site visit to the
women's business center (whether conducted for an audit,
performance review, or other reason), a copy of any site
visit reports or evaluation reports prepared by district
office technical representatives or officers or employees of
the Administration.''.
(b) Change of Title.--
(1) In general.--Section 29 of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 656) is amended--
(A) in subsection (a)--
(i) by striking paragraphs (1) and (4);
(ii) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs
(4) and (5), respectively; and
(iii) by inserting before paragraph (4), as so
redesignated, the following:
``(2) the term `Director' means the Director of the Office
of Women's Business Ownership established under subsection
(g);'';
(B) by striking ``Assistant Administrator'' each place that
term appears and inserting ``Director''; and
(C) in subsection (g)(2), in the paragraph heading, by
striking ``Assistant administrator'' and inserting
``Director''.
(2) Women's business ownership act of 1988.--Title IV of
the Women's Business Ownership Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 7101 et
seq.) is amended--
(A) in section 403(a)(2)(B), by striking ``Assistant
Administrator'' and inserting ``Director'';
(B) in section 405, by striking ``Assistant Administrator''
and inserting ``Director''; and
(C) in section 406(c), by striking ``Assistant
Administrator'' and inserting ``Director''.
SEC. 424. WOMEN'S BUSINESS CENTER PROGRAM.
(a) Women's Business Center Financial Assistance.--Section
29 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), as amended by section 423(b) of this
Act--
(A) by inserting before paragraph (2) the following:
``(1) the term `association of women's business centers'
means an organization--
``(A) that represents not less than 51 percent of the
women's business centers that participate in a program under
this section; and
``(B) whose primary purpose is to represent women's
business centers;'';
(B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
``(3) the term `eligible entity' means--
``(A) a private nonprofit organization;
``(B) a State, regional, or local economic development
organization;
``(C) a development, credit, or finance corporation
chartered by a State;
``(D) a junior or community college, as defined in section
312(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1058(f)); or
``(E) any combination of entities listed in subparagraphs
(A) through (D);''; and
(C) by adding after paragraph (5) the following:
``(6) the term `women's business center' means a project
conducted by an eligible entity under this section.'';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) as
subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), and adjusting the margins
accordingly;
(B) by striking ``The Administration'' and all that follows
through ``5-year projects'' and inserting the following:
``(1) In general.--The Administration may provide financial
assistance to an eligible entity to conduct a project under
this section'';
(C) by striking ``The projects shall'' and inserting the
following:
``(2) Use of funds.--The project shall be designed to
provide training and counseling that meets the needs of
women, especially socially and economically disadvantaged
women, and shall''; and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Amount of financial assistance.--
``(A) In general.--The Administrator may award financial
assistance under this subsection of not less than $100,000
and not more than $150,000 per year.
``(B) Lower amount.--The Administrator may award financial
assistance under this subsection to a recipient in an amount
that is less than $100,000 if the Administrator determines
that the recipient is unable to make a non-Federal
contribution of $100,000 or more, as required under
subsection (c).
``(C) Equal allocations.--If the Administration has
insufficient funds to provide financial assistance of not
less than $100,000 for each recipient of financial assistance
under this subsection in any fiscal year, the Administrator
shall provide an equal amount of financial assistance to each
recipient in the fiscal year, unless a recipient requests a
lower amount than the allocated amount.
``(4) Consultation with associations of women's business
centers.--The Administrator shall consult with each
association of women's business centers to develop--
``(A) a training program for the staff of women's business
centers and the Administration; and
[[Page S5395]]
``(B) recommendations to improve the policies and
procedures for governing the general operations and
administration of the women's business center program,
including grant program improvements under subsection
(g)(4).'';
(3) in subsection (c)--
(A) in paragraph (1) by striking ``the recipient
organization'' and inserting ``an eligible entity'';
(B) in paragraph (3), in the second sentence, by striking
``a recipient organization'' and inserting ``an eligible
entity'';
(C) in paragraph (4)--
(i) by striking ``recipient of assistance'' and inserting
``eligible entity'';
(ii) by striking ``such organization'' and inserting ``the
eligible entity''; and
(iii) by striking ``recipient'' and inserting ``eligible
entity''; and
(D) in paragraph (5)--
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``a recipient
organization'' and inserting ``an eligible entity''; and
(ii) by striking ``the recipient organization'' each place
it appears and inserting ``the eligible entity''; and
(E) by adding at end the following:
``(6) Separation of project and funds.--An eligible entity
shall--
``(A) carry out a project under this section separately
from other projects, if any, of the eligible entity; and
``(B) separately maintain and account for any financial
assistance under this section.'';
(4) in subsection (e)--
(A) by striking ``applicant organization'' and inserting
``eligible entity'';
(B) by striking ``a recipient organization'' and inserting
``an eligible entity''; and
(C) by striking ``site'';
(5) by striking subsection (f) and inserting the following:
``(f) Applications and Criteria for Initial Financial
Assistance.--
``(1) Application.--Each eligible entity desiring financial
assistance under subsection (b) shall submit to the
Administrator an application that contains--
``(A) a certification that the eligible entity--
``(i) has designated an executive director or program
manager, who may be compensated using financial assistance
under subsection (b) or other sources, to manage the center
on a full-time basis;
``(ii) as a condition of receiving financial assistance
under subsection (b), agrees--
``(I) to receive a site visit by the Administrator as part
of the final selection process;
``(II) to undergo an annual programmatic and financial
examination; and
``(III) to the maximum extent practicable, to remedy any
problems identified pursuant to the site visit or examination
under subclause (I) or (II); and
``(iii) meets the accounting and reporting requirements
established by the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget;
``(B) information demonstrating that the eligible entity
has the ability and resources to meet the needs of the market
to be served by the women's business center for which
financial assistance under subsection (b) is sought,
including the ability to obtain the non-Federal contribution
required under subsection (c);
``(C) information relating to the assistance to be provided
by the women's business center for which financial assistance
under subsection (b) is sought in the area in which the
women's business center is located;
``(D) information demonstrating the experience and
effectiveness of the eligible entity in--
``(i) conducting financial, management, and marketing
assistance programs, as described in subsection (b)(2), which
are designed to teach or upgrade the business skills of women
who are business owners or potential business owners;
``(ii) providing training and services to a representative
number of women who are socially and economically
disadvantaged; and
``(iii) working with resource partners of the
Administration and other entities, such as universities; and
``(E) a 5-year plan that describes the ability of the
women's business center for which financial assistance is
sought--
``(i) to serve women who are business owners or potential
business owners by conducting training and counseling
activities; and
``(ii) to provide training and services to a representative
number of women who are socially and economically
disadvantaged.
``(2) Additional information.--The Administrator shall make
any request for additional information from an organization
applying for financial assistance under subsection (b) that
was not requested in the original announcement in writing.
``(3) Review and approval of applications for initial
financial assistance.--
``(A) In general.--The Administrator shall--
``(i) review each application submitted under paragraph
(1), based on the information described in such paragraph and
the criteria set forth under subparagraph (B) of this
paragraph; and
``(ii) to the extent practicable, as part of the final
selection process, conduct a site visit to each women's
business center for which financial assistance under
subsection (b) is sought.
``(B) Selection criteria.--
``(i) In general.--The Administrator shall evaluate
applicants for financial assistance under subsection (b) in
accordance with selection criteria that are--
``(I) established before the date on which applicants are
required to submit the applications;
``(II) stated in terms of relative importance; and
``(III) publicly available and stated in each solicitation
for applications for financial assistance under subsection
(b) made by the Administrator.
``(ii) Required criteria.--The selection criteria for
financial assistance under subsection (b) shall include--
``(I) the experience of the applicant in conducting
programs or ongoing efforts designed to teach or enhance the
business skills of women who are business owners or potential
business owners;
``(II) the ability of the applicant to begin a project
within a minimum amount of time;
``(III) the ability of the applicant to provide training
and services to a representative number of women who are
socially and economically disadvantaged; and
``(IV) the location for the women's business center
proposed by the applicant, including whether the applicant is
located in a State in which there is not a women's business
center receiving funding from the Administration.
``(C) Proximity.--If the principal place of business of an
applicant for financial assistance under subsection (b) is
located less than 50 miles from the principal place of
business of a women's business center that received funds
under this section on or before the date of the application,
the applicant shall not be eligible for the financial
assistance, unless the applicant submits a detailed written
justification of the need for an additional center in the
area in which the applicant is located.
``(D) Record retention.--The Administrator shall maintain a
copy of each application submitted under this subsection for
not less than 7 years.''; and
(6) in subsection (m)--
(A) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:
``(3) Application and approval for renewal grants.--
``(A) Solicitation of applications.--The Administrator
shall solicit applications and award grants under this
subsection for the first fiscal year beginning after the date
of enactment of the Women's Small Business Ownership Act of
2012, and every third fiscal year thereafter.
``(B) Contents of application.--Each eligible entity
desiring a grant under this subsection shall submit to the
Administrator an application that contains--
``(i) a certification that the applicant--
``(I) is an eligible entity;
``(II) has designated a full-time executive director or
program manager to manage the women's business center
operated by the applicant; and
``(III) as a condition of receiving a grant under this
subsection, agrees--
``(aa) to receive a site visit as part of the final
selection process;
``(bb) to submit, for the 2 full fiscal years before the
date on which the application is submitted, annual
programmatic and financial examination reports or certified
copies of the compliance supplemental audits under OMB
Circular A-133 of the applicant; and
``(cc) to remedy any problem identified pursuant to the
site visit or examination under item (aa) or (bb);
``(ii) information demonstrating that the applicant has the
ability and resources to meet the needs of the market to be
served by the women's business center for which a grant under
this subsection is sought, including the ability to obtain
the non-Federal contribution required under paragraph (4)(C);
``(iii) information relating to assistance to be provided
by the women's business center in the area served by the
women's business center for which a grant under this
subsection is sought;
``(iv) information demonstrating that the applicant has
worked with resource partners of the Administration and other
entities;
``(v) a 3-year plan that describes the ability of the
women's business center for which a grant under this
subsection is sought--
``(I) to serve women who are business owners or potential
business owners by conducting training and counseling
activities; and
``(II) to provide training and services to a representative
number of women who are socially and economically
disadvantaged; and
``(vi) any additional information that the Administrator
may reasonably require.
``(C) Review and approval of applications for grants.--
``(i) In general.--The Administrator shall--
``(I) review each application submitted under subparagraph
(B), based on the information described in such subparagraph
and the criteria set forth under clause (ii) of this
subparagraph; and
``(II) whenever practicable, as part of the final selection
process, conduct a site visit to each women's business center
for which a grant under this subsection is sought.
``(ii) Selection criteria.--
``(I) In general.--The Administrator shall evaluate
applicants for grants under this subsection in accordance
with selection criteria that are--
``(aa) established before the date on which applicants are
required to submit the applications;
``(bb) stated in terms of relative importance; and
[[Page S5396]]
``(cc) publicly available and stated in each solicitation
for applications for grants under this subsection made by the
Administrator.
``(II) Required criteria.--The selection criteria for a
grant under this subsection shall include--
``(aa) the total number of entrepreneurs served by the
applicant;
``(bb) the total number of new startup companies assisted
by the applicant;
``(cc) the percentage of clients of the applicant that are
socially or economically disadvantaged; and
``(dd) the percentage of individuals in the community
served by the applicant who are socially or economically
disadvantaged.
``(iii) Conditions for continued funding.--In determining
whether to make a grant under this subsection, the
Administrator--
``(I) shall consider the results of the most recent
evaluation of the women's business center for which a grant
under this subsection is sought, and, to a lesser extent,
previous evaluations; and
``(II) may withhold a grant under this subsection, if the
Administrator determines that the applicant has failed to
provide the information required to be provided under this
paragraph, or the information provided by the applicant is
inadequate.
``(D) Notification.--Not later than 60 days after the date
of each deadline to submit applications, the Administrator
shall approve or deny any application under this paragraph
and notify the applicant for each such application of the
approval or denial.
``(E) Record retention.--The Administrator shall maintain a
copy of each application submitted under this paragraph for
not less than 7 years.''; and
(B) by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the following:
``(5) Award to previous recipients.--There shall be no
limitation on the number of times the Administrator may award
a grant to an applicant under this subsection.''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--
(1) In general.--Section 29 of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 656) is amended--
(A) in subsection (h)(2), by striking ``to award a contract
(as a sustainability grant) under subsection (l) or'';
(B) in subsection (j)(1), by striking ``The
Administration'' and inserting ``Not later than November 1 of
each year, the Administrator'';
(C) in subsection (k)--
(i) by striking paragraphs (1), (2), and (4);
(ii) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); and
(iii) by inserting before paragraph (4), as so
redesignated, the following:
``(1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated
to the Administration to carry out this section, to remain
available until expended, $14,500,000 for each of fiscal
years 2013, 2014, and 2015.
``(2) Use of funds.--Amounts made available under this
subsection may only be used for grant awards and may not be
used for costs incurred by the Administration in connection
with the management and administration of the program under
this section.
``(3) Continuing grant and cooperative agreement
authority.--
``(A) Prompt disbursement.--Upon receiving funds to carry
out this section for a fiscal year, the Administrator shall,
to the extent practicable, promptly reimburse funds to any
women's business center awarded financial assistance under
this section if the center meets the eligibility requirements
under this section.
``(B) Suspension or termination.--If the Administrator has
entered into a grant or cooperative agreement with a women's
business center under this section, the Administrator may not
suspend or terminate the grant or cooperative agreement,
unless the Administrator--
``(i) provides the women's business center with written
notification setting forth the reasons for that action; and
``(ii) affords the women's business center an opportunity
for a hearing, appeal, or other administrative proceeding
under chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code.'';
(D) in subsection (m)--
(i) in paragraph (2), by striking ``subsection (b) or (l)''
and inserting ``this subsection or subsection (b)''; and
(ii) in paragraph (4)(D), by striking ``or subsection
(l)''; and
(E) by redesignating subsections (m) and (n), as amended by
this Act, as subsections (l) and (m), respectively.
(2) Prospective repeal.--Section 1401(c)(2) of the Small
Business Jobs Act of 2010 (15 U.S.C. 636 note) is amended--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) by redesignating paragraph (6), as added by section
424(a)(3)(E) of the Women's Small Business Ownership Act of
2012, as paragraph (5).''.
(c) Effect on Existing Grants.--
(1) Terms and conditions.--A nonprofit organization
receiving a grant under section 29(m) of the Small Business
Act (15 U.S.C. 656(m)), as in effect on the day before the
date of enactment of this Act, shall continue to receive the
grant under the terms and conditions in effect for the grant
on the day before the date of enactment of this Act, except
that the nonprofit organization may not apply for a renewal
of the grant under section 29(m)(5) of the Small Business Act
(15 U.S.C. 656(m)(5)), as in effect on the day before the
date of enactment of this Act.
(2) Length of renewal grant.--The Administrator may award a
grant under section 29(l) of the Small Business Act, as so
redesignated by subsection (b)(1)(E) of this section, to a
nonprofit organization receiving a grant under section 29(m)
of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656(m)), as in effect on
the day before the date of enactment of this Act, for the
period--
(A) beginning on the day after the last day of the grant
agreement under such section 29(m); and
(B) ending at the end of the third fiscal year beginning
after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 425. STUDY AND REPORT ON ECONOMIC ISSUES FACING WOMEN'S
BUSINESS CENTERS.
(a) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States
shall conduct a broad study of the unique economic issues
facing women's business centers located in covered areas to
identify--
(1) the difficulties such centers face in raising non-
Federal funds;
(2) the difficulties such centers face in competing for
financial assistance, non-Federal funds, or other types of
assistance;
(3) the difficulties such centers face in writing grant
proposals; and
(4) other difficulties such centers face because of the
economy in the type of covered area in which such centers are
located.
(b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit
to Congress a report containing the results of the study
under subsection (a), which shall include recommendations, if
any, regarding how to--
(1) address the unique difficulties women's business
centers located in covered areas face because of the type of
covered area in which such centers are located;
(2) expand the presence of, and increase the services
provided by, women's business centers located in covered
areas; and
(3) best use technology and other resources to better serve
women business owners located in covered areas.
(c) Definition of Covered Area.--In this section, the term
``covered area'' means--
(1) any State that is predominantly rural, as determined by
the Administrator;
(2) any State that is predominantly urban, as determined by
the Administrator; and
(3) any State or territory that is an island.
SEC. 426. STUDY AND REPORT ON OVERSIGHT OF WOMEN'S BUSINESS
CENTERS.
(a) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States
shall conduct a study of the oversight of women's business
centers by the Administrator, which shall include--
(1) an analysis of the coordination by the Administrator of
the activities of women's business centers with the
activities of small business development centers, the Service
Corps of Retired Executives, and Veterans Business Outreach
Centers;
(2) a comparison of the types of individuals and small
business concerns served by women's business centers and the
types of individuals and small business concerns served by
small business development centers, the Service Corps of
Retired Executives, and Veterans Business Outreach Centers;
and
(3) an analysis of performance data for women's business
centers that evaluates how well women's business centers are
carrying out the mission of women's business centers and
serving individuals and small business concerns.
(b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit
to Congress a report containing the results of the study
under subsection (a), which shall include recommendations, if
any, for eliminating the duplication of services provided by
women's business centers, small business development centers,
the Service Corps of Retired Executives, and Veterans
Business Outreach Centers.
Subtitle C--Strengthening America's Small Business Development Centers
SEC. 431. INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
Section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``: Provided, That''
and all that follows through ``on such date.'' and inserting
the following: ``. On and after December 31, 2013, the
Administrator may only make a grant under this paragraph to
an applicant that is an institution of higher education, as
defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1001(a)), that is accredited (and not merely in
preaccreditation status) by a nationally recognized
accrediting agency or association recognized by the Secretary
of Education for such purpose in accordance with section 496
of that Act (20 U.S.C. 1099b).''; and
(2) in subsection (c)(3)(K), by inserting ``public and
private institutions of higher education (including
universities, community colleges, and junior colleges),''
before ``local and regional private consultants''.
SEC. 432. UPDATING FUNDING LEVELS FOR SMALL BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT CENTERS.
(a) Minimum Funding Levels.--Section 21(a)(4)(C) of the
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(4)(C)) is amended--
(1) in clause (iii)--
(A) by striking ``$90,000,000'' each place that term
appears and inserting ``$98,500,000'';
[[Page S5397]]
(B) by striking ``$81,500,000'' each place that term
appears and inserting ``$90,000,000''; and
(C) by striking ``$500,000'' each place that term appears
and inserting ``$600,000'';
(2) in clause (v)(II), by striking ``if the usage'' and all
that follows through the end of the subclause and inserting a
period; and
(3) in clause (v), by striking subclause (I) and inserting
the following:
``(I) In general.--Of the amounts made available in any
fiscal year to carry out this section--
``(aa) not more than $50,000 may be used by the
Administration to pay the expenses enumerated in subparagraph
(B) of section 20(a)(1);
``(bb) not more than $500,000 may be used by the
Administration to pay the expenses enumerated in subparagraph
(C) of section 20(a)(1); and
``(cc) not more than $250,000 may be used by the
Administration to pay the expenses enumerated in subparagraph
(D) of section 20(a)(1).''.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section
21(a)(4)(C)(vii) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
648(a)(4)(C)(vii)) is amended to read as follows:
``(vii) Authorization of appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
subparagraph--
``(I) $135,000,000 for fiscal year 2013;
``(II) $135,000,000 for fiscal year 2014; and
``(III) $135,000,000 for fiscal year 2015.''.
SEC. 433. ASSISTANCE TO OUT-OF-STATE SMALL BUSINESSES.
Section 21(b)(3) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
648(b)(3)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``(3) At the discretion'' and inserting the
following:
``(3) Assistance to Out-of-state Small Businesses.--
``(A) In general.--At the discretion''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) Disaster recovery assistance.--
``(i) In general.--At the discretion of the Administrator,
the Administrator may authorize a small business development
center to provide assistance, as described in subsection (c),
to small business concerns located outside of the State,
without regard to geographic proximity, if the small business
concerns are located in an area for which the President has
declared a major disaster under section 401 of the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 5170), during the period of the declaration.
``(ii) Continuity of services.--A small business
development center that provides counselors to an area
described in clause (i) shall, to the maximum extent
practicable, ensure continuity of services in any State in
which the small business development center otherwise
provides services.
``(iii) Access to disaster recovery facilities.--For
purposes of this subparagraph, the Administrator shall, to
the maximum extent practicable, permit the personnel of a
small business development center to use any site or facility
designated by the Administrator for use to provide disaster
recovery assistance.''.
SEC. 434. TERMINATION OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER
DEFENSE ECONOMIC TRANSITION ASSISTANCE.
(a) In General.--Section 21(c)(3) of the Small Business Act
(15 U.S.C. 648(c)(3)) is amended--
(1) by striking subparagraph (G); and
(2) by redesignating subparagraphs (H) through (T) as
subparagraphs (G) through (S), respectively.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--Section 21(a) of
the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (4)(C)(vi), by striking ``or (c)(3)(G)'';
and
(2) in paragraph (6), by striking ``subparagraphs (B)
through (G) of subsection (c)(3)'' and inserting
``subparagraphs (B) through (F) of subsection (c)(3)''.
(c) Existing Grants.--Nothing in this section shall affect
any grant made to a small business development center before
the date of enactment of this Act under section 21(c)(3)(G)
of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(c)(3)(G)), as in
effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act,
and any such grant shall be subject to such section
21(c)(3)(G), as in effect on the day before the date of
enactment of this Act.
SEC. 435. NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER ADVISORY
BOARD.
(a) In General.--Section 21(i)(1) of the Small Business Act
(15 U.S.C. 648(i)(1)) is amended--
(1) in the first sentence, by striking ``nine members'' and
inserting ``10 members'';
(2) in the second sentence, by striking ``six'' and
inserting ``the members who are not from universities or
their affiliates'';
(3) by striking the third sentence; and
(4) in the fourth sentence--
(A) by striking ``Succeeding Boards'' and inserting ``The
members of the Board''; and
(B) by inserting ``not less than'' before ``one-third''.
(b) Incumbents.--An individual serving as a member of the
National Small Business Development Center Advisory Board on
the date of enactment of this Act may continue to serve on
the Board until the end of the term of the member under
section 21(i)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
648(i)(1)), as in effect on the day before such date of
enactment.
SEC. 436. REPEAL OF PAUL D. COVERDELL DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE
PROGRAM.
Section 27 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 654) is
repealed.
Subtitle D--Terminating the National Veterans Business Development
Corporation
SEC. 441. NATIONAL VETERANS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.
(a) In General.--The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et
seq.) is amended by striking section 33 (15 U.S.C. 657c).
(b) Corporation.--On and after the date of enactment of
this Act, the National Veterans Business Development
Corporation and any successor thereto may not represent that
the corporation is federally chartered or in any other manner
authorized by the Federal Government.
(c) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Small business act.--The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
631 et seq.), as amended by this section, is amended--
(A) by redesignating sections 34 through 45 as sections 33
through 44, respectively;
(B) in section 9(k)(1)(D) (15 U.S.C. 638(k)(1)(D)), by
striking ``section 34(d)'' and inserting ``section 33(d)'';
(C) in section 33 (15 U.S.C. 657d), as so redesignated--
(i) by striking ``section 35'' each place it appears and
inserting ``section 34'';
(ii) in subsection (a)--
(I) in paragraph (2), by striking ``section 35(c)(2)(B)''
and inserting ``section 34(c)(2)(B)'';
(II) in paragraph (4), by striking ``section 35(c)(2)'' and
inserting ``section 34(c)(2)''; and
(III) in paragraph (5), by striking ``section 35(c)'' and
inserting ``section 34(c)''; and
(iii) in subsection (h)(2), by striking ``section 35(d)''
and inserting ``section 34(d)'';
(D) in section 34 (15 U.S.C. 657e), as so redesignated--
(i) by striking ``section 34'' each place it appears and
inserting ``section 33''; and
(ii) in subsection (c)(1), by striking section
``34(c)(1)(E)(ii)'' and inserting section
``33(c)(1)(E)(ii)'';
(E) in section 36(d) (15 U.S.C. 657i(d)), as so
redesignated, by striking ``section 43'' and inserting
``section 42'';
(F) in section 39(d) (15 U.S.C. 657l(d)), as so
redesignated, by striking ``section 43'' and inserting
``section 42''; and
(G) in section 40(b) (15 U.S.C. 657m(b)), as so
redesignated, by striking ``section 43'' and inserting
``section 42''.
(2) Title 10.--Section 1142(b)(13) of title 10, United
States Code, is amended by striking ``and the National
Veterans Business Development Corporation''.
(3) Title 38.--Section 3452(h) of title 38, United States
Code, is amended by striking ``any of the'' and all that
follows and inserting ``any small business development center
described in section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
648), insofar as such center offers, sponsors, or cosponsors
an entrepreneurship course, as that term is defined in
section 3675(c)(2).''.
(4) Food, conservation, and energy act of 2008.--Section
12072(c)(2) of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008
(15 U.S.C. 636g(c)(2)) is amended by striking ``section 43 of
the Small Business Act, as added by this Act'' and inserting
``section 42 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657o)''.
(5) Veterans entrepreneurship and small business
development act of 1999.--Section 203(c)(5) of the Veterans
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999
(15 U.S.C. 657b note) is amended by striking ``In cooperation
with the National Veterans Business Development Corporation,
develop'' and inserting ``Develop''.
TITLE V--ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING
Subtitle A--Bonds
SEC. 511. REMOVAL OF SUNSET DATES FOR CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF
THE SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT ACT OF 1958.
(a) Maximum Bond Amount.--Section 411(a)(1) of the Small
Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 694b(a)(1)) is
amended by striking ``does not exceed'' and all that follows
and inserting ``does not exceed $5,000,000.''.
(b) Denial of Liability.--Section 411(e)(2) of the Small
Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 694b(e)(2)) is
amended by striking ``bonds exceeds'' and all that follows
and inserting ``bonds exceeds $5,000,000,''.
Subtitle B--Small Business Contracting Fraud Prevention
SEC. 521. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Small Business
Contracting Fraud Prevention Act of 2012''.
SEC. 522. DEFINITIONS.
In this subtitle--
(1) the term ``8(a) program'' means the program under
section 8(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(a));
(2) the terms ``Administration'' and ``Administrator'' mean
the Small Business Administration and the Administrator
thereof, respectively;
(3) the terms ``HUBZone'' and ``HUBZone small business
concern'' and ``HUBZone map'' have the meanings given those
terms in section 3(p) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
632(p)), as amended by this Act; and
(4) the term ``recertification'' means a determination by
the Administrator that a business concern that was previously
determined to be a qualified HUBZone small business concern
is a qualified HUBZone small business concern under section
3(p)(5) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(p)(5)).
[[Page S5398]]
SEC. 523. FRAUD DETERRENCE AT THE SMALL BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION.
Section 16 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 645) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (d)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking
``Whoever'' and all that follows through ``oneself or
another'' and inserting the following: ``A person shall be
subject to the penalties and remedies described in paragraph
(2) if the person misrepresents the status of any concern or
person as a small business concern, a qualified HUBZone small
business concern, a small business concern owned and
controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged
individuals, a small business concern owned and controlled by
women, or a small business concern owned and controlled by
service-disabled veterans, in order to obtain for any
person'';
(ii) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as follows:
``(A) prime contract, subcontract, grant, or cooperative
agreement to be awarded under subsection (a) or (m) of
section 8, or section 9, 15, 31, or 35;'';
(iii) by striking subparagraph (B);
(iv) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as
subparagraphs (B) and (C), respectively; and
(v) in subparagraph (C), as so redesignated, by striking
``, shall be'' and all that follows and inserting a period;
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as
subparagraphs (D) and (E), respectively; and
(ii) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following:
``(C) be subject to the civil remedies under subchapter III
of chapter 37 of title 31, United States Code (commonly known
as the `False Claims Act');''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(3)(A) In the case of a violation of paragraph (1)(A) or
subsection (g) or (h), for purposes of a proceeding described
in subparagraph (A) or (C) of paragraph (2), the amount of
the loss to the Federal Government or the damages sustained
by the Federal Government, as applicable, shall be an amount
equal to the amount that the Federal Government paid to the
person that received a contract, grant, or cooperative
agreement described in paragraph (1)(A), (g), or (h),
respectively.
``(B) In the case of a violation of subparagraph (B) or (C)
of paragraph (1), for the purpose of a proceeding described
in subparagraph (A) or (C) of paragraph (2), the amount of
the loss to the Federal Government or the damages sustained
by the Federal Government, as applicable, shall be an amount
equal to the portion of any payment by the Federal Government
under a prime contract that was used for a subcontract
described in subparagraph (B) or (C) of paragraph (1),
respectively.
``(C) In a proceeding described in subparagraph (A) or (B),
no credit shall be applied against any loss or damages to the
Federal Government for the fair market value of the property
or services provided to the Federal Government.'';
(2) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the following:
``(e) Any representation of the status of any concern or
person as a small business concern, a HUBZone small business
concern, a small business concern owned and controlled by
socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, a small
business concern owned and controlled by women, or a small
business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled
veterans, in order to obtain any prime contract, subcontract,
grant, or cooperative agreement described in subsection
(d)(1) shall be made in writing or through the Online
Representations and Certifications Application process
required under section 4.1201 of the Federal Acquisition
Regulation, or any successor thereto.''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(g) A person shall be subject to the penalties and
remedies described in subsection (d)(2) if the person
misrepresents the status of any concern or person as a small
business concern, a qualified HUBZone small business concern,
a small business concern owned and controlled by socially and
economically disadvantaged individuals, a small business
concern owned and controlled by women, or a small business
concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans--
``(1) in order to allow any person to participate in any
program of the Administration; or
``(2) in relation to a protest of a contract award or
proposed contract award made under regulations issued by the
Administration.
``(h)(1) A person that submits a request for payment on a
contract or subcontract that is awarded under subsection (a)
or (m) of section 8, or section 9, 15, 31, or 35, shall be
deemed to have submitted a certification that the person
complied with regulations issued by the Administration
governing the percentage of work that the person is required
to perform on the contract or subcontract, unless the person
states, in writing, that the person did not comply with the
regulations.
``(2) A person shall be subject to the penalties and
remedies described in subsection (d)(2) if the person--
``(A) uses the services of a business other than the
business awarded the contract or subcontract to perform a
greater percentage of work under a contract than is permitted
by regulations issued by the Administration; or
``(B) willfully participates in a scheme to circumvent
regulations issued by the Administration governing the
percentage of work that a contractor is required to perform
on a contract.''.
SEC. 524. VETERANS INTEGRITY IN CONTRACTING.
(a) Definition.--Section 3(q)(1) of the Small Business Act
(15 U.S.C. 632(q)(1)) is amended by striking ``means a
veteran'' and all that follows and inserting the following:
``means--
``(A) a veteran with a service-connected disability rated
by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs as zero percent or more
disabling; or
``(B) a former member of the Armed Forces who is retired,
separated, or placed on the temporary disability retired list
for physical disability under chapter 61 of title 10, United
States Code.''.
(b) Veterans Contracting.--Section 4 of the Small Business
Act (15 U.S.C. 633), as amended by this Act, is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(i) Veteran Status.--
``(1) In general.--A business concern seeking status as a
small business concern owned and controlled by service-
disabled veterans shall--
``(A) submit an annual certification indicating that the
business concern is a small business concern owned and
controlled by service-disabled veterans by means of the
Online Representations and Certifications Application process
required under section 4.1201 of the Federal Acquisition
Regulation, or any successor thereto; and
``(B) register with--
``(i) the Central Contractor Registration database
maintained under subpart 4.11 of the Federal Acquisition
Regulation, or any successor thereto; and
``(ii) the VetBiz database of the Department of Veterans
Affairs, or any successor thereto.
``(2) Verification of status.--
``(A) Veterans affairs.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs
shall determine whether a business concern registered with
the VetBiz database of the Department of Veterans Affairs, or
any successor thereto, as a small business concern owned and
controlled by veterans or a small business concern owned and
controlled by service-disabled veterans is owned and
controlled by a veteran or a service-disabled veteran, as the
case may be.
``(B) Federal agencies generally.--The head of each Federal
agency shall--
``(i) for a sole source contract awarded to a small
business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled
veterans or a contract awarded with competition restricted to
small business concerns owned and controlled by service-
disabled veterans under section 35, determine whether a
business concern submitting a proposal for the contract is a
small business concern owned and controlled by service-
disabled veterans; and
``(ii) use the VetBiz database of the Department of
Veterans Affairs, or any successor thereto, in determining
whether a business concern is a small business concern owned
and controlled by service-disabled veterans.
``(3) Debarment and suspension.--If the Administrator
determines that a business concern knowingly and willfully
misrepresented that the business concern is a small business
concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans,
the Administrator may debar or suspend the business concern
from contracting with the United States.''.
(c) Integration of Databases.--The Administrator for
Federal Procurement Policy and the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs shall ensure that data is shared on an ongoing basis
between the VetBiz database of the Department of Veterans
Affairs and the Central Contractor Registration database
maintained under subpart 4.11 of the Federal Acquisition
Regulation.
(d) Effective Date.--
(1) In general.--The amendment made by subsection (b) and
the requirements under subsection (c) shall take effect on
the date on which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (referred
to in this subsection as the ``Secretary'') publishes in the
Federal Register a determination that the Department of
Veterans Affairs has the necessary resources and capacity to
carry out the additional responsibility of determining
whether small business concerns registered with the VetBiz
database of the Department of Veterans Affairs are owned and
controlled by a veteran or a service-disabled veteran, as the
case may be, in accordance with subsection (i) of section 4
of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 633), as added by
subsection (b).
(2) Timeline.--If the Secretary determines that the
Secretary is not able to publish the determination under
paragraph (1) before the date that is 1 year after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, not later than
1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, submit a
report containing an estimate of the date on which the
Secretary will publish the determination under paragraph (1)
to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and
the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the
Committee on Small Business and the Committee on Veterans'
Affairs of the House of Representatives.
SEC. 525. SECTION 8(A) PROGRAM IMPROVEMENTS.
(a) Review of Effectiveness.--Section 8(a) of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(a)) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
[[Page S5399]]
``(22) Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment
of this paragraph, and every 3 years thereafter, the
Comptroller General of the United States shall--
``(A) conduct an evaluation of the effectiveness of the
program under this subsection, including an examination of--
``(i) the number and size of contracts applied for, as
compared to the number received by, small business concerns
after successfully completing the program;
``(ii) the percentage of small business concerns that
continue to operate during the 3-year period beginning on the
date on which the small business concerns successfully
complete the program;
``(iii) whether the business of small business concerns
increases during the 3-year period beginning on the date on
which the small business concerns successfully complete the
program; and
``(iv) the number of training sessions offered under the
program; and
``(B) 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 regarding
each evaluation under subparagraph (A).''.
(b) Other Improvements.--In order to improve the 8(a)
program, the Administrator shall--
(1) not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, begin to--
(A) evaluate the feasibility of--
(i) using additional third-party data sources;
(ii) making unannounced visits of sites that are selected
randomly or using risk-based criteria;
(iii) using fraud detection tools, including data-mining
techniques; and
(iv) conducting financial and analytical training for the
business opportunity specialists of the Administration;
(B) evaluate the feasibility and advisability of amending
regulations applicable to the 8(a) program to require that
calculations of the adjusted net worth or total assets of an
individual include assets held by the spouse of the
individual; and
(C) develop a more consistent enforcement strategy that
includes the suspension or debarment of contractors that
knowingly make misrepresentations in order to qualify for the
8(a) program; and
(2) not later than 1 year after the date on which the
Comptroller General submits the report under section
8(a)(22)(B) of the Small Business Act, as added by subsection
(c), issue, in final form, proposed regulations of the
Administration that--
(A) determine the economic disadvantage of a participant in
the 8(a) program based on the income and asset levels of the
participant at the time of application and annual
recertification for the 8(a) program; and
(B) limit the ability of a small business concern to
participate in the 8(a) program if an immediate family member
of an owner of the small business concern is, or has been, a
participant in the 8(a) program, in the same industry.
SEC. 526. HUBZONE IMPROVEMENTS.
(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to reform and
improve the HUBZone program of the Administration.
(b) In General.--The Administrator shall--
(1) ensure the HUBZone map is--
(A) accurate and up-to-date; and
(B) revised as new data is made available to maintain the
accuracy and currency of the HUBZone map;
(2) implement policies for ensuring that only HUBZone small
business concerns determined to be qualified under section
3(p)(5) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(p)(5)) are
participating in the HUBZone program, including through the
appropriate use of technology to control costs and maximize,
among other benefits, uniformity, completeness, simplicity,
and efficiency;
(3) 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 regarding
any application to be designated as a HUBZone small business
concern or for recertification for which the Administrator
has not made a determination as of the date that is 60 days
after the date on which the application was submitted or
initiated, which shall include a plan and timetable for
ensuring the timely processing of the applications; and
(4) develop measures and implement plans to assess the
effectiveness of the HUBZone program that--
(A) require the identification of a baseline point in time
to allow the assessment of economic development under the
HUBZone program, including creating additional jobs; and
(B) take into account--
(i) the economic characteristics of the HUBZone; and
(ii) contracts being counted under multiple socioeconomic
subcategories.
(c) Employment Percentage.--Section 3(p) of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(p)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (5), by adding at the end the following:
``(E) Employment percentage during interim period.--
``(i) Definition.--In this subparagraph, the term `interim
period' means the period beginning on the date on which the
Administrator determines that a HUBZone small business
concern is qualified under subparagraph (A) and ending on the
day before the date on which a contract under the HUBZone
program for which the HUBZone small business concern submits
a bid is awarded.
``(ii) Interim period.--During the interim period, the
Administrator may not determine that the HUBZone small
business is not qualified under subparagraph (A) based on a
failure to meet the applicable employment percentage under
subparagraph (A)(i)(I), unless the HUBZone small business
concern--
``(I) has not attempted to maintain the applicable
employment percentage under subparagraph (A)(i)(I); or
``(II) does not meet the applicable employment percentage--
``(aa) on the date on which the HUBZone small business
concern submits a bid for a contract under the HUBZone
program; or
``(bb) on the date on which the HUBZone small business
concern is awarded a contract under the HUBZone program.'';
and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(8) Hubzone program.--The term `HUBZone program' means
the program established under section 31.
``(9) Hubzone map.--The term `HUBZone map' means the map
used by the Administration to identify HUBZones.''.
(d) Redesignated Areas.--Section 3(p)(4)(C)(i) of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(p)(4)(C)(i)) is amended to read
as follows:
``(i) 3 years after the first date on which the
Administrator publishes a HUBZone map that is based on the
results from the 2010 decennial census; or''.
SEC. 527. ANNUAL REPORT ON SUSPENSION, DEBARMENT, AND
PROSECUTION.
The Administrator shall submit an annual report to the
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the
Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the House of
Representatives that contains--
(1) the number of debarments from participation in programs
of the Administration issued by the Administrator during the
1-year period preceding the date of the report, including--
(A) the number of debarments that were based on a
conviction; and
(B) the number of debarments that were fact-based and did
not involve a conviction;
(2) the number of suspensions from participation in
programs of the Administration issued by the Administrator
during the 1-year period preceding the date of the report,
including--
(A) the number of suspensions issued that were based upon
indictments; and
(B) the number of suspensions issued that were fact-based
and did not involve an indictment;
(3) the number of suspension and debarments issued by the
Administrator during the 1-year period preceding the date of
the report that were based upon referrals from offices of the
Administration, other than the Office of Inspector General;
(4) the number of suspension and debarments issued by the
Administrator during the 1-year period preceding the date of
the report based upon referrals from the Office of Inspector
General; and
(5) the number of persons that the Administrator declined
to debar or suspend after a referral described in paragraph
(8), and the reason for each such decision.
Subtitle C--Fairness in Women-Owned Small Business Contracting
SEC. 531. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Fairness in Women-Owned
Small Business Contracting Act of 2012''.
SEC. 532. PROCUREMENT PROGRAM FOR WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS
CONCERNS.
Section 8(m) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(m))
is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``who are economically
disadvantaged'';
(B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``paragraph (3)'' and
inserting ``paragraph (4)'';
(C) by striking subparagraph (D); and
(D) by redesignating subparagraphs (E) and (F) as
subparagraphs (D) and (E), respectively; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(7) Sole source contracts.--A contracting officer may
award a sole source contract under this subsection to a small
business concern owned and controlled by women under the same
conditions as a sole source contract may be awarded to a
qualified HUBZone small business concern under section
31(b)(2)(A).''.
SEC. 533. STUDY AND REPORT ON REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN.
Section 29 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656), as
amended by section 424 of this Act, is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``(n) Study and Report on Representation of Women.--
``(1) Study.--The Administrator shall periodically conduct
a study to identify any United States industry, as defined
under the North American Industry Classification System, in
which women are underrepresented.
``(2) Report.--Not later than 5 years after the date of
enactment of this subsection, and every 5 years thereafter,
the Administrator 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 on
the results of each study under paragraph (1) conducted
during the 5-year period ending on the date of the report.''.
Subtitle D--Small Business Champion
SEC. 541. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Small Business Champion
Act of 2012''.
[[Page S5400]]
SEC. 542. OFFICES OF SMALL AND DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS
UTILIZATION.
(a) Appointment and Position of Director.--Section 15(k)(2)
of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(k)(2)) is amended by
striking ``such agency,'' and inserting ``such agency to a
position that is a Senior Executive Service position (as such
term is defined under section 3132(a) of title 5, United
States Code), except that, for any agency in which the
positions of Chief Acquisition Officer and senior procurement
executive (as such terms are defined under section 43(a) of
this Act) are not Senior Executive Service positions, the
Director of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization may
be appointed to a position compensated at not less than the
minimum rate of basic pay payable for grade GS-15 of the
General Schedule under section 5332 of such title (including
comparability payments under section 5304 of such title);''.
(b) Performance Appraisals.--Section 15(k)(3) of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(k)(3)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``be responsible only to, and report
directly to, the head'' and inserting ``shall be responsible
only to (including with respect to performance appraisals),
and report directly and exclusively to, the head''; and
(2) by striking ``be responsible only to, and report
directly to, such Secretary'' and inserting ``be responsible
only to (including with respect to performance appraisals),
and report directly and exclusively to, such Secretary''.
(c) Small Business Technical Advisers.--Section 15(k)(8)(B)
of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(k)(8)(B)) is amended
by striking ``and 15 of this Act,'' and inserting ``, 15, and
43 of this Act;''.
(d) Additional Requirements.--Section 15(k) of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(k)) is amended by inserting after
paragraph (10) the following:
``(11) shall review and advise such agency on any decision
to convert an activity performed by a small business concern
to an activity performed by a Federal employee;
``(12) shall provide to the Chief Acquisition Officer and
senior procurement executive of such agency advice and
comments on acquisition strategies, market research, and
justifications related to section 43 of this Act;
``(13) may provide training to small business concerns and
contract specialists, except that such training may only be
provided to the extent that the training does not interfere
with the Director carrying out other responsibilities under
this subsection;
``(14) shall carry out exclusively the duties enumerated in
this Act, and shall, while the Director, not hold any other
title, position, or responsibility, except as necessary to
carry out responsibilities under this subsection;
``(15) shall submit, each fiscal year, to the Committee on
Small Business of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the
Senate a report describing--
``(A) the training provided by the Director under paragraph
(13) in the most recently completed fiscal year;
``(B) the percentage of the budget of the Director used for
such training in the most recently completed fiscal year; and
``(C) the percentage of the budget of the Director used for
travel in the most recently completed fiscal year; and
``(16) shall have not less than 10 years of relevant
procurement experience.''.
(e) Technical Amendments.--Section 15(k) of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(k)), as amended by subsection
(d), is further amended--
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by striking ``who
shall'' and inserting ``who'';
(2) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking ``be known'' and inserting ``shall be
known''; and
(B) by striking ``such agency,'' and inserting ``such
agency;'';
(3) in paragraph (2) by striking ``be appointed by'' and
inserting ``shall be appointed by'';
(4) in paragraph (3)--
(A) by striking ``director'' and inserting ``Director'';
and
(B) by striking ``Secretary's designee,'' and inserting
``Secretary's designee;'';
(5) in paragraph (4)--
(A) by striking ``be responsible'' and inserting ``shall be
responsible''; and
(B) by striking ``such agency,'' and inserting ``such
agency;'';
(6) in paragraph (5) by striking ``identify proposed'' and
inserting ``shall identify proposed'';
(7) in paragraph (6) by striking ``assist small'' and
inserting ``shall assist small'';
(8) in paragraph (7)--
(A) by striking ``have supervisory'' and inserting ``shall
have supervisory''; and
(B) by striking ``this Act,'' and inserting ``this Act;'';
(9) in paragraph (8)--
(A) by striking ``assign a'' and inserting ``shall assign
a''; and
(B) by striking ``the activity, and'' and inserting ``the
activity; and'';
(10) in paragraph (9)--
(A) by striking ``cooperate, and'' and inserting ``shall
cooperate, and''; and
(B) by striking ``subsection, and'' and inserting
``subsection;''; and
(11) in paragraph (10)--
(A) by striking ``make recommendations'' and inserting
``shall make recommendations'';
(B) by striking ``subsection (a), or section'' and
inserting ``subsection (a), section'';
(C) by striking ``Act or section 2323'' and inserting
``Act, or section 2323'';
(D) by striking ``Code. Such recommendations shall'' and
inserting ``Code, which shall''; and
(E) by striking ``contract file.'' and inserting ``contract
file;''.
SEC. 543. SMALL BUSINESS PROCUREMENT ADVISORY COUNCIL.
(a) Duties.--Section 7104(b) of the Federal Acquisition
Streamlining Act of 1994 (15 U.S.C. 644 note) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1) by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (2) by striking ``authorities.'' and
inserting ``authorities;''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) to conduct reviews of each Office of Small and
Disadvantaged Business Utilization established under section
15(k) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(k)) to
determine the compliance of each Office with requirements
under such section;
``(4) to identify best practices for maximizing small
business utilization in Federal contracting that may be
implemented by Federal agencies having procurement powers;
and
``(5) to submit, annually, to the Committee on Small
Business of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate a report
describing--
``(A) the comments submitted under paragraph (2) during the
1-year period ending on the date on which the report is
submitted, including any outcomes related to the comments;
``(B) the results of reviews conducted under paragraph (3)
during such 1-year period; and
``(C) best practices identified under paragraph (4) during
such 1-year period.''.
(b) Membership.--Section 7104(c) of the Federal Acquisition
Streamlining Act of 1994 (15 U.S.C. 644 note) is amended by
striking ``(established under section 15(k) of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(k))''.
(c) Chairman.--Section 7104(d) of the Federal Acquisition
Streamlining Act of 1994 (15 U.S.C. 644 note) is amended by
inserting after ``Small Business Administration'' the
following: ``(or the designee of the Administrator)''.
TITLE VI--TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND EFFECTIVENESS
Subtitle A--Small Business Common Application
SEC. 611. DEFINITIONS.
In this subtitle--
(1) the terms ``Administration'' and ``Administrator'' mean
the Small Business Administration and the Administrator
thereof, respectively;
(2) the term ``Executive agency'' has the meaning given
that term under section 105 of title 5, United States Code;
(3) the term ``Executive Committee'' means the Executive
Committee on a Small Business Common Application established
under section 613(a);
(4) the term ``small business concern'' has the meaning
given that term under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 632);
SEC. 612. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that Executive agencies
should--
(1) reduce paperwork burdens on small business concerns
pursuant to section 3501 of title 44, United States Code;
(2) maximize the ability of small business concerns to use
common applications, where practicable, and use consolidated
web portals to interact with Executive agencies;
(3) maintain high standards for data privacy and security;
(4) increase the degree and ease of information sharing and
coordination among programs serving small business concerns
that are carried out by Executive agencies, including State
and local offices of Executive agencies; and
(5) minimize redundancy in the administration of programs
that can utilize common applications, where practicable, and
consolidated web portals.
SEC. 613. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ON A SMALL BUSINESS COMMON
APPLICATION.
(a) Establishment.--There is established in the
Administration an Executive Committee on a Small Business
Common Application, which shall make recommendations
regarding the establishment, if practicable, of a small
business common application and web portal.
(b) Membership.--
(1) In general.--The members of the Executive Committee
shall consist of--
(A) the Administrator;
(B) the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic
Development; and
(C) 1 senior officer or employee having policy and
technical expertise appointed by each of--
(i) the Administrator of the General Services
Administration;
(ii) the Director of the National Institutes of Health;
(iii) the Director of the National Science Foundation;
(iv) the President of the Export-Import Bank;
(v) the Secretary of Agriculture;
(vi) the Secretary of Defense;
(vii) the Secretary of Health and Human Services;
(viii) the Secretary of Labor;
(ix) the Secretary of State;
(x) the Secretary of the Treasury; and
(xi) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
(2) Chairperson.--The Administrator shall serve as
chairperson of the Executive Committee.
[[Page S5401]]
(3) Period of appointment.--Members of the Executive
Committee shall be appointed for a term of 1 year.
(4) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Executive Committee shall
be filled in the same manner as the original appointment, not
later than 30 days after the date on which the vacancy
occurs.
(c) Meetings.--
(1) In general.--The Executive Committee shall meet at the
call of the chairperson of the Executive Committee.
(2) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Executive
Committee shall constitute a quorum.
(3) First meeting.--The first meeting of the Executive
Committee shall take place not later than 30 days after the
date of enactment of this subtitle.
(4) Public meeting.--The Executive Committee shall hold at
least 1 public meeting before the date described in
subsection (d)(1) to receive comments from small business
concerns and other interested parties.
(d) Duties.--
(1) Recommendations.--Not later than 270 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, upon a vote of the majority of
members of the Executive Committee then serving, the
Executive Committee shall submit to the Administrator
recommendations relating to the feasibility of establishing a
small business common application and web portal in order to
meet the goals described in section 612.
(2) Transmission to executive agencies.--The Executive
Committee shall transmit to each Executive agency a complete
copy of the recommendations submitted under paragraph (1).
(3) Transmission to congress.--The Executive Committee
shall transmit to each relevant committee of Congress a
complete copy of the recommendations submitted under
paragraph (1).
(4) Recommendations by executive agencies.--Not later than
30 days after the date on which the Executive Committee
transmits recommendations to the Executive agency under
paragraph (2), each Executive agency that provides Federal
assistance to small business concerns shall submit to
Congress recommendations, if any, for legislative changes
necessary for the Executive agency to carry out the
recommendations under paragraph (1).
(e) Personnel Matters.--
(1) Compensation of members.--The members of the Executive
Committee shall serve without compensation in addition to
that received for their services as officers or employees of
the United States.
(2) Detail of employees.--The Administrator may detail to
the Executive Committee any employee of the Economic
Development Administration, and such detail shall be without
interruption or loss of civil service status or privilege.
(f) Federal Advisory Committee Act.--Section 14 of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not
apply with respect to the Executive Committee.
SEC. 614. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the
Administrator such sums as may be necessary to carry out this
subtitle.
Subtitle B--Government Accountability Office Review
SEC. 621. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REVIEW.
Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall
submit a report to the Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small
Business of the House of Representatives that evaluates the
status of the programs authorized under this Act and the
amendments made by this Act, including the extent to which
such programs have been funded and implemented and have
contributed to promoting job creation among small business
concerns.
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