S.Amdt. 3743

SA 3743. Mr. VAN HOLLEN submitted an amendment intended to be
proposed by him to the bill S. 2296, to authorize appropriations for
fiscal year 2026 for military activities of the Department of Defense,
for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department
of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal
year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:

At the end of subtitle D of title VIII, add the following:

SEC. 852. UNCONDITIONAL OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL REQUIREMENTS
FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEE-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS
CONCERNS.

(a) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) the term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of
the Small Business Administration;
(2) the term ``budget justification materials'' has the
meaning given that term in section 3(b)(2) of the Federal
Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (31
U.S.C. 6101 note);
(3) the term ``eligible worker-owned cooperative'' has the
meaning given that term in section 1042(c) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986;
(4) the term ``employee stock ownership plan'' has the
meaning given that term in section 4975(e) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986; and
(5) the term ``small business concern owned and controlled
by women'' has the meaning given that term in section 8(m)(1)
of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(m)(1)).
(b) Report on Ownership and Control Through an Employee
Stock Ownership Plan or Eligible Worker-owned Cooperative
Relating to Set-aside Procurement.--
(1) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(A) employee stock ownership plans and eligible worker-
owned cooperatives have unique ownership structures that
create barriers to accessing set-aside procurement programs
due to unconditional ownership and control requirements; and
(B) the ownership structures of an employee stock ownership
plan or an eligible worker-owned cooperative should not
prevent an otherwise eligible entity from accessing set-aside
procurement programs.
(2) Study and report.--
(A) Study.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in coordination
with stakeholders, including national certifying agencies
approved by the Administrator for certifying small business
concerns owned and controlled by women and relevant Federal
agencies, shall complete a study and recommend alternatives
to unconditional ownership and control requirements for
employee stock ownership plans and eligible worker-owned
cooperatives that would enable access to set-aside
procurement programs.
(B) Report.--The Administrator shall--
(i) not later than 5 days after the date on which the
Administrator completes the study required under subparagraph
(A), make that study, including the recommendations developed
under that subparagraph, publicly available on the website of
the Small Business Administration; and
(ii) not later than 30 days after the date on which the
Administrator completes the study required under subparagraph
(A), submit to Congress the recommendations developed under
that subparagraph and a plan to implement the recommendations
for all set-aside procurement programs.
(C) Necessary statutory changes.--In the first budget
justification materials submitted by the Administrator on or
after the date on which the Administrator submits the
recommendations and plan required under subparagraph (B)(ii),
the Administrator shall identify any applicable statutory
changes necessary to implement the recommendations.
(c) Definitions.--Section 3(q) of the Small Business Act
(15 U.S.C. 632(q)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``(not including any
stock owned by an ESOP)'' each place it appears;
(2) by striking paragraph (6); and
(3) by redesignating paragraph (7) as paragraph (6).
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