[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1442 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1442
To preserve the political independence of the National Women's Business
Council.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 22 (legislative day, July 21), 2003
Ms. Landrieu introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To preserve the political independence of the National Women's Business
Council.
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 ``National Women's Business Council
Independence Preservation Act of 2003''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The National Women's Business Council provides an
independent source of advice and policy recommendations
regarding women's business development and the needs of women
entrepreneurs in the United States to--
(A) the President;
(B) Congress;
(C) the Interagency Committee on Women's Business
Enterprise; and
(D) the Administrator of the Small Business
Administration.
(2) The members of the National Women's Business Council
are small business owners, representatives of business
organizations, and representatives of women's business centers.
(3) The chair and ranking member of the Committee on Small
Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee
on Small Business of the House of Representatives make
recommendations to the Administrator to fill 8 of the positions
on the National Women's Business Council. Four of the positions
are reserved for small business owners who are affiliated with
the political party of the President and four of the positions
are reserved for small business owners who are not affiliated
with the political party of the President. This method of
appointment ensures that the National Women's Business Council
will provide Congress with non-partisan, balanced, and
independent advice.
(4) In order to maintain the independence of the National
Women's Business Council and to ensure that the Council
continues to provide Congress with advice on a non-partisan
basis, it is essential that the Council maintain the bipartisan
balance established under section 407 of the Women's Business
Ownership Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 7107).
SEC. 3. MAINTAINING THE POLITICAL INDEPENDENCE OF THE NATIONAL WOMEN'S
BUSINESS COUNCIL.
Section 407(f) of the Women's Business Ownership Act of 1988 (15
U.S.C. 7107(f)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``A vacancy'' and inserting the following:
``(1) In general.--A vacancy''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Partisan balance.--When filling vacancies under
paragraph (1), the Administrator shall, to the extent
practicable, ensure that there are an equal number of members
on the Council from each of the 2 major political parties.
``(3) Accountability.--If a vacancy is not filled within
the 30-day period required under paragraph (1) or if there
exists an imbalance of party-affiliated members on the Council
for a period exceeding 30 days, the Administrator shall submit
a report, not later than 10 days after the respective 30-day
deadline, to the Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small
Business of the House of Representatives, that explains why the
respective deadline was not met and provides an estimated date
on which any vacancies will be filled.''.
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