Entrepreneur Soldiers Empowerment Act

        [Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3898 Introduced in House (IH)]

109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3898

To direct the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to
establish Veterans Business Outreach Centers and Technical Mentoring
Assistance Committees.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

September 27, 2005

Mr. Akin introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Small Business

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To direct the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to
establish Veterans Business Outreach Centers and Technical Mentoring
Assistance Committees.

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 ``Entrepreneur Soldiers Empowerment
Act''.

SEC. 2. VETERANS BUSINESS OUTREACH CENTERS AND TECHNICAL AND MENTORING
ASSISTANCE COMMITTEES.

(a) Establishment.--Section 32 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
657c) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsections:
``(c) Veterans Business Outreach Centers.--
``(1) Establishment.--The Administrator, acting through the
Associate Administrator for Veterans Business Development,
shall establish Veterans Business Outreach Centers to offer
business planning assistance to veterans.
``(2) Number and location.--The Administrator shall
establish not less than one Veterans Business Outreach Center
in each geographic region.
``(3) Duties.--The duties of each Veterans Business
Outreach Center are as follows:
``(A) To provide business planning assistance to
veterans.
``(B) To offer information about continuity
planning for small businesses in the event of an owner
or essential employee who is a member of the National
Guard or Reserve Components of the Armed Forces being
called to serve on active duty.
``(d) Technical and Mentoring Assistance Committees.--
``(1) Establishment.--The Administrator, acting through the
Associate Administrator for Veterans Business Development,
shall establish a Technical and Mentoring Assistance Committee
in each District Office service location where no Veterans
Business Outreach Center has been established.
``(2) Responsibilities.--A Technical and Mentoring
Assistance Committee established pursuant to paragraph (1)
shall--
``(A) identify and recruit local volunteers to
serve as veterans business mentors to provide
assistance and guidance to members of the Reserve
Component who own small businesses or are entrepreneurs
and to the family members of such members and the
caretakers of such member's businesses while such
members are serving on active duty;
``(B) plan and initiate training and outreach
seminars and programs designed to support small
business ownership among members of the Reserve
Component, their family members, veterans, and service-
disabled veterans;
``(C) prepare a plan every five years and submit
such plan to the Administrator for approval; and
``(D) prepare and submit to the Administrator an
annual budget request based on the plan and the State
veteran population.
``(3) Membership.--
``(A) In general.--Each Technical and Mentoring
Assistance Committee shall be composed of members
appointed by the Administrator and shall include the
following individuals:
``(i) The District Director of the
Administration or the Regional Administrator.
``(ii) The Director of Veterans Affairs for
each State served by the Committee.
``(iii) The Director of the Small Business
Development Center for each State served by the
Committee.
``(B) Volunteer members.--The Administrator shall
consult with and encourage the voluntary participation
as members of the Committee of the following
individuals:
``(i) The Director of Economic Development
for each State served by the Committee.
``(ii) The Director of the Employer Support
of the Guard and Reserve for each State served
by the Committee.
``(iii) The Adjutant General of the
National Guard for each State served by the
Committee.
``(iv) The Director of the Service Corps of
Retired Executives for each State served by the
Committee.
``(v) Small business owners who are
veterans and members of the Reserve Component.
``(vi) Representatives of State and local
small business associations.
``(vii) The State adjutants of
Congressionally chartered veterans service
organizations.
``(viii) Small business owners and mentors
who are veterans and who have expertise in the
following areas:
``(I) Lending.
``(II) Accounting.
``(III) Insurance.
``(IV) Taxation.
``(V) Legal service.
``(VI) Business planning.
``(VII) Marketing.
``(4) No compensation.--Members of the Technical and
Mentoring Assistance Committees shall serve without pay.''.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out subparagraphs (c) and (d) of section 32 of
the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657c), as added by subsection (a)--
(1) $200,000 for each Veterans Business Outreach Center
established pursuant to section 32(c) of such Act for fiscal
year 2006 and each subsequent fiscal year; and
(2) $20,000 for each Technical and Mentoring Assistance
Committee established pursuant to section 32(d) of such Act for
fiscal year 2006 and each subsequent fiscal year.
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