II
Calendar No. 217
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2366
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 19, 2007
Received
June 20, 2007
Read the first time
June 21, 2007
Read the second time and placed on the calendar
AN ACT
To reauthorize the veterans entrepreneurial development programs of the Small Business Administration, and for other purposes.
Short title; table of contents
Short title
This Act may be cited
as the SBA Veterans’ Programs Act of
2007
.
Table of contents
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I—OFFICE OF VETERANS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Sec. 101. Office of Veterans Business Development.
TITLE II—VETERANS ASSISTANCE AND SERVICES
Sec. 201. Veterans Assistance and Services program.
TITLE III—EXPANDING VETERANS BUSINESS OUTREACH CENTERS
Sec. 301. Increasing the number of outreach centers.
Sec. 302. Independent study on gaps in availability of outreach centers.
Office of Veterans Business Development
Office of Veterans Business Development
Section 32 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657b) is amended—
by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (e); and
by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
Participation in TAP workshops
In general
The Associate Administrator shall increase veteran outreach by ensuring that Veteran Business Outreach Centers regularly participate, on a nationwide basis, in the workshops of the Transition Assistance Program of the Department of Labor.
Presentations
In carrying out paragraph (1), a Center may provide grants to eligible entities located in Transition Assistance Program locations to make presentations on the opportunities available from the Administration for recently separating veterans. Each such presentation must include, at a minimum, the entrepreneurial and business training resources available from the Administration.
Reports
The Associate Administrator shall submit to Congress progress reports on the implementation of this subsection.
Women Veterans Business Training Resource Program
The Associate Administrator shall establish a Women Veterans Business Training Resource Program. The program shall—
compile information on resources available to women veterans for business training, including resources for—
vocational and technical education;
general business skills, such as marketing and accounting; and
business assistance programs targeted to women veterans; and
disseminate the information through Veteran Business Outreach Centers and women’s business centers.
.
Veterans Assistance and Services
Veterans Assistance and Services program
Section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648) is amended by adding at the end the following:
Veterans Assistance and Services program
In general
A Small Business Development Center may apply for an additional grant to carry out a veterans assistance and services program.
Elements of program
Under a program under paragraph (1), the Center shall—
create a marketing campaign to promote awareness and education of the services of the Center that are available to veterans, and to target the campaign toward veterans, disabled veterans, military units, Federal agencies, and veterans organizations;
use technology-assisted online counseling and distance learning technology to overcome the impediments to entrepreneurship faced by veterans and members of the Armed Forces; and
increase coordination among organizations that assist veterans, including by establishing virtual integration of service providers and offerings for a one-stop point of contact for veterans who are entrepreneurs or small business owners.
Minimum amount
Each grant under this subsection shall be for at least $75,000.
Maximum amount
A grant under this subsection may not exceed $250,000.
Funding
Subject to amounts approved in advance in appropriations Acts, the Administration may make grants or enter into cooperative agreements to carry out the provisions of this subsection.
.
Expanding Veterans Business Outreach Centers
Increasing the number of outreach centers
The Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall use the authority in section 8(b)(17) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 647(b)) to ensure that the number of Veterans Business Outreach Centers throughout the United States increases—
by at least 2, for each of fiscal years 2008 and 2009; and
by the number that the Administrator considers appropriate, based on existing need, for each fiscal year thereafter.
Independent study on gaps in availability of outreach centers
The Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall sponsor an independent study on gaps in the availability of Veterans Business Outreach Centers across the United States. The purpose of the study shall be to identify the gaps that do exist so as to inform decisions on funding and on the allocation and coordination of resources. Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a report on the results of the study.
Passed the House of Representatives June 18, 2007.
Lorraine C. Miller,
Clerk.
June 21, 2007
Read the second time and placed on the calendar