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Washington, D.C.— Today, House Small Business Committee Chairwoman Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) announced the introduction of four bipartisan bills to strengthen counseling and training services provided by the Small Business Administration and its resource partners. Specifically, the bills make important reforms to the following programs: Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), Women’s Business Centers (WBCs), SCORE, and the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition.

“From small towns to big cities across America, SBA’s entrepreneurial development centers are there to lend a helping hand, be it to the young entrepreneur fresh out of school to the mother looking to reenter the workforce by opening her own business,” said Chairwoman Velazquez. “Today, we are announcing four bipartisan bills that incorporate the recommendations of small business owners and stakeholders and take commonsense steps to improve the services offered by many of SBA’s flagship entrepreneurial development initiatives. I thank Ranking Member Chabot and my fellow members of the Committee for their hard work on these bills.”

“These bills ensure continued access to the SBA’s Entrepreneurial Development programs that have served hundreds of thousands of current and prospective small business owners,” said Ranking Member Steve Chabot (R-OH). “They will also increase the programs’ transparency and accountability and congressional oversight.  I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their hard work on these important bills.”

H.R. 4406, Small Business Development Center Improvements Act, a bill to modernize and strengthen the SBDC network, which is the largest of SBA’s resource partners and consists of 63 lead organizations and over 900 centers. This bill would authorize $175 million per year in funding for the SBDC program for four years. Additionally, the bill requires SBA to submit an annual report to Congress disclosing performance metrics and operating standards of the program. It also would allow SBDCs to market and advertise, expanding the public awareness and reach of the program.

This bill was introduced by Rep. Jarden Golden (D-ME) and Rep. Aumua Amata Radewagen (R-AS).

H.R. 4405 Women’s Business Centers Improvements Act, a bill to authorize funding for the WBC program for four years at $31.5 million for each year. This bill would raise the cap on individual center grants to $300,000 and index for inflation. The bill also establishes an accreditation program, a constructive and transparent process for new center locations, and requires an annual report be submitted by the SBA to Congress to analyze the effectiveness of the program.  

This bill was introduced by Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS) and Rep. Jim Hagedorn (R-MN).

H.R. 4407 SCORE for Small Business Act of 2019, a bill to increase transparency and accountability within the SCORE program by implementing safeguards that incorporate recommendations made by a 2019 Office of Inspector General (OIG) report. The bill would require SCORE to follow federal competitive award procedures and obtain prior approval by SBA for certain contracts. It would also target financial compensation by prohibiting employees and members of the Board of Directors from receiving compensation from both organizations or serving on dual boards without consent from the SBA. The bill also requires an annual performance report on the SCORE program be submitted to Congress by the SBA.

This bill was introduced by Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) and Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN).

H.R. 4387 To establish Growth Accelerator Fund Competition within the Small Business Administration, and for other purposes, a bill to codify the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition for four years and authorize $2 million in funds per year. The bill would boost a program created in 2014 to give early-stage entrepreneurs opportunities for mentorship, financing and education. In its fifth round of funding, the competition brings together the nation’s most innovative small businesses and startups to compete for prizes of $50,000 each.

This bill was introduced by Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) and Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH).

These bipartisan bills are the product of witness testimony and small business feedback after multiple Committee hearings into the state of SBA’s entrepreneurial development programs.

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