II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 389 To establish a Next Generation Entrepreneurship Corps program within the Small Business Administration, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 23, 2021 Mr. COONS (for himself and Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship A BILL To establish a Next Generation Entrepreneurship Corps pro- gram within the Small Business Administration, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Next Generation En- 4 trepreneurship Corps Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 6 It is the sense of Congress that— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S389.IS S389 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 389 IS (1) the United States has a successful fellow- 1 ship for building the next generation of public serv- 2 ants; and 3 (2) with the devastation facing small businesses 4 in the United States as a result of the novel 2019 5 Coronavirus (COVID–19), rebuilding Main Street 6 will require a new generation of entrepreneurial tal- 7 ent with the backing of the Federal Government. 8 SEC. 3. NEXT GENERATION ENTREPRENEURSHIP CORPS 9 PROGRAM. 10 The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is 11 amended— 12 (1) by redesignating section 49 (15 U.S.C. 631 13 note) as section 50; and 14 (2) by inserting after section 48 (15 U.S.C. 15 657u) the following: 16 ‘‘SEC. 49. NEXT GENERATION ENTREPRENEURSHIP CORPS 17 PROGRAM. 18 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 19 ‘‘(1) the term ‘Committee’ means the selection 20 committee established under subsection (k); 21 ‘‘(2) the term ‘community development financial 22 institution’ has the meaning given the term in sec- 23 tion 103 of the Riegle Community Development and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S389.IS S389 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 389 IS Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 1 4702)); 2 ‘‘(3) the term ‘distressed region’ means any 3 census tract or other area that is treated as a low- 4 income community for purposes of section 45D of 5 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 6 ‘‘(4) the term ‘equity investment’— 7 ‘‘(A) means an investment for an owner- 8 ship interest in an entity, the financial return 9 with respect to which is principally aligned with 10 the financial return of the plurality of owner- 11 ship interests in the entity; and 12 ‘‘(B) includes a debt instrument that can 13 be converted to an equity ownership interest in 14 an entity based on future events; 15 ‘‘(5) the term ‘fellow’ means an individual par- 16 ticipating as a fellow under the Program; 17 ‘‘(6) the term ‘minority depository institution’ 18 has the meaning given the term in section 308 of the 19 Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and En- 20 forcement Act of 1989 (12 U.S.C. 1463 note); 21 ‘‘(7) the term ‘Program’ means the Next Gen- 22 eration Entrepreneurship Corps Program established 23 under subsection (b); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S389.IS S389 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 389 IS ‘‘(8) the term ‘qualified investor’ means a per- 1 son that— 2 ‘‘(A) invests equity in a small business 3 concern owned and operated under the Program 4 by a fellow; and 5 ‘‘(B) has not more than $250,000,000 in 6 assets; 7 ‘‘(9) the term ‘SCORE’ means the Service 8 Corps of Retired Executives established under sec- 9 tion 8(b)(1)(B); 10 ‘‘(10) the term ‘State’ means any State of the 11 United States, the District of Columbia, and any 12 territory of the United States; 13 ‘‘(11) the term ‘veteran business outreach cen- 14 ter’ means a veteran business outreach center de- 15 scribed in section 32; and 16 ‘‘(12) the term ‘women’s business center’ means 17 a women’s business center operating pursuant to 18 section 29. 19 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established within 21 the Administration an independent fellowship pilot 22 program to be known as the ‘Next Generation En- 23 trepreneurship Corps Program’ to foster entrepre- 24 neurship in the most distressed regions of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S389.IS S389 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 389 IS United States, including distressed regions affected 1 by the COVID–19 pandemic. 2 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATION.—The Program shall be 3 administered by the Office of Entrepreneurial Devel- 4 opment of the Administration. 5 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION.— 6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Under the Program, 7 there shall be 1 group of fellows selected each 8 year for 5 years of the Program, with each 9 group serving for a 2-year period. 10 ‘‘(B) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year 11 after the second group of fellows is selected 12 under the Program, and every 2 years there- 13 after, the Committee shall submit to Congress 14 an evaluation of the Program, along with any 15 recommendations and options to expand the 16 Program and make the Program permanent. 17 ‘‘(4) THIRD-PARTY CONTRACTS.— 18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Office of Entre- 19 preneurial Development of the Administration 20 may contract with third-party nonprofit organi- 21 zations that— 22 ‘‘(i) do or plan to do service work to 23 execute the Program; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S389.IS S389 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 389 IS ‘‘(ii) the Committee determines have 1 relevant experience to carry out the Pro- 2 gram. 3 ‘‘(B) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days 4 after the date of enactment of the Next Genera- 5 tion Entrepreneurship Corps Act, the Adminis- 6 trator shall submit to Congress a report on— 7 ‘‘(i) the requirements and plans relat- 8 ing to third-party contractors described in 9 subparagraph (A); and 10 ‘‘(ii) how those third-party contractors 11 will begin to carry out the Program. 12 ‘‘(5) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Not later than 13 90 days after the date of enactment of the Next 14 Generation Entrepreneurship Corps Act, the Admin- 15 istrator shall submit to Congress a report discussing 16 the plan of the Administrator to implement this sec- 17 tion, which shall include a discussion of— 18 ‘‘(A) how the Administrator will provide 19 administrative support to the Committee; 20 ‘‘(B) the plan of the Administrator to co- 21 ordinate the implementation of the Program 22 with the Committee; and 23 ‘‘(C) the status of the appointment of 24 members of the Committee. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S389.IS S389 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 389 IS ‘‘(c) STIPENDS.— 1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each fiscal year, the Com- 2 mittee may select not more than 320 fellows to par- 3 ticipate in the Program and receive a 2-year stipend 4 of $120,000 to start and grow a new small business 5 concern. 6 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY TO REJECT.—The Assistant 7 Administrator of the Office of Entrepreneurial De- 8 velopment of the Administration shall have the au- 9 thority to reject any fellow selected by the Com- 10 mittee to participate in the Program. 11 ‘‘(3) ALLOWABLE USES.—The Committee shall 12 determine the allowable uses of a stipend awarded 13 under this subsection. 14 ‘‘(4) STIPEND AMOUNT.—The amount of a sti- 15 pend made under this subsection shall be adjusted 16 every 3 years to reflect increases in the Consumer 17 Price Index for All Urban Consumers during that 18 period. 19 ‘‘(5) APPLICATIONS.—Each applicant for a sti- 20 pend under this subsection shall— 21 ‘‘(A) propose a small business concern idea 22 that will be located in a distressed region; and 23 ‘‘(B) submit to the Committee a small 24 business concern plan that demonstrates— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S389.IS S389 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 389 IS ‘‘(i) that the applicant will have pri- 1 mary decision making authority in the 2 small business concern; 3 ‘‘(ii) a need for the small business 4 concern of the applicant in the community 5 or how the small business concern solves 6 an economic or social problem in the area 7 to be served by the small business concern 8 or the United States; 9 ‘‘(iii) how the applicant plans to build 10 their small business concern to employ 11 local talent in entry-level and mid-level po- 12 sitions to ensure quality job growth; 13 ‘‘(iv) a vision for long-term growth in 14 the area to be served by the small business 15 concern; and 16 ‘‘(v) that the applicant does not, at 17 the time of application, have the resources 18 to start and grow a small business concern 19 on their own without assistance. 20 ‘‘(6) REQUIREMENTS.—To receive a stipend 21 under this subsection, the applicant shall— 22 ‘‘(A) live or be willing to relocate to live in 23 the distressed region in which the small busi- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S389.IS S389 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 389 IS ness concern of the applicant is located, as de- 1 termined by the Committee; 2 ‘‘(B) indicate that the applicant intends to 3 provide products or services to such distressed 4 region through such small business concern; 5 and 6 ‘‘(C) agree to make a good faith effort to, 7 if the applicant is hiring employees during the 8 period of participation in the Program or the 3 9 years following such participation, hire— 10 ‘‘(i) locally from distressed regions in 11 the area served by the business of the ap- 12 plicant; 13 ‘‘(ii) racial or ethnic minorities; 14 ‘‘(iii) persons with criminal convic- 15 tions; or 16 ‘‘(iv) the hard to employ. 17 ‘‘(7) PREFERENCE.— 18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall 19 give preference to applicants for a stipend 20 under this subsection that are— 21 ‘‘(i) individuals moving to a distressed 22 region to encourage new small business 23 concern owners in those areas post- 24 COVID–19; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S389.IS S389 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 389 IS ‘‘(ii) individuals who can demonstrate 1 a connection to the State or locality in 2 which the proposed small business concern 3 will be located; 4 ‘‘(iii) owners of small business con- 5 cerns whose businesses were closed or who 6 had to significant change their business 7 model or services due to the COVID–19 8 public health crisis; 9 ‘‘(iv) entrepreneurs within populations 10 underrepresented among small business 11 concern owners in the United States, in- 12 cluding women and racial and ethnic mi- 13 nority groups; 14 ‘‘(v) veterans; 15 ‘‘(vi) individuals who can demonstrate 16 residence of not less than 2 years in a low- 17 income census tract; 18 ‘‘(vii) individuals who have taken non- 19 traditional pathways for professional devel- 20 opment, including individuals without a 21 bachelor’s degree or who received Federal 22 Pell Grants under section 401 of the High- 23 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 24 1070a), who shall not be required to estab- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S389.IS S389 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 389 IS lish a small business concern in a dis- 1 tressed region; or 2 ‘‘(viii) individuals with business plans 3 that have potential, if successful, to be eli- 4 gible for any contracting assistance pro- 5 gram of the Administration, including the 6 business development program under sec- 7 tion 8(a), the Women Owned Small Busi- 8 ness Federal contracting program under 9 section 8(m), the service-disabled veteran- 10 owned small business program under sec- 11 tion 36, and the HUBZone program under 12 section 31. 13 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—When evaluating 14 applicants for a stipend under this subsection, 15 the Committee— 16 ‘‘(i) shall differentiate between appli- 17 cants for a stipend under this subsection 18 that aim to be a high-growth startup and 19 a traditional small business concern; 20 ‘‘(ii) shall consider similar categories 21 of applicants concurrently; 22 ‘‘(iii) should seek to encourage both 23 high-growth and traditional startups across 24 all geographic areas; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S389.IS S389 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 389 IS ‘‘(iv) shall— 1 ‘‘(I) not prioritize applicants with 2 prior experience with starting and 3 growing a small business concern over 4 applications without that experience; 5 and 6 ‘‘(II) give equal consideration to 7 applicants with and without the expe- 8 rience described in subclause (I). 9 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL METRICS.—The Com- 10 mittee shall establish additional metrics by 11 which to evaluate applicants for a stipend under 12 this subsection, including by creating local and 13 State level applicant competitions. 14 ‘‘(8) NEW ENTREPRENEURS.—The Committee 15 may award stipends under this subsection to appli- 16 cants both at the beginning stages of building their 17 small business concern as well as to applicants who 18 have had limited prior business experience. 19 ‘‘(9) NUMBER OF FELLOWS PER SCORE CHAP- 20 TER.— 21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each year, the Com- 22 mittee shall, to the maximum extent prac- 23 ticable, designate 1 fellow per SCORE chapter 24 in the United States, provided that the selection 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S389.IS S389 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 389 IS process under this subsection remains competi- 1 tive. 2 ‘‘(B) DISTRIBUTION.—The Committee 3 shall ensure a fair geographic distribution of 4 fellows selected under this subsection, including 5 between urban and rural areas, and may create 6 a process for ensuring that distribution if the 7 Committee determines necessary. 8 ‘‘(d) BENEFITS.— 9 ‘‘(1) STUDENT LOAN DEFERMENT.—For each 10 fellow who notifies the Committee that the fellow 11 has a loan made, insured, or guaranteed under part 12 B, D, or E of title IV of the Higher Education Act 13 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq.; 1087a et seq.; 14 1087aa et seq.) that is in repayment— 15 ‘‘(A) the Committee shall— 16 ‘‘(i) inform the Secretary of Edu- 17 cation that the fellow is participating in a 18 fellowship through the Program; and 19 ‘‘(ii) provide any additional informa- [Text truncated for display. 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