Supporting Small Business and Career and Technical Education Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3366 To amend the Small Business Act to include requirements relating to grad- uates of career and technical education programs or programs of study for small business development centers and women’s business centers, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 20, 2021 Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas (for himself and Ms. NEWMAN) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider- ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend the Small Business Act to include requirements relating to graduates of career and technical education programs or programs of study for small business devel- opment centers and women’s business centers, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:16 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3366.IH H3366 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3366 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Supporting Small 2 Business and Career and Technical Education Act of 3 2021’’. 4 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 5 It is the sense Congress that— 6 (1) career and technical education provides in- 7 dividuals with coherent and rigorous content aligned 8 with challenging academic standards and relevant 9 technical knowledge and skills needed to prepare for 10 further education and careers in current or emerging 11 professions; 12 (2) career and technical education provides 13 technical skill proficiency, an industry-recognized 14 credential, a certificate, or an associate degree; 15 (3) career and technical education includes 16 competency-based applied learning which contributes 17 to the academic knowledge, higher-order reasoning 18 and problem-solving skills, work attitudes, general 19 employability skills, technical skills, occupation-spe- 20 cific skills, and knowledge of all aspects of an indus- 21 try, including entrepreneurship, of an individual; 22 (4) employment opportunities provided through 23 recognized postsecondary credentials (as defined in 24 section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor- 25 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102)) are as important to 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:16 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3366.IH H3366 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3366 IH the advancement of the economy of the United 1 States as any other domestic business sector; 2 (5) career and technical professions are desir- 3 able and often high-skill, high-wage occupations; and 4 (6) career and technical education provides in- 5 dividuals with just as competitive and practical of a 6 career path as attending a traditional four-year col- 7 lege or university. 8 SEC. 3. INCLUSION OF CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDU- 9 CATION. 10 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 3 of the Small Business 11 Act is amended by adding at the end the following new 12 subsection: 13 ‘‘(gg) CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION.—The 14 term ‘career and technical education’ has the meaning 15 given the term in section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career 16 and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302).’’. 17 (b) SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS.— 18 Section 21(c)(3) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 19 648(c)(1)) is amended— 20 (1) in subparagraph (T), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 21 the end; 22 (2) in clause (v) of the first subparagraph (U) 23 (relating to succession planning), by striking the pe- 24 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:16 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3366.IH H3366 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3366 IH (3) in second subparagraph (U) (relating to 1 training on domestic and international intellectual 2 property protections)— 3 (A) in clause (ii)(II), by striking the period 4 at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 5 (B) by redesignating such subparagraph as 6 subparagraph (V); and 7 (4) by adding at the end the following new sub- 8 paragraphs: 9 ‘‘(W) assisting small businesses in hiring 10 graduates from career and technical education 11 programs or programs of study; and 12 ‘‘(X) assisting graduates of career and 13 technical education programs or programs of 14 study in starting up a small business concern.’’. 15 (c) WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTERS.—Section 29(b) of 16 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656(b)) is amended— 17 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 18 end; 19 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at 20 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 21 (3) by adding at the end the following new 22 paragraphs: 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:16 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3366.IH H3366 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3366 IH ‘‘(4) assistance for small business concerns to 1 hire graduates from career and technical education 2 programs or programs of study; and 3 ‘‘(5) assistance for graduates of career and 4 technical education programs or programs of study 5 to start up a small business concern.’’. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:16 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3366.IH H3366 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS