Minority Business Resiliency Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6869 To establish the Minority Business Development Agency of the Department of Commerce and to support the economic resilience of minority business enterprises during and after the COVID–19 outbreak. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 14, 2020 Mr. GREEN of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on the Budget, and Small Business, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish the Minority Business Development Agency of the Department of Commerce and to support the eco- nomic resilience of minority business enterprises during and after the COVID–19 outbreak. 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 ‘‘Minority Business Re- 4 siliency Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:32 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6869.IH H6869 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6869 IH (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Agency’’ means the 1 Minority Business Development Agency of the De- 2 partment of Commerce. 3 (2) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist- 4 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 5 Commerce for Minority Business Development. 6 (3) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en- 7 tity’’ means a private nonprofit organization that— 8 (A) is described in section 501(c)(3) of the 9 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt 10 from tax under section 501(a) of such Code; 11 (B) can demonstrate to the Agency that— 12 (i) the primary mission of the organi- 13 zation is to provide services to minority 14 business enterprises, whether through edu- 15 cation, making grants, or other similar ac- 16 tivities; and 17 (ii) the organization is unable to pay 18 financial obligations incurred by the orga- 19 nization, including payroll obligations; and 20 (C) due to the effects of COVID–19, is un- 21 able to engage in the same level of fundraising 22 in the year in which this Act is enacted, as 23 compared with the year preceding the year in 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:32 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6869.IH H6869 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6869 IH which this Act is enacted, including through 1 events or the collection of fees. 2 (4) MINORITY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CEN- 3 TER.—The term ‘‘minority business development 4 center’’ means a Business Center of the Agency, in- 5 cluding its Specialty Center Program. 6 (5) MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISE.—The 7 term ‘‘minority business enterprise’’ means a for- 8 profit business enterprise— 9 (A) that is not less than 51 percent-owned 10 by 1 or more socially disadvantaged individuals; 11 and 12 (B) the management and daily business 13 operations of which are controlled by 1 or more 14 socially disadvantaged individuals. 15 (6) SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED INDIVIDUAL.— 16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘socially dis- 17 advantaged individual’’ means an individual 18 who has been subjected to racial or ethnic prej- 19 udice or cultural bias because of the identity of 20 the individual as a member of a group, without 21 regard to any individual quality of the indi- 22 vidual that is unrelated to that identity. 23 (B) PRESUMPTION.—In carrying out this 24 Act, the Agency shall presume that the term 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:32 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6869.IH H6869 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6869 IH ‘‘socially disadvantaged individual’’ includes any 1 individual who is— 2 (i) Black or African American; 3 (ii) Hispanic or Latino; 4 (iii) American Indian or Alaska Na- 5 tive; 6 (iv) Asian; 7 (v) Native Hawaiian or other Pacific 8 Islander; or 9 (vi) a member of a group that the 10 Agency determines under part 1400 of title 11 15, Code of Federal Regulations, as in ef- 12 fect on November 23, 1984, is a socially 13 disadvantaged group eligible to receive as- 14 sistance. 15 SEC. 3. MINORITY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AGENCY. 16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Minority Business Devel- 17 opment Agency in the Department of Commerce is hereby 18 established. 19 (b) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.— 20 (1) APPOINTMENT AND DUTIES.—The Agency 21 shall be headed by an Assistant Secretary of Com- 22 merce for Minority Business Development, who shall 23 be— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:32 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6869.IH H6869 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6869 IH (A) appointed by the President, by and 1 with the advice and consent of the Senate; and 2 (B) except as otherwise expressly provided, 3 responsible for the administration of this Act. 4 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Assistant Secretary 5 shall be compensated at an annual rate of basic pay 6 prescribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule 7 under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code. 8 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 120 days 9 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 10 submit to Congress a report that describes— 11 (1) the organizational structure of the Agency; 12 (2) the organizational position of the Agency in 13 the Department of Commerce; and 14 (3) a description of how the Agency shall func- 15 tion in relation to the operations carried out by each 16 other component of the Department of Commerce. 17 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE POWERS AND OTHER POWERS 18 OF THE AGENCY; MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the duties 20 and the responsibilities of the Agency, the Assistant 21 Secretary may— 22 (A) adopt and use a seal for the Agency, 23 which shall be judicially noticed; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:32 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6869.IH H6869 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6869 IH (B) hold hearings, sit and act, and take 1 testimony as the Assistant Secretary may deter- 2 mine to be necessary or appropriate; 3 (C) acquire, in any lawful manner, any 4 property that the Assistant Secretary may de- 5 termine to be necessary or appropriate; 6 (D) make advance payments under grants, 7 contracts, and cooperative agreements awarded 8 by the Agency; 9 (E) enter into agreements with other Fed- 10 eral agencies; 11 (F) coordinate with the heads of the Of- 12 fices of Small and Disadvantaged Business Uti- 13 lization of Federal agencies; 14 (G) require a coordinated review of all 15 training and technical assistance activities that 16 are proposed to be carried out by Federal agen- 17 cies in direct support of the development of mi- 18 nority business enterprises to— 19 (i) assure consistency with the pur- 20 poses of this Act; and 21 (ii) avoid duplication of existing ef- 22 forts; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:32 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6869.IH H6869 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6869 IH (H) prescribe such rules, regulations, and 1 procedures as the Agency may determine to be 2 necessary or appropriate. 3 (2) EMPLOYMENT OF CERTAIN EXPERTS AND 4 CONSULTANTS.— 5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Sec- 6 retary may employ experts and consultants or 7 organizations that are composed of experts or 8 consultants, as authorized under section 3109 9 of title 5, United States Code. 10 (B) RENEWAL OF CONTRACTS.—The As- 11 sistant Secretary may annually renew a con- 12 tract for employment of an individual employed 13 under subparagraph (A). 14 (3) DONATION OF PROPERTY.— 15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 16 graph (B), the Assistant Secretary may, with- 17 out cost (except for costs of care and handling), 18 donate for use by any public sector entity, or by 19 any recipient nonprofit organization, for the 20 purpose of the development of minority business 21 enterprises, any real or tangible personal prop- 22 erty acquired by the Agency. 23 (B) TERMS, CONDITIONS, RESERVATIONS, 24 AND RESTRICTIONS.—The Assistant Secretary 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:32 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6869.IH H6869 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6869 IH may impose reasonable terms, conditions, res- 1 ervations, and restrictions upon the use of any 2 property donated under subparagraph (A). 3 SEC. 4. EMERGENCY GRANTS TO NONPROFITS THAT SUP- 4 PORT MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISES. 5 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to 6 make grants to covered entities in order to help those cov- 7 ered entities continue the necessary work of supporting 8 minority business enterprises. 9 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 15 days after 10 the date of enactment of this Act, the Agency shall estab- 11 lish a grant program for covered entities in accordance 12 with the requirements of this section, under which the 13 Agency shall make grants to covered entities as expedi- 14 tiously as possible. 15 (c) APPLICATION.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—A covered entity desiring a 17 grant under this section shall submit to the Agency 18 an application at such time, in such manner, and 19 containing such information as the Agency may re- 20 quire. 21 (2) PRIORITY.—The Agency shall— 22 (A) establish selection criteria to ensure 23 that, if the amounts made available to carry out 24 this section are not sufficient to make a grant 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:32 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6869.IH H6869 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6869 IH under this section to every covered entity that 1 submits an application under paragraph (1), 2 the covered entities that are the most severely 3 affected by the effects of COVID–19 receive 4 priority with respect to those grants; and 5 (B) give priority with respect to the grants 6 made under this section to a covered entity that 7 proposes to use the grant funds for— 8 (i) providing paid sick leave to em- 9 ployees of the covered entity who are un- 10 able to work due to the direct effects of 11 COVID–19; 12 (ii) continuing to make payroll pay- 13 ments in order to retain employees of the 14 covered entity during an economic disrup- 15 tion with respect to COVID–19; 16 (iii) making rent or mortgage pay- 17 ments with respect to obligations of the 18 covered entity; or 19 (iv) repaying non-Federal obligations 20 that the covered entity cannot satisfy be- 21 cause of revenue losses that are attrib- 22 utable to the effects of COVID–19. 23 (d) AMOUNT OF GRANT.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:32 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6869.IH H6869 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6869 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—A grant made under this 1 section shall be in an amount that is not more than 2 $300,000. 3 (2) SINGLE AWARD.—No covered entity may re- 4 ceive, or directly benefit from, more than 1 grant 5 made under this section. 6 (e) USE OF FUNDS.—A covered entity that receives 7 a grant under this section may use the grant funds to ad- 8 dress the effects of COVID–19 on the covered entity, in- 9 cluding by making payroll payments, making a transition 10 to the provision of online services, and addressing issues 11 raised by an inability to raise funds. 12 (f) PROCEDURES.—The Agency shall establish proce- 13 dures to discourage and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse 14 by applicants for, and recipients of, grants made under 15 this section. 16 (g) PENALTIES FOR FRAUD AND MISAPPLICATION OF 17 FUNDS.—An applicant for, or recipient of, a grant made 18 under this section shall be subject to all applicable provi- 19 sions of Federal law, including section 1001 of title 18, 20 United States Code. 21 (h) NON-DUPLICATION.—The Agency shall ensure 22 that covered entities do not receive grants under both this 23 section and section 1108 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, 24 and Economic Security Act. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:32 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6869.IH H6869 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 6869 IH (i) INSPECTOR GENERAL AUDIT.—Not later than 1 180 days after the date on which the Agency begins mak- 2 ing grants under this section, the Inspector General of the 3 Department of Commerce shall— 4 (1) conduct an audit of grants made under this 5 section, which shall seek to identify any discrep- 6 ancies or irregularities with respect to the grants; 7 and 8 (2) submit to Congress a report regarding the 9 audit conducted under paragraph (1). 10 (j) UPDATES TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 30 days 11 after the date of enactment of this Act, and once every 12 30 days thereafter until the date described in subsection 13 (k), the Agency shall submit to Congress a report that 14 contains— 15 (1) the number of grants made under this sec- 16 tion during the period covered by the report; and 17 (2) with respect to the grants described in para- 18 graph (1), the geographic distribution of those 19 grants by State and county. 20 (k) TERMINATION.—The authority to make grants 21 under this section shall terminate on September 30, 2021. 22 SEC. 5. OUTREACH TO BUSINESS CENTERS. 23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 10 days after the 24 date of enactment of this Act, the Agency shall conduct 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:32 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6869.IH H6869 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 6869 IH outreach to the business center network of the Agency to 1 provide guidance to those centers regarding other Federal 2 programs that are available to provide support to minority 3 business enterprises, including programs at the Depart- 4 ment of the Treasury, the Small Business Administration, 5 and the Economic Development Administration of the De- 6 partment of Commerce. 7 (b) ADDITIONAL STAFF.—The Agency may hire addi- 8 tional staff to carry out the responsibilities of the Agency 9 under subsection (a). 10 (c) OUTREACH TO NATIVE COMMUNITIES.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section, 12 the Agency shall ensure that outreach is conducted 13 in American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Ha- 14 waiian communities. 15 (2) DIRECT OUTREACH TO CERTAIN MINORITY 16 BUSINESS ENTERPRISES.—If the Assistant Secretary 17 determines that a particular American Indian, Alas- 18 ka Native, or Native Hawaiian community does not 19 receive sufficient grant amounts under section 4 of 20 this Act or section 1108 of the CARES Act, the As- 21 sistant Secretary shall carry out additional outreach 22 directly to minority business enterprises located in 23 that community to provide guidance re [Text truncated for display. 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