Minority Business Resiliency Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4208 To require the Minority Business Development Agency of the Department of Commerce to promote and administer programs in the public and private sectors to assist the development of minority business enterprises, to ensure that such Agency has the necessary supporting resources, particularly during economic downturns, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 2, 2020 Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. SCHUMER, and Ms. CORTEZ MASTO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To require the Minority Business Development Agency of the Department of Commerce to promote and administer programs in the public and private sectors to assist the development of minority business enterprises, to ensure that such Agency has the necessary supporting resources, particularly during economic downturns, 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 23:31 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4208.IS S4208 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4208 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 2 ‘‘Minority Business Resiliency Act of 2020’’. 3 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 4 this Act is as follows: 5 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings and purposes. Sec. 3. Definitions. Sec. 4. Minority Business Development Agency. TITLE I—COVID–19 RAPID RESPONSE Sec. 101. Emergency appropriation. TITLE II—EXISTING INITIATIVES Subtitle A—Market Development, Research, and Information Sec. 201. Private sector development. Sec. 202. Public sector development. Sec. 203. Research and information. Subtitle B—Minority Business Development Center Program Sec. 210. Purpose. Sec. 211. Definitions. Sec. 212. Establishment. Sec. 213. Cooperative agreements. Sec. 214. Minimizing disruptions to existing Business Centers program. Sec. 215. Publicity. Sec. 216. Authorization of appropriations. TITLE III—NEW INITIATIVES TO PROMOTE ECONOMIC RESILIENCY FOR MINORITY BUSINESSES Sec. 301. Annual diverse business forum on capital formation. Sec. 302. Agency study on alternative financing solutions. Sec. 303. Educational development relating to management and entrepreneur- ship. TITLE IV—ADMINISTRATIVE AND OTHER POWERS OF THE AGENCY; MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS Sec. 401. Administrative powers. Sec. 402. Financial assistance. Sec. 403. Audits. Sec. 404. Review and report by Comptroller general. Sec. 405. Annual reports; recommendations. Sec. 406. Separability. Sec. 407. Executive Order 11625. Sec. 408. Amendment to the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S4208.IS S4208 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4208 IS SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 1 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 2 (1) During times of economic downturn or re- 3 cession, communities of color, and businesses within 4 those communities, are generally more adversely af- 5 fected, which requires an expansion of the ability of 6 the Federal Government to infuse resources into 7 those communities. 8 (2) Despite the growth in the number of minor- 9 ity business enterprises, gaps remain with respect to 10 key metrics for those enterprises, such as access to 11 capital, revenue, number of employees, and survival 12 rate. Specifically— 13 (A) according to the Department of Com- 14 merce, minority business enterprises are 2 to 3 15 times more likely to be denied loans than non- 16 minority business enterprises; 17 (B) according to the Bureau of the Cen- 18 sus, the average non-minority business enter- 19 prise reports receipts that are more than 3 20 times higher than receipts reported by the aver- 21 age minority business enterprise; and 22 (C) according to the Kauffman Founda- 23 tion— 24 (i) minority business enterprises are 25 1⁄2 as likely to employ individuals, as com- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4208.IS S4208 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4208 IS pared with non-minority business enter- 1 prises; and 2 (ii) if minorities started and owned 3 businesses at the same rate as non-minori- 4 ties, the United States economy would 5 have more than 1,000,000 additional em- 6 ployer businesses and more than 9,500,000 7 additional jobs. 8 (3) Because of the conditions described in para- 9 graph (2), it is in the interest of the United States 10 and the economy of the United States to expedi- 11 tiously ameliorate the disparities that minority busi- 12 ness enterprises experience. 13 (4) Many individuals who own minority busi- 14 ness enterprises are socially disadvantaged because 15 those individuals identify as members of certain 16 groups that have suffered the effects of discrimina- 17 tory practices or similar circumstances over which 18 those individuals have no control, including individ- 19 uals who are— 20 (A) Black or African American; 21 (B) Hispanic or Latino; 22 (C) American Indian or Alaska Native; 23 (D) Asian; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4208.IS S4208 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4208 IS (E) Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Is- 1 lander. 2 (5) Discriminatory practices and similar cir- 3 cumstances described in paragraph (4) are a signifi- 4 cant determinant of overall economic disadvantage 5 in the United States, which is evident in the per- 6 sistent racial wealth gap in the United States. 7 (6) While other Federal agencies focus only on 8 small businesses and businesses that represent a 9 broader demographic than solely minority business 10 enterprises, the Agency focuses exclusively on— 11 (A) the unique needs of minority business 12 enterprises; and 13 (B) enhancing the capacity of minority 14 business enterprises. 15 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to— 16 (1) require the Agency to promote and admin- 17 ister programs in the public and private sectors to 18 assist the development of minority business enter- 19 prises; and 20 (2) achieve the development described in para- 21 graph (1) by authorizing the Assistant Secretary to 22 carry out programs that will result in increased ac- 23 cess to capital, management, and technology for mi- 24 nority business enterprises. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4208.IS S4208 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4208 IS SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Agency’’ means the 3 Minority Business Development Agency of the De- 4 partment of Commerce. 5 (2) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist- 6 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 7 Commerce for Minority Business Development who 8 is appointed as described in section 4(b) to admin- 9 ister this Act. 10 (3) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 11 agency’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘agency’’ 12 in section 551 of title 5, United States Code. 13 (4) FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED AREA OF ECO- 14 NOMIC DISTRESS.—The term ‘‘federally recognized 15 area of economic distress’’ means— 16 (A) a HUBZone, as that term is defined in 17 section 31(b) of the Small Business Act (15 18 U.S.C. 657a(b)); 19 (B) an area that— 20 (i) has been designated as— 21 (I) an empowerment zone under 22 section 1391 of the Internal Revenue 23 Code of 1986; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4208.IS S4208 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4208 IS (II) a Promise Zone by the Sec- 1 retary of Housing and Urban Devel- 2 opment; or 3 (ii) is a low or moderate income area, 4 as determined by the Bureau of the Cen- 5 sus; 6 (C) a qualified opportunity zone, as that 7 term is defined in section 1400Z–1 of the Inter- 8 nal Revenue Code of 1986; or 9 (D) any other political subdivision or unin- 10 corporated area of a State determined by the 11 Assistant Secretary to be an area of economic 12 distress. 13 (5) INDIAN TRIBE.— 14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 15 graph (B), the term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ has the 16 meaning given the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ in sec- 17 tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 18 Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 19 (B) NATIVE HAWAIIAN ORGANIZATION.— 20 The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ includes a Native Ha- 21 waiian organization. 22 (6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 23 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4208.IS S4208 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4208 IS meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 1 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 2 (7) MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISE.—The 3 term ‘‘minority business enterprise’’ means a for- 4 profit business enterprise— 5 (A) that is not less than 51 percent-owned 6 by 1 or more socially disadvantaged individuals; 7 and 8 (B) the management and daily business 9 operations of which are controlled by 1 or more 10 socially disadvantaged individuals. 11 (8) PRIVATE SECTOR ENTITY.—The term ‘‘pri- 12 vate sector entity’’— 13 (A) means an entity that is not a public 14 sector entity; and 15 (B) does not include— 16 (i) the Federal Government; 17 (ii) any Federal agency; or 18 (iii) any instrumentality of the Fed- 19 eral Government. 20 (9) PUBLIC SECTOR ENTITY.—The term ‘‘public 21 sector entity’’ means— 22 (A) a State; 23 (B) an agency of a State; 24 (C) a political subdivision of a State; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4208.IS S4208 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4208 IS (D) an agency of a political subdivision of 1 a State. 2 (10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 3 means the Secretary of Commerce. 4 (11) SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED INDIVIDUAL.— 5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘socially dis- 6 advantaged individual’’ means an individual 7 who has been subjected to racial or ethnic prej- 8 udice or cultural bias because of the identity of 9 the individual as a member of a group, without 10 regard to any individual quality of the indi- 11 vidual that is unrelated to that identity. 12 (B) PRESUMPTION.—In carrying out this 13 Act, the Assistant Secretary shall presume that 14 the term ‘‘socially disadvantaged individual’’ in- 15 cludes any individual who is— 16 (i) Black or African American; 17 (ii) Hispanic or Latino; 18 (iii) American Indian or Alaska Na- 19 tive; 20 (iv) Asian; 21 (v) Native Hawaiian or other Pacific 22 Islander; or 23 (vi) a member of a group that the Mi- 24 nority Business Development Agency de- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4208.IS S4208 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4208 IS termines under part 1400 of title 15, Code 1 of Federal Regulations, as in effect on No- 2 vember 23, 1984, is a socially disadvan- 3 taged group eligible to receive assistance. 4 (12) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 5 (A) each of the States of the United 6 States; 7 (B) the District of Columbia; 8 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 9 (D) the United States Virgin Islands; 10 (E) Guam; 11 (F) American Samoa; 12 (G) the Commonwealth of the Northern 13 Mariana Islands; and 14 (H) each Indian Tribe. 15 SEC. 4. MINORITY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AGENCY. 16 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is within the Department 17 of Commerce the Minority Business Development Agency. 18 (b) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.— 19 (1) APPOINTMENT AND DUTIES.—The Agency 20 shall be headed by an Assistant Secretary of Com- 21 merce for Minority Business Development, who shall 22 be— 23 (A) appointed by the President, by and 24 with the advice and consent of the Senate; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4208.IS S4208 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4208 IS (B) except as otherwise expressly provided, 1 responsible for the administration of this Act. 2 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Assistant Secretary 3 shall be compensated at an annual rate of basic pay 4 prescribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule 5 under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code. 6 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 120 days 7 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 8 submit to Congress a report that describes— 9 (1) the organizational structure of the Agency; 10 (2) the organizational position of the Agency 11 within the Department of Commerce; and 12 (3) a description of how the Agency shall func- 13 tion in relation to the operations carried out by each 14 other component of the Department of Commerce. 15 (d) OFFICE OF BUSINESS CENTERS.— 16 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established 17 within the Agency an Office of Business Centers. 18 (2) DIRECTOR.—The Office of Business Cen- 19 ters shall be administered by a Director, who shall 20 be appointed by the Assistant Secretary. 21 (e) OFFICES OF THE AGENCY.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary 23 shall establish such other offices within the Agency 24 as are necessary to carry out this Act. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4208.IS S4208 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4208 IS (2) REGIONAL OFFICES.— 1 (A) IN GENERAL.—In order to carry out 2 this Act, the Assistant Secretary may establish 3 a regional office of the Agency for each of the 4 regions of the United States, as determined by 5 the Assistant Secretary. 6 (B) DUTIES.—Each regional office estab- 7 lished under subparagraph (A) shall expand the 8 reach of the Agency and enable the Federal 9 Government to better serve the needs of minor- 10 ity business enterprises in the region served by 11 the office, including by— 12 (i) understanding and participating in 13 the business environment of that region; 14 (ii) working with— 15 (I) Centers, as that term is de- 16 fined in section 211, that are located 17 in that region; and 18 (II) resource and lending part- 19 ners of the Small Business Adminis- 20 tration that are located in that region; 21 (iii) being aware of business retention 22 or expansion programs specific to that re- 23 gion; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Jul 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4208.IS S4208 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 4208 IS (iv) seeking out opportunities to col- [Text truncated for display. 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