Global Small Business Network Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8628 To support the establishment of small business development centers internationally and promote international commerce, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 20, 2020 Mr. CASTRO of Texas (for himself, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, and Mrs. WAGNER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To support the establishment of small business development centers internationally and promote international com- merce, 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 ‘‘Global Small Business 4 Network Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) Small businesses empower citizens of a 8 country, strengthen communities, provide employ- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:08 Nov 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8628.IH H8628 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8628 IH ment to millions, and form the backbone of the 1 United States economy. 2 (2) Small business concerns across the United 3 States have benefitted from access to technical as- 4 sistance, regulatory guidance, and educational pro- 5 grams through small business development centers 6 (referred to in this Act as ‘‘SBDC’’) in the United 7 States. 8 (3) The SBDC model has successfully been 9 adopted in Central America, South America, and the 10 Caribbean, through assistance from the Small Busi- 11 ness Network of the Americas’ initiative funded 12 through the Department of State. 13 (4) The Small Business Network of the Amer- 14 icas’ initiative is a highly effective program that 15 works with host governments in the Americas to es- 16 tablish small business development centers, primarily 17 funded by the host governments. 18 (5) SBDC networks outside the United States 19 serve as important conduits of commerce with the 20 United States, providing important information, 21 tools, and regulatory guidance to small businesses 22 interested in trading with the United States. 23 (6) The establishment of SBDCs in other parts 24 of the world promotes opportunities for small busi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:08 Nov 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8628.IH H8628 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8628 IH nesses to thrive and engage with the United States 1 economy. 2 SEC. 3. GLOBAL AND REGIONAL NETWORKS. 3 (a) GLOBAL SMALL BUSINESS NETWORK.— 4 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of State, 5 in consultation with the Administrator of the United 6 States Agency for International Development and 7 the Administrator of the Small Business Administra- 8 tion, is authorized to establish and administer a 9 Global Small Business Network program. 10 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Global 11 Small Business Network program is to— 12 (A) enhance the ability of small business 13 concerns in the United States that are affiliated 14 with a small business development center to ex- 15 port to foreign markets and take part in inter- 16 national commerce; and 17 (B) facilitate partners for small business 18 concerns in the United States and resilient 19 business environments in foreign countries 20 through the development of small business de- 21 velopment centers in foreign countries. 22 (3) AFFILIATION.—The Secretary of State shall 23 determine if a small business development center in 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:08 Nov 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8628.IH H8628 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8628 IH a foreign country may affiliate with and participate 1 in the Global Small Business Network program. 2 (4) COORDINATION.—The Secretary of State 3 may coordinate with a national or local government 4 of a foreign country that agrees to assist with devel- 5 oping small business development centers in such 6 country pursuant to a grant awarded under sub- 7 section (c). 8 (5) DUPLICATION OF EFFORTS.—The Secretary 9 of State shall leverage existing programs adminis- 10 tered by the Department of State, the United States 11 Agency for International Development, and other 12 United States Government agencies for the purposes 13 of the Global Small Business Network program. 14 (b) REGIONAL NETWORKS.— 15 (1) SMALL BUSINESS NETWORK OF THE AMER- 16 ICAS.—The Secretary of State may establish a Small 17 Business Network of the Americas for purposes of 18 allowing national and local governments of a foreign 19 country located in Western Hemisphere to partici- 20 pate in the Global Small Business Network program. 21 (2) ASEAN SMALL BUSINESS NETWORK.—The 22 Secretary of State may establish an ASEAN Small 23 Business Network for purposes of allowing national 24 and local governments of a foreign country that is 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:08 Nov 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8628.IH H8628 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8628 IH a member state of the Association of Southeast 1 Asian Nations to participate in the Global Small 2 Business Network program. 3 (c) GRANTS.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State may 5 make grants to any qualified entity that submits an 6 application in such form, and satisfying such re- 7 quirements, as the Secretary may require. 8 (2) TYPES OF GRANTS.—A qualified entity may 9 receive a grant for one or both of the following pur- 10 poses: 11 (A) To assist national and local govern- 12 ments of a foreign country to develop a small 13 business development center, or multiple cen- 14 ters, in such country, regardless of whether 15 such country participates in a regional network 16 described in subsection (b). 17 (B) To promote economic connectivity be- 18 tween small business concerns in the United 19 States and economies covered by the Global 20 Small Business Network, including through an 21 internet platform to— 22 (i) enhance the ability of small busi- 23 ness concerns in the United States to take 24 part in international commerce; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:08 Nov 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8628.IH H8628 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8628 IH (ii) facilitate the growth of small busi- 1 nesses in foreign countries through the de- 2 velopment of small business development 3 centers in foreign countries. 4 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 5 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of State 6 $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026, 7 in addition to amounts otherwise available for economic 8 activities and foreign assistance, to carry out this section. 9 With respect to each such fiscal year, the Secretary is au- 10 thorized to use— 11 (1) up to $1,000,000 of such amount to estab- 12 lish and operate the Small Business Network of the 13 Americas; and 14 (2) up to $1,000,000 of such amount to estab- 15 lish and operate the ASEAN Small Business Net- 16 work. 17 (e) REPORT.— 18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 19 after the date of enactment of this Act and every 20 two years thereafter for a period of four years, the 21 Secretary of State, in consultation with the Adminis- 22 trator of the United States Agency for International 23 Development and the Administrator of the Small 24 Business Administration, shall submit to the Com- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:08 Nov 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8628.IH H8628 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8628 IH mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep- 1 resentatives, the Committee on Foreign Relations of 2 the Senate, the Committee on Small Business of the 3 House of Representatives, and the Committee on 4 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate 5 a report on the status of the Global Small Business 6 Network program. 7 (2) ELEMENTS.—Each report required by para- 8 graph (1) shall include the following: 9 (A) An assessment of support provided to 10 small business concerns in the United States 11 that have utilized programs through the Global 12 Small Business Network, including information 13 on the number of businesses supported, the geo- 14 graphic location of such businesses, the number 15 of jobs supported, and the amount of economic 16 activity generated. 17 (B) A description of methods and strate- 18 gies to develop small business development cen- 19 ters in foreign countries for the two years after 20 the date of such report. 21 (C) A list, and the current status, of all 22 operating small business development centers in 23 foreign countries that are affiliated with the 24 Global Small Business Network program. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:08 Nov 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8628.IH H8628 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8628 IH (D) A list, and the current status, of all 1 new small business development centers in for- 2 eign countries set up through the Global Small 3 Business Network program in the two years be- 4 fore the date of the report, even if no longer af- 5 filiated with the Global Small Business Network 6 program. 7 (E) A description of the estimated 8 timelines for national and local governments of 9 a foreign country participating in the Small 10 Business Network of the Americas and the 11 ASEAN Small Business Network to— 12 (i) complete the creation of a small 13 business development center in such coun- 14 try; and 15 (ii) establish connections between such 16 a small business development center with 17 small business development centers in the 18 United States. 19 (F) A description of international commer- 20 cial activity resulting from participation in the 21 Global Small Business Network program. 22 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 23 (1) QUALIFIED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘qualified 24 entity’’ means an entity that is— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:08 Nov 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8628.IH H8628 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8628 IH (A) an institution of higher education (as 1 such term is defined in section 102 of the High- 2 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002)), 3 except that such term does not include institu- 4 tions described in section 102(a)(1)(c) of such 5 Act; 6 (B) a consortium of two or more institu- 7 tions of higher education described in subpara- 8 graph (A); or 9 (C) a nonprofit entity with experience in 10 operating or working with small business devel- 11 opment centers in the United States. 12 (2) SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN.—The term 13 ‘‘small business concern’’ has the meaning given the 14 term under section 3(a) of the Small Business Act 15 (15 U.S.C. 632(a)). 16 (3) SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CEN- 17 TER.—The term ‘‘small business development cen- 18 ter’’— 19 (A) with respect to a center located in the 20 United States— 21 (i) has the meaning given such term 22 in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 23 U.S.C. 632); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:08 Nov 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8628.IH H8628 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8628 IH (ii) includes a women’s business cen- 1 ter, as such term is used under section 29 2 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 3 656); and 4 (B) with respect to a center located in a 5 foreign country, means an entity that— 6 (i) provides small business-oriented 7 employment or natural resources develop- 8 ment programs; 9 (ii) promotes studies, research, and 10 counseling concerning the managing, fi- 11 nancing, and operation of small businesses; 12 (iii) provides management and tech- 13 nical assistance regarding small business 14 participation in international markets and 15 international commerce, including with the 16 United States; 17 (iv) provides delivery or distribution of 18 services and information described in this 19 subparagraph; or 20 (v) provides access to business ana- 21 lysts who can refer a small business to 22 available experts. 23 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:08 Nov 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8628.IH H8628 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS