[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 609 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 609
To establish a pilot program awarding competitive grants to
organizations administering entrepreneurial development programming to
formerly incarcerated individuals, and other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 1, 2023
Mr. Cardin introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a pilot program awarding competitive grants to
organizations administering entrepreneurial development programming to
formerly incarcerated individuals, and other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Necessary Entrepreneurship Workshops
via the SBA to Transform and Assist Re-entry Training Act of 2023'' or
the ``NEW START Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) according to the Department of Justice, every year,
over 600,000 individuals are released from prison and return
home to their communities, and almost 77 percent of those
individuals will reoffend within 5 years;
(2) according to the Brookings Institution, an estimated
48.5 percent of formerly incarcerated individuals will remain
unemployed or earn a negligible income for a period of 1 year
post-incarceration, increasing the risk for recidivism;
(3) according to the Florida State University Institute for
Justice Research and Development, formerly incarcerated
individuals see a reduction in earnings of 25 percent since
criminal records make it difficult to find stable employment;
(4) self-employment can provide economic stability for
those who are otherwise locked out of the labor market; and
(5) according to a paper entitled ``Entrepreneurship as a
Response to Labor Market Discrimination for Formerly
Incarcerated People''--
(A) the average individual without a criminal
record has a 7.09 percent likelihood of becoming an
entrepreneur, but justice-impacted individuals were
found to be more than 50 percent likely to choose
entrepreneurship with a 12.69 percent likelihood of
becoming an entrepreneur;
(B) entrepreneurship reduces the likelihood of
recidivism by 5.3 percent, which was a 32.5 percent
decrease from average recidivism rates for regular
employees who have been previously incarcerated; and
(C) formerly incarcerated individuals who choose
entrepreneurship make $2,700 more annually than
formerly incarcerated employees and that the income gap
between formerly incarcerated entrepreneurs and
entrepreneurs with no criminal record was 38 percent
lower than the income gap between formerly incarcerated
employees and employees with no criminal record.
SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM.
(a) Definitions.--In this Act--
(1) the terms ``Administration'' and ``Administrator'' mean
the Small Business Administration and the Administrator
thereof, respectively;
(2) the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(A) the Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Small Business of the House of
Representatives;
(3) the term ``covered individual'' means an individual
who--
(A) completed a term of imprisonment in Federal,
State, or local jail or prison; and
(B) meets the offense eligibility requirements set
forth in any applicable policy notice or other guidance
issued by the Small Business Administration for the
program established under section 7(m) of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(m));
(4) the terms ``intermediary'' and ``microloan'' have the
meanings given those terms in section 7(m)(11) of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(m)(11));
(5) the term ``microloan intermediary'' means an
intermediary that is eligible to participate in the program
established under section 7(m) of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 636(m));
(6) the term ``pilot program'' means the pilot program
established under subsection (b); and
(7) the term ``small business development center'' has the
meaning given the term in section 3 of the Small Business Act
(15 U.S.C. 632).
(b) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall establish a pilot
program to award grants to organizations over a 5-year period to create
or support existing entrepreneurship development programs to provide
assistance to covered individuals.
(c) Grant Requirements.--The Administrator shall--
(1) award grants under the pilot program to organizations,
or partnerships of organizations, which shall each receive a
grant in an amount greater than $100,000 and less than $500,000
annually over the 5-year period in which the pilot program is
in existence; and
(2) allocate grants under the pilot program to ensure that
the recipients are geographically varied throughout the United
States.
(d) Partnerships.--An applicant for a grant under the pilot program
may form partnerships with other organizations for the purposes of the
application submitted under subsection (e) and for conducting
entrepreneurial development programming.
(e) Application.--
(1) In general.--An organization or partnership of
organizations desiring a grant under the pilot program shall
submit an application to the Administrator in such form, in
such manner, and containing such information as the
Administrator may reasonably require.
(2) Contents.--An application submitted under paragraph (1)
shall--
(A) demonstrate that the applicant is a microloan
intemediary or an organization that administers the
Community Advantage Pilot Program of the
Administration, or has a partnership with such an
intermediary or organization, that may provide
microloans to qualified covered individuals, or, to the
extent that the applicant is a national organization in
multiple different markets, that a separate microloan
intermediary may be used in each such market;
(B) demonstrate strong community ties, including
those with the covered individual community, local
businesses, and political leaders;
(C) demonstrate an ability to provide a full range
of entrepreneurial development programming on an
ongoing basis;
(D) include a plan for reaching covered
individuals, including by identifying particular target
populations within the community;
(E) clearly define entrepreneurial development
capabilities, including coordination with existing
local resource partners of the Administration for
additional training as necessary;
(F) present an entrepreneurship development
curriculum, which may be a nationally recognized model
or based upon such a model;
(G) include a list of each partner organization;
and
(H) include a comprehensive plan for the use of
grant funds, including estimates for administrative and
outreach costs of running and evaluating the
entrepreneurship development program.
(f) Priority.--In determining whether to award a grant under the
pilot program, the Administrator may give priority to applicants based
on--
(1) whether the application includes a commitment from an
existing or new non-Federal funding source to meet the matching
requirement under subsection (g);
(2) whether the application takes into account local
economies and markets as a part of the educational component of
the entrepreneurship development program;
(3) the ability or plan of the applicant to provide
entrepreneurial development services concurrent with employment
or job training services; and
(4) whether the applicant has a history of effectively
providing entrepreneurial training or access to capital to
covered individuals.
(g) Matching Requirement.--
(1) In general.--As a condition of a grant provided under
the pilot program, the Administrator shall require the
recipient of the grant to contribute an amount equal to 25
percent of the amount of the grant, obtained solely from
existing or new non-Federal sources.
(2) Form.--In addition to cash or other direct funding, the
contribution required under paragraph (1) may include indirect
costs or in-kind contributions paid for under non-Federal
programs.
(h) Responsibilities.--A recipient of a grant under the pilot
program shall, to the maximum extent possible, connect covered
individuals to a range of Federal resources, including--
(1) the program established under section 7(m) of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(m));
(2) the Community Advantage Pilot Program of the
Administration;
(3) small business development centers;
(4) women's business centers described in section 29 of the
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656);
(5) chapters of the Service Corps of Retired Executives
established under section 8(b)(1)(B) of the Small Business Act
((15 U.S.C. 637(b)(1)(B));
(6) Veteran Business Outreach Centers described in section
32 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657b); and
(7) business centers established by the Minority Business
Development Agency.
(i) Reports.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date on
which the Administrator establishes the pilot program, and
every year thereafter until the pilot program terminates, the
Administrator shall submit to Congress a report on the
activities of the pilot program, including--
(A) a list of each grantee organization and each
partner organization;
(B) the characteristics of covered individuals
assisted under the entrepreneurship development
programs, including race and ethnicity, gender, age,
marital status, parental status, employment status,
income, banking and credit history, and prior business
experience;
(C) the participation and attendance rates for all
components of the entrepreneurship development
programs;
(D) the program retention rate;
(E) to the greatest extent practicable, the most
common reasons why participants do not complete the
program;
(F) the percentage of participants who remain non-
justice involved during the calendar year of the
program;
(G) the level of the covered individuals'
understanding of business concepts and principles;
(H) the level of the covered individuals' greater
confidence in leadership strengths, including the
results of an industry-recognized behavioral
assessment;
(I) the covered individuals' progress made toward
establishing a business;
(J) the experiences and perceptions of the covered
individuals;
(K) the number and dollar amount of loans made to
covered individuals;
(L) the number and dollar amount of loans made or
guaranteed by the Administration to covered
individuals; and
(M) such additional information as the
Administrator may require.
(2) GAO report.--Not later than 1 year after the date on
which the pilot program terminates, the Comptroller General of
the United States shall submit to the appropriate committees of
Congress a report that evaluates--
(A) the services that grant recipients provided to
covered individuals assisted under entrepreneurship
development programs;
(B) oversight of the pilot program by the
Administrator, including policies and procedures for
monitoring the compliance by grant recipients with
pilot program requirements and an assessment of the
effectiveness of the pilot program; and
(C) the overall performance of the pilot program
and the impacts of the pilot program on grant
recipients.
(j) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act may be construed to
affect the program established under section 7(m) of the Small Business
Act (15 U.S.C. 636(m)), including--
(1) the requirements of that program;
(2) the manner in which that program is carried out; or
(3) the use or availability of any amounts that have been
made available to carry out that program.
(k) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Administrator such sums as are necessary to carry
out the pilot program.
(l) Termination.--The pilot program shall terminate on the date
that is 5 years after the date on which the Administrator establishes
the pilot program.
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