Successful Entrepreneurship for Reservists and Veterans Act
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Summary
House Report 118-181, submitted September 1, 2023 by Mr. Williams of Texas from the Committee on Small Business to accompany H.R. 4480, the Successful Entrepreneurship for Reservists and Veterans Act, or SERV Act. The committee reports the bill favorably without amendment and recommends that it pass. The report states that H.R. 4480 was introduced by Rep. Sharice Davids and Rep. Mark Alford on July 6, 2023, and summarizes its sections: a reporting requirement on the Veterans Interagency Task Force, a Comptroller General report on access to credit for veteran-owned small businesses, and compliance with CUTGO. It records a May 24, 2023 hearing on veteran-owned small businesses and a June 18, 2023 markup at which the bill was ordered reported with no amendments offered. It states that veterans own approximately 1.8 million businesses.
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“Successful Entrepreneurship for Reservists and Veterans Act.”
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118TH CONGRESS REPORT
" HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES !
1st Session 118–181
SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR RESERVISTS AND
VETERANS ACT
SEPTEMBER 1, 2023.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State
of the Union and ordered to be printed
Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas, from the Committee on Small Business,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 4480]
The Committee on Small Business, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 4480) to require the Administrator of the Small Business Ad-
ministration to report on the veterans interagency task force, to re-
quire the Comptroller General of the United States to report on ac-
cess to credit for small business concerns owned and controlled by
covered individuals, and for other purposes, having considered the
same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and rec-
ommends that the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Bill Summary ........................................................................ 2
II. Need for Legislation .................................................................................... 2
III. Hearings ....................................................................................................... 2
IV. Committee Consideration ........................................................................... 2
V. Committee Votes ......................................................................................... 3
VI. Section-by-Section of H.R. 4480 ................................................................. 6
VII. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate ............................................. 6
VIII. New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures 6
IX. Oversight Findings & Recommendations .................................................. 7
X. Performance Goals and Objectives ............................................................ 7
XI. Statement of Duplication of Federal Programs ........................................ 7
XII. Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff
Benefits ..................................................................................................... 7
XIII. Federal Mandates Statement ..................................................................... 7
XIV. Federal Advisory Committee Statement ................................................... 7
XV. Applicability to Legislative Branch ........................................................... 7
XVI. Statement of Constitutional Authority ...................................................... 8
XVII. Changes in Existing Law, Made by the Bill, As Reported ...................... 8
39–006
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2
I. PURPOSE AND BILL SUMMARY
H.R. 4480 was introduced by Rep. Sharice Davids (D–KS) and
Rep. Mark Alford on July 6, 2023. The purpose of H.R. 4480, the
‘‘Successful Entrepreneurship for Reservists (SERV) Act,’’ is to com-
mission a Government Accountability Office report on veteran
small business owners’ access to capital. It also requires the Inter-
agency Task Force on Veterans Small Business Development to de-
velop an outreach plan for programs veterans can access as they
return to civilian life, like Small Business Administration’s (SBA)
Boots to Business program. Finally, the bill requires the task force
to report annually to Congress on its appointments and outreach
plan.
II. NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Veterans own approximately 1.8 million businesses, nearly all of
which are small. In addition to the issues that encumber the entire
entrepreneurial community, veterans face population-specific chal-
lenges upon leaving the military to re-enter civilian life. Nearly
200,000 active-duty members leave the military as they join the
community of American veterans each year. Veterans are 45 per-
cent more likely to be self-employed than non-veterans, contrib-
uting to the small business economy.
Supporting veteran entrepreneurs has been a priority of the SBA
since its inception. Like many federal agencies, the SBA has an of-
fice specific to veteran support called the Office of Veterans Busi-
ness Development (OVBD) and runs a myriad of programs pro-
viding help to veterans and their families, including demographic-
specific business support facilities, loan programs, dedicated federal
contract quotas, and entrepreneurial training programs. The De-
partment of Defense, in conjunction with the SBA, Department of
Labor, Department of Veterans Affairs, and several other federal
agencies, operates the Transition Assistance Program, which pro-
vides education and training to Transitioning Service Members
(TSMs), including the optional Boots to Business program which
trains TSMs to be effective entrepreneurs.
Even with the availability of veteran specific resources, veterans
continue to face outsized hurdles when starting or growing their
business. This bill identifies barriers that veterans face as entre-
preneurs and pinpoints ways to improve outreach about resources
available to our nation’s veterans.
III. HEARINGS
In the 118th Congress, the Committee held one hearing exam-
ining the issues covered in H.R. 4480. On May 24, 2023, the Com-
mittee held a hearing titled ‘‘Saluting Service: Supporting Veteran
Owned Small Businesses.’’ Witnesses discussed challenges they
face as veterans who own small businesses. This bill seeks to ad-
dress their challenge such as lack of access to capital and limited
awareness of programs.
IV. COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
The Committee on Small Business met in open session, with a
quorum being present, on June 18, 2023, and ordered H.R. 4480 re-
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3
ported favorably to the House of Representatives. During the mark-
up no amendments were offered.
V. COMMITTEE VOTES
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representa-
tives requires the Committee to list the recorded votes on the mo-
tion to report legislation and amendments thereto. The Committee
voted to favorably report H.R. 4480 to the House of Representatives
at 11:55 AM.
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Insert offset folio 5 here HR181.001
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Insert offset folio 6 here HR181.002
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VI. SECTION-BY-SECTION OF H.R. 4480
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Successful Entrepreneurship for
Reservists and Veterans Act’’ and the ‘‘SERV Act’’.
Section 2. Reporting requirement for Veterans Interagency Task
Force
This section requires a report to be included in the Congressional
Budget Justification on the Veterans Interagency Task Force. The
report must include appointments and activities and an outreach
plan to promote veteran programs.
Section 3. GAO report on access to credit
This section requires the Comptroller General to submit a report
on access to capital for businesses owned by veterans. The report
shall include an analysis of sources of credit, default rates for vet-
eran owned small businesses and those not owned by veterans, fed-
eral lending programs, gaps in credit availability, obstacles to ac-
cessing credit, how military duties impact credit history, and how
aware veterans are of federal programs available to them.
This section defines ‘‘covered individuals’’ as a veteran, service-
disabled veteran, reservist, a spouse of those individuals, or a
spouse of a member of the Armed Services.
Reservist is defined as that in title 10 USC § 10101.
Service-disabled veteran, small business concern, and veteran
are defined as those in section 3 of 15 USC 632.
Section 4. Compliance with CUTGO
This section does not authorize any additional appropriations for
this bill.
VII. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of House rule XIII, the Committee
adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the Con-
gressional Budget Act of 1974. The Committee has requested but
not received from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office
a cost estimate for the Committee’s provisions. Once available, the
cost estimate will be published in the Congressional Record.
VIII. NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY, AND TAX
EXPENDITURES
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House
of Representatives and section 308(a)(I) of the Congressional Budg-
et Act of 1974, the Committee provides the following opinion and
estimate with respect to new budget authority, entitlement author-
ity, and tax expenditures. While the Committee has not received an
estimate of new budget authority contained in the cost estimate
prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursu-
ant to Sec. 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Com-
mittee does not believe that there will be any additional costs at-
tributable to this legislation. H.R. 4480 does not direct new spend-
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ing, but instead reallocates funding independently authorized and
appropriated.
IX. OVERSIGHT FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS
In accordance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause 2(b)(1)
of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the over-
sight findings and recommendations of the Committee on Small
Business with respect to the subject matter contained in the H.R.
4480 are incorporated into the descriptive portions of this report.
X. PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of
the Rules of the House of Representatives, the performance goals
and objectives of H.R. 4480 is to require additional reporting re-
quirements in the annual Congressional Budget Justification that
include appointment to the Interagency Task Force on Veterans
Small Business Development and a plan for outreach to veterans.
The GAO must report on credit availability to veterans, default
rates, Federal lending programs available, gaps in access to capital,
obstacles faced by veterans, impact of deployments, and awareness
of programs available to veterans.
XI. STATEMENT OF DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House
of Representatives, no provision of H.R. 4480 is known to be dupli-
cative of another Federal program, including any program that was
included in a report to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public
Law 111–139 or the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic As-
sistance.
XII. CONGRESSIONAL EARMARKS, LIMITED TAX BENEFITS, AND
LIMITED TARIFF BENEFITS
With respect to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House
of Representatives, the Committee finds that the bill does not con-
tain any congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited
tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of rule XXI of
the Rules of the House of Representatives.
XIII. FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT
The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal man-
dates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office
pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
XIV. FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this legislation.
XV. APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to the
terms and conditions of employment or access to public services or
accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of the Con-
gressional Accountability Act.
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XVI. STATEMENT OF CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY
Pursuant to clause 7 of Rule XII of the Rules of the House, the
Committee finds that the authority for this legislation in Art. I, § 8,
cl.1 of the Constitution of the United States.
XVII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW, MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill,
as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omit-
ted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italics,
and existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in
roman):
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill,
as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is printed in italics
and existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in
roman):
SMALL BUSINESS ACT
* * * * * * *
SEC. 32. VETERANS PROGRAMS.
(a) OFFICE OF VETERANS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT.—There is es-
tablished in the Administration an Office of Veterans Business De-
velopment, which shall be administered by the Associate Adminis-
trator for Veterans Business Development (in this section referred
to as the ‘‘Associate Administrator’’) appointed under section
4(b)(1).
(b) ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR FOR VETERANS BUSINESS DEVEL-
OPMENT.—The Associate Administrator—
(1) shall be an appointee in the Senior Executive Service;
(2) shall be responsible for the formulation, execution, and
promotion of policies and programs of the Administration that
provide assistance to small business concerns owned and con-
trolled by veterans and small business concerns owned and
controlled by service-disabled veterans. The Associate Adminis-
trator shall act as an ombudsman for full consideration of vet-
erans in all programs of the Administration; and
(3) shall report to and be responsible directly to the Adminis-
trator.
(c) INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE.—
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after the date
of enactment of this subsection, the President shall establish
an interagency task force to coordinate the efforts of Federal
agencies necessary to improve capital and business develop-
ment opportunities for, and ensure achievement of the pre-es-
tablished Federal contracting goals for, small business con-
cerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans and
small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans (in
this section referred to as the ‘‘task force’’).
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(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of the task force shall in-
clude—
(A) the Administrator, who shall serve as chairperson of
the task force; and
(B) a senior level representative from—
(i) the Department of Veterans Affairs;
(ii) the Department of Defense;
(iii) the Administration (in addition to the Adminis-
trator);
(iv) the Department of Labor;
(v) the Department of the Treasury;
(vi) the General Services Administration;
(vii) the Office of Management and Budget; and
(viii) 4 representatives from a veterans service orga-
nization or military organization or association, se-
lected by the President.
(3) DUTIES.—The task force shall—
(A) consult regularly with veterans service organizations
and military organizations in performing the duties of the
task force; and
(B) coordinate administrative and regulatory activities
and develop proposals relating to—
(i) improving capital access and capacity of small
business concerns owned and controlled by service-dis-
abled veterans and small business concerns owned and
controlled by veterans through loans, surety bonding,
and franchising;
(ii) ensuring achievement of the pre-established Fed-
eral contracting goals for small business concerns
owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans and
small business concerns owned and controlled by vet-
erans through expanded mentor-protégé assistance
and matching such small business concerns with con-
tracting opportunities;
(iii) increasing the integrity of certifications of sta-
tus as a small business concern owned and controlled
by service-disabled veterans or a small business con-
cern owned and controlled by veterans;
(iv) reducing paperwork and administrative burdens
on veterans in accessing business development and en-
trepreneurship opportunities;
(v) increasing and improving training and coun-
seling services provided to small business concerns
owned and controlled by veterans; and
(vi) making other improvements relating to the sup-
port for veterans business development by the Federal
Government.
(4) REPORT.—Along with the budget justification documents
for the Small Business Administration submitted to Congress in
connection with the budget for a fiscal year submitted under
1105 of title 31, United States Code, the Administrator shall
submit a report—
(A) discussing the appointments made to and activities of
the task force; and
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(B) identifying and outlining a plan for outreach and
promotion of the programs and services for veterans, in-
cluding Veteran Business Outreach Centers, Boots to Busi-
ness, Boots to Business Reboot, Service-Disabled Entrepre-
neurship Development Training Program, Veteran Institute
for Procurement, Women Veteran Entrepreneurship Train-
ing Program, and Veteran Women Igniting the Spirit of
Entrepreneurship.
(d) PARTICIPATION IN TAP WORKSHOPS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Associate Administrator shall increase
veteran outreach by ensuring that Veteran Business Outreach
Centers regularly participate, on a nationwide basis, in the
workshops of the Transition Assistance Program of the Depart-
ment of Labor.
(2) PRESENTATIONS.—In carrying out paragraph (1), a Vet-
eran Business Outreach Center may provide grants to entities
located in Transition Assistance Program locations to make
presentations on the opportunities available from the Adminis-
tration for recently separating or separated veterans. Each
presentation under this paragraph shall include, at a min-
imum, a description of the entrepreneurial and business train-
ing resources available from the Administration.
(3) WRITTEN MATERIALS.—The Associate Administrator
shall—
(A) create written materials that provide comprehensive
information on self-employment and veterans entrepre-
neurship, including information on resources available
from the Administration on such topics; and
(B) make the materials created under subparagraph (A)
available to the Secretary of Labor for inclusion in the
Transition Assistance Program manual.
(4) REPORTS.—The Associate Administrator shall submit to
Congress progress reports on the implementation of this sub-
section.
(e) WOMEN VETERANS BUSINESS TRAINING.—The Associate Ad-
ministrator shall—
(1) compile information on existing resources available to
women veterans for business training, including resources
for—
(A) vocational and technical education;
(B) general business skills, such as marketing and ac-
counting; and
(C) business assistance programs targeted to women vet-
erans; and
(2) disseminate the information compiled under paragraph
(1) through Veteran Business Outreach Centers and women’s
business centers.
(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized to
be appropriated to carry out this section—
(1) $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2005; and
(2) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2006.
(g) ACCESS TO SURPLUS PROPERTY FOR VETERAN-OWNED SMALL
BUSINESSES.—
(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection—
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11
(A) the term ‘‘foreign excess property’’ has the meaning
given the term in section 102 of title 40, United States
Code; and
(B) the term ‘‘state agency’’ has the meaning given the
term, including the roles and responsibilities assigned, in
section 549 of title 40, United States Code.
(2) REQUIREMENT.—The Administrator, in coordination with
the Administrator of General Services, shall provide access to
and manage the distribution of surplus property, and foreign
excess property returned to a State for handling as surplus
property, owned by the United States under chapter 7 of title
40, United States Code, to small business concerns owned and
controlled by veterans (as verified by the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs under section 8127 of title 38, United States Code) pur-
suant to a memorandum of agreement between the Adminis-
trator, the Administrator of General Services, and the head of
the applicable state agency for surplus properties and in ac-
cordance with section 549 of title 40, United States Code.
* * * * * * *
Æ
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