[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6317 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6317
To amend the Small Business Act to address the participation of
cooperatives in the program carried out under section 7(a) of that Act,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 16, 2021
Mr. Neguse introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Small Business, and in addition to the Committee on
Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Small Business Act to address the participation of
cooperatives in the program carried out under section 7(a) of that Act,
and for 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 ``Capital for Cooperatives Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Cooperative businesses operate on the basis of 1
member, 1 vote.
(2) Cooperatives have helped to improve the economic
conditions of the people of the United States for more than a
century by increasing competition and helping small players
gain parity in the market.
(3) Research has shown that cooperatives are more resilient
to economic business cycles than other business models because
cooperatives require member-owners of the cooperative to work
together and prepare for the future.
(4) The mission of the Small Business Administration
(referred to in this Act as the ``Administration'') is to help
the people of the United States start, build, and grow
businesses.
(5) The requirement of the Administration that some
borrowers provide a personal guarantee with respect to certain
Administration loans has prevented cooperatives from accessing
the safe and affordable financing available from the
Administration.
SEC. 3. COOPERATIVES.
(a) In General.--Section 7(a)(15)(B)(iv) of the Small Business Act
(15 U.S.C. 636(a)(15)(B)(iv)) is amended--
(1) in the matter preceding subclause (I), by striking ``,
or to a cooperative in accordance with paragraph (35)''; and
(2) in subclause (I), by striking ``or cooperative''.
(b) SBA Responsibilities.--
(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
(A) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator''
means the Administrator of the Administration.
(B) Cooperative.--The term ``cooperative'' has the
meaning given the term in section 7(a)(35) of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)(35)).
(C) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the
program carried out under section 7(a) of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)).
(D) Small business concern.--The term ``small
business concern'' has the meaning given the term in
section 3(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
632(a)).
(E) Working group.--The term ``Working Group''
means the interagency working group coordinated and
chaired by the Secretary of Agriculture pursuant to
section 310B(e)(12) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural
Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(e)(12)), as amended by
subsection (c).
(2) Coordination; amendments to rules; report.--The
Administrator shall--
(A) beginning not later than 60 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, coordinate and participate
with the Working Group to--
(i) develop recommendations regarding how
the Administrator can coordinate with the heads
of other Federal agencies to promote, support,
and increase the number of cooperatives; and
(ii) ensure coordination between the
Administrator and--
(I) other Federal agencies; and
(II) national and local
organizations representing cooperatives
and small business concerns;
(B) not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act--
(i) amend the rules of the Administration
with respect to guarantees for loans made to
cooperatives under the Program, which may
include--
(I) requiring the Administrator to
guarantee a loan made to a cooperative
under the Program if the lender with
respect to the loan can demonstrate
that the cooperative is able to repay
the loan; and
(II) establishing lending criteria
for cooperatives under the Program that
are not based on personal or entity
guarantees provided by the member-
owners of the cooperative; and
(ii) submit to Congress a report
documenting the amendments made under clause
(i); and
(C) not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, submit to Congress a report
regarding--
(i) education regarding cooperatives that
the Administrator has provided to--
(I) officials of the
Administration;
(II) lenders participating in the
Program; and
(III) small business development
centers described in section 21 of the
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648); and
(ii) during the period beginning on the
date of enactment of this Act and ending on the
date on which the report is submitted--
(I) the number of applications
submitted by cooperatives for loans
under the Program; and
(II) the number of applications
received under subclause (I) that were
approved by the Administrator.
(c) Interagency Working Group on Cooperative Development.--Section
310B(e)(12) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7
U.S.C. 1932(e)(12)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``Not later'' and inserting the following:
``(A) In general.--Not later''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) Meetings.--The interagency working group
described in subparagraph (A)--
``(i) shall meet--
``(I) at such times determined
necessary by the Secretary; and
``(II) not less frequently than
biannually; and
``(ii) may conduct meetings in person or
through the use of electronic resources.''.
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