[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4701 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4701
To provide cybersecurity support for small business concerns through
the small business development center program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 2, 2022
Ms. Hassan introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide cybersecurity support for small business concerns through
the small business development center program, 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 ``Small Businesses Cybersecurity
Act''.
SEC. 2. SMALL BUSINESS CYBERSECURITY GRANTS.
Section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(o) Cybersecurity Grants.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this section:
``(A) Rural area.--The term `rural area' has the
meaning given the term in section 343(a) of the
Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C.
1991(a)).
``(B) Small state.--The term `small State' means
any State that is minimally funded by the funding
formula of the Small Business Development Center
Program under subsection (a)(4)(C).
``(C) State.--The term `State' means each of the
several States, the District of Columbia, and any
territory or possession of the United States.
``(2) Grants.--
``(A) In general.--The Administrator shall
establish a grant program under which the Administrator
may award grants on a noncompetitive basis to small
business development centers to support the
cybersecurity needs of the small business concerns
served by the small business development centers.
``(B) Grant criteria.--In awarding grants under
this subsection, the Administrator may consider the
following criteria:
``(i) The plan of the small business
development center for the use of the grant
funds, including how funds would benefit small
business concerns in rural areas.
``(ii) Evidence submitted by the small
business development center that the grant
would increase the cybersecurity of the small
business concerns that the small business
development center serves, including evidence
of past success in offering cybersecurity
support to small business concerns.
``(C) Applications.--To be eligible for a grant
under this subsection, a small business development
center shall submit to the Administrator an application
in such form, at such time, and containing such
information as the Administrator determines is
appropriate.
``(D) Use of funds.--A small business development
center may use amounts received under a grant under
this subsection to support the cybersecurity of the
small business concerns served by the small business
development center, including--
``(i) cybersecurity training for employees
of the small business concerns;
``(ii) reviews of the cybersecurity
policies, plans, and procedures used by the
small business concerns, including tabletop
exercises to test the policies, plans, and
procedures;
``(iii) testing of the cybersecurity
standing of the small business concerns,
including via penetration testing; and
``(iv) hiring consultants to support the
cybersecurity needs of the small business
concerns.
``(E) Grant amount.--
``(i) Formula.--The Administrator shall
establish a 3-tier formula for grant funding
distribution based on the locations of small
business development centers in one of the
following categories:
``(I) Small States.
``(II) Medium-sized States, as
defined by the Administrator.
``(III) Large States, as defined by
the Administrator.
``(ii) Maximum amount.--The maximum amount
of a grant under this subsection shall be, for
a small business development center located
in--
``(I) a small State, $200,000;
``(II) a medium-sized State,
$300,000; or
``(III) a large State, $400,000.
``(F) Duration of grant.--The period of a grant
under this subsection shall be 1 fiscal year.
``(G) Announcement of grant program.--The
Administrator shall make widely available to the public
information on the grant program under this subsection.
``(3) Authorization of appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection
$20,000,000 for fiscal year 2023 and each fiscal year
thereafter, to remain available until expended.''.
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