[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1642 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1642

  To amend the Small Business Act to include requirements relating to 
graduates of career and technical education programs for small business 
    development centers and women's business centers, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 26, 2025

 Mr. Williams of Texas (for himself, Mr. Olszewski, Mr. Bresnahan, Mr. 
 Tran, and Mr. Wied) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                   to the Committee on Small Business

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Small Business Act to include requirements relating to 
graduates of career and technical education programs for small business 
    development centers and women's business centers, 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 ``Connecting Small Businesses with 
Career and Technical Education Graduates Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. INCLUSION OF CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION.

    (a) Definition.--Section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
632) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(gg) Career and Technical Education.--The term `career and 
technical education' has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the 
Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 
2302).''.
    (b) Small Business Development Centers.--Section 21(c)(3) of the 
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(c)(1)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (T), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in clause (v) of the first subparagraph (U) (relating 
        to succession planning), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting a semicolon;
            (3) in second subparagraph (U) (relating to training on 
        domestic and international intellectual property protections)--
                    (A) in clause (ii)(II), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting a semicolon; and
                    (B) by redesignating such subparagraph as 
                subparagraph (V); and
            (4) by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:
                    ``(W) providing educational information to small 
                businesses on--
                            ``(i) hiring graduates from career and 
                        technical education programs; and
                            ``(ii) career and technical education 
                        programs relevant to such businesses, including 
                        how to use such programs to satisfy hiring 
                        needs of such businesses;
                    ``(X) providing information to career and technical 
                education programs about how students and graduates of 
                such programs can access resources and services of 
                small business development centers to start and expand 
                a small business concern; and
                    ``(Y) as appropriate, connecting small businesses 
                with career and technical education programs to assist 
                students and graduates of such programs with 
                identifying career opportunities.''.
    (c) Women's Business Centers.--Section 29(b) of the Small Business 
Act (15 U.S.C. 656(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting a semicolon; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
            ``(4) providing educational information to small business 
        concerns owned and controlled by women on--
                    ``(A) hiring graduates from career and technical 
                education programs; and
                    ``(B) career and technical education programs 
                relevant to such concerns, including how to use such 
                programs to satisfy hiring needs of such concerns;
            ``(5) providing information to career and technical 
        education programs about how students and graduates of such 
        programs can access resources and services of women's business 
        centers to start and expand a small business concern; and
            ``(6) as appropriate, connecting small business concerns 
        owned and controlled by women with career and technical 
        education programs to assist students and graduates of such 
        programs with identifying career opportunities.''.
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