January 8, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 4 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session
All in House sectionPrev36 of 88Next
PRISON TO PROPRIETORSHIP ACT; Congressional Record Vol. 166, No. 4
(House of Representatives - January 08, 2020)
Text available as:
Formatting necessary for an accurate reading of this text may be shown by tags (e.g., <DELETED> or <BOLD>) or may be missing from this TXT display. For complete and accurate display of this text, see the PDF.
[Pages H33-H35] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] PRISON TO PROPRIETORSHIP ACT Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5078) to amend the Small Business Act to provide re- entry entrepreneurship counseling and training services for incarcerated individuals, and for other purposes, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 5078 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 ``Prison to Proprietorship Act''. SEC. 2. RE-ENTRY ENTREPRENEURSHIP COUNSELING AND TRAINING FOR INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS. The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended-- (1) by redesignating section 49 as section 50; and (2) by inserting after section 48 the following new section: ``SEC. 49. RE-ENTRY ENTREPRENEURSHIP COUNSELING AND TRAINING FOR INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS. ``(a) Services Required.--The Administrator, in coordination with the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, shall require women's business centers and small business development centers identified under the plan described in subsection (b) to provide entrepreneurship counseling and training services to covered individuals. ``(b) Plan.-- ``(1) In general.--The Administrator, in consultation with an association formed to pursue matters of common concern to women's business centers and an association of small business development centers formed pursuant to section 21(a)(3)(A), shall develop a plan, which shall be updated annually, to match women's business centers and small business development centers with covered individuals in Federal prisons who are eligible to receive services under this section. ``(2) Matching.--In determining matches under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall prioritize matching the women's business center or small business development center in closest proximity to the applicable Federal prison to provide such services. ``(3) Association responsibilities.--If the women's business center or small business development center identified under the plan in paragraph (1) is unable to provide such services to covered individuals in such Federal prison, another women's business center or small business development center, an association of women's business centers, or an association of small business development centers shall provide such services in accordance with the requirements of this section. ``(c) Goals.--The goal of the services provided under this section is to provide covered individuals with the following: ``(1) Assistance and in-depth training on how to start or expand a small business concern. ``(2) Tools, skills, and knowledge necessary to identify a business opportunity, including how to-- ``(A) draft a resume, business plan, and transition plan; ``(B) identify sources of capital; and ``(C) connect with local resources for small business concerns. ``(d) Additional Requirements.--The services provided under this section shall include-- ``(1) a presentation providing exposure to the opportunities involved in self-employment and ownership of a small business concern; ``(2) a self-study course manual focused on the basic skills of entrepreneurship, financial literacy, the language of business, and the considerations and life skills relevant to self-employment and ownership of a small business concern; ``(3) five two-day sessions of in-depth classroom instruction introducing the foundations of self-employment and ownership of small business concerns, including guided discussions to explore personal entrepreneurial development interests; ``(4) in-depth training delivered through one-on-one mentorship, including individual support in the development of a business plan, entrepreneurial skills, and strategies for starting up a small business concern; and ``(5) upon completion of the counseling and training, a presentation of a certificate. ``(e) Priority.--The Administrator shall, to the extent practicable, ensure that women's business centers and small business development centers prioritize providing entrepreneurship counseling and training services to covered individuals who will be released from Federal custody not later than 18 months after the date on which such a covered individual begins to receive such services. ``(f) Continuation of Services.--A covered individual receiving services under this section may continue to receive such services after release from Federal custody. ``(g) Grant Authority.--In carrying out this section, the Administrator may, subject to appropriation, award a grant to an association formed to pursue matters of common concern to women's business centers or small business development centers to coordinate the services described under this section, including to develop curriculum, train mentors and instructors, and establish public-private partnerships to support covered individuals and identify opportunities to access capital. ``(h) Curriculum.--The Administration shall print and make available to women's business centers, small business development centers, an association of women's business centers, or an association of small business development centers any curriculum or course materials developed pursuant to this section. ``(i) Survey.--Each women's business center or small business development center that provided services under this section shall survey covered individuals who received such services to assess the satisfaction of such covered individuals with such services. ``(j) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section and annually thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate a report on the performance and effectiveness of the services provided under this section, which may be included as part of another report submitted to such committees by the Administrator, and which shall include-- ``(1) the number of covered individuals counseled or trained under this section; ``(2) the number of hours of counseling provided by each women's business center and each small business development center under this section; ``(3) the number of certificates presented under subsection (d)(5); ``(4) the demographics of covered individuals who received services, including age, gender, race, and ethnicity; ``(5) the level of understanding of business concepts of covered individuals upon completion of the counseling and training described under this section; ``(6) a summary and analysis of surveys conducted under subsection (i); and ``(7) any additional information the Administrator may require. ``(k) Covered Individual Defined.--In this section, the term `covered individual' means an individual incarcerated in a Federal prison that the Director of the Bureau of Prisons has designated as a minimum, low, or medium security prison. ``(l) Funding.--Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Administrator shall reimburse women's business centers, small business development centers, an association of women's business centers, or an association of small business development centers for the costs relating to the services provided under the section.''. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) each will control 20 minutes. [[Page H34]] The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New York. General Leave Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from New York? There was no objection. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Today, we will consider four bipartisan bills that were unanimously approved by the Small Business Committee last November. Two of the bills will provide entrepreneurship training to individuals in prison and post-release. The other two bills will make meaningful improvements to contracting programs that support small businesses. I rise today in support of H.R. 5078, the Prison to Proprietorship Act, as amended. I introduced this bill with my good friend and colleague, Mr. Chabot, the ranking member of the Small Business Committee. I am pleased to be leading this important effort with the ranking member. We have worked together over the years and have made great strides in helping America's 30 million entrepreneurs launch and grow their small businesses. With this bill, we will have an opportunity to make a meaningful difference in people's lives. This legislation will require the SBA's resource partners to provide entrepreneurship training to individuals in Federal prisons through intensive, in-depth classroom instruction combined with one-on-one mentoring. Small Business Development Centers and Women's Business Centers, which currently provide free or low-cost counseling and training services at nearly 1,000 locations across the country, are poised and well positioned to carry out these services in Federal prisons. Last fall, the Small Business Committee held a hearing to learn more about the role entrepreneurship can play in overcoming barriers to employment for the formerly incarcerated. We learned that despite steps to reform and improve our criminal justice system, the formerly incarcerated face significant barriers to reentering the workforce. Many employers will not hire these individuals because of the stigma associated with their incarceration or because of legal restrictions in certain industries. In testimony before the House Small Business Committee, a witness said he thought that when he got out of prison and served his time, he would be able to move on and have a second chance in life. Sadly, that was not the case. He soon realized that someone with a felony conviction could be legally discriminated against in housing, employment, public benefits, and voting rights. These impediments can prove difficult to overcome. Studies have shown that an estimated 60 percent of these individuals remain unemployed a year after release. Recidivism rates tend to be higher for those individuals who lack employment. Of the 262,000 offenders who were released from Federal prison between 2002 and 2006, 50 percent of those who could not find a job committed a new crime or were sent back to prison. However, 93 percent of those who were able to secure employment were able to reintegrate back into society successfully. Providing a pathway to entrepreneurship has the potential to empower the formerly incarcerated who are locked out of the labor market to start and grow their own businesses. Programs that focus on leadership skills, financial literacy, developing a business plan, and building networks have the potential to reduce recidivism, provide a great return on investment by leading to economic expansion, and, ultimately, save the taxpayers millions of dollars. The legislation has the support of 10 small business groups, including America's Small Business Development Center, the Association of Women's Business Centers, SCORE, Small Business Majority, and the National Small Business Association, among others. Madam Speaker, I urge Members to support this bipartisan bill, and I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 5078, the Prison to Proprietorship Act, as amended. Before I speak on our first bill, I thank Chairwoman Velazquez for continuing our tradition in the Small Business Committee that we have had over recent years of emphasizing bipartisanship. I thank her for that. It is Democrats and Republicans really working together to pass legislation that is beneficial to the vast majority of Americans, whatever their political inclinations may be. It is something that we have been working on for years in the committee, and I thank her for that. Once again, we have four strong bills here that came out of the Small Business Committee. Our first two bills focus on fostering entrepreneurship among the soon-to-be or formerly incarcerated. Last fall, we held a hearing that featured compelling testimony about the power of entrepreneurship and how that power can help people looking to get their lives back on track after having been incarcerated. These individuals typically face higher rates of unemployment than any other segment of our population, not surprisingly, really. Providing worthy individuals an outlet for their entrepreneurial spirit not only helps them to reacclimate to society but also boosts our economy, and it benefits many local communities all across this Nation. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that almost half of all U.S. prisoners, unfortunately, are without access to vocational training programs. Studies show that inmates who go through vocational training programs are much less likely to commit additional crimes when they get out. So it just makes sense for us to emphasize these training programs. This bill directs the Association of Women's Business Centers and the Association of Small Business Development Centers to coordinate reentry entrepreneurship services by providing counseling and training services that focus on individuals who have been incarcerated in Federal prison. This bill will create a pathway for qualified ex-offenders to be successful, contributing members of society, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill. Madam Speaker, again, I thank the gentlewoman from New York for working with us and collaborating with us on this important legislation. I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation that can help unlock the power of entrepreneurship for people who either are about to be incarcerated or have been. It makes sense to give them a chance, rather than have them on a path where they are going to be in prison, get out, and commit more crimes, which are going to harm society as well as mess up their lives severely, as well. This legislation is something that we have before us and can pass. It is good for the country, and I urge my colleagues to support it. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. As the flagship agency tasked with supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses, the SBA can play a pivotal role in providing entrepreneurship training in Federal prisons. I am pleased to be sponsoring this legislation, which will provide meaningful opportunities and hope for those who are committed to rebuilding their lives but are locked out of the labor market. This legislation will go a long way in creating more jobs on Main Street, with the added benefit of reducing recidivism. I thank Ranking Member Chabot and his staff for working with me to provide a path forward for those who have served time and repaid their debt to society. I would add that of the many pieces of legislation that we have marked up and the many hearings that we have conducted in our committee, this has been one of the most rewarding, moving experiences. We all should be proud of providing people with a second chance. [[Page H35]] Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5078, as amended. The question was taken. The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the ayes have it. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays. The yeas and nays were ordered. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. ____________________
All in House sectionPrev36 of 88Next