S AMDT 1489

S 1489 IS

To amend the Small Business Act to create parity among small business contracting programs, and for other purposes.

July 21, 2009

Ms. SNOWE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

To amend the Small Business Act to create parity among small business contracting programs, 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 Business Contracting Programs Parity Act of 2009’.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act--

(1) the terms ‘Administration’ and ‘Administrator’ mean the Small Business Administration and the Administrator thereof, respectively; and

(2) the terms ‘HUBZone small business concern’, ‘small business concern’, ‘small business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans’, and ‘small business concern owned and controlled by women’ have the same meanings as in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632).

SEC. 3. CONTRACTING IMPROVEMENTS.

(a) Contracting Opportunities- Section 31(b)(2)(B) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657a(b)(2)(B)) is amended by striking ‘shall’ and inserting ‘may’.

(b) Contracting Goals- Section 15(g)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(g)(1)) is amended in the fourth sentence by inserting ‘and subcontract’ after ‘not less than 3 percent of the total value of all prime contract’.

(c) Mentor-protege Programs- The Administrator may establish mentor-protege programs for small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, small business concerns owned and controlled by women, and HUBZone small business concerns modeled on the mentor-protege program of the Administration for small business concerns participating in programs under section 8(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(a)).