Landrieu, Snowe Introduce Bill to Expand Entrepreneurial Development Programs

Bill boosts SBDCs, WBCs, SCORE and other assistance programs

WASHINGTON, June 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- United States Senate Committee
on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chair Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Ranking
Member Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, today introduced legislation to increase
small business ownership opportunities by improving the Small Business
Administration's (SBA) entrepreneurial development programs. The bill would
boost Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), Women's Business Centers
(WBCs), SCORE and other existing entrepreneurial development programs while
creating new programs in support of veterans' and Native American
entrepreneurship.

The bill was introduced ahead of tomorrow's Small Business and
Entrepreneurship Committee roundtable on entrepreneurial development and small
business export opportunities.

"During this difficult time for our nation, we should invest in the
entrepreneurs that will create jobs and lead the way out of the economic
recession," Chair Landrieu said. "SBDCs, WBCs, SCORE and other programs have
been instrumental in helping emerging businesses succeed and grow. This
legislation will boost these economic development programs to expand
counseling and assistance for small business owners, creating a new generation
of entrepreneurs who improve their communities and strengthen the economy."

"The SBA's entrepreneurial development programs, including the Women's
Business Center and Small Business Development Center networks, are critical
initiatives that assist entrepreneurs in starting and growing their
businesses," said Ranking Member Snowe. "At a time when we are relying on
small businesses to lead our economy out of this recession, our legislation
will reauthorize and bolster these programs to ensure that the SBA is reaching
the entrepreneurs that require this vital assistance. Additionally, we
establish a new Veterans' Business Center program to more effectively benefit
the brave members of our Armed Forces and Reserves who, as 'vetrepreneurs,'
are seeking to start their own businesses. This essential legislation will
take significant steps toward ensuring that America's small businesses have
the tools necessary to revitalize our economy."

Specifically, the bill:

-- Reauthorizes the Small Business Development Center program (SBDC),
SCORE, the Women's Business Center program (WBC), the National
Women's Business Council and the Paul Coverdell Drug-Free Workplace
program through 2012;
-- Establishes a Veterans Business Center program within the Office of
Veterans Business Development (OVBD) to provide entrepreneurial
training
and counseling to veterans, service-disabled veterans, Reservists,
their
spouses and surviving spouses, and encourages coordination between
participating veterans' business centers and SBA District Office
personnel. The bill also authorizes the OVBD to create an online
mechanism to provide information to assist veterans business centers
in
providing counseling services and technical assistance, and for
veterans
business centers to be able to distribute information and resource
materials and communicate with each other regarding best practices;
-- Enhances women's small business programs by improving the
Women's Business Center grant process and clarifies eligibility for
organizations that can participate in the program;
-- Provides financial assistance to create a pilot program to form Native
American business centers that provide culturally-tailored business
development training and assistance;
-- Establishes a grant program to provide neutral and objective
information
and educational materials regarding health insurance options,
including
coverage options within the small group market, to small businesses;
and
-- Reauthorizes the Program for Investment in Microentrepreneurs (PRIME)
to
provide grants to participating organizations for training and
technical
assistance for disadvantaged entrepreneurs, build these
organizations' own capacity to give training and technical
assistance, and fund research and development of "best
practices" in microenterprise development and technical assistance
programs for disadvantaged microentrepreneurs.

SOURCE U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship

Scott Schneider, +1-202-224-4030, scott_schneider@small-bus.senate.gov, or
Matthew Berger (Snowe), +1-202-224-8493, matthew_berger@small-bus.senate.gov,
both of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship