HR 5525
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5525
To amend the Small Business Act to improve the National Veterans
Business Development Corporation.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 4, 2008
Mr. FILNER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Small Business
A BILL
To amend the Small Business Act to improve the National Veterans
Business Development Corporation.
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 `Inclusion of Veteran Service Organizations in
the National Veterans Business Development Corporation Board Act'.
SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENT OF NATIONAL VETERANS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.
(a) Improvement- Section 33(c) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657c(c))
is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking `nine' and inserting `11';
(2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following new paragraph
(2):
`(2) APPOINTMENT OF VOTING MEMBERS-
`(A) PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS-
`(i) IN GENERAL- The President shall, after considering recommendations
submitted under clause (ii), appoint 7 of the 11 voting members of the
Board, all of whom shall be United States citizens, and not more than
5 of whom shall be members of the same political party.
`(ii) RECOMMENDATIONS- Recommendations shall be submitted to the President
for appointments under this subparagraph by the chairman or ranking
member (or both) of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
or the Committee on Veterans' Affairs (or both) of the Senate or the
Committee on Small Business or the Committee on Veterans' Affairs (or
both) of the House of Representatives.
`(B) CONGRESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS- The chairmen of the Committee on Small
Business and Entrepreneurship and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of
the Senate and the Committee on Small Business and the Committee on Veterans'
Affairs of the House of Representatives shall jointly appoint 4 of the
11 voting members of the Board who shall be representatives of a congressionally
chartered veterans' service organization or military service organization.
`(C) LIMITATION ON INTERNAL RECOMMENDATIONS- No member of the Board may
recommend an individual for appointment to a position on the Board.';
(3) in paragraph (3), by adding at the end the following new sentences:
`The president and directors of each of the 3 veterans business resource
centers that have received grants from the Corporation that are located
in Flint, Michigan, St. Louis, Missouri, and Boston, Massachusetts, shall
provide expertise and advice to the Board of Directors, as appropriate.';
(4) in paragraph (6)(C), by striking the second sentence and inserting the
following new sentence: `No member of the Board may serve after the expiration
of the term for which that member is appointed.'; and
(5) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
`(12) REMOVAL OF MEMBERS- With the approval of a majority of the Board of
Directors and the approval of the chairmen and ranking members of the Committee
on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
of the Senate, the Corporation may remove a member of the Board who is determined
to be unable to fulfill the member's duties under this section.
`(13) MEETINGS- All meetings of the Board of Directors shall be conducted
in public and members of the general public shall have access to such meetings.
The Board shall record minutes for each meeting and make such minutes available
on the Internet website of the Corporation. Two meetings shall be held in
Washington, DC, each year.
`(14) NOTICE TO STAKEHOLDERS- The Board of Directors shall establish a list
of stakeholders in the Corporation and shall, to the extent possible, provide
to each individual on the list notice of the meetings and agenda of the
Board. If providing such notice is not possible, the Board shall make such
notice publicly available on the Internet website of the Corporation.'.
(b) Conforming Amendment- Section 33(c)(6)(B) of the Small Business Act (14
U.S.C. 657c(c)(6)(B)) is amended by striking `by the President'.
(c) Congressional Appointments- Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, two appointments shall be made under subparagraph (B)
of section 33(c)(2) of the Small Business Act, as added by subsection (a).
Upon the expiration of each the first two terms of appointment of members
of the Board of Directors of the National Veterans Business Development Corporation
that expire after the date of the enactment of this Act, an additional appointment
shall be made under that subparagraph.
END
