Sec. 17. Contracting and entrepreneurial development assistance

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The purpose of this section is to provide— flexibility to small business Federal suppliers and to the Federal Government to more quickly award contracting dollars to small business concerns in times of economic uncertainty and downturn related to COVID–19; and additional funds to resource partners of the Administration, such as small business development centers, women’s business centers, and SCORE to conduct outreach to small business concerns affected by COVID–19, including by increasing their virtual outreach capacity.

In this section— the term contracting officer has the meaning given the term in section 36(e) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 657f(e) ); the term covered entity means a small business concern or nonprofit organization— that is a party to a contract with a Federal agency; and for which the contractor performance is adversely impacted as a result of COVID–19; the term economically disadvantaged women-owned small business has the meaning given the term in section 127.102 of title 13, Code of Federal Regulations, or any succcessor regulation; the term HUBZone small business concern has the meaning given the term in section 31(b) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 657a(b) ); the term SCORE means the Service Corps of Retired Executives program established under section 8(b)(1)(B) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 637(b)(1)(B) ); the term small business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans has the meaning given the term in section 3(q) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 632(q) ); the term small business concern owned and controlled by women has the meaning given the term in section 8(m) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 637(m) ); the term small business development center has the meaning given the term in section 3(t) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 632(t) ); and the term women’s business center means a women’s business center described in section 29 of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 656 ).

Notwithstanding any other provision of law or regulation, during the period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act and ending on September 30, 2021, the head of the Federal agency with which a covered entity has a contract shall provide the covered entity with the greater of— 30 additional days to carry out the responsibilities of the covered entity under the contract; or an additional amount of time to carry out the responsibilities of the covered entity under the contract that the head of the Federal agency determines to be appropriate after taking into consideration the severity of the adverse impact experienced by the covered entity.

If the performance of all or any part of the work of a Federal goods or services contract with a contractor that is a small business concern or a nonprofit organization in force and effect during the period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act and ending on September 30, 2021, is unavoidably delayed or interrupted by the inability of the employees of the small business concern or nonprofit organization, as applicable, to access Government facilities, systems, or other Government-provided resources due to restrictions related to COVID–19 that have been imposed by any authority or due to orders or instructions issued by the contracting agency in response to COVID–19— the Government shall pay the small business concern or nonprofit organization, as applicable, upon the submission of the documentation required by the contract and according to the terms specified in the contract, the prices stipulated in the contract for goods or services as if the small business concern or nonprofit organization, as applicable, had rendered and the Government accepted the goods or services; and contractor delivery schedules shall be revised and the small business concern or nonprofit organization, as applicable, shall be eligible for equitable adjustments based on the revised schedules.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law or regulation, during the period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act and ending on September 30, 2021, with respect to a small business concern owned and controlled by women, an economically disadvantaged women-owned small business, a HUBZone small business concern, or a small business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, a contracting officer may award a sole source contract to the small business concern if the anticipated award price of the contract will not exceed the maximum permissible amount for the contract, as provided under the applicable provision of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.), as amended by this subsection.

Section 31(c)(2)(A)(ii) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 657a(c)(2)(A)(ii) ) is amended— in subclause (I), by striking $5,000,000 and inserting $10,000,000 ; and in subclause (II), by striking $3,000,000 and inserting $8,000,000 . Section 36(a)(2) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 657f(a)(2) ) is amended— in subparagraph (A), by striking $5,000,000 and inserting $10,000,000 ; and in subparagraph (B), by striking $3,000,000 and inserting $8,000,000 . Section 8(a)(1)(D)(i)(II) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 637(a)(1)(D)(i)(II) ) is amended— by striking $5,000,000 and inserting $10,000,000 ; and by striking $3,000,000 and inserting $8,000,000 .

Section 8(m) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 637(m) ) is amended— in paragraph (7)(B)— in clause (i), by striking $6,500,000 and inserting $10,000,000 ; and in clause (ii), by striking $4,000,000 and inserting $8,000,000 ; and in paragraph (8)(B)— in clause (i), by striking $6,500,000 and inserting $10,000,000 ; and in clause (ii), by striking $4,000,000 and inserting $8,000,000 . Section 15 of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 644 ) is amended by adding at the end the following:

In this subsection, the term contract includes a prime contract, a task order, a delivery order, a blanket purchase agreement, and a basic ordering agreement. Any acquisition for a contract to be awarded under the procedures of section 8(a), 8(m), 31, or 36 or under subsection

(a)or

(j)of this section, including an acquisition for commercial items, shall be— exempt from the procedural requirements of agency-level or Governmentwide guidance on category management, best in class solutions, common contract solutions, or successor strategies for contract consolidation; and disregarded when measuring attainment of any goal or benchmark established under agency-level or Governmentwide guidance on category management, best in class solutions, common contract solutions, or successor strategies for contract consolidation, unless considering the acquisition aids in the achievement of the goal or benchmark. Once a contract has been awarded under the section 8(a), 8(m), 31, or 36 or under subsection

(a)or

(j)of this section, including an acquisition for commercial items, the contract shall not be removed and placed in category management, best in class solutions, common contract solutions, or successor strategies for contract consolidation. . Notwithstanding any other provision of law or regulation, during any period in which the President invokes the authorities of the Defense Production Act of 1950 ( 50 U.S.C. 4501 et seq.), for any payment due by the head of an agency on a contract for an item of property or service provided— with respect to a prime contractor (as defined in section 8701 of title 41, United States Code) that is a small business concern or nonprofit organization, the head of the agency shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law and to the maximum extent practicable, establish an accelerated payment date of 15 days after a proper invoice for the amount due is received; and with respect to a prime contractor (as defined in section 8701 of title 41, United States Code) that subcontracts with a small business concern or nonprofit organization, the head of the agency shall, to fullest extent permitted by law and to the maximum extent practicable, establish an accelerated payment date of 15 days after receipt of a proper invoice for the amount due if the prime contractor agrees to make payments to the subcontractor in accordance with the accelerated payment date, to the maximum extent practicable, without any further consideration from or fees charged to the subcontractor. There is authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator the following amounts, which shall remain available until expended: $18,750,000 to carry out the women’s business center program under section 29 of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 656 ), with respect to which the following requirements shall apply: The Administrator shall allocate that amount so that each women’s business center operating pursuant to that section receives an equal allocation, unless the Administrator determines that another manner of allocation is necessary. A center that receives amounts under this subparagraph shall not be subject to the requirement to provide non-Federal funding under section 29(c) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 656(c) ). A center that receives amounts under this subparagraph shall use the grant to— enhance remote services provided by the center; and provide counseling, training, and other related services, such as promoting long-term resiliency, to small business concerns and entrepreneurs impacted by or experiencing substantial economic injury as a result of COVID–19. $1,000,000 to carry out SCORE, which shall be used to— hire staff members with respect to SCORE to develop and implement an education program to— provide mentoring and other related services, such as promoting long-term resiliency, to small business concerns and entrepreneurs impacted by or experiencing substantial economic injury as a result of COVID–19; help owners of small business concerns address issues relating to COVID–19; and educate volunteers with respect to the program regarding issues relating to COVID–19; develop and design content relating to the issues described in clause (i); encourage the use of virtual mentoring and workshops in carrying out SCORE; and recruit and train more virtual mentors. $40,000,000 to hire additional staff to carry out the small business development program established under section 21 of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 648 ), with respect to which the following requirements shall apply: A small business development center receiving funds under this subparagraph shall not be subject to the requirement to provide matching amounts under subparagraphs

(A)and

(B)of section 21(a)(4) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 648(a)(4) ). The Administrator shall allocate the funds according to the funding formula described in section 21(a)(4)(C) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 648(a)(4)(C) ), unless the Administrator determines that another manner of allocation is necessary. Funds provided under this subparagraph shall be used to provide counseling, training, and other related services, such as promoting long-term resiliency, to small business concerns and entrepreneurs impacted by or experiencing substantial economic injury as a result of COVID–19, which shall include training and advising on— the hazards and prevention of the transmission and communication of the COVID–19 and other communicable diseases; the potential effects to their supply chains and the distribution and sale of products, and the mitigation of those effects; the management and practice of telework to reduce possible transmission; the management and practice of remote customer service by electronic or other means; the risks and mitigation of cyber threats in remote customer service or telework practices; the mitigation of the effects of reduced travel or outside activities on small business concerns during COVID–19 or similar occurrences; and any other relevant business practices necessary to mitigate the economic effects of COVID–19 or similar occurrences. The Administrator, in cooperation with recipients of financial assistance under paragraph (1), shall establish metrics and goals for performance of activities using funds provided under paragraph (1). A small business development center, a women’s business center, or SCORE shall submit an application to the Administrator to receive assistance under paragraph (1). The Administrator shall provide assistance under paragraph

(1)after making a determination that the applicant is in need of financial assistance due to economic injury as a result of COVID–19 or has the capacity to provide assistance to small business concerns affected by COVID–19. During the period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act and ending on September 30, 2021, the requirement relating to obtaining matching contributions from non-Federal sources under sections 21(a)(4) and 29(c) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 648(a)(4) , 656(c)) is waived for any recipient of assistance under such section 21 or 29, respectively. Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act the resource partners of the Administration, including small business development centers, women’s business centers, SCORE, and veterans business outreach centers, shall provide the Administrator with a list of the small business concerns— that those partners have served during the 10-year period preceding the date on which the list is created; and that self-identify as having, or as expecting to have, supply chain vulnerabilities. Based on the list provided under subparagraph (A), the Administration shall create a list of small business concerns entitled the Made in America list. After the creation of the list under subparagraph(B)— the Administrator shall— share the list with the resource partners of the Administration, including the entities described in subparagraph (A); update the list not less frequently than once every 6 months, or at such intervals as the Administrator may determine appropriate; on an ongoing basis, seek to match the small business concerns identified on the list (referred to in this subparagraph as listed small business concerns ), as updated under item (bb), with— suppliers identified under subclause (II); and any other supplier that may be able to address the supply chain vulnerabilities of the listed small business concerns; and in carrying out item (cc), collaborate with other Federal agencies, including the Minority Business Development Agency of the Department of Commerce, to identify supply chain vulnerabilities in the United States that small business concerns may be able to address; and the resource partners of the Administration shall disseminate the list received under subclause (I)(aa) to manufacturing clients of those partners with the objective of matching the listed small business concerns with suppliers that are able to address the supply chain vulnerabilities of those small business concerns. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives a report that contains— the number of listed small business concerns, as updated under clause (i)(I)(bb); the number of notification of opportunities that went out requesting new small business concern suppliers; and the number of matches made from the list required under this paragraph. In addition to amounts provided under any other provision of law, there is authorized to be appropriated $150,000,000, to remain available until expended, under the heading Small Business Administration—Entrepreneurial Development Programs , of which— $40,000,000 shall be to support programs carried out by small business development centers described in section 21 of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 648 ); $18,750,000 shall be to support programs carried out by women’s business centers described in section 29 of such Act ( 15 U.S.C. 656 ); $1,000,000 shall be to support programs carried out by the Service Corps of Retired Executives authorized under section 8(b)(1) of such Act ( 15 U.S.C. 637(b)(1) ); $50,000,000 shall be for microloan technical assistance grants under section 7(m)(4) of such Acct ( 15 U.S.C. 636(m)(4) ); and $40,250,000 shall be for additional grants for technical assistance, counseling, mentoring, training, and workshops for outreach to small business concerns impacted by COVID–19.

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