H.R. 3851: Small Business Advocate Act of 2012

112th Congress · introduced 2012-01-31 · Commerce · Latest: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 524.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2012-01-31 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Graves, Sam [R-MO-6] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 524. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Small Business Advocate Act of 2012

Plain summary

Small Business Advocate Act of 2012 - Amends the Small Business Act (the Act) to require the Director of the Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (established in each federal agency having procurement powers) to be compensated at least at the GS-15 rate and allows such position to be compensated at up to a Senior Executive Service level. Includes as additional duties of each Director: (1) reviewing and advising on decisions to convert an activity performed by a small business to an activity performed by a federal employee; (2) providing advice and comments on acquisition strategies, market research, and justifications related to small business; (3) providing training to small businesses and contract specialists; (4) carrying out exclusively the duties enumerated under the Act and, while Director, not holding any other title, position, or responsibility, except as necessary to carry out such duties; and (5) reporting annually to the congressional small business committees on the provision of small business and contract specialist training. Amends the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 to require the Small Business Procurement Advisory Council to: (1) conduct reviews of each Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization to determine compliance with Small Business Administration (SBA) requirements, (2) identify best practices for maximizing small business utilization in federal contracting, and (3) report annually to the small business committees on such reviews and best practices.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Small Business Advocate Act of 2012

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Graves, Sam [R-MO-6] · 8 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Graves, Sam [R-MO-6] reported raising $1.8 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-112hr3851.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/112/hr>

Record fed-us-cong112-hr3851 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong112 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong112