S. 1866: Veterans Small Business Ownership Improvements Act of 2015

114th Congress · introduced 2015-07-27 · Commerce · Latest: By Senator Vitter from Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship filed written report under authority of the order of the Senate of 12/10/2016. Report No. 114-410.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2015-07-27 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: By Senator Vitter from Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship filed written report under authority of the order of the Senate of 12/10/2016. Report No. 114-410. 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

Veterans Small Business Ownership Improvements Act of 2015

Plain summary

Veterans Small Business Ownership Improvements Act of 2015 (Sec. 2) This bill amends the Small Business Act to establish the Boots to Business Program under which the Small Business Administration (SBA) shall provide entrepreneurship training to: members of the Armed Forces, individuals participating in the Transition Assistance Program (Department of Defense), individuals who served on active duty and who were discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable, and their spouses or dependents. The SBA shall also establish a Women Veterans Business Training Program to provide specific training for female members of the Armed Forces, veterans, or their spouses or dependents who are interested in small business careers; and compile and disseminate information on resources available to women veterans for business training. The SBA shall in addition establish a Business Training Program for Service Disabled Veterans to provide specific training for service-disabled veterans interested in small business careers. The SBA may make grants to veterans' business outreach centers and other entities, including other resource partners, to carry out components of these three Programs. The SBA shall: establish a veterans' business outreach center program to provide financial assistance to educational institutions, veterans' nonprofit community-based organizations, and federal, state, and local departments and agencies to conduct renewable five-year projects for the benefit of small businesses owned and controlled by veterans; and designate at least one individual in each district office as a veterans business development officer to coordinate activities of the district office with recipient entities. Financial assistance may be at least $100,000 for each fiscal year in the form of a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement, subject to requirements for specified project percentages of non-federal contributions. An assisted entity shall establish or operate a veterans' business outreach center to provide veterans, service-disabled veterans, and reservists, as well as their spouses, and the spouses of active duty members of the Armed Forces with: financial, management, and marketing advice and training; and technical assistance and training for obtaining federal procurement opportunities. An assisted entity shall also enter into an affiliation agreement with a small business development center to carry out activities under this Act. A veterans' business outreach center may, with prior SBA approval, contract with a federal department or agency to provide specific assistance to veterans, service-disabled veterans, reservists, or the spouses of members of the Armed Forces on active duty. The SBA may discontinue financial assistance to an entity at any time for poor performance. The SBA shall designate at least one individual in each SBA district office as a veterans business development officer to communicate and coordinate district office activities with entities receiving financial assistance under this Act. The SBA shall establish the Veterans Business Owners Initiative Pilot Program to provide grants to nonprofit entities to carry out peer support groups that provide small business career training to: members of the Armed Forces, individuals participating in the Transition Assistance Program (Department of Defense), Reservists, veterans, and their spouses or dependents. The SBA shall establish an online mechanism to assist veterans' assistance providers carry out their activities. FY2016-FY2020 appropriations are authorized for programs under this Act. (Sec. 3) The SBA shall establish: (1) guidelines to improve the network of peer-to-peer counseling for individuals eligible for a veterans' entrepreneurial development program, and (2) an online mechanism that serves as a one-stop online resource for veterans regarding SBA entrepreneurial development programs. (Sec. 4) The SBA shall report to Congress at least once a year regarding: (1) appointments and activities of the interagency veterans small business task force, and (2) outreach and promotion of the programs authorized by this Act. (Sec. 5) The SBA's duties are expanded to include making grants to, or entering into cooperative agreements with, nonprofit entities to operate federal contracting training programs for veteran-owned small businesses.

Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to Senate with amendment(s)), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Veterans Small Business Ownership Improvements Act of 2015

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to Senate with amendment(s))

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA] · 3 cosponsors

Cost estimate: CBO cost estimate: S. 1866, Veterans Small Business Ownership Improvements Act of 2015 (2015-09-15)

Cosponsors on this site

Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI)

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.

Words on this page, explained (5)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Ballot initiative: A proposed law or constitutional amendment that citizens place on the ballot by gathering enough voter signatures, so voters decide it directly. About half the states allow some form of it.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Fiscal year: The 12-month period a government uses for its budget. The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30 and is named for the calendar year in which it ends. Most states use July 1 to June 30.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to Senate with amendment(s))
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-114s1866.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/s>

Record fed-us-cong114-s1866 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114