S. 2068 · 117th Congress
Minority Business Development Act of 2021
Key: what the circles and colors mean
Each circle is a bill. The ring fills as it moves through Congress:
Under the number: the Yea · Nay count of its final (or latest) recorded vote. On a member's page, the small badge is how that member voted: Y Yea / Aye, N Nay / No, P Present, – Not voting.
Gold and violet are only for Yea and Nay; they never mean a party. A member's party is the letter on their photo.
Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 117th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
D
CardinSponsor5 cosponsors · 2 D, 3 R
3 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This bill permanently authorizes the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), requires the MBDA to promote and administer programs that assist the development of minority business enterprises (MBEs), and establishes the Minority Business Enterprises Advisory Council to advise and assist the MBDA.
What it does: CRS summary · Reported to Senate · Dec 17, 2021
Minority Business Development Act of 2021
This bill permanently authorizes the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), requires the MBDA to promote and administer programs that assist the development of minority business enterprises (MBEs), and establishes the Minority Business Enterprises Advisory Council to advise and assist the MBDA.
Specifically, the bill requires the MBDA to (1) provide assistance to MBEs in domestic and foreign markets by making available specified resources, (2) promote the position of MBEs in local economies, and (3) collect data on the causes of MBE success or failure and research how economic conditions affect the development of MBEs.
The bill establishes formal processes for the MBDA Business Center Program and the MBDA Rural Business Center Program through which business centers provide programs and services to support MBEs.
The bill also establishes new initiatives to promote economic resiliency for minority businesses, including (1) an annual forum to review problems and programs relating to capital formation by MBEs, (2) a study and report on alternative financing solutions for MBEs, and (3) entrepreneurship education grants for certain institutions of higher education to develop and implement entrepreneurship curricula.
Further, the bill establishes grants for certain nonprofit organizations that provide services to MBEs as one of their primary activities.
The bill authorizes the MBDA to coordinate federal government programs and operations that affect the establishment, preservation, and strengthening of socially or economically disadvantaged businesses.
The Government Accountability Office must report on the programs carried out pursuant to the bill.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Minority Business Development Act of 2021
Latest action (Dec 17, 2021): Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 228.
Policy area: Commerce · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Jun 15, 2021
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.