,,ib ,union ,calendar ,no4 #bea #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #dgbg ,report ,no4 #aaf-caj ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,october #ag1 #bjai ,mr4 ,mc,eachin 7for himself and ,mr4 ,thompson of ,mississippi7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security ,november #bb1 #bjai;,additional sponsor3 ,mr4 ,taylor ,november #bb1 #bjai ,committed to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of the ,union and ordered to be printed ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,homeland ,security ,act of #bjjb to establish a mentor-protg program1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,department of ,homeland ,security ,mentor-,protg ,program ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,department of ,homeland ,security mentor-protg program 7a7 ,in general ,subtitle ,h of title ,,viii of the ,homeland ,security ,act of #bjjb 7#f ,u4,s4,c4 #dea et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following new section3 #hij;,b4 ,mentor-protg program 7a7 ,establishment ,there is established in the ,department a mentor-protg program 7in this section referred to as the ,program7 under which a mentor firm enters into an agreement with a protg firm for the purpose of assisting the protg firm to compete for prime contracts and subcontracts of the ,department4 7b7 ,eligibility ,the ,secretary shall establish criteria for mentor firms and protg firms to be eligible to participate in the ,program1 including a requirement that a firm is not included on any list maintained by the ,federal ,government of contractors that have been suspended or debarred4 7c7 ,program application and approval 7#a7 ,application ,the ,secretary1 acting through the ,office of ,small and ,disadvantaged ,business ,utilization of the ,department1 shall establish a process for submission of an application jointly by a mentor firm and the protg firm selected by the mentor firm4 ,the application shall include each of the following3 7,a7 ,a description of the assistance to be provided by the mentor firm1 including1 to the extent available1 the number and a brief description of each anticipated subcontract to be awarded to the protg firm4 7,b7 ,a schedule with milestones for achieving the assistance to be provided over the period of participation in the ,program4 7,c7 ,an estimate of the costs to be incurred by the mentor firm for providing assistance under the ,program4 7,d7 ,attestation that ,program participants will submit to the ,secretary reports at times specified by the ,secretary to assist the ,secretary in evaluating the protg firm's developmental progress4 7,e7 ,attestations that ,program participants will inform the ,secretary in the event of change in eligibility or voluntary withdrawal from the ,program4 7#b7 ,approval ,not later than #fj days after receipt of an application pursuant to paragraph 7#a71 the head of the ,office of ,small and ,disadvantaged ,business ,utilization shall notify applicants of approval or1 in the case of disapproval1 the process for resubmitting an application for reconsideration4 7#c7 ,rescission ,the head of the ,office of ,small and ,disadvantaged ,business ,utilization may rescind the approval of an application under this subsection if it determines that such action is in the best interest of the ,department4 7d7 ,program duration ,a mentor firm and protg firm approved under subsection 7c7 shall enter into an agreement to participate in the ,program for a period of not less than #cf months4 7e7 ,program benefits ,a mentor firm and protg firm that enter into an agreement under subsection 7d7 may receive the following ,program benefits3 7#a7 ,with respect to an award of a contract that requires a subcontracting plan1 a mentor firm may receive evaluation credit for participating in the ,program4 7#b7 ,with respect to an award of a contract that requires a subcontracting plan1 a mentor firm may receive credit for a protg firm performing as a first tier subcontractor or a subcontractor at any tier in an amount equal to the total dollar value of any subcontracts awarded to such protg firm4 7#c7 ,a protg firm may receive technical1 managerial1 financial1 or any other mutually agreed upon benefit from a mentor firm1 including a subcontract award4 7#d7 ,any other benefits identified by the ,secretary4 7f7 ,reporting ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and annually thereafter1 the head of the ,office of ,small and ,disadvantaged ,business ,utilization shall submit to the ,committees on ,homeland ,security and ,small ,business of the ,house of ,representatives a report that-- 7#a7 identifies each agreement between a mentor firm and a protg firm entered into under this section1 including number of protg firm participants that are-- 7,a7 small business concerns2 7,b7 small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans2 7,c7 small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans2 7,d7 qualified ,h,u,b,zone small business concerns2 7,e7 small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals2 7,f7 women-owned small business concerns2 7,g7 historically ,black colleges and universities2 and 7,h7 minority institutions of higher education2 7#b7 describes the type of assistance provided by mentor firms to protg firms2 7#c7 identifies contracts within the ,department in which a mentor firm serving as the prime contractor provided subcontracts to a protg firm under the ,program2 and 7#d7 assesses the degree to which there has been-- 7,a7 an increase in the technical capabilities of protg firms2 and 7,b7 an increase in the quantity and estimated value of prime contract and subcontract awards to protg firms for the period covered by the report4 7g7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,historically ,black college or university ,the term historically ,black college or university means any of the historically ,black colleges and universities referred to in section #bcbc of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code1 as in effect on ,march #a1 #bjah4 7#b7 ,mentor firm ,the term mentor firm means a for-profit business concern that is not a small business concern that-- 7,a7 has the ability to assist and commits to assisting a protg to compete for ,federal prime contracts and subcontracts2 and 7,b7 satisfies any other requirements imposed by the ,secretary4 7#c7 ,minority institution of higher education ,the term minority institution of higher education means an institution of higher education with a student body that reflects the composition specified in section #cab7;b7 of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajeh7;b774 7#d7 ,protg firm ,the term protg firm means a small business concern1 a historically ,black college or university1 or a minority institution of higher education that-- 7,a7 is eligible to enter into a prime contract or subcontract with the ,department2 and 7,b7 satisfies any other requirements imposed by the ,secretary4 7#e7 ,small ,business ,act definitions ,the terms small business concern1 small business concern owned and controlled by veterans1 small business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans1 qualified ,h,u,b,zone small business concern1 and small business concern owned and controlled by women have the meaning given such terms1 respectively1 under section #c of the ,small ,business ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #fcb74 ,the term small business concern owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals has the meaning given such term in section #h7;d77#c77;,c7 of the ,small ,business ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #fcg7;d77#c77;,c774 4 7b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of contents in section #a7;b7 of the ,homeland ,security ,act of #bjjb is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #hij;,a the following new item3 ,sec4 #hij;,b4 ,mentor-protg program4 4 ,november #bb1 #bjai ,committed to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of the ,union and ordered to be printed