,i  #aahth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ddii  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,july #f1 #bjbc,ms4  
,stevens 7for herself and ,mrs4 ,beatty7
 introduced the following bill2 which   
was referred to the ,committee on       
,financial ,services1 and in addition to
 the ,committee on ,small ,business1 for
 a period to be subsequently determined 
by the ,speaker1 in each case for       
consideration of such provisions as fall
 within the jurisdiction of the         
committee concerned  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
establish a grant program to provide    
minority business enterprises access to 
entrepreneurship opportunities1 and for 
other purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this 
,act may be cited as the ,increasing and
 ,developing ,entrepreneurship ,access  
,act of #bjbc or the ,,idea ,act of     
#bjbc4  #b4 ,grants to provide minority 
business enterprises access to          
entrepreneurship opportunities  7a7     
,establishment ,not later than #ahj days
 after the date of the enactment of this

 section1 the ,under ,secretary of      
,commerce for ,minority ,business       
,development shall establish a program  
to provide grants to business           
accelerator entities to provide         
entrepreneurship opportunities to       
minority business enterprises4  7b7     
,application ,the ,under ,secretary may 
provide a grant under this section to a 
business accelerator entity only if the 
entity submits to the ,under ,secretary 
an application at such time1 in such    
manner1 and containing such information 
as the ,under ,secretary may reasonably 
require4  7c7 ,amount and duration ,the 
amount of a grant provided under this   
section shall be #a1jjj1jjj each year   
for five consecutive years4  7d7        
,federal share ,the ,federal share of a 
grant provided this section to a        
business accelerator entity may not     
exceed #ge percent of the total amount  
of funds provided by the entity to carry
 out activities using grant funds4  7e7 
,use of funds  7#a7 ,in general ,a grant

 provided under this section shall be   
used by a business accelerator entity to
 provide-- 7,a7 capital1 including      
direct cash transfers of grant funds1 to
 minority business enterprises in the   
region2  7,b7 networking programs that  
connect minority business enterprises to
 sources of capital and innovation in   
the region2 and  7,c7 any other         
assistance that the ,under ,secretary   
determines to be appropriate for        
minority business enterprises in the    
region4  7#b7 ,region described ,a      
region described in this subsection is a
 region in which not less than #ae      
minority business enterprises with      
revenues not less than #bej1jjj are     
located4  7f7 ,report ,the ,under       
,secretary shall submit to ,congress1   
for each fiscal year in which the ,under
 ,secretary provides grants under this  
section1 a report on the program        
established under this section1         
including-- 7#a7 an identification of   
the number of grants provided in such   

fiscal year and the total amount of such
 grants2  7#b7 an identification of the 
number of minority business enterprises 
that have received assistance from such 
entities in such fiscal year2 and  7#c7 
a description of any noncompliance by   
any business accelerator entity and the 
amount of funds such entity has         
received4  7g7 ,misdemeanor ,a business 
accelerator entity that receives a grant
 under this section that knowingly uses 
amounts under the grant for any purpose 
not otherwise permitted under the       
program established by this section or  
who knowingly attempts to do so1 shall  
be fined as provided in title #ah1      
,united ,states ,code1 or imprisoned for
 not more than one year1 or both4  7h7  
,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7     
,business accelerator entity ,the term  
business accelerator entity means an    
entity that-- 7,a7 engages in a         
partnership with public or private      
organizations that target minority      
business enterprises2  7,b7 provides    

opportunities to scale minority owned   
business enterprises through seed       
investment or networking opportunities2 
or  7,c7 offers start-up capital or     
opportunities to raise capital from     
outside investors for minority business 
enterprises4  7#b7 ,minority business   
enterprise ,the term minority business  
enterprise has the meaning given such   
term in section #aajh7;a7 of the ,,cares
 ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #ijjg7;a774  7#c7  
,under ,secretary ,the term ,under      
,secretary means the ,under ,secretary  
of ,commerce for ,minority ,business    
,development4  7i7 ,authorization of    
appropriations ,there is authorized to  
be appropriated to carry out this       
section #be1jjj1jjj for each of the     
fiscal years #bjbd through #bjbh4