,,ii  #aahth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #dgfd  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,july #bd1     
#bjbd,mrs4 ,shaheen 7for herself and    
,mr4 ,kennedy7 introduced the following 
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,small ,business   
and ,entrepreneurship  ,a ,,bill  ,to   
amend the ,small ,business ,act to      
enhance the ,office of ,rural ,affairs1 
and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short     
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,coordinated ,support for ,rural ,small 
,businesses ,act4  #b4 ,office of ,rural
 ,affairs of the ,small ,business       
,administration ,section #bf of the     
,small ,business ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4    
#fec7 is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating
 subsections 7a71 7b71 and 7c7 as       
subsections 7b71 7c71 and 7d71          
respectively2  7#b7 by inserting before 
subsection 7b7 the following3  7a7      
,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7     
,assistant ,administrator ,the term     
,assistant ,administrator means the     

,assistant ,administrator of the        
,office4  7#b7 ,h,u,b,zone ,the term    
,h,u,b,zone has the meaning given the   
term in section #ca7;b74  7#c7 ,office  
,the term ,office means the ,office of  
,rural ,affairs established under       
subsection 7b74  7#d7 ,resource partners
 ,the term resource partners means--    
7,a7 small business development centers2
  7,b7 women's business centers         
described in section #bi2  7,c7 chapters
 of the ,service ,corps of ,retired     
,executives established under section   
#h7;b77#a77;,b72 and  7,d7 ,veteran     
,business ,outreach ,centers described  
in section #cb4  7#e7 ,rural small      
business concern ,the term rural small  
business concern means a small business 
concern located in a rural area4  2     
7#c7 in subsection 7b71 as so           
redesignated-- 7,a7 by inserting        
,establishment4-- before ,there2 and    
7,b7 by striking 7hereafter in this     
section referred to as the ,office72    
7#d7 by amending subsection 7c71 as so  

redesignated1 to read as follows3  7c7  
,appointment of ,assistant              
,administrator  7#a7 ,in general ,the   
,office shall be administered by an     
,assistant ,administrator1 who shall be 
an employee in the competitive service4 
7#b7 ,qualifications ,the ,assistant    
,administrator shall-- 7,a7 have        
education or professional experience    
with1 or knowledge of1 rural affairs and
 issues relating to small business      
concerns2 and  7,b7 have experience     
providing development assistance to     
rural small business concerns4  2  7#e7 
in subsection 7d71 as so redesignated-- 
7,a7 in the matter preceding paragraph  
7#a71 by inserting ,duties4-- before    
,the2  7,b7 in paragraph 7#a71 by       
striking small business concerns located
 in rural areas and inserting rural     
small business concerns2  7,c7 by       
amending paragraph 7#c7 to read as      
follows3  7#c7 promote the policies and 
programs of the ,administration and of  
other ,federal departments and agencies 

for assisting rural small business      
concerns to industries1 organizations1  
and ,state and local governments2  2    
7,d7 in paragraph 7#d71 by striking 2   
and and inserting a semicolon2  7,e7 in 
paragraph 7#e7-- 7i7 by striking the    
,united ,states ,tourism and ,travel    
,administration and inserting the       
,national ,travel and ,tourism ,office  
of the ,department of ,commerce2  7ii7  
by striking small businesses in rural   
areas and inserting rural small business
 concerns2 and  7iii7 by striking the   
period at the end and inserting 2 and2  
and  7,f7 by adding at the end the      
following3  7#f7 host webinars and      
outreach events for rural small business
 concerns as described in subsection    
7e74  2 and  7#f7 by adding at the end  
the following3  7e7 ,outreach ,the      
,assistant ,administrator shall-- 7#a7  
host webinars and outreach events in    
various regions of the ,united ,states  
for rural small business concerns2 and  
7#b7 invite representatives from        

district offices of the ,administration1
 resource partners1 ,federal and ,state 
agencies1 and other interested persons  
to participate in the webinars and      
outreach events described in paragraph  
7#a74  7f7 ,interagency cooperation ,the
 ,assistant ,administrator shall        
coordinate with the ,department of      
,agriculture to-- 7#a7 conduct outreach 
regarding programs of the               
,administration and the ,department of  
,agriculture and to improve awareness   
and utilization of the existing programs
 and services of each agency2 and  7#b7 
convene interagency working groups to   
address issues including-- 7,a7 capital 
access and investment in rural areas of 
the ,united ,states1 which may include--
 7i7 identifying synergies between the  
business loan programs of the           
,administration and the ,department of  
,agriculture1 including where           
intermediaries1 such as those under the 
microloan program under section #g7m71  
as defined in paragraph 7#aa7 of such   

section1 and the rural microentrepreneur
 assistance program established under   
section #cgi;,e of the ,consolidated    
,farm and ,rural ,development ,act 7#g  
,u4,s4,c4 #bjjhs7 and the intermediary  
relending program established under     
section #caj;,h of that ,act 7#g        
,u4,s4,c4 #aicf;b71 may be able to      
participate in programs at both         
agencies2  7ii7 assessing opportunities 
for the ,administration to facilitate   
the delivery of programs of the         
,department of ,agriculture to rural    
communities through the district offices
 of the ,administration1 relationships  
with rural lenders1 resource partners of
 the ,administration1 and joint outreach
 and marketing efforts1 as well as      
opportunities for the ,department of    
,agriculture to facilitate the delivery 
of programs of the ,administration to   
rural communities2  7iii7 improving     
information sharing and discussion of   
best practices between the              
,administration and the ,department of  

,agriculture2  7iv7 examining           
coordination between the small business 
investment company program under part ,a
 of title ,,iii of the ,small ,business 
,investment ,act of #aieh 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4
 #fha et seq47 and related programs at  
the ,department of ,agriculture1        
including the ,rural ,business          
,investment ,program of the ,department 
of ,agriculture2  7v7 examining         
opportunities for coordination between  
the ,administration1 the ,department of 
,agriculture1 and community and         
nonprofit partners in the small business
 ecosystem1 including resource partners1
 ,regional ,food ,business ,centers1 and
 innovation clusters2 and  7vi7         
addressing barriers and examining       
opportunities for cooperatives to       
participate in programs and access      
resources of the ,administration that   
are similar to the financing programs of
 the ,department of ,agriculture that   
serve cooperatives2 and  7,b7 assisting 
businesses in rural areas of the ,united

 ,states1 which may include-- 7i7       
identifying overlap among the rural     
markets identified by the ,department of
 ,agriculture1 ,h,u,b,zones1 rural      
census tracts identified by the         
,administration1 and underserved rural  
communities2  7ii7 exploring            
opportunities to support innovation     
clusters in rural areas2  7iii7         
coordinating effective support          
initiatives that benefit ,native        
,americans2 and  7iv7 collaborating on  
technical assistance1 especially with   
respect to exportation and procurement4 
7g7 ,report  7#a7 ,in general ,not later
 than #ahj days after the date of       
enactment of this subsection1 and       
annually thereafter1 the ,administrator 
shall submit to the ,committee on ,small
 ,business and ,entrepreneurship of the 
,senate and the ,committee on ,small    
,business of the ,house of              
,representatives1 and make publicly make
 available on a website of the          
,administration1 a report on the        

activities of the ,office during the    
#a-year period immediately preceding the
 date of submission of the report4  7#b7
 ,contents ,each report required under  
paragraph 7#a7 shall include the        
following3 7,a7 ,the operational details
 of the ,office1 including the name of  
the ,assistant ,administrator1 the      
budget of the ,office1 and the number of
 full-time employees employed by or     
detailed to the ,office4  7,b7 ,a       
summary of the activities conducted     
under subsection 7d74  7,c7 ,the number 
of webinars and outreach events         
conducted by the ,administration to     
promote policies and programs and       
provide information described in        
paragraphs 7#c7 and 7#d71 respectively1 
of subsection 7c74  7,d7 ,an analysis of
 gaps in lending programs of the        
,administration in serving the needs of 
rural small business concerns4  7,e7    
,information gathered from any webinars 
and outreach events conducted by the    
,administration during the period       

covered by the report4  7,f7 ,a summary 
of activities conducted under subsection
 7f71 including-- 7i7 the status of any 
memorandum of understanding between the 
,administration and the ,department of  
,agriculture to further the goals of    
improving service delivery1 advice1 and 
assistance for rural small business     
concerns2  7ii7 a summary of outreach   
efforts under subsection 7f77#a72  7iii7
 a summary of working groups created    
under subsection 7f77#b71 including any 
synergies identified in capital access  
programs under subparagraph 7,a7 of such
 subsection2 and  7iv7 efforts to       
coordinate outreach under subsection    
7f77#b77;,b74  4