PROGRAM ADMISSION

SEC. 201. PROGRAM ADMISSION (a) Eligibility of Participants.— Section 7(j)(11) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 6360)(11)) is amended by striking out “(11)” and inserting in lieu thereof “(11)(A)” and by adding the following new subparagraphs: “(B) Except as provided in section 602(d) of the Business Opportunity Development Reform Act of 1988, any individual upon whom eligibility is based pursuant to section 8(a)(4), shall be permitted to assert such eligibility for only one small business concern. Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding sentence, no individual who was determined pursuant to section 8(a) to be socially and economically disadvantaged before the effective date of this subparagraph shall be permitted to assert such disadvantage with respect to any other concern making application for certification after such effective date. “(C) No concern, previously eligible for the award of contracts pursuant to section 8(a), shall be subsequently recertified for program participation if its prior participation in the program was concluded for any of the reasons described in paragraph (10)(E). “(D) A concern eligible for the award of contracts pursuant to this subsection shall remain eligible for such contracts if there is a transfer of ownership and control (as defined pursuant to section 8(a)(4)) to individuals who are determined to be socially and economically disadvantaged pursuant to section 8(a). In the event of such a transfer, the concern, if not terminated or graduated, shall be eligible for a period of continued participation in the program not to exceed the time limitations prescribed in paragraph (15). “(E) There is established a Division of Program Certification and Eligibility (hereinafter referred to in this paragraph as the “Division”) that shall be made part of the Office of the Associate Administrator for Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership Development. The Division shall be headed by a Director who shall report directly to such Associate Administrator. The Division shall establish field offices within such regional offices of the Administra-102 STAT. 3857 tion as may be necessary to perform efficiently its functions and responsibilities. “(F) Subject to the provisions of section 8(a)(9), the functions and responsibility of the Division are to— “(i) receive, review and evaluate applications for certification pursuant to paragraphs (4), (5), (6) and (7) of section 8(a); “(ii) advise each program applicant within 15 days after the receipt of an application as to whether such application is complete and suitable for evaluation and, if not, what matters must be rectified; “(iii) render recommendations on such applications to the Associate Administrator for Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership Development; “(iv) review and evaluate financial statements and other submissions from concerns participating in the program established by paragraph (10) to ascertain continued eligibility to receive subcontracts pursuant to section 8(a); “(v) make a request for the initiation of termination or graduation proceedings, as appropriate, with the Associate Administrator for Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership Development; “(vi) decide protests from applicants that have been denied program admission; “(vii) decide protests regarding the status of a concern as a disadvantaged concern for purposes of any program or activity conducted under the authority of subsection (d) of section 8, or any other provision of Federal law that references such subsection for a definition of program eligibility; and “(viii) implement such policy directives as may be issued by the Associate Administrator for Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership Development pursuant to subparagraph (H) regarding, among other things, the geographic distribution of concerns to be admitted to the program and the industrial make-up of such concerns. “(G) An applicant shall not be denied admission into the program established by paragraph (10) due solely to a determination by the Division that specific contract opportunities are unavailable to assist in the development of such concern unless— “(i) the Government has not previously procured and is unlikely to procure the types of products or services offered by the concern; or “(ii) the purchases of such products or services by the Federal Government will not be in quantities sufficient to support the developmental needs of the applicant and other Program participants providing the same or similar items or services. “(H) Thirty days before the conclusion of each fiscal year, the Director of the Division shall review all concerns that have been admitted into the Program during the preceding 12-month period. The review shall ascertain the number of entrants, their geographic distribution and industrial classification. The Director shall also estimate the expected growth of the Program during the next fiscal year and the number of additional Business Opportunity Specialists, if any, that will be needed to meet the anticipated demand for the Program. The findings and conclusions of the Director shall be reported to the Associate Administrator for Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership Development by September 30 of each year. Based on such report and such additional data as may be102 STAT. 3858 relevant, the Associate Administrator shall, by October 31 of each year, issue policy and program directives applicable to such fiscal year that— “(i) establish priorities for the solicitation of program applications from underrepresented regions and industry categories; “(ii) assign staffing levels and allocate other program resources as necessary to meet program needs; and “(iii) establish priorities in the processing and admission of new Program Participants as may be necessary to achieve an equitable geographic distribution of concerns and a distribution of concerns across all industry categories in proportions needed to increase significantly contract awards to small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. When considering such increase the Administration shall give due consideration to those industrial categories where Federal purchases have been substantial but where the participation rate of such concerns has been limited.”. (b) Outreach.— Section 8(a)(10) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(a)(10)) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following: “Such program shall make a sustained and substantial effort to solicit applications for certification from small business concerns located in areas of concentrated unemployment or underemployment or within labor surplus areas and within States having relatively few Program Participants and from small disadvantaged business concerns in industry categories that have not substantially participated in the award of contracts let under the authority of this subsection.”.