H.R. 1680

Women's Business Centers Improvements Act of 2017

The bill revises the duties of the Office of Women's Business Ownership and declares it is the Office's mission to assist women entrepreneurs to start, grow, and compete in global markets by providing quality support with access to capital, access to markets, job creation, growth, and counseling.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) shall establish standards for a program to accredit eligible entities receiving a grant to operate one or more women's business centers.

These organizations shall be eligible to apply for such a grant:

• a tax-exempt charitable organization;
• a state, regional, or local economic development organization;
• an institution of higher education;
• a state-chartered development, credit, or finance corporation; or
• any combination of these.

Failure to obtain non-federal funding must be for two consecutive years before an eligible entity shall become ineligible for advance disbursements, or for any other SBA-funded project.

An SBA employee shall:

• make a prior site visit to any grant applicant to ensure that the applicant has sufficient resources to provide the services for which the grant is being made; and
• conduct an annual review of the entity's compliance with the grant agreement, including a financial examination.

An eligible entity whose review identifies problems shall develop a remedial plan of action for the Office to approve or amend, subject to appeal. The Office shall terminate any grant for failure of compliance with a plan of action.

Upon request by an eligible entity, the SBA may waive, in whole or in part, although not for more than two years, the requirement to obtain non-federal funds for a grant recipient's counseling and training activities.