Title 15 › Chapter CHAPTER 97— - WOMEN’S BUSINESS ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT › § 7107
The President must pick a chairperson for the Council after talking with the Administrator. The chair must be a prominent businesswoman who is qualified by her education, training, and experience. The Administrator, after getting recommendations from the Chair and Ranking Member of the House and Senate Small Business Committees and consulting the Council chair, must appoint 14 members: four small business owners who are in the President’s party, four small business owners who are not in the President’s party, and six representatives of women’s business organizations (including women’s business center sites). The Administrator should try to make the group diverse by geography (urban and rural), race, economy, and business type. Members serve 3-year terms. If a member becomes a federal or congressional employee, she may stay on the Council for up to 30 days after that. Vacancies must be filled within 30 days the same way as the original appointment, and the replacement serves the rest of the term. Members are unpaid but get travel and necessary expenses paid like other advisory board members under section 637(b). The Administrator, with the chair, must appoint an executive director. On the director’s recommendation, the chair may hire up to 4 more staff and set pay up to the GS‑15 maximum; hires need appropriated funds. The executive director and staff may be hired outside the normal competitive service rules and paid outside usual GS rules, but the executive director’s pay cannot exceed the ES‑3 annual rate.
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Commerce and Trade — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
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Reference
Citation
15 U.S.C. § 7107
Title 15 — Commerce and Trade
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73