§634b — Title 15 Commerce and Trade | U.S. Code

Summary

The Office of Advocacy must study and report on how small businesses affect the U.S. economy — things like competition, jobs, productivity, exports, innovation, and bringing new products to market. It must review federal aid programs and whether to shift from special subsidies to general help for all small firms. The office must measure how rules and taxes cost small businesses and suggest changes to reduce unnecessary rules and improve the tax system. The office must check whether banks and markets meet small business lending needs and how government borrowing affects that. It must recommend ways to deliver money and help to minority businesses, such as equity capital, market development, business training, management and technical help, and help with legal compliance, and it must evaluate federal and private efforts to assist them. The office should make other recommendations to help small firms grow, study why small businesses succeed or fail, consider creating clear criteria for defining "small business," work with the Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United States on section 504(e) of title 5, and evaluate programs for veteran-owned and service-disabled-veteran-owned small businesses (as defined in section 632(q)), provide statistics on their program use, and recommend actions to the SBA Administrator and Congress.

Title 15, §634b

Commerce and Trade — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

The primary functions of the Office of Advocacy shall be to—

(1)examine the role of small business in the American economy and the contribution which small business can make in improving competition, encouraging economic and social mobility for all citizens, restraining inflation, spurring production, expanding employment opportunities, increasing productivity, promoting exports, stimulating innovation and entrepreneurship, and providing an avenue through which new and untested products and services can be brought to the marketplace;

(2)assess the effectiveness of existing Federal subsidy and assistance programs for small business and the desirability of reducing the emphasis on such existing programs and increasing the emphasis on general assistance programs designed to benefit all small businesses;

(3)measure the direct costs and other effects of government regulation on small businesses; and make legislative and nonlegislative proposals for eliminating excessive or unnecessary regulations of small businesses;

(4)determine the impact of the tax structure on small businesses and make legislative and other proposals for altering the tax structure to enable all small businesses to realize their potential for contributing to the improvement of the Nation’s economic well-being;

(5)study the ability of financial markets and institutions to meet small business credit needs and determine the impact of government demands for credit on small businesses;

(6)determine financial resource availability and to recommend methods for delivery of financial assistance to minority enterprises, including methods for securing equity capital, for generating markets for goods and services, for providing effective business education, more effective management and technical assistance, and training, and for assistance in complying with Federal, State, and local law;

(7)evaluate the efforts of Federal agencies, business and industry to assist minority enterprises;

(8)make such other recommendations as may be appropriate to assist the development and strengthening of minority and other small business enterprises;

(9)recommend specific measures for creating an environment in which all businesses will have the opportunity to complete 11 So in original. Probably should be “compete”. effectively and expand to their full potential, and to ascertain the common reasons, if any, for small business successes and failures;

(10)determine the desirability of developing a set of rational, objective criteria to be used to define small business, and to develop such criteria, if appropriate;

(11)advise, cooperate with, and consult with, the Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United States with respect to section 504(e) of title 5; and

(12)evaluate the efforts of each department and agency of the United States, and of private industry, to assist small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans, as defined in section 632(q) of this title, and small business concerns owned and controlled by serviced-disabled 22 So in original. veterans, as defined in such section 632(q) of this title, and to provide statistical information on the utilization of such programs by such small business concerns, and to make appropriate recommendations to the Administrator of the Small Business Administration and to the Congress in order to promote the establishment and growth of those small business concerns.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was not enacted as part of the Small Business Act which comprises this chapter.

Amendments

1999—Par. (12). Pub. L. 106–50 added par. (12). 1980—Par. (11). Pub. L. 96–481 added par. (11).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1980 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 96–481 effective Oct. 1, 1981, and applicable to adversary adjudication as defined in section 504(b)(1)(C) of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, and to civil actions and adversary adjudications described in section 2412 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure, which are pending on, or commenced on or after Oct. 1, 1981, see section 208 of Pub. L. 96–481, set out as an

Effective Date

note under section 504 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. Termination of Administrative Conference of United States For termination of Administrative Conference of United States, see provision of title IV of Pub. L. 104–52, set out as a note preceding section 591 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. Advocacy Study of Paperwork and Tax Impact Pub. L. 103–403, title VI, § 613, Oct. 22, 1994, 108 Stat. 4205, directed Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration to conduct a study of the impact of all Federal regulatory, paperwork, and tax requirements upon small business, and report its findings to Congress not later than 1 year after Oct. 22, 1994.

§634b Primary Functions of Office of Advocacy

Summary

Title 15, §634b

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Effective Date

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