Title 15, Commerce and TradeRelease 119-110

§9541 Annual Diverse Business Forum on Capital Formation

Title 15 › CHAPTER 120 — MINORITY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT › SUBCHAPTER II — NEW INITIATIVES TO PROMOTE ECONOMIC RESILIENCY FOR MINORITY BUSINESSES › § 9541

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Within 18 months after November 15, 2021, and every year after that, the Under Secretary must hold a government-business forum to review how minority business enterprises get capital. The Under Secretary will invite other federal agency leaders (for example, the SEC Chair, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Federal Reserve Chair), state securities groups, leaders of major minority chambers of commerce, at least one certified minority business owner, and other business and professional groups to help plan the forum. The Under Secretary may ask any agency, group, or person to prepare a statement or report for the forum, and those asked must help as much as they can. The Under Secretary must write a short summary of each forum that includes the forum’s findings and recommendations. The summary must be sent to forum participants, sent to Congress, and posted on a public website. Any federal agency affected by a finding or recommendation must review it and, soon after it is posted online, make a public statement saying what they think and what action, if any, they plan to take. If more than one agency is involved, they may issue a joint statement.

Full Legal Text

Title 15, §9541

Commerce and Trade, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Responsibility of Agency

Not later than 18 months after November 15, 2021, and annually thereafter, the Under Secretary shall conduct a Government-business forum to review the current status of problems and programs relating to capital formation by minority business enterprises.

(b)Participation in forum planning

The Under Secretary shall invite the heads of other Federal agencies, such as the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, organizations representing State securities commissioners, representatives of leading minority chambers of commerce, not less than 1 certified owner of a minority business enterprise, business organizations, and professional organizations concerned with capital formation to participate in the planning of each forum conducted under subsection (a).

(c)Preparation of statements and reports

(1)Requests

The Under Secretary may request that any head of a Federal agency, department, or organization, including those described in subsection (b), or any other group or individual, prepare a statement or report to be delivered at any forum conducted under subsection (a).

(2)Cooperation

Any head of a Federal agency, department, or organization who receives a request under paragraph (1) shall, to the greatest extent practicable, cooperate with the Under Secretary to fulfill that request.

(d)Transmittal of proceedings and findings

The Under Secretary shall—

(1)prepare a summary of the proceedings of each forum conducted under subsection (a), which shall include the findings and recommendations of the forum; and

(2)transmit the summary described in paragraph (1) with respect to each forum conducted under subsection (a) to—

(A)the participants in the forum;

(B)Congress; and

(C)the public, through a publicly available website.

(e)Review of findings and recommendations; public statements

(1)In general

A Federal agency to which a finding or recommendation described in subsection (d)(1) relates shall—

(A)review that finding or recommendation; and

(B)promptly after the finding or recommendation is transmitted under subsection (d)(2)(C), issue a public statement—

(i)assessing the finding or recommendation; and

(ii)disclosing the action, if any, the Federal agency intends to take with respect to the finding or recommendation.

(2)Joint statement permitted

If a finding or recommendation described in subsection (d)(1) relates to more than 1 Federal agency, the applicable Federal agencies may, for the purposes of the public statement required under paragraph (1)(B), issue a joint statement.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

15 U.S.C. § 9541

Title 15, Commerce and Trade

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110