Bill > S3196

This bill, the National Women's High-Growth Business Bipartisan Task Force Act of 2012, establishes a new task force to advise the Small Business Administration (SBA), Congress, the President, and other federal agencies on issues affecting women-owned small businesses, particularly those focused on high growth. The task force will be composed of 15 members, including women business owners, experts in women's entrepreneurship, and representatives from women's business organizations, with appointments made by both congressional leaders and the SBA Administrator to ensure bipartisan representation and consideration of geographic diversity. This task force will review and advise on public and private sector plans and programs aimed at helping women-owned businesses access capital, credit, and markets, and will also develop initiatives to encourage the formation of women-owned startups and high-growth businesses, including examining intellectual property rights. The bill also mandates that the SBA's Chief Counsel for Advocacy conduct semiannual studies on important issues for women-owned small businesses, such as federal contracts, access to capital, and intellectual property, and report these findings to the task force and congressional committees. As part of this legislation, provisions establishing the Interagency Committee on Women's Business Enterprise from the Women's Business Ownership Act of 1988 are repealed, and conforming amendments are made to other sections of the Small Business Act. The task force is required to submit an annual report detailing its activities, findings, and recommendations to the President and relevant congressional committees.