| 1 | 1 | | II |
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| 2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION S. 202 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to estab- |
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| 6 | 6 | | lish a program to allow small business concerns to purchase certain |
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| 7 | 7 | | commodities futures, and for other purposes. |
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| 8 | 8 | | IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES |
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| 9 | 9 | | JANUARY23, 2025 |
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| 10 | 10 | | Mrs. S |
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| 11 | 11 | | HAHEEN(for herself and Mr. CASSIDY) introduced the following bill; |
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| 12 | 12 | | which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business |
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| 13 | 13 | | and Entrepreneurship |
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| 14 | 14 | | A BILL |
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| 15 | 15 | | To require the Administrator of the Small Business Adminis- |
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| 16 | 16 | | tration to establish a program to allow small business |
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| 17 | 17 | | concerns to purchase certain commodities futures, and |
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| 18 | 18 | | for other purposes. |
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| 19 | 19 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 20 | 20 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 21 | 21 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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| 22 | 22 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Helping Small Busi-4 |
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| 23 | 23 | | nesses To Hedge Risk and Insure against Volatile Ex-5 |
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| 24 | 24 | | penses Act’’ or the ‘‘Helping Small Businesses THRIVE 6 |
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| 25 | 25 | | Act’’. 7 |
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| 27 | 27 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 |
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| 28 | 28 | | •S 202 IS |
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| 29 | 29 | | SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 |
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| 30 | 30 | | In this Act: 2 |
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| 31 | 31 | | (1) A |
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| 32 | 32 | | DMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-3 |
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| 33 | 33 | | trator’’ means the Administrator of the Small Busi-4 |
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| 34 | 34 | | ness Administration. 5 |
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| 35 | 35 | | (2) C |
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| 36 | 36 | | OMMISSION; COMMODITY; COMMODITY 6 |
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| 37 | 37 | | POOL; COMMODITY TRADING ADVISOR ; FUTURE DE-7 |
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| 38 | 38 | | LIVERY; FUTURES COMMISSION MERCHANT .—The 8 |
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| 39 | 39 | | terms ‘‘Commission’’, ‘‘commodity’’, ‘‘commodity 9 |
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| 40 | 40 | | pool’’, ‘‘commodity trading advisor’’, ‘‘future deliv-10 |
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| 41 | 41 | | ery’’, and ‘‘futures commission merchant’’ have the 11 |
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| 42 | 42 | | meanings given those terms in section 1a of the 12 |
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| 43 | 43 | | Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1a). 13 |
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| 44 | 44 | | (3) C |
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| 45 | 45 | | OVERED COMMODITY .—The term ‘‘covered 14 |
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| 46 | 46 | | commodity’’ means a commodity that the Adminis-15 |
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| 47 | 47 | | trator, under section 4(b), determines is eligible to 16 |
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| 48 | 48 | | be the subject of an agreement entered into under 17 |
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| 49 | 49 | | section 4(a). 18 |
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| 50 | 50 | | (4) E |
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| 51 | 51 | | LIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-19 |
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| 52 | 52 | | ty’’— 20 |
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| 53 | 53 | | (A) means a small business concern; and 21 |
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| 54 | 54 | | (B) does not include a small business con-22 |
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| 55 | 55 | | cern that— 23 |
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| 56 | 56 | | (i) is, or is owned or controlled by an 24 |
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| 57 | 57 | | entity that is, a financial institution (as de-25 |
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| 59 | 59 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3 |
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| 60 | 60 | | •S 202 IS |
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| 61 | 61 | | fined in section 509 of the Gramm-Leach- 1 |
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| 62 | 62 | | Bliley Act (15 U.S.C. 6809)); 2 |
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| 63 | 63 | | (ii) is, or is owned or controlled by an 3 |
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| 64 | 64 | | entity that is, with respect to any financial 4 |
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| 65 | 65 | | activity, subject to the jurisdiction of the 5 |
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| 66 | 66 | | Commission under the Commodity Ex-6 |
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| 67 | 67 | | change Act (7 U.S.C. 1 et seq.); 7 |
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| 68 | 68 | | (iii) is, or is owned or controlled by, 8 |
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| 69 | 69 | | an investment adviser (as defined in sec-9 |
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| 70 | 70 | | tion 202(a) of the Investment Advisers Act 10 |
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| 71 | 71 | | of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b–2(a))) that is re-11 |
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| 72 | 72 | | quired to register with the Securities and 12 |
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| 73 | 73 | | Exchange Commission under section 203 13 |
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| 74 | 74 | | of that Act (15 U.S.C. 80b–3); 14 |
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| 75 | 75 | | (iv) is, or is owned or controlled by, a 15 |
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| 76 | 76 | | broker (as defined in section 3(a) of the 16 |
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| 77 | 77 | | Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 17 |
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| 78 | 78 | | U.S.C. 78c(a))); 18 |
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| 79 | 79 | | (v) has been in operation for less than 19 |
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| 80 | 80 | | 1 year, as of the date on which the small 20 |
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| 81 | 81 | | business concern submits an application 21 |
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| 82 | 82 | | under section 3(b); or 22 |
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| 83 | 83 | | (vi) the Administrator otherwise de-23 |
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| 84 | 84 | | termines should be excluded in order— 24 |
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| 86 | 86 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 4 |
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| 87 | 87 | | •S 202 IS |
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| 88 | 88 | | (I) to preserve the integrity of 1 |
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| 89 | 89 | | the Program; and 2 |
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| 90 | 90 | | (II) to ensure that the focus of 3 |
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| 91 | 91 | | the Program remains on small busi-4 |
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| 92 | 92 | | ness concerns desiring to participate 5 |
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| 93 | 93 | | in the Program to maximize stability 6 |
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| 94 | 94 | | with respect to the direct operating 7 |
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| 95 | 95 | | costs of those small business concerns. 8 |
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| 96 | 96 | | (5) P |
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| 97 | 97 | | ROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 9 |
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| 98 | 98 | | the Helping Small Businesses Thrive Program es-10 |
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| 99 | 99 | | tablished under section 3(a). 11 |
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| 100 | 100 | | (6) R |
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| 101 | 101 | | ESOURCE PARTNERS .—The term ‘‘re-12 |
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| 102 | 102 | | source partners’’ means— 13 |
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| 103 | 103 | | (A) small business development centers; 14 |
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| 104 | 104 | | (B) women’s business centers described in 15 |
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| 105 | 105 | | section 29 of the Small Business Act (15 16 |
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| 106 | 106 | | U.S.C. 656); 17 |
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| 107 | 107 | | (C) chapters of the Service Corps of Re-18 |
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| 108 | 108 | | tired Executives established under section 19 |
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| 109 | 109 | | 8(b)(1)(B) of the Small Business Act (15 20 |
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| 110 | 110 | | U.S.C. 637(b)(1)(B)); and 21 |
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| 111 | 111 | | (D) Veteran Business Outreach Centers 22 |
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| 112 | 112 | | described in section 32 of the Small Business 23 |
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| 113 | 113 | | Act (15 U.S.C. 657b). 24 |
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| 115 | 115 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 5 |
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| 116 | 116 | | •S 202 IS |
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| 117 | 117 | | (7) SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN ; SMALL BUSI-1 |
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| 118 | 118 | | NESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER .—The terms ‘‘small 2 |
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| 119 | 119 | | business concern’’ and ‘‘small business development 3 |
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| 120 | 120 | | center’’ have the meanings given those terms in sec-4 |
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| 121 | 121 | | tion 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632). 5 |
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| 122 | 122 | | SEC. 3. HELPING SMALL BUSINESSES THRIVE PROGRAM. 6 |
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| 123 | 123 | | (a) E |
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| 124 | 124 | | STABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.—Not later than 7 |
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| 125 | 125 | | 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Admin-8 |
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| 126 | 126 | | istrator shall, in consultation with the Commission, the 9 |
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| 127 | 127 | | Secretary of the Treasury, and such other Federal officials 10 |
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| 128 | 128 | | determined appropriate by the Administrator, establish 11 |
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| 129 | 129 | | within the Small Business Administration a pilot pro-12 |
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| 130 | 130 | | gram— 13 |
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| 131 | 131 | | (1) which shall be known as the ‘‘Helping Small 14 |
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| 132 | 132 | | Businesses Thrive Program’’; and 15 |
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| 133 | 133 | | (2) the purpose of which shall be to assist eligi-16 |
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| 134 | 134 | | ble entities in limiting the risk faced by those eligible 17 |
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| 135 | 135 | | entities with respect to rising input costs from com-18 |
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| 136 | 136 | | modities. 19 |
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| 137 | 137 | | (b) A |
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| 138 | 138 | | PPLICATION.— 20 |
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| 139 | 139 | | (1) I |
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| 140 | 140 | | N GENERAL.—An eligible entity seeking to 21 |
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| 141 | 141 | | participate in the Program shall submit an applica-22 |
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| 142 | 142 | | tion— 23 |
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| 144 | 144 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 6 |
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| 145 | 145 | | •S 202 IS |
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| 146 | 146 | | (A) at such time, in such manner, and con-1 |
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| 147 | 147 | | taining such information as the Administrator 2 |
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| 148 | 148 | | determines to be necessary; 3 |
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| 149 | 149 | | (B) that shall include information nec-4 |
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| 150 | 150 | | essary to establish that the entity submitting 5 |
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| 151 | 151 | | the application is an eligible entity; and 6 |
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| 152 | 152 | | (C) that may include additional informa-7 |
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| 153 | 153 | | tion to ensure that the Administrator, through 8 |
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| 154 | 154 | | the Program, is able to properly assist the eligi-9 |
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| 155 | 155 | | ble entity in determining whether entering into 10 |
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| 156 | 156 | | an agreement under section 4(a) would be bene-11 |
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| 157 | 157 | | ficial for the eligible entity, including a descrip-12 |
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| 158 | 158 | | tion of expenses incurred by the eligible entity 13 |
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| 159 | 159 | | relating to commodities. 14 |
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| 160 | 160 | | (2) G |
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| 161 | 161 | | UIDANCE.—The Administrator shall de-15 |
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| 162 | 162 | | velop guidance, which shall be posted on a publicly 16 |
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| 163 | 163 | | available website of the Small Business Administra-17 |
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| 164 | 164 | | tion, to assist an eligible entity in determining 18 |
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| 165 | 165 | | whether the eligible entity should submit an applica-19 |
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| 166 | 166 | | tion to participate in the Program and whether en-20 |
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| 167 | 167 | | tering into an agreement under section 4(a) would 21 |
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| 168 | 168 | | be beneficial for the eligible entity, including infor-22 |
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| 169 | 169 | | mation regarding— 23 |
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| 170 | 170 | | (A) the purpose of the Program, the prod-24 |
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| 171 | 171 | | ucts the Program offers, and how those prod-25 |
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| 173 | 173 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 7 |
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| 174 | 174 | | •S 202 IS |
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| 175 | 175 | | ucts can reduce exposure to price volatility for 1 |
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| 176 | 176 | | eligible entities with respect to covered commod-2 |
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| 177 | 177 | | ities; 3 |
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| 178 | 178 | | (B) determining the cost of covered com-4 |
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| 179 | 179 | | modities; 5 |
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| 180 | 180 | | (C) the expenses of eligible entities relating 6 |
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| 181 | 181 | | to each covered commodity, including when ex-7 |
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| 182 | 182 | | penses for covered commodities incurred by an 8 |
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| 183 | 183 | | eligible entity reach a level such that it might 9 |
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| 184 | 184 | | not be beneficial for the eligible entity to par-10 |
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| 185 | 185 | | ticipate in the Program; and 11 |
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| 186 | 186 | | (D) the percentages of commodity-related 12 |
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| 187 | 187 | | expenses for the eligible entity that are most 13 |
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| 188 | 188 | | likely beneficial to offset through participation 14 |
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| 189 | 189 | | in the Program; and 15 |
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| 190 | 190 | | (E) the impact of the type of revenue of an 16 |
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| 191 | 191 | | eligible entity, such as a cost-plus or highly 17 |
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| 192 | 192 | | variable pricing model for revenue or long-term 18 |
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| 193 | 193 | | recurring revenue. 19 |
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| 194 | 194 | | (c) O |
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| 195 | 195 | | UTREACH AND CONSULTATION.—In carrying 20 |
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| 196 | 196 | | out the Program, the Administrator shall conduct out-21 |
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| 197 | 197 | | reach to small business concerns, including small business 22 |
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| 198 | 198 | | concerns that are not eligible entities by operation of sec-23 |
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| 199 | 199 | | tion 2(4)(B)(v), to share information regarding the Pro-24 |
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| 200 | 200 | | gram and the benefits of the Program, including by— 25 |
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| 202 | 202 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 8 |
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| 203 | 203 | | •S 202 IS |
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| 204 | 204 | | (1) providing informational materials to the 1 |
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| 205 | 205 | | small business centers of the Small Business Admin-2 |
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| 206 | 206 | | istration, small business stakeholders and trade as-3 |
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| 207 | 207 | | sociations, and resource partners for distribution to 4 |
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| 208 | 208 | | small business concerns; 5 |
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| 209 | 209 | | (2) conducting webinars or in-person events 6 |
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| 210 | 210 | | with small business concerns regarding the Program; 7 |
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| 211 | 211 | | and 8 |
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| 212 | 212 | | (3) operating a website and telephone line 9 |
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| 213 | 213 | | that— 10 |
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| 214 | 214 | | (A) offers additional information regarding 11 |
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| 215 | 215 | | the Program; and 12 |
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| 216 | 216 | | (B) allows a small business concern to ask 13 |
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| 217 | 217 | | questions and obtain assistance in determining 14 |
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| 218 | 218 | | whether the small business concern would ben-15 |
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| 219 | 219 | | efit from participating in the Program. 16 |
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| 220 | 220 | | (d) A |
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| 221 | 221 | | DMINISTRATION OFPROGRAM.—In carrying out 17 |
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| 222 | 222 | | the Program, the following shall apply: 18 |
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| 223 | 223 | | (1) The Administrator may— 19 |
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| 224 | 224 | | (A) issue such rules as may be necessary; 20 |
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| 225 | 225 | | and 21 |
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| 226 | 226 | | (B) in consultation with the Commission, 22 |
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| 227 | 227 | | form a commodity pool and apply for registra-23 |
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| 228 | 228 | | tion as a commodity pool operator under the 24 |
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| 229 | 229 | | Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1 et seq.). 25 |
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| 231 | 231 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 9 |
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| 232 | 232 | | •S 202 IS |
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| 233 | 233 | | (2)(A) The Administrator may not take delivery 1 |
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| 234 | 234 | | of any physical commodity except in extreme and ex-2 |
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| 235 | 235 | | igent circumstances. 3 |
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| 236 | 236 | | (B) The Administrator shall conduct such pur-4 |
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| 237 | 237 | | chases and sales to close positions with respect to 5 |
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| 238 | 238 | | covered commodities as are necessary to ensure that 6 |
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| 239 | 239 | | the Administrator remains in compliance with the 7 |
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| 240 | 240 | | prohibition under subparagraph (A). 8 |
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| 241 | 241 | | (e) A |
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| 242 | 242 | | UTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 9 |
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| 243 | 243 | | are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator 10 |
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| 244 | 244 | | such sums as may be necessary to establish and operate 11 |
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| 245 | 245 | | the Program, which shall remain available until the date 12 |
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| 246 | 246 | | that is 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 13 |
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| 247 | 247 | | SEC. 4. ASSISTING SMALL BUSINESSES TRANSACTING IN 14 |
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| 248 | 248 | | COMMODITY FUTURES MARKETS. 15 |
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| 249 | 249 | | (a) A |
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| 250 | 250 | | GREEMENTS.— 16 |
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| 251 | 251 | | (1) I |
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| 252 | 252 | | N GENERAL.—The Administrator, in ac-17 |
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| 253 | 253 | | cordance with the other provisions of this subsection, 18 |
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| 254 | 254 | | shall enter into agreements with eligible entities that 19 |
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| 255 | 255 | | have been accepted for participation in the Program 20 |
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| 256 | 256 | | for the purpose of assisting those eligible entities in 21 |
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| 257 | 257 | | transacting in commodity futures markets with re-22 |
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| 258 | 258 | | spect to any commodity selected by the Adminis-23 |
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| 259 | 259 | | trator under subsection (b). 24 |
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| 260 | 260 | | (2) R |
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| 261 | 261 | | EQUIREMENTS.— 25 |
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| 263 | 263 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 10 |
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| 264 | 264 | | •S 202 IS |
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| 265 | 265 | | (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-1 |
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| 266 | 266 | | graphs (C) and (D), an eligible entity may 2 |
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| 267 | 267 | | enter into 1 or more agreements under this 3 |
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| 268 | 268 | | subsection under which the eligible entity 4 |
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| 269 | 269 | | agrees to purchase a covered commodity (or a 5 |
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| 270 | 270 | | derivative, the price of which is related to a cov-6 |
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| 271 | 271 | | ered commodity) at a price established by the 7 |
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| 272 | 272 | | Administrator for the duration of the agree-8 |
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| 273 | 273 | | ment. 9 |
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| 274 | 274 | | (B) A |
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| 275 | 275 | | GREEMENTS OFFERED .—In deter-10 |
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| 276 | 276 | | mining which agreements to offer to an eligible 11 |
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| 277 | 277 | | entity under this subsection, the Administrator 12 |
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| 278 | 278 | | shall consider— 13 |
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| 279 | 279 | | (i) how closely the agreement cor-14 |
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| 280 | 280 | | relates with the actual costs of the eligible 15 |
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| 281 | 281 | | entity and whether an agreement already 16 |
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| 282 | 282 | | offered under this subsection provides simi-17 |
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| 283 | 283 | | lar benefits; 18 |
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| 284 | 284 | | (ii) how to minimize complexity for 19 |
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| 285 | 285 | | the eligible entity; 20 |
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| 286 | 286 | | (iii) how to reduce friction in trading 21 |
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| 287 | 287 | | costs with respect to covered commodities; 22 |
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| 288 | 288 | | and 23 |
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| 289 | 289 | | (iv) how to minimize the number and 24 |
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| 290 | 290 | | type of market positions of the Program in 25 |
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| 292 | 292 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 11 |
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| 293 | 293 | | •S 202 IS |
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| 294 | 294 | | order to reduce costs and the potential for 1 |
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| 295 | 295 | | errors. 2 |
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| 296 | 296 | | (C) O |
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| 297 | 297 | | FFERED AT COST .—An agreement 3 |
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| 298 | 298 | | under this subsection shall offer to the applica-4 |
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| 299 | 299 | | ble eligible entity the covered commodity (or de-5 |
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| 300 | 300 | | rivative, as applicable) that is the subject of the 6 |
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| 301 | 301 | | agreement at cost, including any fees and com-7 |
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| 302 | 302 | | missions incurred by the Administrator in pro-8 |
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| 303 | 303 | | curing the covered commodity or derivative. 9 |
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| 304 | 304 | | (D) T |
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| 305 | 305 | | YPES OF AGREEMENTS .— 10 |
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| 306 | 306 | | (i) I |
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| 307 | 307 | | N GENERAL.—The Administrator, 11 |
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| 308 | 308 | | through the Program, may offer to enter 12 |
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| 309 | 309 | | into a call option purchase agreement with 13 |
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| 310 | 310 | | an eligible entity to protect the eligible en-14 |
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| 311 | 311 | | tity in any case in which the price of the 15 |
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| 312 | 312 | | applicable covered commodity increases by 16 |
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| 313 | 313 | | more than 5 percent. 17 |
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| 314 | 314 | | (ii) P |
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| 315 | 315 | | AYMENT.—Each agreement 18 |
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| 316 | 316 | | under this subsection shall clearly state 19 |
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| 317 | 317 | | that— 20 |
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| 318 | 318 | | (I) the applicable eligible entity 21 |
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| 319 | 319 | | shall be responsible for all costs asso-22 |
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| 320 | 320 | | ciated with the agreement; and 23 |
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| 322 | 322 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 12 |
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| 323 | 323 | | •S 202 IS |
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| 324 | 324 | | (II) any initial costs shall be paid 1 |
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| 325 | 325 | | at the time that the applicable eligible 2 |
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| 326 | 326 | | entity enters into the agreement. 3 |
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| 327 | 327 | | (E) D |
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| 328 | 328 | | URATION.— 4 |
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| 329 | 329 | | (i) I |
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| 330 | 330 | | N GENERAL.—An agreement en-5 |
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| 331 | 331 | | tered into under this subsection shall be 6 |
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| 332 | 332 | | for a duration of not less than 60 days and 7 |
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| 333 | 333 | | not more than 3 years. 8 |
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| 334 | 334 | | (ii) R |
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| 335 | 335 | | EQUIREMENT.—The Adminis-9 |
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| 336 | 336 | | trator shall ensure that the majority of 10 |
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| 337 | 337 | | agreements entered into under this sub-11 |
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| 338 | 338 | | section shall be for a duration of not less 12 |
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| 339 | 339 | | than 120 days. 13 |
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| 340 | 340 | | (b) C |
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| 341 | 341 | | OVEREDCOMMODITIES.— 14 |
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| 342 | 342 | | (1) I |
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| 343 | 343 | | N GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 15 |
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| 344 | 344 | | the Administrator shall determine which commod-16 |
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| 345 | 345 | | ities shall be eligible to be the subject of agreements 17 |
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| 346 | 346 | | entered into under subsection (a). 18 |
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| 347 | 347 | | (2) R |
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| 348 | 348 | | EQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out para-19 |
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| 349 | 349 | | graph (1), the Administrator— 20 |
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| 350 | 350 | | (A) shall ensure that gasoline and diesel 21 |
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| 351 | 351 | | gasoline are covered commodities; 22 |
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| 352 | 352 | | (B) may offer agreements under subsection 23 |
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| 353 | 353 | | (a) relating to not more than 3 covered com-24 |
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| 354 | 354 | | modities in addition to gasoline and diesel gaso-25 |
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| 357 | 357 | | •S 202 IS |
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| 358 | 358 | | line during the 1-year period beginning on the 1 |
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| 359 | 359 | | date on which the Administrator establishes the 2 |
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| 360 | 360 | | Program, of which only 1 covered commodity 3 |
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| 361 | 361 | | may be intended for specific industry use; 4 |
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| 362 | 362 | | (C) may remove a commodity from being 5 |
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| 363 | 363 | | eligible to be the subject of an agreement en-6 |
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| 364 | 364 | | tered into subsection (a) only after providing 7 |
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| 365 | 365 | | not less than 90 days notice to participants in 8 |
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| 366 | 366 | | the Program; and 9 |
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| 367 | 367 | | (D) shall use contracts available through 10 |
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| 368 | 368 | | entities regulated by the Commission, such as 11 |
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| 369 | 369 | | designated contract markets, to the maximum 12 |
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| 370 | 370 | | extent practicable. 13 |
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| 371 | 371 | | (3) F |
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| 372 | 372 | | ACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION .—In deter-14 |
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| 373 | 373 | | mining additional commodities that can be the sub-15 |
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| 374 | 374 | | ject of agreements entered into under subsection (a) 16 |
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| 375 | 375 | | (beyond the commodities that are required to be in-17 |
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| 376 | 376 | | cluded for that purpose under paragraph (2) of this 18 |
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| 377 | 377 | | subsection), or in removing a commodity that is eli-19 |
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| 378 | 378 | | gible to be the subject of an agreement entered into 20 |
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| 379 | 379 | | under subsection (a), the Administrator, in consulta-21 |
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| 380 | 380 | | tion with the Commission, shall— 22 |
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| 381 | 381 | | (A) take into consideration— 23 |
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| 382 | 382 | | (i) feedback from eligible entities and 24 |
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| 383 | 383 | | stakeholders, including survey data that 25 |
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| 386 | 386 | | •S 202 IS |
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| 387 | 387 | | the Administrator may collect, relating to 1 |
|---|
| 388 | 388 | | demand from eligible entities for the Ad-2 |
|---|
| 389 | 389 | | ministrator to add to the list of covered 3 |
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| 390 | 390 | | commodities (beyond the commodities that 4 |
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| 391 | 391 | | are required to be classified as covered 5 |
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| 392 | 392 | | commodities under paragraph (2) of this 6 |
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| 393 | 393 | | subsection), including whether certain com-7 |
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| 394 | 394 | | modities may see higher demand from eli-8 |
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| 395 | 395 | | gible entities in specific industries, even if 9 |
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| 396 | 396 | | demand is not as widespread across all in-10 |
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| 397 | 397 | | dustries; 11 |
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| 398 | 398 | | (ii) demand and transaction volume in 12 |
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| 399 | 399 | | particular commodities; 13 |
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| 400 | 400 | | (iii) available liquidity in new com-14 |
|---|
| 401 | 401 | | modity markets; and 15 |
|---|
| 402 | 402 | | (iv) the capacity of the Program with 16 |
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| 403 | 403 | | respect to funding and staff expertise re-17 |
|---|
| 404 | 404 | | lating to commodities; and 18 |
|---|
| 405 | 405 | | (B) give particular consideration to 19 |
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| 406 | 406 | | classifying standard utilities, such as electricity 20 |
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| 407 | 407 | | and natural gas, as covered commodities. 21 |
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| 408 | 408 | | (c) C |
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| 409 | 409 | | OMMODITY TRANSACTIONS BY ADMINIS-22 |
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| 410 | 410 | | TRATOR.—The Administrator— 23 |
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| 411 | 411 | | (1) shall conduct or facilitate such transactions 24 |
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| 412 | 412 | | in commodity derivatives markets as the Adminis-25 |
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| 415 | 415 | | •S 202 IS |
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| 416 | 416 | | trator determines to be necessary to fulfill the obli-1 |
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| 417 | 417 | | gations of the Program under agreements entered 2 |
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| 418 | 418 | | into with eligible entities under subsection (a); and 3 |
|---|
| 419 | 419 | | (2) may enter into an agreement with a com-4 |
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| 420 | 420 | | modity trading advisor or futures commission mer-5 |
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| 421 | 421 | | chant to carry out paragraph (1). 6 |
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| 422 | 422 | | (d) U |
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| 423 | 423 | | SE OFPROCEEDS.—The Administrator shall— 7 |
|---|
| 424 | 424 | | (1) use any proceeds earned by the Program in 8 |
|---|
| 425 | 425 | | a fiscal year to offset the operating costs of the Pro-9 |
|---|
| 426 | 426 | | gram for that fiscal year; and 10 |
|---|
| 427 | 427 | | (2) return any proceeds beyond the proceeds re-11 |
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| 428 | 428 | | quired to carry out paragraph (1) to the general 12 |
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| 429 | 429 | | fund of the Treasury. 13 |
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| 430 | 430 | | SEC. 5. REPORTS. 14 |
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| 431 | 431 | | (a) I |
|---|
| 432 | 432 | | NITIALREPORT.—Not later than 120 days after 15 |
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| 433 | 433 | | the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 16 |
|---|
| 434 | 434 | | submit to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepre-17 |
|---|
| 435 | 435 | | neurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Busi-18 |
|---|
| 436 | 436 | | ness of the House of Representatives a report, which shall 19 |
|---|
| 437 | 437 | | include— 20 |
|---|
| 438 | 438 | | (1) a description of the structure of, and proce-21 |
|---|
| 439 | 439 | | dures for, the Program, including how covered com-22 |
|---|
| 440 | 440 | | modities are selected; 23 |
|---|
| 441 | 441 | | (2) a plan for management of the Program; and 24 |
|---|
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| 444 | 444 | | •S 202 IS |
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| 445 | 445 | | (3) a description of the merit-based review 1 |
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| 446 | 446 | | process to be used in selecting eligible entities to 2 |
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| 447 | 447 | | participate in the Program. 3 |
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| 448 | 448 | | (b) A |
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| 449 | 449 | | NNUALREPORTS.— 4 |
|---|
| 450 | 450 | | (1) I |
|---|
| 451 | 451 | | N GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 5 |
|---|
| 452 | 452 | | the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 6 |
|---|
| 453 | 453 | | thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to the 7 |
|---|
| 454 | 454 | | Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 8 |
|---|
| 455 | 455 | | of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business 9 |
|---|
| 456 | 456 | | of the House of Representatives a report regarding 10 |
|---|
| 457 | 457 | | the Program, which shall include, for the period cov-11 |
|---|
| 458 | 458 | | ered by the report— 12 |
|---|
| 459 | 459 | | (A) the number of applications submitted 13 |
|---|
| 460 | 460 | | by eligible entities for participation in the Pro-14 |
|---|
| 461 | 461 | | gram; 15 |
|---|
| 462 | 462 | | (B) the number of agreements entered into 16 |
|---|
| 463 | 463 | | under section 4(a); 17 |
|---|
| 464 | 464 | | (C) the total notional value of the covered 18 |
|---|
| 465 | 465 | | commodities that were the subjects of the 19 |
|---|
| 466 | 466 | | agreements described in subparagraph (B), 20 |
|---|
| 467 | 467 | | which shall be disaggregated by covered com-21 |
|---|
| 468 | 468 | | modity; and 22 |
|---|
| 469 | 469 | | (D) the effect of the Program on the eligi-23 |
|---|
| 470 | 470 | | ble entities participating the Program, including 24 |
|---|
| 471 | 471 | | feedback from those eligible entities on any 25 |
|---|
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| 474 | 474 | | •S 202 IS |
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| 475 | 475 | | costs and benefits of the Program with respect 1 |
|---|
| 476 | 476 | | to the business operations of those eligible enti-2 |
|---|
| 477 | 477 | | ties, in particular with respect to expansion and 3 |
|---|
| 478 | 478 | | growth plans. 4 |
|---|
| 479 | 479 | | (2) L |
|---|
| 480 | 480 | | IMITATION.— 5 |
|---|
| 481 | 481 | | (A) I |
|---|
| 482 | 482 | | N GENERAL.—Except as provided in 6 |
|---|
| 483 | 483 | | subparagraph (B), in collecting information 7 |
|---|
| 484 | 484 | | from eligible entities for the purpose of carrying 8 |
|---|
| 485 | 485 | | out paragraph (1)(D), the Administrator may 9 |
|---|
| 486 | 486 | | not require an eligible entity to report to the 10 |
|---|
| 487 | 487 | | Administrator more frequently than upon the 11 |
|---|
| 488 | 488 | | termination of an agreement under section 4(a) 12 |
|---|
| 489 | 489 | | to which the eligible entity is a party or annu-13 |
|---|
| 490 | 490 | | ally, whichever is less frequent. 14 |
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| 491 | 491 | | (B) E |
|---|
| 492 | 492 | | XCEPTION.—For the first 2 fiscal 15 |
|---|
| 493 | 493 | | years after the fiscal year in which an eligible 16 |
|---|
| 494 | 494 | | entity enters into an agreement under section 17 |
|---|
| 495 | 495 | | 4(a), the Administrator, for the purpose of car-18 |
|---|
| 496 | 496 | | rying out paragraph (1)(D), may not require an 19 |
|---|
| 497 | 497 | | eligible entity to report to the Administrator 20 |
|---|
| 498 | 498 | | more frequently than upon the termination of 21 |
|---|
| 499 | 499 | | an agreement under section 4(a) to which the 22 |
|---|
| 500 | 500 | | eligible entity is a party or annually, whichever 23 |
|---|
| 501 | 501 | | is more frequent. 24 |
|---|
| 502 | 502 | | Æ |
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