H.R. 8416

119 HR 8416 IH: Prison to Proprietorship for the Formerly Incarcerated Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2026-04-21
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 I  119th CONGRESS  2d Session  H. R. 8416  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   April 21, 2026   Mr. McGarvey  (for himself and  Mr. Burchett ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on Small Business    A BILL
To amend the Small Business Act to provide re-entry entrepreneurship counseling and training services for formerly incarcerated individuals, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Prison to Proprietorship for the Formerly Incarcerated Act  .
2.
Re-entry entrepreneurship counseling and training for formerly incarcerated individuals
The Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 631 et seq. ) is amended—
(1)
by redesignating section 49 as section 50; and
(2)
by inserting after section 48 the following new section:
49.
Re-entry entrepreneurship counseling and training for formerly incarcerated individuals
(a)
Services required
The Administrator, in coordination with the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, shall require the Service Corps of Retired Executives authorized by section (8)(b)(1) to provide entrepreneurship counseling and training services to individuals formerly incarcerated in a Federal prison (hereinafter referred to as  covered individuals ) on a nationwide basis.
(b)
Goal
The goal of the services provided under this section is to provide covered individuals with the following:
(1)
Mentoring, workshops, and instructional videos designed specifically for covered individuals on how to start or expand a small business concern.
(2)
Tools, skills, and knowledge necessary to identify a business opportunity, including how to—
(A)
draft a skills profile, business plan, and transition plan;
(B)
identify sources of capital; and
(C)
connect with local resources for small business concerns.
(c)
Additional requirements
The services provided under this section shall include—
(1)
regular individualized mentoring sessions, to take place over the course of a year, to support the development of the business plans of covered individuals and the growth of covered individuals as entrepreneurs;
(2)
assistance with identifying local resources for small business concerns for covered individuals;
(3)
assistance with identifying sources of capital, and when appropriate, assistance with preparing applications for loans or other funding opportunities; and
(4)
workshops on topics specifically tailored to meet the needs of covered individuals.
(d)
Survey
The Service Corps of Retired Executives shall survey covered individuals who received services under this section to assess the satisfaction of such covered individuals with such services.
(e)
Report
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section and annually thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate a report on the performance and effectiveness of the services provided under this section, which may be included as part of another report submitted to such committees by the Administrator, and which shall include—
(1)
the number of covered individuals mentored under this section;
(2)
the number of hours of mentorship provided by the Service Corps of Retired Executives under this section;
(3)
the demographics of covered individuals who received services, including age, gender, race, and ethnicity;
(4)
a summary and analysis of surveys conducted under subsection (d); and
(5)
any additional information, as determined by the Administrator.
 .