§ 653. — Office of Rural Affairs.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 15USC653]
TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE
CHAPTER 14A--AID TO SMALL BUSINESS
Sec. 653. Office of Rural Affairs
(a) Establishment
There is hereby established in the Small Business Administration an
Office of Rural Affairs (hereafter in this section referred to as the
``Office'').
(b) Appointment of director
The Office shall be headed by a director who shall be appointed by
the Administrator not later than 90 days after November 15, 1990.
(c) Functions
The Office shall--
(1) strive to achieve an equitable distribution of the financial
assistance available from the Administration for small business
concerns located in rural areas;
(2) to the extent practicable, compile annual statistics on
rural areas, including statistics concerning the population,
poverty, job creation and retention, unemployment, business
failures, and business startups;
(3) provide information to industries, organizations, and State
and local governments concerning the assistance available to rural
small business concerns through the Administration and through other
Federal departments and agencies;
(4) provide information to industries, organizations,
educational institutions, and State and local governments concerning
programs administered by private organizations, educational
institutions, and Federal, State, and local governments which
improve the economic opportunities of rural citizens; and
(5) work with the United States Tourism and Travel
Administration to assist small businesses in rural areas with
tourism promotion and development.
(Pub. L. 85-536, Sec. 2[26], as added Pub. L. 101-574, title III,
Sec. 302, Nov. 15, 1990, 104 Stat. 2827.)
Catalog of Programs To Assist Rural Small Business Concerns
Section 304 of Pub. L. 101-574 provided that:
``(a) Compilation.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this title [Nov. 15, 1990], the Small Business
Administration shall compile a catalog of programs administered by
Federal and State departments and agencies which offer assistance to
small business concerns in rural areas. Such catalog shall include a
description of each such program and the name, address, and telephone
number of the respective Federal and State officials responsible for
administering the program.
``(b) Distribution.--Copies of the catalog compiled pursuant to
subsection (a) shall be transmitted to the Congress and copies shall be
made available to small business concerns in rural areas, appropriate
trade associations, Federal and State agencies for the assistance of
small business concerns, State and local chambers of commerce, other
appropriate nonprofit organizations, and the general public.
``(c) Biannual Update.--The Small Business Administration shall
issue updates of the catalog compiled pursuant to subsection (a) by
February 1, 1993, and February 1, 1995.''
Rural Small Business Conferences
Section 306 of Pub. L. 101-574 provided that:
``(a) In General.--The Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small
Business Administration shall, as soon as practicable after the catalog
(described in section 305 [probably means section 304, set out above]
and hereinafter referred to as the `catalog') is issued, but not later
than 90 days after the date such catalog is issued, convene regional
rural conferences in 5 cities or towns in the United States.
``(b) Preparations.--Prior to the conferences, the Office of
Advocacy shall--
``(1) select the sites for the conferences in order to encourage
the maximum participation of all interested parties including
private citizens and representatives of business, government,
educational and nonprofit institutions; and
``(2) distribute the catalog of programs and such other
background materials prepared by the Office of Advocacy as the Chief
Counsel deems appropriate.
``(c) Purposes of the Conferences.--The conference shall--
``(1) review the effectiveness of current Federal programs to
promote rural small business and its needs, with particular
reference to the catalog of such programs;
``(2) review how current Federal programs could be made more
accessible to small businesses located in rural areas;
``(3) make recommendations on how current programs can be
approved to better address small business needs in rural areas;
``(4) review the availability and cost of capital,
transportation, and telecommunications in rural areas;
``(5) review the availability of technical assistance and
training programs for small business needs in rural areas, including
marketing, computer training, accounting, financing, and
international trade; and
``(6) determine any additional needs of small businesses in
rural areas.
``(d) Report.--The Chief Counsel for Advocacy shall prepare a
summary of the findings and recommendations of each regional conference.
Not later than 60 days after the last of the 5 regional conferences have
been held, the Chief Counsel for Advocacy shall transmit such summaries
to the Congress and the President, along with conclusions and
recommendations, including specific legislative proposals and
recommendations for administrative or other actions. The transmittal of
the required information shall be deemed a report of the Chief Counsel
for Advocacy under the terms and conditions of section 206 of Public Law
94-305 [15 U.S.C. 634f]. To the extent practicable, the report shall
estimate the cost of implementing each recommendation of a regional
conference as well as those of the Chief Counsel.''
Rural Tourism Training Program
Section 311 of Pub. L. 101-574 provided that: ``The Chief Counsel
for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration shall conduct training
sessions on the types of Federal assistance available for the
development of rural small businesses engaged in tourism and tourism-
related activities. Such training sessions shall be conducted in
conjunction with the Office of Rural Affairs (established pursuant to
section 26 of the Small Business Act [15 U.S.C. 653]) and appropriate
personnel designated by each district office of the Administration.''
