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15 U.S.C. § 657 — Oversight of regulatory enforcement

Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities

15 U.S.C. § 657 — Oversight of regulatory enforcement

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Stable record: federal_law:legal_authorities:record_usc_ec580af07fb651e3b7336d74
Source file: Laws/federal/codes/united-states-code/title-15/section-657-oversight-of-regulatory-enforcement--739fc671e6.md
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Source location: Title 15, Chapter 14A, § 657; chapter-14a-aid-to-small-business.md

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**(a) Definitions** For purposes of this section, the term— (1) “Board” means a Regional Small Business Regulatory Fairness Board established under subsection (c); and (2) “Ombudsman” means the Small Business and Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman designated under subsection (b). **(b) SBA Enforcement Ombudsman** (1) Not later than 180 days after March 29, 1996, the Administrator shall designate a Small Business and Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman, who shall report directly to the Administrator, utilizing personnel of the Small Business Administration to the extent practicable. Other agencies shall assist the Ombudsman and take actions as necessary to ensure compliance with the requirements of this section. Nothing in this section is intended to replace or diminish the activities of any Ombudsman or similar office in any other agency. (2) The Ombudsman shall— (A) work with each agency with regulatory authority over small businesses to ensure that small business concerns that receive or are subject to an audit, on-site inspection, compliance assistance effort, or other enforcement related communication or contact by agency personnel are provided with a means to comment on the enforcement activity conducted by such personnel; (B) establish means to receive comments from small business concerns regarding actions by agency employees conducting compliance or enforcement activities with respect to the small business concern, means to refer comments to the Inspector General of the affected agency in the appropriate circumstances, and otherwise seek to maintain the identity of the person and small business concern making such comments on a confidential basis to the same extent as employee identities are protected under [section 407 of title 5](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title5-section407&num=0&edition=prelim); (C) based on substantiated comments received from small business concerns and the Boards, annually report to Congress and affected agencies evaluating the enforcement activities of agency personnel including a rating of the responsiveness to small business of the various regional and program offices of each agency; (D) coordinate and report annually on the activities, findings and recommendations of the Boards to the Administrator and to the heads of affected agencies; and (E) provide the affected agency with an opportunity to comment on draft reports prepared under subparagraph (C), and include a section of the final report in which the affected agency may make such comments as are not addressed by the Ombudsman in revisions to the draft. **(c) Regional Small Business Regulatory Fairness Boards** (1) Not later than 180 days after March 29, 1996, the Administrator shall establish a Small Business Regulatory Fairness Board in each regional office of the Small Business Administration. (2) Each Board established under paragraph (1) shall— (A) meet at least annually to advise the Ombudsman on matters of concern to small businesses relating to the enforcement activities of agencies; (B) report to the Ombudsman on substantiated instances of excessive enforcement actions of agencies against small business concerns including any findings or recommendations of the Board as to agency enforcement policy or practice; and (C) prior to publication, provide comment on the annual report of the Ombudsman prepared under subsection (b). (3) Each Board shall consist of five members, who are owners, operators, or officers of small business concerns, appointed by the Administrator, after receiving the recommendations of the chair and ranking minority member of the Committees on Small Business of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Not more than three of the Board members shall be of the same political party. No member shall be an officer or employee of the Federal Government, in either the executive branch or the Congress. (4) Members of the Board shall serve at the pleasure of the Administrator for terms of three years or less. (5) The Administrator shall select a chair from among the members of the Board who shall serve at the pleasure of the Administrator for not more than 1 year as chair. (6) A majority of the members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of business, but a lesser number may hold hearings. **(d) Powers of Boards** (1) The Board may hold such hearings and collect such information as appropriate for carrying out this section. (2) The Board may use the United States mails in the same manner and under the same conditions as other departments and agencies of the Federal Government. (3) The Board may accept donations of services necessary to conduct its business, provided that the donations and their sources are disclosed by the Board. (4) Members of the Board shall serve without compensation, provided that, members of the Board shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5 while away from their homes or regular places of business in the performance of services for the Board. **(e) Centralized website** Not later than 6 months after October 10, 2022, the Ombudsman shall maintain a publicly available website that includes— (1) hyperlinks to small entity compliance guides described under section 212(a)(1) of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996; and (2) with respect to each such small entity compliance guide, the contact information for an individual who can offer assistance to small entities with respect to the rules that are the subject of such guide. **(f) Report on agency compliance** The Ombudsman shall include in the annual report required under subsection (b)(2)(C) an assessment of agency compliance with the requirements of section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 for the year covered by such annual report.

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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities

5 U.S.C. § 407 — Complaints by employees

**(a) Receipt and Investigation.—** The Inspector General may receive and investigate complaints or information from an employee of the establishment concerning the possible existence of an activity constituting a violation of law, rules, or regulations, or mismanagement, gross waste of funds, abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to the public health and safety. **(b) Prohibition on Disclosure of Identity.—** The Inspector General shall not, after receipt of a complaint or information from an employee, disclose the identity of the employee without the consent of the employee, unless the Inspector General determines the disclosure is unavoidable during the course of the investigation. **(c) Prohibition on Reprisal.—** Any employee who has authority to take, direct others to take, recommend, or approve any personnel action, shall not, with respect to that authority, take or threaten to take any action against any employee as a reprisal for making a complaint or disclosing information to an Inspector General, unless the complaint was made or the information disclosed with the knowledge that it was false or with willful disregard for its truth or falsity.

Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 5 U.S.C. § 407

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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities

5 U.S.C. § 601 — Definitions

For purposes of this chapter— (1) the term “agency” means an agency as defined in [section 551(1) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title5-section551/1&num=0&edition=prelim); (2) the term “rule” means any rule for which the agency publishes a general notice of proposed rulemaking pursuant to [section 553(b) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title5-section553/b&num=0&edition=prelim), or any other law, including any rule of general applicability governing Federal grants to State and local governments for which the agency provides an opportunity for notice and public comment, except that the term “rule” does not include a rule of particular applicability relating to rates, wages, corporate or financial structures or reorganizations thereof, prices, facilities, appliances, services, or allowances therefor or to valuations, costs or accounting, or practices relating to such rates, wages, structures, prices, appliances, services, or allowances; (3) the term “small business” has the same meaning as the term “small business concern” under section 3 of the Small Business Act, unless an agency, after consultation with the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business Administration and after opportunity for public comment, establishes one or more definitions of such term which are appropriate to the activities of the agency and publishes such definition(s) in the Federal Register; (4) the term “small organization” means any not-for-profit enterprise which is independently owned and operated and is not dominant in its field, unless an agency establishes, after opportunity for public comment, one or more definitions of such term which are appropriate to the activities of the agency and publishes such

Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 5 U.S.C. § 601

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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities

15 U.S.C. § 631 — Declaration of policy

**(a) Aid, counsel, assistance, etc., to small business concerns** The essence of the American economic system of private enterprise is free competition. Only through full and free competition can free markets, free entry into business, and opportunities for the expression and growth of personal initiative and individual judgment be assured. The preservation and expansion of such competition is basic not only to the economic well-being but to the security of this Nation. Such security and well-being cannot be realized unless the actual and potential capacity of small business is encouraged and developed. It is the declared policy of the Congress that the Government should aid, counsel, assist, and protect, insofar as is possible, the interests of small-business concerns in order to preserve free competitive enterprise, to insure that a fair proportion of the total purchases and contracts or subcontracts for property and services for the Government (including but not limited to contracts or subcontracts for maintenance, repair, and construction) be placed with small-business enterprises, to insure that a fair proportion of the total sales of Government property be made to such enterprises, and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of the Nation. **(b) Assistance to compete in international markets** (1) It is the declared policy of the Congress that the Federal Government, through the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, acting through the Associate Administrator for International Trade, and in cooperation with the Department of Commerce and other relevant State and Federal agencies, should aid and assist small businesses, as defined under this chapter, to increase their ability to compete in international markets by— (A) enhancing their abil

Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 15 U.S.C. § 631

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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities

15 U.S.C. § 657l — Comprehensive disaster response plan

**(a) Plan required** The Administrator shall develop, implement, or maintain a comprehensive written disaster response plan. The plan shall include the following: (1) For each region of the Administration, a description of the disasters most likely to occur in that region. (2) For each disaster described under paragraph (1)— (A) an assessment of the disaster; (B) an assessment of the demand for Administration assistance most likely to occur in response to the disaster; (C) an assessment of the needs of the Administration, with respect to such resources as information technology, telecommunications, human resources, and office space, to meet the demand referred to in subparagraph (B); and (D) guidelines pursuant to which the Administration will coordinate with other Federal agencies and with State and local authorities to best respond to the demand referred to in subparagraph (B) and to best use the resources referred to in that subparagraph. **(b) Completion; revision** The first plan required by subsection (a) shall be completed not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this section. Thereafter, the Administrator shall update the plan on an annual basis and following any major disaster relating to which the Administrator declares eligibility for additional disaster assistance under [section 636(b)(9) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title15-section636/b/9&num=0&edition=prelim). **(c) Knowledge required** The Administrator shall carry out subsections (a) and (b) through an individual with substantial knowledge in the field of disaster readiness and emergency response. **(d) Report** The Administrator shall include a report on the plan whenever the Administration submits the report required by

Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 15 U.S.C. § 657l

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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities

15 U.S.C. § 657 — Oversight of regulatory enforcement

Page 1045 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 657 ‘‘(4) increases or decreases in profits of assisted con- cerns; and ‘‘(5) the employment increases or decreases of as- sisted concerns.’’ Subsec. (k)(1). Pub. L. 106–165, § 4(b)(1), added par. (1) and struck out heading and text of former par. (1). Text read as follows: ‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated $11,000,000 for each fiscal year to carry out the projects authorized under this section, of which, for fiscal year 1998, not more than 5 percent may be used for adminis- trative expenses related to the program under this sec- tion.’’ Pub. L. 106–17, § 3, substituted ‘‘$11,000,000’’ for ‘‘$8,000,000’’. Subsec. (k)(2). Pub. L. 106–165, § 4(b)(2), designated ex- isting provisions as subpar. (A), inserted heading, sub- stituted ‘‘Except as provided in subparagraph (B), amounts made’’ for ‘‘Amounts made’’, and added sub- par. (B). Subsec. (k)(4). Pub. L. 106–165, § 4(b)(3), added par. (4). Subsec. (l). Pub. L. 106–165, § 4(a), added subsec. (l). 1997—Pub. L. 105–135 amended section generally, sub- stituting provisions relating to women’s business cen- ter program for provisions relating to women’s dem- onstration projects. 1994—Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 103–403, § 411(2), substituted ‘‘1997’’ for ‘‘1995’’. Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 103–403, § 412, added subsec. (h). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries CHANGE OF NAME Committee on Small Business of Senate changed to Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of Senate. See Senate Resolution No. 123, One Hundred Seventh Congress, June 29, 2001. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2010 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 111–240, title I, § 1401(c), Sept. 27, 2010, 124 Stat. 2549, provided that the amendment made by sec- tion 1401(c)(2) is effective Oct. 1, 2012. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2007 AME

Source: Supplied 2024 U.S. Code historical extraction · 15 U.S.C. § 657

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