US Code

Public Law 119-73 (01/23/2026)

15 U.S.C. § 7107

Membership of the Council

(a)

Chairperson

The President shall appoint an individual to serve as chairperson of the Council, in consultation with the Administrator. The chairperson of the Council shall be a prominent business woman who is qualified to head the Council by virtue of her education, training, and experience.

(b)

Other members

The Administrator shall, after receiving the recommendations of the Chairman and the Ranking Member of the Committees on Small Business of the House of Representatives and the Senate, appoint, in consultation with the chairperson of the Council appointed under subsection (a), 14 members of the Council, of whom—
(1)
4 shall be—
(A)
section 632 of this title owners of small businesses, as such term is defined in ; and
(B)
members of the same political party as the President;
(2)
4 shall—
(A)
section 632 of this title be owners of small businesses, as such term is defined in ; and
(B)
not be members of the same political party as the President; and
(3)
6 shall be representatives of women’s business organizations, including representatives of women’s business center sites.
(c)

Diversity

In appointing members of the Council, the Administrator shall, to the extent possible, ensure that the members appointed reflect geographic (including both urban and rural areas), racial, economic, and sectoral diversity.

(d)

Terms

Each member of the Council shall be appointed for a term of 3 years.

(e)

Other Federal service

If any member of the Council subsequently becomes an officer or employee of the Federal Government or of the Congress, such individual may continue as a member of the Council for not longer than the 30-day period beginning on the date on which such individual becomes such an officer or employee.

(f)

Vacancies

(1)

In general

A vacancy on the Council shall be filled not later than 30 days after the date on which the vacancy occurs, in the manner in which the original appointment was made, and shall be subject to any conditions that applied to the original appointment.

(2)

Unexpired term

An individual chosen to fill a vacancy shall be appointed for the unexpired term of the member replaced.

(g)

Reimbursements

section 637(b) of this titleMembers of the Council shall serve without pay for such membership, except that members shall be entitled to reimbursement for travel, subsistence, and other necessary expenses incurred by them in carrying out the functions of the Council, in the same manner as persons serving on advisory boards pursuant to .

(h)

Executive director

The Administrator, in consultation with the chairperson of the Council, shall appoint an executive director of the Council. Upon the recommendation by the executive director, the chairperson of the Council may appoint and fix the pay of 4 additional employees of the Council, at a rate of pay not to exceed the maximum rate of pay payable for a position at GS–15 of the General Schedule. All such appointments shall be subject to the appropriation of funds.

(i)

Rates of pay

1

1 So in original. Probably should be section “5382”.
The executive director and staff of the Council may be appointed without regard to the provisions of title 5 governing appointments in the competitive service, and except as provided in subsection (e), may be paid without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates, except that the executive director may not receive pay in excess of the annual rate of basic pay payable for a position at ES–3 of the Senior Executive Pay Schedule under section 5832  of title 5.

Pub. L. 100–533, title IV, § 407Pub. L. 103–403, title IV, § 413108 Stat. 4196Pub. L. 105–135, title III, § 304111 Stat. 2609Pub. L. 106–554, § 1(a)(9) [title VII, § 702]114 Stat. 2763(, as added , , ; amended , , ; , , , 2763A–701.)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 5332 of Title 5The General Schedule, referred to in subsecs. (h) and (i), is set out under , Government Organization and Employees.

Prior Provisions

section 407 of Pub. L. 100–533102 Stat. 2696Pub. L. 103–81, § 11107 Stat. 783Pub. L. 100–533Pub. L. 103–403section 7110 of this titleA prior , title IV, , ; , , , related to authorization of appropriations to carry out this chapter, prior to the general amendment of title IV of by . See .

Amendments

Pub. L. 106–554, § 1(a)(9) [title VII, § 702(1)]2000—Subsec. (a). , substituted “The President” for “Not later than 45 days after , the President”.

Pub. L. 106–554, § 1(a)(9) [title VII, § 702(2)]Subsec. (b). , in introductory provisions, substituted “The Administrator” for “Not later than 60 days after , the Administrator” and struck out “the Assistant Administrator of the Office of Women’s Business Ownership and” after “in consultation with”.

Pub. L. 106–554, § 1(a)(9) [title VII, § 702(3)]Subsec. (d). , struck out before period at end “, except that, of the initial members appointed to the Council—

“(1) 2 members appointed under subsection (b)(1) of this section shall be appointed for a term of 1 year;

“(2) 2 members appointed under subsection (b)(2) of this section shall be appointed for a term of 1 year; and

“(3) each member appointed under subsection (b)(3) of this section shall be appointed for a term of 2 years”.

Pub. L. 106–554, § 1(a)(9) [title VII, § 702(4)]Subsec. (h). , substituted “The Administrator” for “Not later than 60 days after , the Administrator”.

Pub. L. 105–135, § 304(1)1997—Subsec. (a). , made substitution in original which was executed by substituting “” for “” to reflect the probable intent of Congress.

Pub. L. 105–135, § 304(2)(A)Subsec. (b). –(C), in introductory provisions made substitution in original which was executed by substituting “” for “” to reflect the probable intent of Congress, inserted “, after receiving the recommendations of the Chairman and the Ranking Member of the Committees on Small Business of the House of Representatives and the Senate,” after “the Administrator shall”, and substituted “14” for “9”.

Pub. L. 105–135, § 304(2)(D)Subsec. (b)(1), (2). , (E), substituted “4” for “2” in introductory provisions.

Pub. L. 105–135, § 304(2)(F)Subsec. (b)(3). , substituted “6” for “5”, struck out “national” after “representatives of”, and inserted before period at end “, including representatives of women’s business center sites”.

Pub. L. 105–135, § 304(3)Subsec. (c). , inserted “(including both urban and rural areas)” after “geographic”.

Pub. L. 105–135, § 304(4)Subsec. (d). , added subsec. (d) and struck out heading and text of former subsec. (d). Text read as follows: “The term of service of the members of the Council shall be 3 years.”

Pub. L. 105–135, § 304(5)Subsec. (f). , added subsec. (f) and struck out heading and text of former subsec. (f). Text read as follows: “A vacancy on the Council shall, not later than 30 days after the date on which the vacancy occurs, be filled in the same manner in which the original appointment was made.”

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, .

Effective Date of 1997 Amendment

Pub. L. 105–135section 3 of Pub. L. 105–135section 631 of this titleAmendment by effective , see , set out as a note under .