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PUBLIC LAW 85-536-JULY 18, 1958

[72 S T A T.

Public Law 85-536 July 18, 1958 [H. R. 7963]

Small B u s i n e s s Act. 67 Stat. 232. 15 USC 631.

P o l i c y of C o n gress.

Definition.

Small B u s i n e s s Administration.

"United States "

Administrator. Appointment.

AN ACT To amend the Small Business Act of 1953, as amended. Be it enacted by the SeTiate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That title II of the Act of July 30, 1953 (Public Law 163, Eighty-third Congress), as amended, is hereby withdrawn as a part of that Act and is made a separate Act to be known as the "Small Business Act". SEC. 2. The Small Business Act is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 1. This Act may be cited as the 'Small Business Act'. "SEC. 2. (a) 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. I t is the declared policy of the Congress that the Government should aid, counsel, Eissist, and protect, insofar as is possible, the interests of small-business concerns in order to preserve tree competitive enterprise, to insure that a fair proportion of the total purchases and contracts for property and services for the Government (including but not limited to contracts 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) Further, it is the declared policy of the Congress that the Government should aid and assist victims of floods and other catastrophes. "SEC. 3. For the purposes of this Act, a small-business concern shall be deemed to be one which is independently owned and operated and which is not dominant in its field of operation. In addition to the foregoing criteria the Administrator, in making a detailed definition, may use these criteria, among others: Number of employees and dollar volume of business. Where the number of employees is used as one of the criteria in making such definition for any of the purposes of this Act, the maximum number of employees which a small-business concern may have under the definition shall vary from industry to industry to the extent necessary to reflect differing characteristics of such industries and to take proper account of other relevant factors. "SEC. 4. (a) In order to carry out the policies of this Act there is hereby created an agency under the name 'Small Business Administration' (herein referred to as the Administration), which Administration snail be under the general direction and supervision of the President and shall not be affiliated with or be within any other agency or department of the Federal Government. The principal office of the Administration shall be located in the District of Columbia. The Administration may establish such branch and regional offices in other places in the United States as may be determined by the Administrator of the Administration. As used in this Act, the term 'United States' includes the several States, the Territories and possessions of the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. " (b) The management of the Administration shall be vested in an Administrator who shall be appointed from civilian life by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and

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