Division
(11) (A) The Associate Administrator for Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership Development shall be responsible for coordinating and formulating policies relating to Federal assistance to small business concerns eligible for assistance under subsection (i) and small business concerns eligible to receive contracts pursuant to section 637(a) of this title . (B) (i) Except as provided in clause (iii), no individual who was determined pursuant to section 637(a) of this title to be socially and economically disadvantaged before August 15, 1989 , shall be permitted to assert such disadvantage with respect to any other concern making application for certification after August 15, 1989 . (ii) Except as provided in clause (iii), any individual upon whom eligibility is based pursuant to section 637(a)(4) of this title shall be permitted to assert such eligibility for only one small business concern. (iii) A socially and economically disadvantaged Indian tribe may own more than one small business concern eligible for assistance pursuant to paragraph (10) and section 637(a) of this title if— (I) the Indian tribe does not own another firm in the same industry which has been determined to be eligible to receive contracts under this program, and (II) the individuals responsible for the management and daily operations of the concern do not manage more than two Program Participants. (C) No concern, previously eligible for the award of contracts pursuant to section 637(a) of this title , shall be subsequently recertified for program participation if its prior participation in the program was concluded for any of the reasons described in paragraph (10)(E). (D) A concern eligible for the award of contracts pursuant to this subsection shall remain eligible for such contracts if there is a transfer of ownership and control (as defined pursuant to section 637(a)(4) of this title ) to individuals who are determined to be socially and economically disadvantaged pursuant to section 637(a) of this title . In the event of such a transfer, the concern, if not terminated or graduated, shall be eligible for a period of continued participation in the program not to exceed the time limitations prescribed in paragraph (15). (E) There is established a Division of Program Certification and Eligibility (hereinafter referred to in this paragraph as the “Division”) that shall be made part of the Office of Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership Development. The Division shall be headed by a Director who shall report directly to the Associate Administrator for Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership Development. The Division shall establish field offices within such regional offices of the Administration as may be necessary to perform efficiently its functions and responsibilities. (F) Subject to the provisions of section 637(a)(9) of this title , the functions and responsibility of the Division are to— (i) receive, review and evaluate applications for certification pursuant to paragraphs (4), (5), (6) and (7) of section 637(a) of this title ; (ii) advise each program applicant within 15 days after the receipt of an application as to whether such application is complete and suitable for evaluation and, if not, what matters must be rectified; (iii) render recommendations on such applications to the Associate Administrator for Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership Development; (iv) review and evaluate financial statements and other submissions from concerns participating in the program established by paragraph (10) to ascertain continued eligibility to receive subcontracts pursuant to section 637(a) of this title ; (v) make a request for the initiation of termination or graduation proceedings, as appropriate, to the Associate Administrator for Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership Development; (vi) make recommendations to the Associate Administrator for Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership Development concerning protests from applicants that have been denied program admission; (vii) decide protests regarding the status of a concern as a disadvantaged concern for purposes of any program or activity conducted under the authority of subsection (d) of section 637 of this title , or any other provision of Federal law that references such subsection for a definition of program eligibility; and (viii) implement such policy directives as may be issued by the Associate Administrator for Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership Development pursuant to subparagraph (I) regarding, among other things, the geographic distribution of concerns to be admitted to the program and the industrial make-up of such concerns. (G) An applicant shall not be denied admission into the program established by paragraph (10) due solely to a determination by the Division that specific contract opportunities are unavailable to assist in the development of such concern unless— (i) the Government has not previously procured and is unlikely to procure the types of products or services offered by the concern; or (ii) the purchases of such products or services by the Federal Government will not be in quantities sufficient to support the developmental needs of the applicant and other Program Participants providing the same or similar items or services. (H) Not later than 90 days after receipt of a completed application for Program certification, the Associate Administrator for Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership Development shall certify a small business concern as a Program Participant or shall deny such application. (I) Thirty days before the conclusion of each fiscal year, the Director of the Division shall review all concerns that have been admitted into the Program during the preceding 12-month period. The review shall ascertain the number of entrants, their geographic distribution and industrial classification. The Director shall also estimate the expected growth of the Program during the next fiscal year and the number of additional Business Opportunity Specialists, if any, that will be needed to meet the anticipated demand for the Program. The findings and conclusions of the Director shall be reported to the Associate Administrator for Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership Development by September 30 of each year. Based on such report and such additional data as may be relevant, the Associate Administrator shall, by October 31 of each year, issue policy and program directives applicable to such fiscal year that— (i) establish priorities for the solicitation of program applications from underrepresented regions and industry categories; (ii) assign staffing levels and allocate other program resources as necessary to meet program needs; and (iii) establish priorities in the processing and admission of new Program Participants as may be necessary to achieve an equitable geographic distribution of concerns and a distribution of concerns across all industry categories in proportions needed to increase significantly contract awards to small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. When considering such increase the Administration shall give due consideration to those industrial categories where Federal purchases have been substantial but where the participation rate of such concerns has been limited.