(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) owners of small businesses, as such term is defined in section 632 of this title; and

(B) members of the same political party as the President;

(2) 4 shall—

(A) be owners of small businesses, as such term is defined in section 632 of this title; 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

Members 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 section 637(b) of this title.

(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

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 ¹ of title 5.