[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5517 Introduced in House (IH)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5517

 To amend the Small Business Act to establish a temporary loan program 
   and a temporary vocational development program for small business 
               concerns owned and controlled by veterans.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 25, 2006

Mr. Udall of New Mexico (for himself, Mrs. Emerson, Mrs. Kelly, and Mr. 
   Michaud) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Small Business

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Small Business Act to establish a temporary loan program 
   and a temporary vocational development program for small business 
               concerns owned and controlled by veterans.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Seeds for Soldiers Act''.

SEC. 2. TEMPORARY LOAN PROGRAM FOR SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS OWNED AND 
              CONTROLLED BY VETERANS.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator may make a loan under section 
7(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)) to a small business 
concern owned and controlled by veterans.
    (b) Special Rules.--Notwithstanding the requirements of section 7 
of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636), the following special rules 
apply to a loan under this section:
            (1) The Administrator may make a loan under this section 
        for any business purpose, including the refinancing of any 
        outstanding business debt.
            (2) No payment of principal on a loan under this section 
        shall be due or payable during the 1-year period beginning on 
        the date on which the loan is issued. Any interest payable with 
        respect to the loan for such period shall be paid by the 
        Administration.
            (3) A loan may be made under this section if the total 
        amount outstanding and committed to the borrower under section 
        7(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)) would not 
        exceed $3,000,000.
            (4) In the case of an agreement to participate on a 
        deferred basis in a loan under this section--
                    (A) the participation of the Administration shall 
                be equal to 90 percent of the balance of the financing 
                outstanding at the time of disbursement of the loan;
                    (B) the Administrator shall collect (except in the 
                case of a loan that is repayable in 1 year or less) a 
                guarantee fee for any loan under this section, which 
                shall be payable by the participating lender, and may 
                be charged to the borrower as follows:
                            (i) A guarantee fee equal to 0.5 percent of 
                        the deferred participation share of a total 
                        loan amount that is not more than $150,000.
                            (ii) A guarantee fee equal to 1.5 percent 
                        of the deferred participation share of a total 
                        loan amount that is more than $150,000, but not 
                        more than $700,000.
                            (iii) A guarantee fee equal to 2 percent of 
                        the deferred participation share of a total 
                        loan amount that is more than $700,000; and
                    (C) the annual fee assessed and collected on any 
                such loan shall not exceed an amount equal to 0.15 
                percent of the outstanding balance of the deferred 
                participation share of the loan.
            (5) The Administrator may make such loans without regard to 
        the ability of a small business concern to obtain credit 
        elsewhere.
            (6) The Administrator shall make such loans without regard 
        to the availability of collateral to secure such loans.
    (c) Termination.--The Administrator may not make a loan under this 
section after December 31, 2008.
    (d) Definitions.--For the purpose of this section, the terms 
``Administrator'', ``Administration'', ``credit elsewhere'', and 
``small business concern owned and controlled by veterans'' have the 
respective meanings given such terms in section 3 of the Small Business 
Act (15 U.S.C. 632).
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $25,000,000 for fiscal year 
2007. Such sum shall remain available until expended.

SEC. 3. TEMPORARY VOCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR VETERANS.

    (a) Establishment.--In accordance with this section, the 
Administrator shall make grants to small business development centers 
for the provision of a program of assistance for veterans that includes 
training in a vocational or technical trade and entrepreneurial 
assistance in establishing and operating a small business concern that 
provides services in such trade.
    (b) Minimum Grant Amount.--The Administrator shall not make a grant 
under this section for an amount less than $500,000.
    (c) Application and Award.--
            (1) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
        this section, a small business development center shall submit 
        to the Administrator an application in such form and containing 
        such information and assurances as the Administrator may 
        require and that includes information regarding the applicant's 
        goals and objectives for the program of assistance to be 
        provided with the grant.
            (2) Priority in awarding grants.--In awarding the grants, 
        the Administrator shall consider the needs of the area served 
        by the small business development center, including whether the 
        small business development center is located in the proximity 
        of a United States military installation.
    (d) Termination.--The Administrator shall not make any grant under 
this section after December 31, 2008.
    (e) Coordination With Small Business Act.--A grant made under this 
section shall not be taken into account for purposes of section 21 of 
the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648).
    (f) Definitions.--For purposes of this section the following 
definitions apply:
            (1) The term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of 
        the Small Business Administration.
            (2) The term ``small business development center'' means a 
        small business development center described in section 21 of 
        the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648).
            (3) The term ``veteran'' has the meaning given such term in 
        section 3(q)(4) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
        632(q)(4)).
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $25,000,000 for fiscal year 
2007. Such amount shall remain available until expended.
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