[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1014 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1014

   To provide additional relief for small business owners ordered to 
 active duty as members of reserve components of the Armed Forces, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 12, 2005

   Ms. Snowe introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
    referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide additional relief for small business owners ordered to 
 active duty as members of reserve components of the Armed Forces, and 
                          for other purposes.

    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 ``Supporting Our Patriotic Businesses 
Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) From September 2001 through November 2004, 
        approximately 410,000 members of the reserve components of the 
        Armed Forces, including the National Guard and Reserves, have 
        been mobilized in support of United States military operations.
            (2) According to 2004 data from the Manpower Data Center of 
        the Department of Defense, an estimated 35 percent of Guard 
        members and Reservists are either self-employed or own or are 
        employed by a small business.
            (3) The majority of privately employed National Guard and 
        Reserve members either work for a small business or are self-
        employed.
            (4) As a result of activations, many small businesses have 
        been forced to go without their owners and key personnel for 
        months, and sometimes years, on end.
            (5) The effects have been devastating to such patriotic 
        small businesses.
            (6) The Office of Veterans Business Development of the 
        Small Business Administration has made a concerted effort to 
        reach out to small businesses affected by deployments, but 
        given the sheer numbers of those deployed, their resources have 
        been stretched thin.
            (7) In addition, the Office of Veterans Business 
        Development has been required to broaden its delivery of 
        services, as directed by Executive Order 13360, to provide 
        procurement training programs for service-disabled veterans.
            (8) This Act will help to stem the effects of National 
        Guard and Reservist deployments on small businesses, and better 
        assist veterans and service-disabled veterans with their 
        business needs.

SEC. 3. INCREASED FUNDING FOR THE OFFICE OF VETERANS BUSINESS 
              DEVELOPMENT.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to the Office of Veterans 
Business Development of the Small Business Administration, and to 
remain available until expended--
            (1) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2006;
            (2) $2,100,000 for fiscal year 2007; and
            (3) $2,200,000 for fiscal year 2008.

SEC. 4. PERMANENT EXTENSION OF SBA ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON VETERANS 
              BUSINESS AFFAIRS.

    (a) Assumption of Duties.--Section 33 of the Small Business Act (15 
U.S.C. 657c) is amended--
            (1) by striking subsection (h); and
            (2) by redesignating subsections (i) through (k) as 
        subsections (h) through (j), respectively.
    (b) Permanent Extension of Authority.--Section 203 of the Veterans 
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999 (15 U.S.C. 
657b note) is amended by striking subsection (h).

SEC. 5. PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING.

    (a) In General.--Title VII of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act 
(50 U.S.C. App. 591 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new section:

``SEC. 707. CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS FOR PROFESSIONAL AND 
              OCCUPATIONAL LICENSES.

    ``(a) Applicability.--This section applies to any servicemember 
who, after the date of enactment of this section, is ordered to active 
duty (other than for training) pursuant to section 688, 12301(a), 
12301(g), 12302, 12304, 12306, or 12307 of title 10, United States 
Code, or who is ordered to active duty under section 12301(d) of such 
title, during a period when members are on active duty pursuant to any 
such section.
    ``(b) Continuing Education Requirements.--A servicemember described 
in subsection (a) may not be required to complete the satisfaction of 
any continuing education requirements imposed with respect to the 
profession or occupation of the servicemember that accrue during the 
period of active duty of the servicemember as described in that 
subsection--
            ``(1) during such period of active duty; and
            ``(2) during the 120-day period beginning on the date of 
        the release of the servicemember from such period of active 
        duty.
    ``(c) Active Duty Defined.--In this section, the term `active duty' 
has the meaning given that term in section 101(d) of title 10, United 
States Code.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for such Act is 
amended by adding at the end the following new item:

        ``Sec. 707. Continuing education requirements for professional 
                            and occupational licenses.''.

SEC. 6. RELIEF FROM TIME LIMITATIONS FOR VETERAN-OWNED SMALL 
              BUSINESSES.

    Section 3(q) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(q)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Relief from time limitations.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Any time limitation on any 
                qualification, certification, or period of 
                participation imposed under this Act on any program 
                available to small business concerns shall be extended 
                for a small business concern that--
                            ``(i) is owned and controlled by--
                                    ``(I) a veteran who was called or 
                                ordered to active duty under a 
                                provision of law specified in section 
                                101(a)(13)(B) of title 10, United 
                                States, on or after September 11, 2001; 
                                or
                                    ``(II) a service-disabled veteran 
                                who became such a veteran due to an 
                                injury or illness incurred or 
                                aggravated in the active miliary, 
                                naval, or air service during a period 
                                of active duty pursuant to a call or 
                                order to active duty under a provision 
                                of law referred to in subclause (I) on 
                                or after September 11, 2001; and
                            ``(ii) was subject to the time limitation 
                        during such period of active duty.
                    ``(B) Duration.--Upon submission of proper 
                documentation to the Administrator, the extension of a 
                time limitation under subparagraph (A) shall be equal 
                to the period of time that such veteran who owned or 
                controlled such a concern was on active duty as 
                described in that subparagraph.''.

SEC. 7. COUNSELING OF MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVES ON 
              NOTIFICATION OF EMPLOYERS REGARDING MOBILIZATION.

    (a) Counseling Required.--The Secretary of each military department 
shall provide each member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces 
under the jurisdiction of the Secretary who is on active duty for a 
period of more than 30 days, or on the reserve active-status list, 
counseling on the importance of notifying such member's employer on a 
timely basis of any call or order of such member to active duty other 
than for training.
    (b) Frequency of Counseling.--Each member of the Armed Forces 
described in subsection (a) shall be provided the counseling required 
by that subsection not less often than once each year.

SEC. 8. STUDY ON OPTIONS FOR IMPROVING TIMELY NOTICE OF EMPLOYERS OF 
              MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVES REGARDING 
              MOBILIZATION.

    (a) Study Required.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense shall conduct a 
        study of the feasibility and advisability of various options 
        for improving the time in which employers of members of the 
        reserve components of the Armed Forces are notified of the call 
        or order of such members to active duty other than for 
        training.
            (2) Purpose.--The purpose of the study under paragraph (1) 
        shall be to identify mechanisms, if any, for eliminating or 
        reducing the time between--
                    (A) the date of the call or order of members of the 
                reserve components of the Armed Forces to active duty; 
                and
                    (B) the date on which employers of such members are 
                notified of the call or order of such members to active 
                duty.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate 
committees of Congress a report on the study conducted under subsection 
(a). The report shall include--
            (1) a description of the study, including the options 
        addressed under the study; and
            (2) such recommendations for legislative or administrative 
        action as the Secretary considers appropriate in light of the 
        results of the study.
    (c) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
            (1) the Committees on Armed Services and Small Business and 
        Entrepreneurship of the Senate; and
            (2) the Committees on Armed Services and Small Business of 
        the House of Representatives.
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