[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 48 (Thursday, March 25, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S3566]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              DISASTER MITIGATION COORDINATION ACT OF 1999

  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that S. 388 be 
discharged from the Small Business Committee and the Senate proceed to 
its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 388) to authorize the establishment of a 
     disaster mitigation pilot program in the Small Business 
     Administration.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate 
consideration of the bill?
  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, after one year of working to enact a 
program that emphasizes prevention over reaction in dealing with 
natural disasters, the bill Senator Cleland and I first introduced in 
the 105th Congress has made its way back to the Senate for our 
consideration and support. I ask my colleagues to vote for S. 388, the 
Disaster Mitigation Coordination Act of 1999. Your vote will help our 
nation's small businesses save money and prepare for natural disasters.
  This bill establishes a 5-year pilot program that would make low-
interest, long-term loans available to small business owners financing 
preventive measures to protect their businesses against, and lessen the 
extent of, future disaster damage. This pilot is designed to help those 
small businesses that can't get credit elsewhere and that are located 
in disaster-prone areas.
  The small business pre-disaster mitigation loan pilot program would 
be run as part of the Small Business Administration's regular disaster 
loan program, testing the pros and cons of preparedness versus 
reaction. Currently, SBA's disaster loans are available for mitigation 
after a recent natural disaster. Those loans are also limiting because 
only 20 percent of an SBA disaster loan may be used to install new 
mitigation techniques that will prevent future damage. In contrast, 
this legislation would allow 100 percent of an SBA disaster loan to be 
used for mitigation purposes within any area that the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency (FEMA) has designated as disaster-prone. In 
Massachusetts, that includes Marshfield and Quincy, two coastal 
communities that are prone to flooding, rainstorms and Nor'easters.
  I see a great need for this type of assistance in the small business 
community. Aside from avoiding inconveniences and disruptions, we know 
that there are cost-benefits to making meaningful improvements and 
changes to facilities before a disaster. According to the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency, which has a disaster mitigation program 
for communities, rather than businesses, we save two dollars of 
disaster relief money for each dollar spent on disaster mitigation.
  Nationwide, whether you're a business in Florida or Massachusetts, 
this pilot would allow you to take out a loan to make the improvements 
to your building or office to protect against disasters. To lessen 
damage from hurricanes, it can mean constructing retaining and sea 
walls. To lessen damage from fires, it can mean adding sprinklers and 
flame-retardant building materials. And to lessen damage from floods, 
it can mean grading and contouring land or relocating the business.
  The administration supports this pilot program and included it in 
President Clinton's budget request two years in a row--fiscal years 
1999 and 2000. As the bill authorizes, the President requests that up 
to $15 million of the total $358 million proposed for disaster loans be 
used for disaster mitigation loans.
  Senator Cleland and I introduced this same legislation in the last 
Congress. And although it passed committee and the full Senate without 
opposition, the House did not vote on its merits before the 105th 
Congress ended. I thank our friends in the House and my colleagues in 
the Senate for sharing our concern to meet the needs of our small 
business owners while also working to find solutions that are smarter, 
more pro-active and more cost-effective. Mr. President, I am pleased to 
be a cosponsor of this legislation and am hopeful it will pass the 
Senate today and that the President will soon sign it in to law.
  Mr. ENZI. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read the third 
time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and 
that any statements relating to the bill appear in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 388) was read the third time and passed, as follows:

                                 S. 388

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

     SECTION 1. DISASTER MITIGATION PILOT PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--Section 7(b)(1) of the Small Business Act 
     (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(1)) is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (B), by adding ``and'' at the end; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(C) during fiscal years 2000 through 2004, to establish a 
     predisaster mitigation program to make such loans (either 
     directly or in cooperation with banks or other lending 
     institutions through agreements to participate on an 
     immediate or deferred (guaranteed) basis), as the 
     Administrator may determine to be necessary or appropriate, 
     to enable small businesses to use mitigation techniques in 
     support of a formal mitigation program established by the 
     Federal Emergency Management Agency, except that no loan or 
     guarantee may be extended to a small business under this 
     subparagraph unless the Administration finds that the small 
     business is otherwise unable to obtain credit for the 
     purposes described in this subparagraph;''.
       (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 20 of the 
     Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 note) is amended by adding 
     at the end the following:
       ``(f) Disaster Mitigation Pilot Program.--The following 
     program levels are authorized for loans under section 
     7(b)(1)(C):
       ``(1) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2000.
       ``(2) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2001.
       ``(3) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2002.
       ``(4) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2003.
       ``(5) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.''.
       (c) Evaluation.--On January 31, 2003, the Administrator of 
     the Small Business Administration shall submit to the 
     Committees on Small Business of the House of Representatives 
     and the Senate a report on the effectiveness of the pilot 
     program authorized by section 7(b)(1)(C) of the Small 
     Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(1)(C)), as added by subsection 
     (a) of this section, which report shall include--
       (1) information relating to--
       (A) the areas served under the pilot program;
       (B) the number and dollar value of loans made under the 
     pilot program; and
       (C) the estimated savings to the Federal Government 
     resulting from the pilot program; and
       (2) such other information as the Administrator determines 
     to be appropriate for evaluating the pilot program.

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