[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 94 (Tuesday, June 29, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H5050]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H5050]]
  VETERANS ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1999

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Millender-McDonald) is recognized for 
5 minutes.
  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, I am so pleased and proud to 
join the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Talent), the ranking member, the 
gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez) and many other members of the 
Committee on Small Business who are dedicated to providing critical 
services to the countless men and women who have fought to preserve and 
protect our Nation.
  As we approach the 4th of July holiday to celebrate this Nation's 
independence, we recognize our veterans and the tremendous sacrifices 
and contributions they have made to this country. In their honor we are 
here today to pass legislation that ensures veterans that once their 
service is complete they can continue to apply their hard-working 
ethics, strong leadership skills, and determination to succeed in small 
businesses.
  Currently out of a total business population of 23.2 million people 
5.5 million are veterans. In addition, there are 104,000 disabled 
veterans. It is estimated that veterans constitute almost a quarter of 
the business population today. However, many veterans face tremendous 
barriers when trying to create and grow their businesses, particularly 
when their military service has caused them to leave their businesses.
  Specifically, the obstacles facing our veterans can range from a lack 
of training to difficulty in securing adequate capital to launch their 
small business. The obstacles are even greater for service disabled 
veterans who may have additional handicaps that prevent them from 
securing employment or starting their own business.
  Mr. Speaker, the Veterans Entrepreneurial and Small Business 
Development Act creates a number of new programs designed specifically 
to help these veterans and service disabled veterans to join the ranks 
of entrepreneurs. I would like to commend the Small Business 
Administration for creating the Small Business Administration Veterans 
Affairs Task Force for entrepreneurship in July 1998. This task force 
examined SBA programs to determine how SBA might deliver services to 
America's veterans more effectively. In October of 1998, it made 
recommendations to SBA, many of which have been included in this bill. 
The Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act 
designates a position onto SBA of veterans business development to be 
the advocate for veterans and to ensure that veterans needs and 
concerns are represented and being addressed.
  In addition to this new position, this bill creates a public private 
partnership called the National Veterans Business Development 
Corporation to provide access to technical assistance and an advisory 
committee on veterans' business affairs to serve as an independent 
source of advice for Congress and the President and to increase outcome 
and outreach to veterans. This bill also directs the SBA administrator 
to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Service Corps of 
Retired Executives called SCORE, an organization that provides advice 
and technical assistance to small businesses free of charge through a 
nationwide network of volunteers.
  Finally, this bill establishes a 5 percent government procurement 
goal for veteran-owned business and authorizes SBA to make loans to 
self-employed individuals or owners of small businesses who are called 
to active duty to assist them with potential losses and disruption 
caused by their return to active duty.
  I encourage all of my colleagues when this bill comes to the floor to 
come together during this historic time of year and vote for 
legislation that provides our veterans with the opportunities they need 
and deserve to succeed. The Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small 
Business Development Act is a comprehensive approach to ensuring that 
the backbone of our Nation no longer shuts off but hence forward 
embraces and reaches out to America's service men and women.

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