[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 105 (Wednesday, July 25, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8190-S8194]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      NOMINATION OF HECTOR V. BARRETO, JR., OF CALIFORNIA, TO BE 
           ADMINISTRATOR OF THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

  Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent, under the 
direction and authority of the majority leader, that we now move, 
pursuant to an order entered on July 24, to the Barreto nomination, for 
the Small Business Administration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Chair hears none, and it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the nomination.
  The legislative clerk read the nomination of Hector V. Barreto, Jr., 
of California, to be Administrator of the Small Business 
Administration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. DORGAN. Madam President, let me request 5 minutes of the time 
allotted to our side for my presentation.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. DORGAN. Madam President, I rise to briefly discuss the nomination 
of Hector Barreto to head the Small Business Administration. I note 
that Senator Kerry, the chairman of the Committee on Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship, supports this nomination. I plan to support the 
nomination as well. I think he is a good appointment. He will serve our 
country well. I look forward to working with him in his new role as 
Administrator of the Small Business Administration.
  As he begins his tenure at the SBA, I did not want this moment to go 
by without pointing out to him, and to the SBA, that we face, in my 
judgment, a rather severe challenge about an issue that concerns me 
greatly. Let me describe the issue.
  The SBA has packaged up a series of loans that it has made, including 
disaster loans, and sold them with deep discounts to financial 
companies around the country. The representation to the American people 
was that this would not impact their loans at all, and it is just a 
matter of selling them so that the SBA does not have to do loan 
servicing.
  That sounded benign enough, I guess, to almost everybody in the 
country. It sounded benign enough to Congress. And so the SBA sold 
loans, including disaster loans.
  Let me describe the impact of what has happened as a result of the 
sale of those loans.
  Most Americans will remember the great flood in the Red River Valley 
in 1997, when the city of Grand Forks, ND, with nearly 50,000 
residents, had to evacuate the entire city. The city was inundated with 
floodwaters from the Red River. In the middle of the flood, after the 
entire city had been evacuated, a fire started in the downtown area of 
the city. So we had the spectacle of nearly 3 years worth of snow 
falling in 3 months and when the snow melted, it caused a dramatic 
flood along the Red River, inundating the city of Grand Forks. Then a 
fire started in the middle of the city, and firetrucks tried to get 
into the evacuated city on flatbeds and various devices to fight a fire 
in the center of downtown Grand Forks.
  It was a devastating time for the people of Grand Forks. When the 
waters receded, most homeowners and business men and women of Grand 
Forks, came back to their homes and businesses to find severe damage. 
They found massive damage in buildings all across this city.
  The city, of course, was helped by FEMA, the SBA and other agencies 
of the Federal Government. President Clinton came to Grand Forks and 
said: You're not alone. The American people are with you. The American 
people want to help you. And, indeed, the American people did.

  This Congress was generous to the communities along the Red River 
Valley and to Grand Forks especially. Grand Forks and East Grand Forks 
were hit very hard, and they required a substantial amount of help.
  So many of these businesses and families, in order to get back on 
their feet, took a low-interest SBA loan, often a 4-percent loan with a 
rather lengthy term. We provide disaster loans in law so that the SBA 
can help these families and businesses get back on their feet after a 
natural disaster.
  Then, after these businesses and homeowners were able to get the 
loans to help them get back on their feet, the SBA sold the loans, 
including disaster loans, to private companies. These are private 
financial companies that come in and buy a batch of loans and often pay 
about 70 cents on the dollar and then assume the responsibility for 
servicing the loans.

[[Page S8191]]

  That is a long story to tell you where we are at the moment. We have 
discovered that homeowners and businesses in Grand Forks, ND, that were 
hit with one disaster--that is, a disaster coming from a river that 
inundated their community--are in the middle of another disaster. These 
people have discovered that their disaster loans were sold to private 
companies. These loans are now being serviced by private companies who 
have put many of these families and businesses right smack in a pair of 
handcuffs when it comes to trying to sell their home and buy another 
home or sell an asset in a business in order to buy another asset to 
make the business more efficient.
  The companies that bought these loans are now saying: No, you can't 
substitute collateral. If you do that, you are going to have to pay a 
very substantial fee. We will not allow you to transfer the lien. In 
other words, the company is sticking to the terms of the SBA loan with 
respect to the interest rate and time but is not nearly as flexible as 
the SBA has always been with these homeowners and businesses. The SBA 
would tell borrowers: We understand, we will allow you to transfer the 
lien to the next home you are going to buy, or, we understand, you can 
purchase these additional assets your business needs to become more 
efficient and transfer the lien from the other asset you are going to 
sell.
  What homeowners and small business owners are discovering now is that 
no such flexibility exists with private companies. Instead, they are 
told: No dice. That is a very serious problem. People hit with a 
disaster are now given a pair of handcuffs when a private company buys 
their disaster loan. That is wrong. That ought not happen.
  Let me just mention a couple people. There is a woman named Marie 
from Grand Forks, ND, who wrote me and said: I'm another flood victim 
trying to find a way to transfer the current loan I have from the SBA 
to another property. My SBA loan was sold to Aurora Loan Services, and 
I have been told by Aurora they don't transfer loans, period. So 
essentially I'm out of luck. Personal circumstances made it necessary 
for me to sell my property, and I need this low interest rate in order 
to be able to afford another property and get back on my feet.
  A man named Steven also wrote to me. He is a businessman in Grand 
Forks, ND. He said: I'm an optometrist. In the flood of 1997, our 
office received 5 feet of water. Pretty much a total loss.
  Madam President, I ask unanimous consent for 3 additional minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. DORGAN. I will not read all of this letter, but Steven goes on to 
say: We see the opportunity to borrow money at 4 percent for 30 years 
as a gift from the American people.
  These people were inundated with water, in deep trouble, and the 
Federal Government said: We are here to help you. Let's give you a 
helping hand to get you back on your feet.
  The letter continues: Nobody was going to make our community whole 
overnight, but these loans over 30 years, would go a long way in 
helping.
  Then he describes his need to have flexibility to purchase additional 
assets and the difficulty he has had trying to negotiate with the 
company that purchased the loan. They have simply said: No dice. No 
way.
  What he is saying is that he has been handcuffed by this process.
  He had no idea that would be the case. He had no idea the SBA would 
sell his disaster loan to a private company that won't allow him to 
transfer a lien as the SBA has almost always done to disaster victims. 
I tell these stories only to say there is something wrong with this 
process.
  We ought not sell disaster loans. We simply should not do that. The 
SBA should service those loans and do so in a thoughtful and rational 
way. Let's not sell those loans. We certainly ought not allow citizens 
who have been hit with a disaster discover there is a second disaster 
around the corner if they need to sell a home and purchase another or 
need to purchase an essential asset for their business but can't sell 
the old asset because they can't transfer the lien. This is not a fair 
thing to do.
  We ought to do a couple things. No. 1, we should ask the new SBA 
head--someone who I intend to support and vote for, Mr. Barreto--to 
work with us to see that these companies that have purchased the old 
loans will use the same flexibility in servicing those loans as the SBA 
previously did.
  No. 2, let's not have the SBA selling these loans in the future. That 
is not the right thing and the fair thing to do. It may require 
legislation, I expect, to prevent that. I hope to discuss that with 
some of my colleagues and hope they will agree that those who have been 
hit with disaster in this country don't deserve to be handcuffed later 
by a private company that is able to buy deeply discounted SBA disaster 
loans. This is not the right thing to do to the citizens of this 
country who have suffered through a disaster. We can do better. I hope 
we will. I hope my comments will be noted by Mr. Barreto. I wish him 
well. Although I don't expect there will be a recorded vote on his 
nomination today, I think he is a good appointment. I commend the 
President for offering this candidate for public service. I hope we can 
get together and visit about this important issue very soon, when he 
assumes office.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.
  Mr. BOND. Madam President, I yield myself up to 5 minutes of the time 
on this side on the nomination of Mr. Hector Barreto.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BOND. Madam President, it is a pleasure to rise today to join 
with my colleagues and urge them to support the President's nomination 
of Hector V. Barreto, Jr., as Administrator of the Small Business 
Administration.
  We have just received word that there will be a voice vote rather 
than a recorded vote. For the friends and supporters of Mr. Barreto, 
that simply means that everybody has agreed upon it, and apparently we 
will not have to go through a rollcall vote. It does not mean in any 
way that we view this nomination as less important. It is just that as 
a result of the work done on the Committee on Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship, his nomination should go through.
  He was approved unanimously by the committee under the leadership of 
my colleague, Chairman John Kerry. The nomination of Mr. Barreto comes 
at a critical time when the Small Business Administration's assistance 
and development programs will be tested very thoroughly as a result of 
the slowing economy.
  The SBA has a promising future and a very important mission that can 
best be realized with effective leadership to refocus the agency on the 
programs and missions established by Congress.
  I believe President Bush has shown his commitment to supporting that 
mission and the Nation's Main Street small business community by his 
nomination of Mr. Barreto.
  The need for a proven leader with a track record of business 
experience has never been greater at the SBA. It is time the SBA 
concentrate on sound management of its operations and existing programs 
rather than expanding its reach with new programs.
  I expect Hector Barreto's experience in the financial services 
industry, his standing in the small business and Latino communities 
will serve the President, the Nation, and small business very well.
  When we review Mr. Barreto's credentials, it is easy to see he has 
exceptionally fine roots. He was born and reared in Kansas City, MO. He 
went to high school in Kansas City. He received his degree from 
Rockhurst University, also in Kansas City. I have known his father, a 
prominent business leader in the Hispanic community, for many years. 
Even though he comes to us from California, I assure you, he really is 
a Missourian at heart.
  Hector Barreto, Sr., founded the United States Hispanic Chamber of 
Commerce, and in recent years Hector Barreto, Jr., has been serving on 
its board of directors. With his Missouri heritage and his strong 
business foundation, there really isn't much more that needs to be said 
about the President's nominee.
  Seriously, however, we should look closely at Mr. Barreto's small 
business background and his business experience. His early work 
immediately out of college was as area manager for the Miller Brewing 
Company. But his small

[[Page S8192]]

business experience began in earnest when he moved to California and 
established the Barreto Insurance and Financial Services Company. His 
goal simply was to provide insurance and financial services to southern 
California's expanding Latino population.
  It takes a lot of nerve and confidence in one's abilities just 3 
years after finishing college to move halfway across the United States 
to set up a small business.
  His business should be distinguished from the go-go dot-com 
undertakings of the 1990s, where investors could not wait to be 
separated from their money. Mr. Barreto's small business was and is 
more of a Main Street USA variety, and his goal simply was to provide 
insurance and financial services that were very much needed in the 
minority community in southern California.

  With each new Presidential administration, we hear how difficult it 
is to attract top-notch talent to serve in the often thankless and 
usually criticized jobs of serving in Government. We are fortunate to 
have someone of the caliber of Mr. Barreto who knows what it is to 
start a small business from scratch and work hard to make it grow. This 
is the American dream of millions of entrepreneurs. His exposure to the 
challenges he faced will serve him well as SBA Administrator.
  We should not lose sight of the fact that Mr. Barreto is making a 
sacrifice by leaving his small business to spend the next 3, maybe 4, 
maybe more, years at the SBA. In response to this call to Government 
service, Mr. Barreto won't be there to run his business. We need to 
remember that Hector Barreto is not a senior company official leaving a 
large business where there is always someone ready to step up from the 
ranks to take over. Most often in a small business, there is not 
someone waiting in the ranks, and the small business suffers or closes 
its doors when the owner leaves.
  Although he may not be closing his business for good, Mr. Barreto is 
taking a long leave of absence and the business is going into an 
extended status of hibernation. His is a significant sacrifice.
  As ranking member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship, I have had the opportunity to discuss with him his 
views on targeting the most critical problems at the SBA and 
prioritizing solutions that might be implemented. I sincerely 
appreciate the energy and dedication with which Mr. Barreto approaches 
these tasks.
  We have a ripe opportunity to retool the SBA and its programs to 
better capitalize on the remarkable potential small business offers to 
fuel the economy and generate economic growth.
  I am confident that Hector Barreto will do a solid job at the helm of 
the SBA. I look forward to working with him to address key concerns 
about agency programs and operations.
  I urge and thank my colleagues for their support of the President's 
nomination of Hector V. Barreto, Jr., to be Administrator of the Small 
Business Administration.
  Madam President, I now yield 5 minutes or as much time as he should 
require to the distinguished Senator from Virginia, Mr. Allen, a member 
of our committee, and ask that any remaining time be reserved.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia.
  Mr. ALLEN. Madam President, I thank the ranking member of the Small 
Business Committee, Senator Bond, who cares a great deal about small 
business issues.
  I am pleased to stand with my colleague and for all the people in the 
Senate today and give my support for the confirmation of Hector V. 
Barreto, Jr., as Administrator of the Small Business Administration, 
which is, of course, the top post in that agency.
  On July 19, the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, of 
which I am a member, unanimously approved Mr. Barreto for the position 
of Administrator of the Small Business Administration. As a member of 
the committee, it was my privilege to attend the hearing and cast my 
vote in support of this fine candidate.
  What also was very inspirational was Mr. Hector V. Barreto, Sr., and 
his story, a gentleman who came up from Mexico, settled in Missouri, 
and started a business. And then Hector, of course, went on even 
further.
  It really is the American dream of opportunity, of a small business, 
a man with a dream, his father, and then obviously inculcating in his 
son that same sort of spirit and hard work and dedication and honesty.
  I know that Mr. Barreto, Sr. was very proud of his young son and what 
everyone was saying about him that day of the committee hearing.
  This nomination does come at a particularly crucial time, as the SBA 
will need the guidance of a strong and qualified leader to ensure that 
its assistance and development programs are available to small 
businesses during this time of challenging, slowing economic growth. I 
believe Mr. Barreto is particularly qualified to develop new and 
innovative ways for the Small Business Administration to refocus and 
better target its resources to promote growth and access to capital for 
small business owners and entrepreneurs and increase opportunities for 
minorities and women in the small business community.
  Madam President, I want to take this opportunity to focus on Mr. 
Barreto's background and his experiences because what somebody has done 
in the past is a good indicator of what he or she will do in the 
future. I believe it will provide him also with a very special insight 
into the unique challenges facing minority- and women-owned businesses, 
especially small businesses.
  Mr. Barreto, just 3 years out of college, left his home State of 
Missouri and moved to California to start up a small insurance and 
financial services company to address the financial needs of southern 
California's expanding Latino population and the needs of all southern 
California's minority communities. Once in southern California, Mr. 
Barreto became involved in the Latin Business Association, serving as 
the organization's chairman in recent years.
  In addition, Mr. Barreto served on the award-winning Los Angeles 
Minority Business Opportunity Committee and also as vice chairman of 
the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
  As a result of his dedication and outreach, Hector Barreto has 
received the support of many businesses and business organizations 
nationwide, including a significant number from California-based 
organizations and Latino business groups.
  It would take far too long to mention all of the groups supporting 
his nomination, but I want to mention a few. The endorsements have come 
from widely diverse groups, such as the Hispanic Business Roundtable 
and the Minority Business Roundtable, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and 
the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, as well as other Chamber 
affiliates, such as the Los Angeles Area Chamber, New Jersey Regional 
Chamber, San Antonio Hispanic Chamber, the Korean American Coalition, 
and the Hispanic Business Women's Organization.
  Given Mr. Barreto's credentials, background, and past experiences, 
the work he has done to increase economic opportunities for minority 
communities, the extremely positive and overwhelming bipartisan support 
afforded him by members of the Small Business Committee, I believe he 
is exactly the right candidate for this position.
  A vote in favor of this nomination is a vote in support of the 
interests and the needs of small business owners, particularly minority 
business owners, providing them with the experience, dedication, and 
leadership that Mr. Barreto will bring to the Small Business 
Administration and its very important programs.
  I thank the Chair and I yield back the remainder of my time.
  Mr. KERRY. Madam President. I join with my colleagues in support of 
the President's nomination of Hector V. Barreto, Jr., to be 
Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, or SBA.
  Mr. Barreto was born and raised in Kansas City, MO. He received a 
B.S./B.A. degree in management and Spanish, in 1983, from Kansas City's 
Rockhurst College.
  As Administrator of the SBA, it will serve Mr. Barreto well that he 
comes from the small business community and can appreciate the 
challenges small business owners face. He founded Barreto Insurance and 
Financial Services in 1986 and serves as president-owner. The firm 
provides financial services and business insurance to the Los Angeles 
area Latino community. He also founded a second business,

[[Page S8193]]

TELACU-Barreto Financial Services, which is one of the first Latino-
owned securities broker-dealers, specializing in retirement-pension 
plans.
  Mr. Barreto has been active in Latino business affairs. He has served 
as vice-chair of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, an organization 
founded by his father, Hector Barreto, Sr. He also has served as chair 
of the Latin Business Association, Founding Member of the New America 
Alliance and chair of the Latin Business PAC, and on several corporate 
boards, including GE Financial Advisory Board, Sempra Energy Advisory 
Board and the TELACU Industries Board of Directors. Many of these 
groups have joined more than 90 others in support of Mr. Barreto's 
nomination.
  I am pleased with Mr. Barreto's small business roots and admire his 
efforts to empower Hispanic Americans to share in our country's 
economic vitality. I hope he will bring the insights gained from his 
experiences to his leadership at the SBA.
  SBA has played an instrumental role spurring the growth of this 
country's small businesses. The Agency has helped Americans start, run, 
and grow their businesses by offering access to credit and capital, 
procurement guidance, business management education and technical 
assistance.
  I met with Mr. Barreto last week. We had a good discussion about SBA 
and the many issues and obstacles that small business owners and 
entrepreneurs must face on a daily basis. I look forward to working 
together with Mr. Barreto to make the SBA even more effective than it's 
been.
  There is a strong benchmark from which to start. SBA's record has 
been nothing short of extraordinary, particularly in view of a 22 
percent staff level reduction. From 1993 through 2000, SBA provided 
more services to more small businesses than in the entire previous 
history of the Agency. Its loan portfolio almost quintupled from $10 
billion to nearly $50 billion and its venture capital dollars 
practically doubled from $10.2 billion to over $19 billion. Moreover, 
SBA approved more than $19 billion in loans to some 80,000 minority-
owned businesses--more than double the amount recorded during the 
Agency's prior 39 years.
  Typically, SBA's assistance is needed most during economic downturns. 
If the economy continues to cool, as many economists predict it will, 
Congress and the administration will need to redouble their support for 
the policies and programs that SBA has used so successfully to 
stimulate the growth and contributions of America's small businesses.
  One of the best opportunities to do so is in the shaping of SBA's 
budget. The budget with which we were presented this year was 
inadequate. That is why Senator Bond and I worked together to pass an 
amendment to restore large, unwise cuts in SBA's fiscal year 2001 
budget. As Mr. Barreto assumes a key role in the preparation of SBA's 
fiscal year 2002 budget, I hope he will work with us and fight hard for 
a budget that adequately funds important SBA programs.
  The administration's commitment to small businesses should start with 
SBA's new Administrator. Specifically, we will look to Mr. Barreto, for 
the vision, leadership, and management skills required for SBA to 
surpass the progress made by the Agency over the last 8 years in 
supporting and encouraging small business and entrepreneurship.
  I urge my colleagues to support Mr. Barreto's nomination.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Madam President, I am proud to express my support for 
Hector Barreto, nominee for Administrator of the Small Business 
Administration, and a fellow Californian.
  Mr. Barreto has been involved with small business concerns from an 
early age. His father, Hector Barreto, Sr., helped found the U.S. 
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. As a young adult, the nominee helped his 
father manage a family restaurant, an export-import business, and a 
construction company.
  In 1986, Barreto founded a small business of his own: Barreto 
Insurance and Financial Services.
  The entrepreneur designed the firm to address a lack of financial 
services available to Southern California's rapidly growing Latino 
population.
  Today, the firm generates $3 million in sales a year, and is 
considered one of the premier insurance and retirement planning firms 
in Los Angeles.
  Barreto also acts as the vice chairman of the board of the Hispanic 
Chamber of Commerce and until 1997, he was chairman of the board for 
the Latin Business Association in Los Angeles.
  Barreto founded the Latin Business Association Institute, an 
extension of the Latin Business Association, to provide technical 
assistance, education, and business development opportunities to Latin 
Business Association members.
  For his dedication and commitment to the Latino Business Community, 
Barreto was awarded the Gold Medal of honor by the Multicultural 
Institute of Leadership for his work in promoting diversity and 
improving race relations.
  In addition, he has received special recognition from Congress, the 
California State Senate and Assembly, the County of Los Angeles, the 
Mayor's office, the City of Los Angeles, YMCA, and the American Red 
Cross.
  The number of small businesses continues to rise exponentially both 
in California and across the country. I look forward to working with 
Mr. Barreto to see that our small businesses flourish. I am pleased to 
support his nomination.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Madam President, I rise in support of the nomination of 
Hector Baretto to the position of Administrator for the Small Business 
Administration.
  First, I want to take this opportunity to thank the Small Business 
and Entrepreneurship Committee Chairman Kerry and Ranking Member Bond 
for working so diligently on issues affecting small businesses. Small 
businesses, always important to our communities and our economy, have 
taken new and heightened importance in our changing economy.
  The position for which Mr. Baretto has been nominated for, 
Administrator of the Small Business Administration, has probably never 
had as much significance as it does in the current economy. Small 
businesses are now, more than ever, a source of the innovation that is 
critical to the continued growth of the economy. In my state, one of 
the largest high-tech companies, Microsoft, was a small business not so 
long ago. As we have watched our unemployment figures drop now for 
several years, small businesses have been the largest community 
contributing to job creation.
  In fact, many of the leading high-tech companies in America were 
small businesses only years ago--or remain small businesses today. But 
along with the great successes, there are many small businesses with 
great ideas that have yet to get a foothold in our economy. These 
companies, many minority- and woman-owned, need the assistance of the 
Small Business Administration.
  I was alarmed when the administration presented its first budget with 
deep cuts in SBA funding. Fortunately, Senators Kerry and Bond were 
able to restore much of that money in the Senate Budget Resolution and 
I would hope that as Administrator, Mr. Baretto would work to forestall 
any future efforts by others in the administration to impair SBA's 
ability to fulfill its important mission.
  The President's budget requested no money for the SBA's new markets 
venture capital program and the National Veterans' Business Development 
Corporation just when it is getting started in its efforts to help 
veterans, particularly service-disabled veterans, who want to start or 
expand their businesses and develop a plan to become self-sustaining by 
fiscal year 2005. The President's budget freezes funding for the 
Women's Business Centers at $12 million and the Women's Business 
Council at $750,000. The Council is very helpful to the Congress, 
monitoring and researching the contribution of women business owners 
and the obstacles they face, including increasing their access to 
government contracts loans, and venture capital.
  These programs have been extremely valuable to the small business and 
entrepreneurial communities. I hope that as Administrator, Mr. Baretto 
will defend these programs and help the administration understand their 
significance for veterans, women, and minorities. I think expanding and 
diversifying the pool of small business owners is one of the most 
significant areas in which the SBA contributes, and an

[[Page S8194]]

area in which I believe the Small Business Administration can do more.
  I congratulate Mr. Baretto and urge Senators to vote to confirm him 
as Administrator of the Small Business Administration.
  Mrs. CARNAHAN. Madam President, small businesses are the backbone of 
the American economy. They create two of every three new jobs, produce 
39 percent of the gross national product and are responsible for more 
than half of the Nation's technological innovation.
  Our Nation's 20 million small businesses provide dynamic 
opportunities for all Americans. Therefore, I believe we need a strong 
administrator to ensure that the SBA functions effectively on behalf of 
America's small businesses.
  Mr. Barreto is a native of Kansas City, MO who has demonstrated a 
belief in the entrepreneurial spirit of small business owners.
  As Chairman of the Board for the Latino Business Association, Mr. 
Barreto has shown his commitment to providing Latino Americans with 
business opportunities, education, and technical assistance.
  He also serves as the Vice Chairman of the Board of the United States 
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. In this capacity, Mr. Barreto is 
successfully representing the interests of the Hispanic business 
community by strengthening national economic development programs and 
increasing business relationships between the corporate sector and 
Hispanic owned businesses.
  I am pleased that the President has put forward a nominee with such a 
strong record of leadership and commitment to promoting the success of 
small businesses. I supported Mr. Barreto's nomination in the Senate 
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and I am similarly 
pleased to support his nomination here on the floor of the United 
States Senate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, it is my understanding that we are now in 
executive session; is that right?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct.
  Mr. REID. Pending before the Senate is the nomination of Hector 
Barreto; is that right?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Barreto nomination is the pending 
nomination.


              Vote on the Nomination of Hector V. Barreto

  Mr. REID. We have had no request for a rollcall vote. I ask that we 
move forward on the vote at this time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is all time yielded back on the nomination?
  Mr. REID. On this nomination I don't think there is any time to yield 
back. If there is, I ask unanimous consent that it be yielded back.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The question is, Shall the Senate advise and consent to the 
nomination?
  The nomination was confirmed.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. ALLEN. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.


                  Vote On The Nomination Of Wade Horn

  Mr. REID. It is my understanding that now the confirmation of the 
nomination of Wade Horn would be the next matter before the Senate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct. There are 2\1/2\ 
minutes remaining.
  Mr. REID. The time of the Senator from Minnesota has been yielded 
back. I ask unanimous consent that the 2\1/2\ minutes controlled by the 
minority be yielded back.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  All time is yielded back.
  The question is, Shall the Senate advise and consent to the 
nomination?
  The nomination was confirmed.
  Mr. REID. I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. ALLEN. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

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