[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 57 (Wednesday, May 8, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4074-S4075]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CLELAND (for himself, Mr. Kerry, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. 
        Jeffords, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Bingaman, Mrs. Carnahan, Mr. Leahy, 
        Mr. Lieberman, and Mr. Johnson):
  S. 2483. A bill to amend the Small Business Act to direct the 
Administrator of the Small Business Administration to establish a pilot 
program to provide regulatory compliance assistance to small business 
concerns, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Small Business 
and Entrepreneurship.
  Mr. CLELAND. Mr. President, in order to provide regulatory compliance 
assistance to small businesses, Senator Kerry and I are introducing the 
Senate companion bill to H.R. 203, the ``National Small Business 
Regulatory Assistance Act,'' which passed the House last year by voice 
vote. I also want to thank Senators Landrieu, Jeffords, Harkin, 
Bingaman, Carnahan, Leahy, Lieberman, and Johnson for their co-
sponsorship.
  In today's business environment, one of the greatest obstacles 
blocking the path to prosperity for America's small businesses is 
regulatory compliance. Small businesses regularly find themselves lost 
in a maze of Federal regulations that are designed to create safer and 
healthier workplaces. Chairman Kerry and I want all of our businesses 
to comply with the regulations that preserve the health, environment, 
and well-being of our workers and our communities. But, too often, 
small businesses do not have access to the information they need in 
order to comply with regulations in good faith.
  The National Small Business Regulatory Assistance Act calls for the 
establishment of a pilot project in which 20 selected Small Business 
Development Centers, SBDCs, would provide regulatory compliance 
assistance to small businesses. This pilot project would be 
administered by the Small Business Administration, SBA, which would be 
authorized to award grants between $150,000 and $300,000 to selected 
SBDCs. The bill also requires that the Congress receive a progress 
report annually on the pilot program's accomplishments at each SBDC.
  Under our legislation, SBDCs would need to form partnerships with 
Federal compliance programs, conduct educational and training 
activities and offer free-of-charge compliance counseling to small 
business owners. Further, the measure would guarantee privacy to those 
who receive compliance assistance. This privacy provision has also been 
extended to all small businesses that seek any assistance from their 
local SBDC.
  The adoption of the National Small Business Regulatory Assistance Act 
will provide small businesses with the support they need to navigate 
the often complicated world of Federal regulations.
  I urge all Members of the Senate to join me in support of the 
National Small Business Regulatory Assistance Act of 2002.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I am pleased to join with my distinguished 
colleague, Senator Max Cleland, and the cosponsors of our legislation 
in introducing the National Small Business Regulatory Assistance Act.
  The bill we are introducing today is the Senate version of H.R. 203, 
which bears the same name as our legislation. H.R. 203 passed the House 
by voice vote in October of last year with the strong support of the 
House Committee on Small Business. However, our version deals with 
several issues that have been raised since House passage and will help 
ensure that small businesses receive the regulatory compliance 
assistance the legislation envisions.
  I am pleased to say that we have the full support of the Association 
of Small Business Development Centers, which has been working closely 
with us since January of this year to draft the Senate version of this 
legislation, correcting several issues with the House passed bill. I am 
also pleased to say that we have kept Congressman

[[Page S4075]]

Sweeney, the House sponsor, and Congressman Manzullo, chairman of the 
House Committee on Small Business, informed of our actions throughout 
the process to ensure our changes would have the support of the House 
committee, as should be the case.
  Small businesses, especially small businesses with few employees, 
often face a daunting task when seeking advice on how to comply with 
Federal regulations, particularly when implementation varies for 
different regions of the country, or from State to State. Many small 
businesses fail to comply with important and needed labor and 
environmental regulations not because they want to break the law, but 
because they are unaware of the actions they need to take to comply. 
Often, small businesses are afraid to seek guidance from Federal 
agencies for fear of exposing problems at their business.
  One important way to help small business comply with Federal 
regulations is to provide them with free, confidential advice outside 
of the normal relationship between a small business and a regulatory 
agency. The Small Business Administration's, SBA, Small Business 
Development Centers, SBDC, are in a unique position to provide this 
type of assistance.
  Our bill establishes a pilot program to award competitive grants to 
20 selected SBDCs, two from each SBA region, which would allow these 
SBDCs to provide regulatory compliance assistance to small businesses. 
The SBA would be authorized to award grants between $150,000 and 
$300,000, depending on the population of the SBDC's State.
  Under our legislation, the SBDCs would need to form partnerships with 
Federal compliance programs, conduct educational and training 
activities and offer free-of-charge compliance counseling to small 
business owners. Further, the measure would guarantee privacy to those 
who receive compliance assistance. This privacy provision has also been 
extended to all small businesses that seek any assistance from their 
local SBDC.
  The legislation we are introducing today uses only SBA funds and will 
serve to complement current small business development assistance as 
well as existing compliance assistance programs. Versions of this 
legislation introduced in previous Congresses used Environmental 
Protection Agency, EPA, enforcement funds to pay for these grants.
  Small businesses can succeed when it comes to complying with Federal 
regulations, if provided with the necessary tools and information. The 
National Small Business Regulatory Assistance Act will go a long way 
toward assisting our Nation's small businesses who want to comply with 
Federal Regulations.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation.
                                 ______