[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 32 (Friday, March 12, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2756-S2757]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS EXTENSION ACT

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now 
proceed to the consideration of H.R. 3915, which is at the desk.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will state the bill by 
title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 3915) to provide for an additional temporary 
     extension of programs under the Small Business Act and the 
     Small Business Investment Act of 1958 through April 2, 2004, 
     and for other purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today to speak to the approval of 
H.R. 3915, a bill adopted by the House yesterday to provide a short-
term extension of the Small Business Administration, SBA, and all of 
its programs. In particular, it ensures the continuation of the SBA's 
504 loan program, a vital program for small businesses. The bill 
extends the authorization for the 504 loan program through May 21, 
2004, and extends the authorization for other SBA programs, such as the 
Preferred Surety Bond Program, and Small Disadvantaged Business 
Program, and the SBA's cosponsorship authority, through April 2, 2004.
  On September 26, 2003, the Senate unanimously approved the Small 
Business Administration 50th Anniversary Reauthorization Act of 2003, 
S. 1375, which I introduced as the chair of the Committee on Small 
Business. That bill provides for the 3-year reauthorization of the SBA 
and its small business programs, including the 504 loan program.
  The reauthorization bill will continue the SBA's role in assisting 
American small businesses to thrive and grow, through the agency's 
lending and other programs and services. Most importantly, it will 
enable the agency to help small businesses continue creating new jobs 
for our economy. According to the SBA, reauthorizing the agency will 
result in an estimated 3.3 million jobs created or retained over the 
next 5 years.
  While the Small Business Administration 50th Anniversary 
Reauthorization Act provides for the continuation of these programs, 
the other body continues to be delayed in its consideration of 
legislation to reauthorize the agency. The SBA's programs that rely on 
appropriations have continued since the Commerce, Justice, State and 
the Judiciary appropriations legislation for fiscal year 2004 was 
enacted. However, several of the SBA's programs and activities, such as 
the 504 loan program, do not rely on appropriations. As a result, they 
are in jeopardy of shutting down without the bill before us today, and 
that's a result America's small businesses simply cannot afford.
  I am confident that we can enact legislation to reauthorize the SBA 
once the other body has completed work on its version of the bill. In 
the interim, we must ensure that the SBA can continue to offer the 
entire range of its programs to our Nation's small businesses, which 
are the driving force behind our current economic recovery.
  The 504 loan program, one of the agency's flagship lending programs, 
allows small businesses to obtain long-term, fixed-rate financing to 
purchase land, buildings, or equipment. In the past 4 fiscal years, the 
SBA has provided guarantees for more than 20,000 loans through the 504 
loan program, for a total of approximately $8.6 billion, and these 
loans have allowed small businesses to create or retain more than 
445,000 jobs.
  The 504 program relies on fees charged to the program participants, 
rather than on Federal appropriations charged to the taxpayers, to fund 
their operation. Because the program relies on Federal funds, the SBA 
needs legislative authorization to collect the fees that operate the 
programs and ensure that they function at a zero subsidy rate.
  I am also extremely concerned about the SBA's section 7(a) business 
loan program. I strongly believe that we must act to ensure that the 
7(a) program remains a source of long-term capital for small 
businesses, including those small businesses that need large loans. The 
7(a) program is currently suffering from a funding shortfall, as demand 
for loans has exceeded the available appropriations this year, as it 
has four times in the last 10 years.
  In that regard, yesterday I introduced the Small Business Loan 
Revitalization Act, S. 2193. I was pleased to be joined in sponsoring 
that act by my colleagues, Mr. Bond, Mr. Enzi, and Mr. Coleman. With 
the improvements contained in that act, I am confident that we can soon 
help the 7(a) program to once again provide the financing that small 
businesses so desperately need.
  We must act today to ensure that the SBA and its programs continue. 
The bill before us achieves that goal by extending the authorization 
for the 504 program through May 21, 2004, and for the agency and its 
other programs through April 2, 2004. That will provide time for the 
other body to pass its legislation, for us to reconcile the 
differences, and for the President to sign a long-term reauthorization 
bill for the SBA.
  This legislation is absolutely necessary for America's small 
businesses. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and thereby 
ensure that the SBA, and in particular the 504 loan program, will 
continue to serve small businesses and enable small businesses to 
obtain the financing they need, as they contribute so greatly to the 
revitalization of our national economy.
  (At the request of Mr. Daschle, the following statement was ordered 
to be printed in the Record.)
 Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I want to make a few comments about 
H.R. 3915 that will be considered by the Senate today. This bill 
contains two temporary extensions of authority. One that is general, 
keeping the Small Business Administration and its programs operating 
through April 2, 2004, and another that is specific to the SBA's 504 
Loan Guarantee Program, keeping it operational through May 21, 2004.
  I support this bill, and am relieved the 504 Loan Guarantee Program 
will not lose its authority to keep making loans to small businesses 
that are growing, creating jobs and helping our communities. However, 
there are other serious problems concerning the SBA's 7(a) Loan 
Guarantee Program and Women's Business Centers that are urgent and 
should be addressed before the Senate recesses tonight for a week. I 
introduced a bill earlier this week, S. 2186, the SBA Emergency 
Authorization Extension Act of 2004, which sets forth workable 
solutions for those issues. At that time I urged my colleagues to take 
immediate action and consider it. Senator Snowe also introduced a bill 
this week, S. 2196, which addressed the 7(a) Loan Guarantee Program 
funding shortfall, which I support and would have supported as an 
amendment to this extension. Like the small business community, I am 
disappointed that the bigger solution for small business lending is 
being delayed another couple of weeks.
  Some people think a couple of weeks can do no harm. But in the 7(a) 
Loan Guarantee Program, small businesses caught in the middle of the 
administration's funding schemes might not make it. And the funding 
problems will fester because it will operate at a more expensive cost 
than if we enacted the temporary program changes that the lending and 
small business communities support and are strongly urging the Congress 
to adopt. Two weeks could mean about half a billion in lending. I 
disagree with the administration's tactics and I hope that during

[[Page S2757]]

this next brief extension they will work with the Senate and House 
committees to pass program changes that resolve these issues fairly, 
effectively and expeditiously. Their plan does not work and the small 
business and lending communities are opposed to it. We need a plan that 
does.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues to resolve this as soon 
as possible.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, 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 be printed in 
the Record.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The bill (H.R. 3915) was read the third time and passed.

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