[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 62 (Thursday, May 12, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5101-S5103]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. SNOWE:
  S. 1014. A bill to provide additional relief for small business 
owners ordered to active duty as members of reserve components of the 
Armed Forces, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Small 
Business and Entrepreneurship.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today to offer the Supporting Our 
Patriotic Businesses Act. This bill addresses some key concerns I have 
regarding the impact that military call-ups have on our Nation's small 
businesses.
  Today, I am offering my legislation in conjunction with the release 
of a Congressional Budget Office Report entitled ``The Impact of 
Reserve Call-ups on Civilian Employers.'' I commissioned the Report a 
year and a half ago, because I believed then, as I do now, that our 
country is not doing enough for the patriotic small businesses that are 
owned by or employ our Guard and Reserve members; and which are 
negatively effected when these workers are called up in defense of our 
Nation.
  Although I am still analyzing the Report, three key findings 
immediately caught my attention. For instance, the Report concludes 
that: 1. Thirty-five percent of Guard and Reserve members work for 
small businesses or are self-employed, twenty-six percent work for 
large businesses, thirty-six percent work for the government, Federal, 
State, or local, and the remainder work for non-profit organizations. 
Therefore, the majority of non-government employed Guard and Reserve 
members are either self-employed, or work for small businesses. 2. Over 
the past decade, the military has dramatically increased its reliance 
on Guard and Reserve forces. This trend has accelerated since the 
terrorism attacks of September 11, 2001. Guard and Reserve members make 
up about thirty-three percent of deployed service members supporting 
operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. 3. I am particularly troubled by a 
third finding which confirms what I have feared all along--that the 
self-employed, and the small businesses that employ Guard and Reserve 
members, may be ``paying'' a disproportionate and unfair share of the 
burden of increased Guard and Reserve member call-ups. The burden is 
further magnified when it is the small business owner, or a key 
employee, who is deployed.
  As members of this institution charged with the duty of preserving 
the public trust, we should work together, on a bipartisan basis, to 
help diminish the unfair burden these employers and self-employed 
businesses shoulder.
  It is difficult enough to leave friends and family behind and enter 
harm's way, but asking our military personnel to also jeopardize their 
livelihood is unconscionable. By assisting these businesses and the 
self-employed, we are helping to diminish important concerns of our 
military personnel, improving their morale and positively affecting 
retention.
  The legislation that I offer today contains multiple provisions in 
support of self-employed Guard and Reserve members and the patriotic 
businesses that employ Guard and Reserve members.
  First, it authorizes increased appropriations for the Small Business 
Administration's (SBA) Office of Veteran Business Development, which 
offers vital services to our Nation's small businesses that are owned 
or employ our veterans. For instance, the office has prepared and 
distributed pre- and post-mobilization packets for small businesses, 
offers loans, and provides targeted business advice to meet the needs 
of our veterans and small businesses.
  My bill permanently extends the authority and duties of the SBA's 
Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs, which has served as an 
invaluable independent source of advice and policy on veterans' 
business issues.
  My legislation provides that a service member does not need to 
satisfy any continuing education requirements, imposed with respect to 
their profession or occupation, while they are called up, or within the 
120-day period after they are released from the call-up.
  I have also included a provision which amends the Small Business Act 
by allowing small businesses owned by veterans and service-disabled 
veterans to extend their SBA program participation time limitations by 
the length of time that their owners are called up in defense of our 
Nation. Currently, small business owners who are called up to active 
duty in the Guard or Reserve are effectively penalized for serving 
because their active duty time is counted against the time limitations 
on participation of the Small Business Administration's programs.
  Finally, my bill requires that the Department of Defense take 
measures to counsel Guard and Reserve members concerning the importance 
of notifying their employers in a timely manner after they receive 
Orders that they will be called up to active duty. The legislation 
further requires that the DoD investigate ways to diminish the lag 
between the time when military personnel are notified of their call-up 
and the time that military personnel notify their employers.
  Enacting this legislation is an important first step in the right 
direction toward assisting the brave men and women who serve in our 
Guard and Reserve and the businesses that employ them. However, I 
realize that this legislation is merely one of many steps that can and 
should be taken to this end and welcome new ideas to help this 
constituency.
  I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, and to 
continue to work with me, as well as veterans, policymakers, 
businesses, and others, to find additional solutions to address these 
vital issues.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill and that a section-
by-section summary of the bill be printed in the Record.
  Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to discuss this pressing 
matter.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1014

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Supporting Our Patriotic 
     Businesses Act of 2005''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) From September 2001 through November 2004, 
     approximately 410,000 members of the reserve components of 
     the Armed Forces, including the National Guard and Reserves, 
     have been mobilized in support of United States military 
     operations.
       (2) According to 2004 data from the Manpower Data Center of 
     the Department of Defense, an estimated 35 percent of Guard 
     members and Reservists are either self-employed or own or are 
     employed by a small business.
       (3) The majority of privately employed National Guard and 
     Reserve members either work for a small business or are self-
     employed.
       (4) As a result of activations, many small businesses have 
     been forced to go without their owners and key personnel for 
     months, and sometimes years, on end.
       (5) The effects have been devastating to such patriotic 
     small businesses.
       (6) The Office of Veterans Business Development of the 
     Small Business Administration has made a concerted effort to 
     reach out to small businesses affected by deployments, but 
     given the sheer numbers of those deployed, their resources 
     have been stretched thin.

[[Page S5102]]

       (7) In addition, the Office of Veterans Business 
     Development has been required to broaden its delivery of 
     services, as directed by Executive Order 13360, to provide 
     procurement training programs for service-disabled veterans.
       (8) This Act will help to stem the effects of National 
     Guard and Reservist deployments on small businesses, and 
     better assist veterans and service-disabled veterans with 
     their business needs.

     SEC. 3. INCREASED FUNDING FOR THE OFFICE OF VETERANS BUSINESS 
                   DEVELOPMENT.

       There is authorized to be appropriated to the Office of 
     Veterans Business Development of the Small Business 
     Administration, and to remain available until expended--
       (1) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2006;
       (2) $2,100,000 for fiscal year 2007; and
       (3) $2,200,000 for fiscal year 2008.

     SEC. 4. PERMANENT EXTENSION OF SBA ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON 
                   VETERANS BUSINESS AFFAIRS.

       (a) Assumption of Duties.--Section 33 of the Small Business 
     Act (15 U.S.C. 657c) is amended--
       (1) by striking subsection (h); and
       (2) by redesignating subsections (i) through (k) as 
     subsections (h) through (j), respectively.
       (b) Permanent Extension of Authority.--Section 203 of the 
     Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act 
     of 1999 (15 U.S.C. 657b note) is amended by striking 
     subsection (h).

     SEC. 5. PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING.

       (a) In General.--Title VII of the Servicemembers Civil 
     Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 591 et seq.) is amended by adding 
     at the end the following new section:
       ``SEC. 707. CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS FOR 
           PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL LICENSES.
       ``(a) Applicability.--This section applies to any 
     servicemember who, after the date of enactment of this 
     section, is ordered to active duty (other than for training) 
     pursuant to section 688, 12301(a), 12301(g), 12302, 12304, 
     12306, or 12307 of title 10, United States Code, or who is 
     ordered to active duty under section 12301(d) of such title, 
     during a period when members are on active duty pursuant to 
     any such section.
       ``(b) Continuing Education Requirements.--A servicemember 
     described in subsection (a) may not be required to complete 
     the satisfaction of any continuing education requirements 
     imposed with respect to the profession or occupation of the 
     servicemember that accrue during the period of active duty of 
     the servicemember as described in that subsection--
       ``(1) during such period of active duty; and
       ``(2) during the 120-day period beginning on the date of 
     the release of the servicemember from such period of active 
     duty.
       ``(c) Active Duty Defined.--In this section, the term 
     `active duty' has the meaning given that term in section 
     101(d) of title 10, United States Code.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for such Act 
     is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``Sec. 707. Continuing education requirements for professional and 
              occupational licenses.''.

     SEC. 6. RELIEF FROM TIME LIMITATIONS FOR VETERAN-OWNED SMALL 
                   BUSINESSES.

       Section 3(q) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(q)) 
     is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(5) Relief from time limitations.--
       ``(A) In general.--Any time limitation on any 
     qualification, certification, or period of participation 
     imposed under this Act on any program available to small 
     business concerns shall be extended for a small business 
     concern that--
       ``(i) is owned and controlled by--

       ``(I) a veteran who was called or ordered to active duty 
     under a provision of law specified in section 101(a)(13)(B) 
     of title 10, United States, on or after September 11, 2001; 
     or
       ``(II) a service-disabled veteran who became such a veteran 
     due to an injury or illness incurred or aggravated in the 
     active miliary, naval, or air service during a period of 
     active duty pursuant to a call or order to active duty under 
     a provision of law referred to in subclause (I) on or after 
     September 11, 2001; and

       ``(ii) was subject to the time limitation during such 
     period of active duty.
       ``(B) Duration.--Upon submission of proper documentation to 
     the Administrator, the extension of a time limitation under 
     subparagraph (A) shall be equal to the period of time that 
     such veteran who owned or controlled such a concern was on 
     active duty as described in that subparagraph.''.

     SEC. 7. COUNSELING OF MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL GUARD AND 
                   RESERVES ON NOTIFICATION OF EMPLOYERS REGARDING 
                   MOBILIZATION.

       (a) Counseling Required.--The Secretary of each military 
     department shall provide each member of a reserve component 
     of the Armed Forces under the jurisdiction of the Secretary 
     who is on active duty for a period of more than 30 days, or 
     on the reserve active-status list, counseling on the 
     importance of notifying such member's employer on a timely 
     basis of any call or order of such member to active duty 
     other than for training.
       (b) Frequency of Counseling.--Each member of the Armed 
     Forces described in subsection (a) shall be provided the 
     counseling required by that subsection not less often than 
     once each year.

     SEC. 8. STUDY ON OPTIONS FOR IMPROVING TIMELY NOTICE OF 
                   EMPLOYERS OF MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL GUARD AND 
                   RESERVES REGARDING MOBILIZATION.

       (a) Study Required.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense shall conduct a 
     study of the feasibility and advisability of various options 
     for improving the time in which employers of members of the 
     reserve components of the Armed Forces are notified of the 
     call or order of such members to active duty other than for 
     training.
       (2) Purpose.--The purpose of the study under paragraph (1) 
     shall be to identify mechanisms, if any, for eliminating or 
     reducing the time between--
       (A) the date of the call or order of members of the reserve 
     components of the Armed Forces to active duty; and
       (B) the date on which employers of such members are 
     notified of the call or order of such members to active duty.
       (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the 
     appropriate committees of Congress a report on the study 
     conducted under subsection (a). The report shall include--
       (1) a description of the study, including the options 
     addressed under the study; and
       (2) such recommendations for legislative or administrative 
     action as the Secretary considers appropriate in light of the 
     results of the study.
       (c) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this 
     section, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' 
     means--
       (1) the Committees on Armed Services and Small Business and 
     Entrepreneurship of the Senate; and
       (2) the Committees on Armed Services and Small Business of 
     the House of Representatives.
       Background: From September 2001 through November 2004, 
     approximately 410,000 National Guard and Reserve personnel 
     have been mobilized in support of current operations. Thirty-
     five percent of Guard and Reserve members work for small 
     businesses or are self-employed, 26 percent work for large 
     businesses, 36 percent work for the government, Federal, 
     State, or local, and the remainder work for non-profits. 
     Therefore, the majority of non-government employed Guard and 
     Reserve members are either self-employed, or work for small 
     businesses. As a result of call-ups, many small businesses 
     have been forced to go without their owners and key personnel 
     for months, and sometimes years, on end. The effects have 
     been devastating to these patriotic small businesses.
       This Act will help stem the effects of Guard and Reservist 
     call-ups on small businesses and better assist veterans and 
     service-disabled veterans with their business needs.
       Section 1.--Title, ``The Supporting Our Patriotic 
     Businesses Act.''
       Section 2.--Findings
       Section 3.--Authorizes increased appropriations for the 
     Small Business Administration's (SBA) Office of Veteran 
     Business Development to $2 million for Fiscal Year 2006, $2.1 
     million for Fiscal Year 2007 and $2.2 million for Fiscal Year 
     2008.
       Reasoning: The SBA's Office of Veteran Business Development 
     has made a concerted effort to reach out to small businesses 
     affected by military deployments, but given the sheer number 
     of those deployed, their resources have been stretched thin. 
     In addition, the Office of Veterans Business Development is 
     now required to broaden its delivery of services, as directed 
     by Executive Order 13360, to provide procurement training 
     programs for service-disabled veterans. This provision will 
     allow the SBA's Office of Veterans Business Development to 
     better assist our nation's veterans and provide them the 
     business services they need.
       Section 4.--Permanently extends the authority and duties of 
     the SBA's Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs.
       Reasoning: The SBA's Advisory Committee on Veterans 
     Business Affairs has served as a valuable independent source 
     of advice and policy on veterans business issues to: the SBA 
     Administrator; the SBA's Associate Administrator for Veterans 
     Business Development; the Congress; the President; and other 
     U.S. policymakers. The Advisory Committee was commissioned 
     under P.L. 106-50 and is set to terminate its duties on 
     September 20, 2006. This provision will help ensure that the 
     Advisory Committee's vital duties, and the information it 
     provides, are continued.
       Section 5.--Provides that a service member need not satisfy 
     any continuing education requirements, imposed with respect 
     to their profession or occupation, while they are called up, 
     or within the 120-day period after they are released from the 
     call-up.
       Reasoning: Many Guard and Reserve personnel have continuing 
     education requirements that they are unable to satisfy 
     because of being called to active duty. These patriotic 
     individuals should not have to satisfy these continuing 
     education requirements. NOTE: This provision is a floor, not 
     a ceiling. It should not discourage State or other entities 
     from offering extended benefits/breaks to deployed Guard and 
     Reserve members.
       Section 6.--Amends the Small Business Act by allowing small 
     businesses owned by veterans and service-disabled veterans to 
     extend their SBA program participation time limitations by 
     the duration of their owners' active duty service after 
     September 11, 2001.

[[Page S5103]]

       Reasoning: Some of the SBA's contracting and business 
     development programs have defined time limits for 
     participation. If the firm's time for participation expires 
     prematurely, then competitive opportunities, investments, and 
     jobs become lost. Currently, small business owners who get 
     called up to active duty in the National Guard or Reserve are 
     effectively penalized because their active duty time is 
     counted against the time limitations on participation in the 
     SBA's programs.
       Section 7.--Requires that the Secretary of each military 
     department ensure that counseling is provided, at least once 
     a year, to members of the National Guard and Reserves on the 
     importance of notifying their employers regarding their 
     mobilization.
       Reasoning: Employers often receive little warning of a 
     guard or reservist's call-up. A survey published by the DoD 
     in November 2003 (DMDC Report No. 2003-10), which questioned 
     guard and reservists who had been called up over the previous 
     24 months, indicated that they notified their civilian 
     employers an average of 13 days before their call-up began. 
     The survey also showed that almost 60 percent of Guard and 
     Reservists gave their employers advance notice of one week or 
     less. Unfortunately, providing short notice to employers does 
     not allow them time to adequately plan for a guard member or 
     Reservist's absence, and ultimately hurts a business's bottom 
     line. It is important that employers have ample time to make 
     the adjustments necessary to sustain their business.
       Section 8.--Improves the focus upon notifying employers in 
     a timely manner regarding call-ups.
       Reasoning: For the reasons provided under Section 7, this 
     provision would commission a DoD study on ways to improve the 
     timely notice of employers regarding call-ups.
                                 ______