[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 72 (Thursday, May 26, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6060-S6061]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           SMALL BUSINESS ACT

  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today to address the consideration 
of H.R. 3, the Highway bill, in conference between the Senate and the 
House, and to engage the majority leader and Chairman Inhofe in a 
colloquy. It has come to my attention that the version of H.R. 3 passed 
by the House contains changes to the Small Business Act, which is under 
the exclusive jurisdiction of the small business committees in both 
chambers. Section 1821 of H.R. 3 as passed by the House would extend 
the benefits of the Historically Underutilized Business, HUBZone, 
program to non-metropolitan areas designated as Difficult Development 
Areas, DDAs, by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, but 
only if these DDAs are located in states and territories outside the 
continental United States. The HUBZone program exists to generate 
market-based development solutions in economically distressed areas by 
providing federal contracting advantages to small businesses which 
locate in HUBZones and employ HUB Zone residents.
  The HUBZone contracting program is codified in the Small Business Act 
and is administered by the Office of Government Contracting and 
Business Development of the Small Business Administration. While the 
HUBZone provision was not included in the Senate version of H.R. 3, had 
the provision in the House bill proceeded through the Senate committee 
process, I would have certainly exercised my prerogatives as the 
Committee Chair.
  Although I am not requesting a formal appointment as a conferee, I 
would like to ask my distinguished colleagues, the majority leader and 
the chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, 
to commit that no change to the Small Business Act or any program 
relating to the SBA will be negotiated or agreed to in the Highway bill 
conference without my consent as the Chair of the Senate Committee on 
Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

[[Page S6061]]

  Mr. FRIST. The Senator from Maine, the distinguished chair of the 
Small Business Committee, is correct that while the vast majority of 
the Highway bill does not concern the Small Business Act or the Small 
Business Administration, the Highway bill conferees should secure the 
consent of the Chair of the Senate committee on Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship before making any changes to legislation or programs 
within that committee's jurisdiction.
  Mr. INHOFE. I am grateful to the chair of the Small Business 
Committee for her concern about the interests of small business. As 
chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and the 
manager of the Highway bill on the part of the Senate, I agree that the 
Senate conferees on the Highway bill will secure the Senate Small 
Business Committee's consent before negotiating or agreeing to any 
changes to the Small Business Act or to any program relating to the 
Small Business Administration.
  Ms. SNOWE. I thank Chairman Inhofe and the majority leader for their 
commitment and support.

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