[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 19 (Wednesday, February 15, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H293-H297]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION'S DISASTER LOANS PROGRAM SUPPLEMENTAL
APPROPRIATIONS, 2006
Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
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pass the bill (H.R. 4745) making supplemental appropriations for fiscal
year 2006 for the Small Business Administration's disaster loans
program, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 4745
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the
following sums are appropriated, out of any money in the
Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for fiscal year 2006:
Small Business Administration
disaster loans program account
(including transfer of funds)
For an additional amount for ``Disaster Loans Program
Account'' for the cost of direct loans authorized by section
7(b) of the Small Business Act, $712,000,000, to remain
available until expended: Provided, That such costs,
including the cost of modifying such loans, shall be as
defined in section 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974: Provided further, That the amount provided under this
heading is hereby derived by transfer from the amount
provided for ``Disaster Relief'' in Public Law 109-62:
Provided further, That the amount provided under this heading
is designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to section
402 of H. Con. Res. 95 (109th Congress), the concurrent
resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2006.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Lewis) and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, this supplemental appropriations bill, H.R. 4745,
provides critical funding to assist victims of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita
and Wilma by making $712 million in loan subsidy funds available for
the Small Business Administration's disaster loans program.
The funding provided in this bill translates into $4.8 billion in
loans that will now be available to victims of the gulf coast
hurricanes.
To date, the Small Business Administration has approved more than
60,000 business and home loan applications, awarding $4.3 billion in
loans. Loans continue to be approved at a record pace, yet 160,000
applications remain in the pipeline, and the application period remains
open for 3 more weeks.
Without this critical infusion of funds, the Small Business
Administration is in danger of depleting its loan funds prior to the
Congress considering the administration's next supplemental request for
hurricane-related costs.
This bill simply provides a temporary fix by shifting funds
previously appropriated for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and
redesignating them for the Small Business Administration's disaster
loan program.
I also note that the SBA administrator has informed the
Appropriations Committee that the need could be much higher than the
amount provided in this bill. However, the committee has used the best
available estimates to determine the short-term funding requirements
and will continue to review the matter as it considers the next
supplemental request submitted by the administration.
This funding is needed immediately as a stopgap measure so that
lending to affected homeowners and businesses can continue
uninterrupted.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 7 minutes.
Mr. Speaker, as the gentleman from California has indicated, the
majority is bringing to the floor a bill that transfers $712 million
from FEMA to SBA for Katrina-related costs. We are told that SBA
projects they will run out of money by February 21 without the action
contained in this bill. That is despite the fact that the Congress has
just passed a supplemental appropriation for Katrina that was signed
into law on December 30 of 2005.
At that time, Congress actually provided SBA emergency supplemental
funding totaling $441 million. SBA stated that the reason their
projections were inadequate was because the size of the loans were much
larger than previous disasters, from approximately $30,000 to $60,000
per loan.
Even though Katrina and other hurricanes hit in late August, because
the SBA was so slow in approving loans, they had no idea of the size.
Once the SBA began to approve loans at a quicker pace, they apparently
discovered that they would probably be short of funds, but even that,
Mr. Speaker, is not the whole story.
SBA believes they will need an additional $400 to $600 million on top
of what is being provided here to provide funding for all the hurricane
victims of Katrina, Rita and Wilma. The difference is expected to be
presented during the larger Iraq-Katrina supplemental, which is
supposed to be coming any day.
The fact that the administration had no idea that one of the key
agencies on the ground in Louisiana was almost out of money seems to me
to be just another example of the wholly inadequate response which the
Nation has seen in the aftermath of these hurricanes. The
administration's initial response was disorganized and indecisive. The
people who knew what they were doing, the experienced career employees
of FEMA and other first responders, were apparently ignored by
incompetent and unqualified political cronies who should never have
been in the positions of leadership that they had.
I would have thought that 9/11 would have been a wake-up call. I
would have thought that Katrina would be a wake-up call. I think that
every Member of this House has the right to be tired of being
disappointed by the folks who cannot shoot straight when it comes to
providing the needed relief.
Let me also, Mr. Speaker, express my concern about the fact that this
Congress is not taking action to address another problem which is an
emergency, namely, the energy crisis in this country. Despite some
relief being caused by warmer than usual temperatures, the latest
figures issued on February 7 by the Department of Energy confirm that
the cost of heating one's home has still risen dramatically this
winter. Comparing this winter to last, average prices for natural gas
are up by 31 percent, average prices for home heating oil are up 25
percent, and average prices for propane are up 18 percent just over
that year.
In spite of those price increases, this year's appropriation for the
Low Income Heating Assistance Program is actually $21 million less than
last year. A shortfall in LIHEAP is even more serious than these price
figures would suggest, Mr. Speaker, because, first, this winter's
increase comes on top of price increases over the past several years
that far outpace the appropriations this Congress has provided for
LIHEAP.
Since the winter of 2001-2002, the average price of home heating oil
has more than doubled, the average price of natural gas has gone up 95
percent, and propane is up 68 percent, yet funding for LIHEAP has
increased only 20 percent over that period.
So high energy prices were causing a serious problem even before the
gulf hurricane disrupted oil and gas production, and that drove prices
still higher. The hurricanes simply made an existing problem worse.
I would also point out that these big increases in heating bills mean
big increases in the number of people who need our assistance, as well
as increases in the amount of aid that they need. The LIHEAP program
has been serving only about 16 percent of those who are eligible based
on Federal income standards, and I think we ought to be able to do
better than that.
I would say that with the number of recipients rising faster than the
appropriation, the average grant has been going down. At the very same
time, prices are going up. The energy assistance directors estimate
nationwide that the average LIHEAP grant shrunk by about 10 percent
over the last 4 years.
So it seems to me, Mr. Speaker, the need for supplemental funding for
LIHEAP is apparent. I wish that we could provide it. I wish it were
before the House today in a vehicle which would allow an honest
discussion of what funding level is needed, in a vehicle that would
allow the House to work its will, offer whatever amendments Members
think are appropriate so we can approve at a funding level commensurate
with national need.
It would seem to me that at the very least we should be providing
emergency funding to bring the LIHEAP program up to the authorized
level of $5.1 billion. This is an emergency now, not in April or May,
and I wish that this Congress saw fit to deal with this problem.
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We obviously have enough time today. I am told that when this debate
is over we are going to be rolling these votes or delaying them until
about 4:30 or 5 o'clock. That would have been plenty of time to have a
spirited, full debate on the issue, give Members the opportunity to
offer whatever amendments they needed in order to fulfill our
responsibilities to attack national problems. We are not doing that
today with respect to that problem. We are meeting a temporary need in
SBA, and I am sure Members will want to vote for that, but we ought to
be doing a lot more.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), my colleague, who is the chairman
of our Subcommittee on Science, State, Justice and Commerce.
Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for the time and rise in
support of the bill and would say that the subcommittee will be holding
hearings to get to the bottom of this.
The funding provided in the bill translates into $4.8 billion in
loans that will now be available to victims of the gulf coast
hurricanes. The bill simply provides a temporary fix by shifting funds
previously appropriated to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and
redesignating them for the Small Business Administration disaster loan
program.
The funding is needed immediately as a stopgap measure so that
lending to affected homeowners and businesses can continue
uninterrupted.
As a personal comment, when we listen to the different debates and
comments and all the shows and all the attacking, the things going on
in this city, I think it is really time for both parties to come
together and to attempt to deal with some of these issues that we have
in this country in a less partisan way. There was a very good article
that David Broder did in the Washington Post about a week-and-a-half
ago when he talked about when President Ronald Reagan was shot outside
the Hilton, Tip O'Neill went to his bedside at the George Washington
University Hospital and held his hand and prayed with him. There were
differences in the country those days, but there was just a different
tone.
So I would hope that we could return to the days of Ronald Reagan and
Tip O'Neill whereby the differences were less sharp and more civil to
do which, quite frankly, with the problems that this country has both
domestically and internationally, come together to do the best thing
for the country.
With that, I appreciate the gentleman bringing up this bill.
Congress of the United States,
House of Representatives,
January 30, 2006.
Dear Colleague: You may have missed the David Broder column
below that appeared in the Sunday, January 29, Washington
Post on the same day my pastor preached a sermon based on
Ephesians 4:29-32 about being kind to one another.
There will always be real differences in our views on
issues, but there should not be an absence of kindness and
civility in our dealings with one another.
It would be a good idea for the Congress and the country to
adopt the Ronald Reagan/``Tip'' O'Neill model.
Sincerely,
Frank R. Wolf,
Member of Congress.
[From the Washington Post, Jan. 1, 2006]
When Partisan Venom Didn't Rule
(By David S. Broder)
The stench of partisanship is so strong in Washington these
days that it is difficult to remember that it was not always
the case that Republicans and Democrats were at each other's
throats. But, in truth, there was a time when friendship and
simple human compassion were far more powerful than any
political differences.
A wonderful reminder of that fact can be found among the
oral histories compiled by two dozen of Ronald Reagan's main
associates that are being released Sunday by the Miller
Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. The
transcripts are available at www.millercenter.org.
One of the tapes was furnished by Max Friedersdorf, who ran
the White House congressional liaison staff for Reagan.
Friedersdorf recounts in the interview what happened while
the president was recovering at George Washington University
Hospital after the assassination attempt outside the
Washington Hilton hotel on March 30, 1981.
Reagan was seriously wounded by John Hinckley, and the day
after the shooting, Friedersdorf got a call in the White
House from James Baker, Reagan's chief of staff, who was at
the hospital. ``Get over here,'' Baker commanded.
``I went over to GW Hospital and went up to the president's
room,'' Friedersdorf said, ``and Jim was outside the room
with Mrs. Reagan and her Secret Service agent. Baker said,
``I want you to stay here until I tell you to leave.''
What had happened, Friedersdorf learned, was that Nancy
Reagan ``was all upset,'' because Sen. Strom Thurmond had
come over to the hospital a few hours earlier and somehow had
talked his way through the lobby, up the elevator and into
Reagan's room, where he attempted to chat with the gravely
wounded president.
``Mrs. Reagan was outraged, distraught,'' Friedersdorf
said. So Baker directed him to take up the watch, and ``if
any congressman or senator comes around here, make sure the
Secret Service doesn't let anybody up, even on this floor.''
Friedersdorf said he remained on duty during daylight hours
for the next three or four days, and then word came from
Baker that the president had recovered enough to start to see
people.
The first person to be admitted, Friedersdorf said, was
Thomas P. ``Tip'' O'Neill, the speaker of the House.
When the Massachusetts Democrat arrived, Nancy Reagan
slipped out of the room and Friedersdorf retreated to a
corner of the suite where he could remain unobtrusive. ``Tip
got down on his knees next to the bed, and said a prayer for
the president, and he held his hand and kissed him and they
said a prayer together . . . the 23rd Psalm.
``The speaker stayed there quite a while. They never talked
too much. I just heard him say the prayer, then I heard him
say, `God bless you, Mr. President, we're all praying for
you.'
``The Speaker was crying. The president still, I think was
a little, he was obviously sedated, but I think he knew it
was the speaker because he said, `I appreciate your coming
down, Tip.' He held his hand, sat there by the bed, and held
his hand for a long [time].''
When I reached Friedersdorf last week at his retirement
home in Florida, I asked him how it happened that Reagan's
first guest was the leading Democrat on Capitol Hill.
``Well,'' he said, ``Tip was third in line of succession
[after the vice president] and the fact he was a Democrat
didn't bother anybody. We didn't even think about it. Tip had
been calling constantly to see how the president was doing.
And there was a bond there.
``I remember,'' Friedersdorf continued, ``the first dinner
the Reagans had in the private residence was for Tip and his
wife, and my wife and I were there. Tip and the president had
a drink or two and started swapping Irish stories.
``Often, after that, Tip would say pretty harsh things
about some of our legislative proposals, and the staff would
want Reagan to answer him. But they trusted each other, and
the president would say, `That's just Tip,' and let it go.''
I asked Friedersdorf if he could imagine that sort of
relationship flourishing now between the Republican president
and the top Democrats in Congress.
``Absolutely not,'' he said. Sadly, I think he is right.
Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Speaker, I commend the Chairman of the
Appropriations Committee, Mr. Lewis, and the Chairman of the Science,
Departments of State, Justice, and Commerce Subcommittee, Mr. Wolf, for
the expeditious consideration of this legislation. Without passage of
this legislation today, the disaster loan program of the Small Business
Administration would not be able to offer critical disaster loan
assistance to anyone across the nation after February 21. This
legislation is also budget neutral--it simply redirects $712 million
previously appropriated to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to
the SBA's disaster loan account. This bill does not create any new
spending. However, HR 4745 will enable the SBA to support about $4.8
billion in disaster loans to homeowners, renters, and businesses
through May 1 when the next Katrina-related supplemental is expected to
be completed.
This legislation is needed because SBA is, in a sense, a victim of
its own success. Despite all of the huge hurdles and unfair attacks the
SBA has received in recent weeks, the SBA has approved over $4.3
billion in disaster loans to more than 60,000 residents and business
owners in the Gulf States region in five and a half months--despite not
being able to get into the region until after the first month after
Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf coast. In comparison, it took the SBA
more than 12 months to approve a similar amount of disaster loans to
the victims of the Northridge Earthquake in California in 1994.
The SBA disaster loan program offers low-interest loans up to
$200,000 for homeowners and $1.5 million for small business owners in a
disaster area for those items not covered by insurance for the purpose
of long-term recovery. Most of the victims of Hurricanes Katrina and
Rita did not have flood insurance because they weren't in a designated
flood plain. Thus, the average size of a typical SBA disaster loan has
doubled for this event.
Combine this with the fact that this is the largest unprecedented
natural disaster ever to
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hit the United States, I trust that my colleagues can see why it is
very difficult to accurately predict exactly how much should be
appropriated for the SBA disaster loan program for an entire year.
I commend the hard work of the SBA and their disaster loan officers,
led by Administrator Hector Barreto and Associate Administrator Herb
Mitchell, in providing this record-amount of assistance to Gulf States
victims. I urge my colleagues to support HR 4745 so that these fine
public servants can continue their good work not just in the Gulf
States region but also for other parts of the United States that may
unfortunately be hit by a natural disaster in the coming weeks and
months.
Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, as a result of this Administration's failed
leadership and mismanagement of resources, H.R. 4745, Hurricane Katrina
Small Business Loan Supplemental is a corrective measure. The
supplemental funding needed is directly in response to the gross
incompetence and poor planning by the Bush Administration. This
proposed legislation comes on the heels of Congress providing more than
$400 million for Katrina disaster loans two months ago. This highlights
that the Small Business Administration is unable to accurately assess
the needs on the ground and funds that have already been allocated have
been mismanaged. Running out of disaster loans for Hurricane Katrina
victims is an embarrassment to this Administration and a slap in the
face to those who survived Hurricane Katrina. The facts are clear; the
Bush Administration is failing to help Gulf Coast residents rebuild
their homes and their lives.
Immediate assistance must be given to the region's local small
businesses. Currently, only 37 percent of Hurricane Katrina disaster
loan applications have been approved from a total of 280,000.
Furthermore, less than 10 percent of those loans approved have been
paid out. As it stands now, there is a backlog of 105,664 pending
applications. Congress must take action to ensure that this
mismanagement does not continue to compound the devastation of
Hurricane Katrina survivors. The Gulf Coast region is depending upon
swift deliberate action to revive its economy and put it on the road to
full recovery. However, the Bush Administration is steeped in
incompetence, mismanagement and cronyism.
Nearly 750,000 families remain displaced from their homes and are
paying the price for this Administrations lack of strong leadership.
Additionally, this administration has rejected the only bi-partisan
plan to rebuild Louisiana. The recent budget proposal indicates
misplaced priorities and seeks to slash funding for small businesses,
community development and rural development. These funds are precisely
what the Gulf Coast requires in order to rebuild. Furthermore, the
abuse and the fraud persist in this Administration regarding no-bid
contractual agreements which are not capable of rebuilding communities
effectively and efficiently in the Gulf Coast.
The Bush Administration has not met the needs of Katrina families,
small businesses and communities. To further compound this colossal
failure in leadership, the Republicans are refusing low-income energy
(LIHEAP) assistance funds today, even though home heating costs are up
and federal grants are down. Additionally, 12 states have already run
out of energy assistance, and some people may have their heat shut off
in the next month. I must underline that these are poor families that
are struggling to make ends-meat. Congress has cut home energy
assistance by $21 million, while the number of people applying for help
with their heating bills has reached a 12-year high. Families are
essentially paying 17 percent more this year for home heating and 67
percent more since this Administration took office. While millions of
Americans are cold at home, oil companies are reporting record profits
and Republicans are ensuring that this does not change.
It is clear that Democrats are moving to the beat of a different drum
than this Administration. We are committed to putting an end to the
corruption, mismanagement and poor leadership that has adversely
impacted Hurricane Katrina survivors.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R.
4745, but not without reservations. During the last 5 months the Small
Business Administration has issued $4.12 billion in disaster assistance
loans to homeowners and businesses in declared disaster areas,
processing 214,000 applications. It has approved approximately $1
billion in loans to businesses surviving the destructive attacks by
hurricanes in 2005.
On the surface it would appear that the SBA is performing well.
However, upon closer inspection, reports indicate, that in Louisiana,
the roughly 185,000 applications made on behalf of homeowners, a
shocking 60,000 were denied. The SBA is distributing a large amount of
aid, but that aid is not reaching all of those in serious need. This is
evident by the House Minority Small Business Committee's statement that
80% of overall disaster loans have been denied.
I bring these statistics to the forefront of my argument not to
completely admonish the agency, but to make the point that if we are to
appropriate more funds, they must be better distributed.
The administration's low interest rates on loans are necessary for
the reconstruction of the economy in Gulf Coast region, and vital if
any sense of stability is to be achieved. The denied applicants often
have no other sources of loans, unable to secure the necessary credit.
The interest rates are of particular importance and have increasingly
been coming under attack. The Bush administration has announced that as
part of its 2007 budget proposal that it would require recipients of
loans to pay higher interest rates after five years.
The SBA may be approving loans at an unprecedented rate, but it is
failing to sufficiently respond to the situation. The destruction
caused by the hurricanes occurred on an enormous scale, which is why
more funds should be appropriated to the organization only on the
condition that it make better use of those funds. The administration is
doing a disservice to potential recipients of aid by denying them the
resources that should be made available to them.
In the wake of these wide-scale disasters, we should not be cutting
funds, but rather focusing on better and wider-reaching distribution of
those funds and the waiving of restrictive regulations that prevent
help going to deserving Katrina and Rita survivors to bring relief to
those in need. I urge my colleagues to support the appropriation of
additional funds to the SBA, but with confidence that in the future the
SBA can make the necessary changes to ensure the widest distribution of
loans.
Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I rise today concerned that
H.R. 4745, legislation making a supplemental appropriation for the
Small Business Administration disaster loan program, is another example
of the continued mismanagement of the Gulf Coast recovery effort.
This $712 million supplemental comes before us today as we discover
that the SBA will completely run out of funding for disaster loans
sometime in the next week. It is clear that the $441 million previously
appropriated to this program was far from adequate to meet demand for
the loans. As a result, the SBA has approved only 37 percent of the
280,000 disaster loan applications the agency has received and is
facing a backlog of over 105,000 applications. Of the loans approved,
only 10 percent have been actually paid to the homeowners and small
businesses that are relying on this critical funding to rebuild their
livelihoods in the wake of this unprecedented natural disaster.
How this administration could so grossly underestimate the need for
these loans is beyond me. From the very beginning, the response by our
Government to this disaster has been wholly inadequate--and this
shortfall is just another sad example of the consequences of the poor
planning, lack of leadership and incompetence demonstrated in the wake
of Hurricane Katrina. Rebuilding the Gulf Coast is going to take a long
term commitment of will and resources by the Federal Government. Yet,
time and again, this administration has failed to level with Congress
and the American people on the full costs needed to support the
rebuilding effort.
The needs of the families, small business and communities of the Gulf
Coast are too important to be shortchanged by estimation errors or
budgetary gimmicks. I hope that any Katrina legislation this Congress
may consider in the next few months includes a full accounting of the
funding truly needed to meet our commitment to the Gulf Coast.
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I was told that I had one other Member who
wanted to speak, but she is detained in another meeting. So I think if
the gentleman is interested in yielding back the balance of his time,
we could do that on this side as well.
Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers.
I might mention that the gentleman and I, our ranking member, have been
working hard to try to bring ourselves together and go down and visit
the gulf coast. I think we are going to be able to accomplish that
sometime in the near term. It is on both of our agenda, but, in the
meantime, I have no additional speakers, and I yield back the balance
of my time.
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 4745.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of
those present have voted in the affirmative.
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
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The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this question will
be postponed.
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