[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 17, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H582-H584]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TEMPORARY EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF PROGRAMS UNDER SMALL BUSINESS
ACT AND SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT ACT OF 1958
Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 434) to provide for an additional temporary extension of
programs under the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment
Act of 1958 through December 31, 2007, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 434
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. ADDITIONAL TEMPORARY EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF
PROGRAMS UNDER THE SMALL BUSINESS ACT AND THE
SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT ACT OF 1958.
The authorization for any program, authority, or provision,
including any pilot program, that was extended through
February 2, 2007, by section 1 of Public Law 109-
[[Page H583]]
316 is further extended through December 31, 2007, under the
same terms and conditions.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
New York (Ms. Velazquez) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New York.
Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, the legislation being offered today will extend the
authorization of the Small Business Administration and its programs.
This short-term extension will ensure that small businesses have many
of the tools that they need to be successful in today's economy. As the
current authorization is set to expire in February, it will ensure that
programs can operate through the end of the calendar year while
Congress considers legislative changes.
The 109th Congress adjourned without making the necessary changes to
get the SBA and its programs running efficiently and effectively.
Clearly, a lot of work needs to be done to ensure that the Small
Business Administration can adequately respond to the needs of small
businesses. Today we have an opportunity to give Congress time to
review, evaluate and, if need be, modernize the Small Business
Administration programs.
I want to commend Congressman Chabot, the Small Business Committee's
new ranking member, for recognizing these issues and working with me to
expedite them.
For many entrepreneurs across the country, SBA programs are the
difference between success and failure. Our Nation's 24 million small
businesses often rely on these programs for affordable financing and
entrepreneurial training, as well as assistance in accessing the
Federal marketplace. Given the importance and the significant impact
that SBA has on our Nation's entrepreneurs, it is our duty to
thoroughly review and assess the SBA and its programs. This is
especially true in light of the fact that there have been no major
changes in over 6 years. We need to make sure that SBA is able to meet
the needs of small businesses in the 21st century economy.
The administration asks for this extension, recognizing the time
needed to evaluate the structure, programs and possible modifications
that need to be made agency-wide.
The short-term extension that H.R. 434 provides would allow us to
hold hearings on various topics and examine each of the issues brought
forth by the SBA. Most importantly, it will give us the opportunity to
draft a bipartisan bill that has each Member's input. Small businesses,
the Nation's largest job creator, deserve nothing less than our full
commitment to ensuring that they can be successful.
I urge Members to support H.R. 434, to ensure that this Nation's
entrepreneurs have access to all of the resources they need to grow and
expand their businesses.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, this bill simply extends all the programs, including
pilot programs, the authorities or provisions of the Small Business Act
and the Small Business Investment Act as they are presently constituted
until the end of this year. Currently, the programs and authorities of
the Small Business Administration expire on February 2. Passage of this
bill will give the committee the time necessary to work in a bipartisan
manner on a more comprehensive Small Business Administration
reauthorization bill during the rest of this session.
I am pleased to enclose for the Record a letter dated January 8,
2007, from the administrator of the SBA, Steven Preston, endorsing a
longer-term extension of the authorities of the SBA.
U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of the
Administrator,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Steve Chabot,
Ranking Member, Committee on Small Business, House of
Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Congressman Chabot: I am writing to you regarding the
authorization of the U.S. Small Business Administration's
(SBA) programs for fiscal year 2007. As you know, those
programs were temporarily extended by Public Law 109-316.
That authorization is due to expire on February 2, 2007.
While SBA's major loan programs will still function without
that express authorization several other important
authorizations will expire. These include SBA's co-
sponsorship authority which enables our district offices to
conduct much of their outreach and assistance functions.
Therefore, rather than place the SBA in the unfortunate
position of suspending the operation of these programs, I ask
that you and your colleagues extend the authorization of
SBA's programs through the end of fiscal 2007. Continuing the
current authorization without any further amendment will
prevent any interruption in the services of the SBA and allow
SBA and Congress to work unimpeded on multi-year
authorization legislation.
Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. If
you or your staff have any questions please contact C.E.
``Tee'' Rowe in our Office of Congressional and Legislative
Affairs at (202) 205-6703.
Sincerely yours,
Steven C. Preston.
Mr. Speaker, many of the programs of the SBA do not operate under a
direct appropriation. This includes the 7(a) General Business Loan
Guarantee Program, the Certified Development Company Program and the
Small Business Investment Company Program. Passage of this bill will
make it absolutely certain that there is no legal ambiguity as to
whether or not the Federal Government can continue to guarantee these
critical loan and debenture programs for the rest of this year.
In addition, this bill would extend the authority of the Small
Business Administration to operate several smaller programs, including
grants to small business development centers to participate in the
Drug-Free Workplace Program, sustainability funding for women business
centers, the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Pilot Program, the New Markets
Venture Capital Program, and BusinessLinc. It would also extend the
SBA's cosponsorship and gift authority, which enables the SBA to accept
private donations to help put on events or print publications, thus
saving the taxpayer substantial dollars. Finally, H.R. 434 gives the
SBA all the authority it needs to continue the operations of the
Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs.
Mr. Speaker, this bill is quite simple. It contains the exact same
language, with only the dates changed, that was signed into law four
times in the 108th Congress. It was also passed one time in 2006 when
Congress confronted the same problem during previous efforts to pass an
SBA reauthorization bill into law.
Extending the authorities of the SBA until December 31 of this year
will give the Small Business Committee unimpeded time to develop a
comprehensive SBA reauthorization bill without having to confront every
few weeks another expiration deadline.
I look forward to working in a bipartisan manner with Chairwoman
Velazquez and other committee members to produce a good, fiscally
responsible reauthorization bill that can eventually be signed into law
by the President. I especially want to thank the graciousness of
Chairwoman Velazquez for agreeing to bring up this bill in such an
expeditious manner, and look forward to working with her in the
upcoming session of Congress.
I want to emphasize what the chairwoman said about the importance of
small business to our country. After all, about 99 percent of the
businesses in this country have fewer than 500 employees, which by
definition means they are small business, and 60 to 80 percent of new
jobs in this country are created by these small businesses. Oftentimes
the regulations, the taxation, the litigation, there are a whole range
of problems which they have to bear.
Mr. Speaker, I hope that we can over the next 2 years work in a
bipartisan manner in order to help small businesses. It is really not a
Democrat or Republican issue, it is an issue which benefits all
Americans. So I think this is especially a committee in which I think
bipartisanship is called for, and I am optimistic we will be able to do
that.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 434, so that our
Nation's small businesses will see no interruption of service from the
SBA over the next 11 months while Congress works uninterrupted on a
comprehensive reauthorization bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
[[Page H584]]
Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, so I yield
back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 434.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of
those voting have responded in the affirmative.
Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
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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