[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 111 (Tuesday, July 27, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H6097]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             TEMPORARY EXTENSION OF SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS

  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 5849) to provide for an additional temporary extension of 
programs under the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment 
Act of 1958, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5849

       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.

       (a) In General.--Section 1 of the Act entitled ``An Act to 
     extend temporarily certain authorities of the Small Business 
     Administration'', approved October 10, 2006 (Public Law 109-
     316; 120 Stat. 1742), as most recently amended by section 1 
     of Public Law 111-162 (124 Stat. 1129), is amended by 
     striking ``July 31, 2010'' each place it appears and 
     inserting ``September 30, 2010''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) 
     shall take effect on July 30, 2010.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
New York (Ms. Velazquez) and the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. 
Westmoreland) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  In every previous recession, small businesses have been central to 
our economic recovery. The Small Business Administration has an 
important role to play in giving businesses tools they need to succeed. 
Technical assistance programs operated by the SBA provide critical 
expertise in everything from writing a business plan, to finding new 
customers, to marketing a product.

                              {time}  1340

  While our Nation's financial landscape has improved, many small firms 
cannot find the financing they need. To bridge this gap, the agency's 
lending programs put over $15 billion into the economy, making them the 
single largest source of long-term capital. So that entrepreneurs can 
better tap into the Federal marketplace, there is also assistance to 
help businesses navigate our government's procurement process. Taken 
together, this portfolio of services can empower small businesses to 
create new jobs and accelerate our recovery.
  Since the start of this Congress, the House has passed 16 bills to 
strengthen and modernize the SBA initiatives. However, before these 
programs are fully updated, they must be extended. This legislation 
ensures these programs keep operating.
  I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WESTMORELAND. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the gentlelady from New York, 
the chairlady's request to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 5849, a bill 
to provide a 2-month extension of the Small Business Administration's 
core programs through September 30, 2010. The previous extension that 
passed last April will expire at the end of this week.
  In this tough economy, small businesses need all the help they can 
get. However, as the economic downturn has continued, entrepreneurs 
have lost the support they need from Congress and the administration to 
help them do what they do best--create jobs and opportunities. Instead 
of listening to the needs of the small business community, Congress has 
continued along with the destructive course of tax increases, 
government expansion, massive deficits, and job-killing regulations.
  Mr. Speaker, as we move toward extending these SBA programs, yet 
again a temporary effort to shore up our economy and small businesses, 
we must remember that uncertainty is the enemy of growth. Certain 
legislative and regulatory proposals that have been considered in 
Congress lately have injected a tremendous amount of certainty into our 
markets, uncertainty into our markets. This ambiguity creates unique 
difficulties for entrepreneurs. It makes them less willing to take 
risk, to expand operations, or hire new workers.
  Entrepreneurs have created nearly 70 percent of all new jobs in the 
U.S. in recent years. We can all agree that their contributions to our 
economy and job force will be what will lead us to our recovery. It's 
time to show our small business owners that we recognize and support 
this central role they play in our economy. We can do so by approving 
this temporary extension of SBA programs, and then we must continue our 
work by crafting and implementing a more thoughtful and complete 
reauthorization of these critical programs.
  I would also like to take this opportunity to commend the gentlelady 
from New York for her leadership in the small business committee. Her 
determination to work for the betterment of America's small businesses 
has allowed us to produce numerous pieces of bipartisan legislation 
that have reauthorized and modernized the SBA in these programs. 
Although we have not yet been able to successfully negotiate a 
compromise between our bills in what have previously passed the House 
and those that the Senate has passed, I remain confident that we will 
reach an agreement soon and look forward to working with the chairwoman 
to that end.
  Again, I thank the chairwoman for her leadership and support her 
request to pass H.R. 5849, and I urge all Members to vote for the 
measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. 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. 5849.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________