[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 35 (Wednesday, March 9, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S1509]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. PRYOR (for himself and Ms. Snowe):
  S. 532. A bill to establish the Patriot Express Loan Program under 
which the Small Business Administration may make loans to members of 
the military community wanting to start or expand small business 
concerns, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Small Business 
and Entrepreneurship.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today to join with my friend and 
colleague, Senator Mark Pryor, in introducing the Patriot Express 
Authorization Act of 2011. This legislation codifies a critical Small 
Business Administration, SBA, lending program for America's veterans 
and Reservists, as well as their spouses.
  It is critical that we support our nation's veterans and, in 
particular, our service-members returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. 
Regrettably, the unemployment rate for veterans of these two wars is 
12.5 percent--a full 3.6 percent higher than the national unemployment 
rate for the overall population. Many of these brave men and women have 
aspirations of owning their own business, and I was proud to work with 
Senator Kerry to pass the Military Reservist and Veteran Small Business 
Reauthorization and Opportunity Act of 2008, which President George W. 
Bush signed into law three years ago. This legislation contains a 
number of provisions to help veterans and Reservists who own or are 
seeking to own a business, and created an Interagency Task Force on 
Veterans Small Business Development, which President Obama formed by 
Executive Order last spring, to assist veterans with government 
contracting and capital access opportunities in particular.
  One way the SBA has supported veteran entrepreneurs is through the 
Patriot Express Loan Initiative, which was established as a pilot 
program in 2007. According to the data from the SBA, Patriot Express 
supported nearly 7,000 loans totaling $560 million to small businesses 
owned and operated by eligible participants in just three and a half 
years. While the program was scheduled to expire in December, the SBA 
extended it for an additional three years, through 2013. That said, 
this legislation would provide certainty to the program by placing it 
in statute.
  Coupled with the counseling and training assistance provided by the 
SBA's Office of Veterans Business Development, the Patriot Express loan 
program is a signal to our nation's veterans, Reservists, service-
members, and their families that the Federal government takes seriously 
its obligation to give back for all they have done to defend our 
nation. These loans will help participants start or expand their firms, 
purchase equipment or inventory, and ultimately, create jobs. I am 
proud to cosponsor this legislation with Senator Pryor.
                                 ______