[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 130 (Tuesday, September 6, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5342-S5343]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Ms. LANDRIEU:
S. 1511. A bill to extend the participation term for small business
concerns affected by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita in certain
programs, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Small Business
and Entrepreneurship.
Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to speak on an
issue that is of great importance to my home State of Louisiana:
disaster recovery. As you know, along the Gulf Coast, we keep an eye
trained on the Gulf of Mexico during hurricane season. This is
following the devastating one-two punch of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
of 2005; Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008; and more recently the
Deepwater Horizon disaster. Our communities and businesses are still
recovering from these disasters--some from a disaster that devastated
the Gulf Coast over 6 years ago. For this reason, as Chair of the
Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship disaster
preparedness is one of my top priorities. While the Gulf Coast is prone
to hurricanes, other parts of the country are no strangers to disaster
as we have seen recently. For example, we just saw an earthquake strike
Washington, DC, and Hurricane Irene work its way up the East Coast. In
general though, the Midwest also has annual tornadoes, California
experiences earthquakes and wildfires, and the Northeast sees crippling
snowstorms. So no part of our country is spared from disasters--
disasters which can and will strike at any moment. With this in mind,
we must ensure that the Federal Government is better prepared and
assist those businesses impacted by natural disasters.
As I mentioned, everyone around the country is familiar with the
impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on the New Orleans area and the
southeast part of our State. Images from the devastation following
these storms, and the subsequent Federal levee breaks, were transmitted
around the country and around the world. This is because Katrina was
the deadliest natural disaster in United States history, with 1,800
people killed--1,500 alone in Louisiana. Katrina was also the costliest
natural disaster in United States history with over $81.2 billion in
damage. In Louisiana, we had 18,000 businesses catastrophically
destroyed and 81,000 businesses economically impacted. I believe that,
across the entire Gulf Coast, some estimates ran as high as 125,000
businesses impacted by Katrina and Rita. While we have made significant
progress in rebuilding infrastructure, housing, and our economy, I
continue to hear from individual business owners who are struggling to
fully recover. These business owners tell me that they have not been
hit by one disaster but three: Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Hurricane
Gustav in 2008, and the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010.
In order to help ongoing recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast, I am
introducing today the Gulf Coast Disadvantaged Business Relief Act of
2011. This legislation is the Senate companion bill to H.R. 2808
introduced by my colleague Representative Cedric Richmond last month. I
note that his legislation also had two original cosponsors from Alabama
and Mississippi: Representative Terri Sewell and Representative Bennie
Thompson.
This bill focuses on assisting minority businesses in the Gulf Coast
that were impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Everyone is familiar
with the images and the cost of these storms,
[[Page S5343]]
but they may not be too familiar with the impact on individual
businesses. In particular, I am speaking about the affects of
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on minority firms in the Gulf Coast. As a
result of these storms, many minority firms in the Gulf Coast were
disrupted and thus lost valuable time for participating in the 8(a)
program. The 8(a) business development initiative, created under the
Small Business Administration, helps minority entrepreneurs access
Federal contracts and allows companies to be certified for increments
of 3 years. These contracts are vital to the revival of these impacted
areas. However, as currently structured the program allows businesses
to participate for a limited length of time, 9 years, after which they
can never re-apply nor get back into the program. It is imperative that
we provide contracting assistance to our local minority businesses.
The bill includes a provision which would tackle this problem in
three important ways. First, the bill extends 8(a) eligibility for
program participants in Katrina/Rita-impacted areas in Louisiana,
Mississippi, and Alabama by 24 months. The bill would also apply to any
areas in the state of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama that have been
designated by the administrator of the Small Business Administration as
a disaster area as a result of Hurricanes Katrina or Rita. Lastly, the
bill would require the administrator of the Small Business
Administration to ensure that every small business participating in the
8(a) program before the date of enactment of the Act is reviewed and
brought into compliance with this act. This requirement would ensure
that any eligible previous 8(a) participants will be allowed back into
the program. As such, these key provisions would ensure that these
businesses continue to play a vital role in rebuilding their
communities. I note that I introduced a similar provision as part of S.
3285, the disadvantaged Business Disaster Eligibility Act during the
110th Congress and as part of S. 2731 last Congress. During the 109th
Congress, this proposal passed the House of Representatives but we were
unable to pass the legislation here in the Senate before we adjourned
for the year. I look forward to renewing my fight this Congress as I
believe that this is a commonsense proposal which would not cost a
great deal. It would, however, make a huge difference for these
businesses impacted by Katrina and Rita.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be
printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 1511
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Gulf Coast Disadvantaged
Business Relief Act of 2011''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act--
(1) the term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of
the Small Business Administration;
(2) the term ``covered parish or county'' means a parish in
the State of Louisiana, or a county in the State of
Mississippi or the State of Alabama, that has been designated
by the Administrator as a disaster area by reason of
Hurricane Katrina of 2005 or Hurricane Rita of 2005 under
disaster declaration 10176, 10177, 10178, 10179, 10180,
10181, 10205, or 10206; and
(3) the term ``small business concern'' has the meaning
given that term under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 632).
SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF PARTICIPATION TERM FOR VICTIMS OF
HURRICANE KATRINA OR HURRICANE RITA.
(a) Retroactivity.--If a small business concern, while
participating in any program or activity under the authority
of section 7(j)(10) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
636(j)(10)), was located in a covered parish or county and
was affected by Hurricane Katrina of 2005 or Hurricane Rita
of 2005, the period during which the small business concern
is permitted continuing participation and eligibility in the
program or activity shall be extended for 24 months after the
date such participation and eligibility would otherwise
terminate.
(b) Review and Compliance.--The Administrator shall ensure
that the case of every small business concern participating
before the date of enactment of this Act in a program or
activity described in subsection (a) is reviewed and brought
into compliance with this Act.
____________________