[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 29 (Thursday, February 28, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1019-S1024]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. LANDRIEU (for herself, Mr. Cochran, Mrs. Gillibrand, and 
        Mr. Pryor):
  S. 415. A bill to clarify the collateral requirement for certain 
loans under section 7(d) of the Small Business Act, to address 
assistance to out-of-State small business concerns, 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: 
Federal disaster assistance. 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

[[Page S1020]]

Katrina and Rita of 2005 as well as Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008. 
Unfortunately, our region also has had to deal with the economic and 
environmental damage from the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010 and 
more recently Hurricane Isaac. For this reason, as Chair of the Senate 
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship ensuring Federal 
disaster programs are effective and responsive to disaster victims is 
one of my top priorities. While the Gulf Coast is prone to hurricanes, 
other parts of the country are no strangers to disaster. For example, 
the Midwest has 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. This certainly hit home when the northeast was 
struck by Hurricane Sandy in October of last year. With this in mind, 
we must ensure that the Federal government is better prepared and has 
the tools necessary to respond quickly, effectively following a 
disaster.
  In order to give the U.S. Small Business Administration, SBA, better 
tools to respond after a future disaster, I am proud that to file the 
Small Business Disaster Reform Act of 2013. I want to thank my 
colleague Senator Thad Cochran for cosponsoring the bill and for 
helping me to make improvements. I am also appreciative that Senator 
Kirsten Gillibrand and Senator Mark Pryor also have cosponsored the 
legislation. This bill will make two important improvements to SBA's 
disaster assistance programs for businesses. The first provision builds 
off of SBA disaster reforms enacted in 2008 and ensures that SBA is 
responsive to the needs of small businesses seeking smaller amounts of 
disaster assistance. These are the businesses that are burdened the 
most by liens on their primary personal residential homes when they 
could conceivably provide sufficient business assets as collateral for 
the loan. The second provision in the bill also authorizes the SBA 
Administrator to allow out-of-state Small Business Development Centers, 
SBDCs, to provide assistance in to small businesses located in 
Presidentially-declared disaster areas. This provision removes a 
limitation that, for disasters such as Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane 
Sandy, would allow experienced SBDC counselors to come in to a disaster 
area while local SBDCs are being stood back up following a catastrophic 
disaster. Lastly, to ensure that out-of-state SBDCs are not left paying 
out of pocket for assisting in these disaster areas, there also is 
legislative language in Section 4 encouraging the SBA to ensure it 
reimburses SBDCs for these disaster-related expenses provided they were 
legitimate and there are funds available to do so.
  In particular, Section 2 of the bill that I am filing today would 
clarify that, for SBA disaster business loans less than $200,000 that 
SBA is required to utilize assets other than the primary residence if 
those assets are available to use as collateral towards the loan. The 
bill is very clear though that these assets should be of equal or 
greater value than the amount of the loan. Also, to ensure that this is 
a targeted improvement, the bill also includes additional language that 
this bill in no way requires SBA to reduce the amount or quality of 
collateral it seeks on these types of loans. I want to especially thank 
my former Ranking Member Olympia Snowe for working with me to improve 
upon previous legislation on this particular issue. The provision that 
I am re-introducing, as part of this disaster legislation, is a direct 
result of discussions with both her and other stakeholders late last 
year. I believe that this bill is better because of improvements that 
came out of these productive discussions.
  I note that this provision is similar to Section 204 of S. 2731, the 
Small Business Administration Disaster Recovery and Reform Act of 2009 
that Senator Bill Nelson and I introduced during the 111th Congress. A 
similar provision also passed the House of Representatives twice that 
Congress. H.R. 3854, which included a modified collateral requirement 
under Section 801, passed the House on October 29, 2009 by a vote of 
389-32. The provision also passed the House again on November 6, 2009 
by a voice vote as Section 2 of H.R. 3743. During the 112th Congress, 
this provision passed the Senate on December 28, 2012 by a vote of 62-
32 as part of H.R. 1, the Senate-passed Disaster Relief Appropriations 
Act. However, it was not included in H.R. 152, the House-passed 
Disaster Relief Appropriations Act that subsequently was enacted into 
law. Despite the setback earlier this year, I remind my colleagues that 
this provision has a history of bipartisan Congressional support and 
has previously passed both chambers of Congress.
  Section 2 addresses a key issue that is serving as a roadblock to 
business owners interested in applying for smaller SBA disaster loans. 
After the multiple disasters that hit the Gulf Coast, my staff has 
consistently heard from business owners, discouraged from applying for 
SBA disaster loans. When we have inquired further on the main reasons 
behind this hesitation, the top concern related to SBA requiring 
business owners to put up their personal home as collateral for smaller 
SBA disaster loans for their business. This requirement is 
understandable for large loans between $750,000 and $2 million. 
However, business owners complained about this requirement being 
instituted for loans of $200,000 or less. I can understand their 
frustration. Business owners, in many cases who have just lost 
everything, are applying to SBA for a $150,000 loan for their business. 
SBA then responds by asking them to put up their $400,000 personal home 
as collateral when the business may have sufficient business assets 
available to collateralize the loan. While I also understand the need 
for SBA to secure the loans, make the program cost effective, and 
minimize risk to the taxpayer, SBA has at its disposal multiple ways to 
secure loans.
  Furthermore, SBA has repeatedly said publicly and in testimony before 
my committee that it will not decline a borrower for a lack of 
collateral. According to a July 14, 2010 correspondence between SBA and 
my office, the agency notes that ``SBA is an aggressive lender and its 
credit thresholds are well below traditional bank standards . . . SBA 
does not decline loans for insufficient collateral.'' SBA's current 
practice of making loans is based upon an individual/business 
demonstrating the ability to repay and income. The agency declines 
borrowers for an inability to repay the loan. In regards to collateral, 
SBA follows traditional lending practices that seek the ``best 
available collateral.'' Collateral is required for physical loans over 
$14,000 and Economic Injury Disaster Loans, EIDL, loans over $5,000. 
SBA takes real estate as collateral when it is available, but as I 
stated, the agency will not decline a loan for lack of collateral. 
Instead it requires borrowers to pledge what is available. However, in 
practice, SBA is requiring borrowers to put up a personal residence 
worth $300,000 or $400,000 for a business loan of $200,000 or less when 
there are other assets available for SBA.
  This provision does not substantively change SBA's current lending 
practices and it will not have a significant cost. I believe that this 
legislation would not trigger direct spending nor would it have a 
significant impact on the subsidy rate for SBA disaster loans. 
Currently for every $1 loaned out, it costs approximately 10 cents on 
the dollar. Most importantly, this bill will greatly improve the SBA 
disaster loan programs for businesses ahead of future disasters. If a 
business comes to the SBA for a loan of less than $200,000 to make 
immediate repairs or secure working capital, they can be assured that 
they will not have to put up their personal home if SBA determines that 
the business has other assets to go towards the loan. However, if 
businesses seek larger loans than $200,000 or if their business assets 
are not suitable collateral, then the current requirements will still 
apply. This ensures that very small businesses and businesses seeking 
smaller amounts of recovery loans are able to secure these loans 
without significant burdens on their personal property. For the 
business owners we have spoken to, this provides some badly needed 
clarity to one of the Federal government's primary tools for responding 
to disasters.
  To be clear though, while I do not want to see SBA tie up too much of 
a business' collateral, I also believe that if a business is willing 
and able to put up business assets towards its disaster loan, SBA 
should consider that first before attempting to bring in personal

[[Page S1021]]

residences. It is unreasonable for SBA to ask business owners operating 
in very different business environments post-disaster to jeopardize not 
just their business but also their home. Loans of $200,000 or less are 
also the loans most likely to be repaid by the business so personal 
homes should be collateral of last resort in instances where a business 
can demonstrate the ability to repay the loan and that it has other 
assets.
  As previously mentioned, there are also safeguards in the provision 
that ensures that this provision will not reduce the quality of 
collateral required by SBA for these disaster loans nor will it reduce 
the quality of the SBA's general collateral requirements. These changes 
will assist the SBA in cutting down on waste, fraud and abuse of these 
legislative reforms. In order to further assist the SBA, I believe it 
is important to clarify what types of business assets we understand 
they should review. For example, I understand that SBA's current 
lending practices consider the following business assets as suitable 
collateral: commercial real estate; machinery and equipment; business 
inventory; and furniture and fixtures.
  Section 3 of this bill removes an unnecessary prohibition in the 
Small Business Act that currently prohibits SBDCs from other states to 
help out in areas impacted by disasters. In particular, this provision 
authorizes the SBA Administrator to allow out-of-state SBDCs to provide 
assistance in to small businesses located in Presidentially-declared 
disaster areas. This is because, as you may know, SBDCs are considered 
to be the backbone of the SBA's Office of Entrepreneurial Development 
efforts, and are the largest of the agency's OED programs. SBDCs are 
the university based resource partners that provide counseling and 
training needs for more than 600,000 business clients annually. From 
2007 to 2008, the counseling and technical assistance services they 
offered lead to the creation of 58,501 new jobs, at a cost of $3,462 
per job. Additionally, they estimate that their counseling services 
helped to save 88,889 jobs. These centers are even more critical 
following natural or manmade disasters. That is because SBDCs help 
impacted businesses in navigating Federal disaster programs, insurance 
programs, and in creating new business plans following a disaster. For 
that reason, we must ensure that there is continuity to have SBDC 
counselors on the ground in disaster areas.
  For example, right after Hurricane Katrina our SBDCs in Louisiana 
were severely limited in what they could do because of the widespread 
damage to homes and facilities utilized by their counselors. On the 
other hand, their counterparts at the Florida SBDCs had a wealth of 
disaster expertise and were willing to assist but were prohibited from 
providing assistance to small businesses outside their geographic area. 
In 2012, we experienced similar challenges following Hurricane Sandy 
but SBDCs in Louisiana, Florida or elsewhere were prohibited from 
helping their counterparts in the Northeast even if they wanted to help 
recovery in New York or New Jersey and doing so would not impact their 
operations back home. For smaller scale disasters, local SBDCs will 
respond to disasters in their own areas. However, for large scale, 
catastrophic disasters, this provision could make a significant 
difference for impacted small businesses.
  In fact, on December 13, 2012, my committee received excellent 
testimony from Jim King, Chair of the Association of Small Business 
Development Centers, ASBDCs, and State Director of New York State Small 
Business Development Center. Mr. King outlined the symbiotic 
relationship between different SBDC state chapters and how they 
currently assist each other after disasters. He specifically noted 
that, ``I was also privileged to have the opportunity to work with the 
SBDC in Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and visited New 
Orleans as one of five State Directors invited to share thoughts with 
my counterpart there, Mary Lynn Wilkerson, to evolve a strategy for 
recovery. I should note that Mary Lynn has returned the favor many 
times over since Hurricane Sandy devastated our area, with materials, 
information and support, which has been greatly appreciated.'' He also 
later noted that ``Starting almost immediately after the disaster, 
staff in other states and programs began reaching out with offers of 
assistance and words or experiences of support . . . The experiences 
gained from disasters in Florida, Texas, Colorado, Louisiana and many 
other places reinforce the value of the SBDC network in meeting the 
needs of small business in times of disaster.'' I believe that these 
current relationships will be further strengthened by enacting this 
legislation. C.E. ``Tee'' Rowe, President/CEO of ASBDC noted this in 
his February 10, 2013 letter to my office, noting that, ``Allowing 
SBDCs to share resources across state lines or other boundaries for the 
purposes of disaster recovery is a common sense proposal, little 
different from utilities sharing linemen.'' At the same time, however, 
I encourage SBDC chapters across the country to establish more of these 
partnerships pre-disaster so that their SBDC counterparts can be there 
post-disaster. SBDC chapters that are, unfortunately, battle hardened 
from multiple disasters should not be the only chapters that bear fruit 
from these partnerships with their counterparts.
  Furthermore, I note that Section 3 of the bill has previously been 
passed out of committee and has been approved by the full Senate during 
past sessions of Congress. So this provision has a strong record of 
bipartisan support. During the 110th Congress, this provision was 
approved unanimously by the Small Business and Entrepreneurship 
Committee on May 7, 2007 as Section 104 of S. 163, the ``Small Business 
Disaster Response and Loan Improvements Act of 2007.'' S. 163 was 
subsequently passed by the full Senate by unanimous consent on August 
3, 2007. Unfortunately, this provision was not enacted into law before 
the adjournment of the 110th Congress. In the 111th Congress, this 
provision was again approved unanimously by the Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship Committee on July 2, 2009 as Section 607 of S. 1229, 
the ``Entrepreneurial Development Act of 2009'' but was not enacted 
into law before the adjournment of that Congress. Lastly, during the 
112th Congress, the provision received 57 strong bipartisan votes on 
July 12, 2012 as Section 433 of Senate Amendment 2521 to S. 2237, the 
``Small Business Jobs and Tax Relief Act of 2012.'' My Republican 
colleagues Senators Snowe, Collins, Vitter, Scott Brown, and Heller all 
voted in support of the amendment. Although it was not ultimately 
enacted into law, the provision was subsequently included in separate 
pieces of legislation introduced by Senator Olympia Snowe and myself. 
This provision was included as Section 433 of S. 3442, the ``SUCCESS 
Act of 2012'' that I introduced on July 25, 2012 as well as Section 433 
of S. 3572, the ``Restoring Tax and Regulatory Certainty to Small 
Business Act of 2012'' that Senator Snowe introduced on September 9, 
2012.
  Lastly, Section 4 is a new provision that I worked with my colleague 
Senator Cochran to include in the legislation. This section addresses 
past instances where SBDCs were not sufficiently reimbursed post-
disaster by the SBA for disaster-related expenses. Section 3 provides 
clear Congressional intent that, in authorizing the SBA to allow out-
of-state SBDCs to assist in disaster areas outside their geographic 
location, the agency must also ensure that out-of-state SBDCs are not 
left paying out of pocket for assisting in these disaster areas. If the 
SBA approves for these SBDCs to deploy staff or resources to a disaster 
area, the agency must in turn ensure that it reimburses SBDCs for these 
expenses provided they were legitimate and there are funds available to 
do so. I thank Senator Cochran for bringing this to my attention on 
behalf of his local SBDCs, and look forward to working closely with him 
to enact this provision into law.
  In closing, I believe that these commonsense disaster reforms will 
greatly benefit businesses impacted by future disasters. First, the 
major proposals in this legislation are neither new nor untested. Next, 
this approach has already received support from the following groups 
from across the country: the Association of Small Business Development 
Centers, the International Economic Development Council, the Southwest 
Louisiana Economic Development Alliance, the St. Tammany Economic 
Development Foundation, the Northeast Louisiana Economic

[[Page S1022]]

Partnership, and the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership. With that 
in mind, the Senate should not make the perfect the enemy of the good. 
If we can make these reforms today and help one business impacted by a 
disaster tomorrow, we will have done what our constituents sent us here 
to do: make good laws.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill and 
letters of support be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 415

       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 ``Small Business Disaster 
     Reform Act of 2013''.

     SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF COLLATERAL REQUIREMENTS.

       Section 7(d)(6) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
     636(d)(6)) is amended by inserting after ``which are made 
     under paragraph (1) of subsection (b)'' the following: ``: 
     Provided further, That the Administrator, in obtaining the 
     best available collateral for a loan of not more than 
     $200,000 under paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (b) 
     relating to damage to or destruction of the property of, or 
     economic injury to, a small business concern, shall not 
     require the owner of the small business concern to use the 
     primary residence of the owner as collateral if the 
     Administrator determines that the owner has other assets with 
     a value equal to or greater than the amount of the loan that 
     could be used as collateral for the loan: Provided further, 
     That nothing in the preceding proviso may be construed to 
     reduce the amount of collateral required by the Administrator 
     in connection with a loan described in the preceding proviso 
     or to modify the standards used to evaluate the quality 
     (rather than the type) of such collateral''.

     SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE TO OUT-OF-STATE SMALL BUSINESSES.

       Section 21(b)(3) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
     648(b)(3)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``(3) At the discretion'' and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(3) Assistance to out-of-state small businesses.--
       ``(A) In general.--At the discretion''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(B) Disaster recovery assistance.--
       ``(i) In general.--At the discretion of the Administrator, 
     the Administrator may authorize a small business development 
     center to provide assistance, as described in subsection (c), 
     to a small business concern located outside of the State, 
     without regard to geographic proximity, if the small business 
     concern is located in an area for which the President has 
     declared a major disaster under section 401 of the Robert T. 
     Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
     U.S.C. 5170), during the period of the declaration.
       ``(ii) Continuity of services.--A small business 
     development center that provides counselors to an area 
     described in clause (i) shall, to the maximum extent 
     practicable, ensure continuity of services in any State in 
     which the small business development center otherwise 
     provides services.
       ``(iii) Access to disaster recovery facilities.--For 
     purposes of this subparagraph, the Administrator shall, to 
     the maximum extent practicable, permit the personnel of a 
     small business development center to use any site or facility 
     designated by the Administrator for use to provide disaster 
     recovery assistance.''.

     SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       It is the sense of Congress that, subject to the 
     availability of funds, the Administrator of the Small 
     Business Administration shall, to the extent practicable, 
     ensure that a small business development center is 
     appropriately reimbursed for any legitimate expenses incurred 
     in carrying out activities under section 21(b)(3)(B) of the 
     Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(b)(3)(B)), as added by this 
     Act.
                                     Association of Small Business


                                          Development Centers,

                                     Burke, VA, February 10, 2013.
     Hon. Mary Landrieu,
     Chair, Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, U.S. 
         Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Landrieu: Thank you for giving the Association 
     of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC) the opportunity 
     to comment on your proposed legislative amendments to the 
     disaster assistance provisions in the Small Business Act (15 
     USC 631 et seq.).
       While Congress has taken a significant step in addressing 
     the resource issues following Sandy and other disasters there 
     are still restrictions in the SBDC assistance authority and 
     the US Small Business Administration's loan making authority 
     that could complicate future disaster recovery efforts. We 
     applaud your efforts to deal with those issues.
       Under section 21(b)(3) of the Small Business Act (15 USC 
     648(b)(3)) SBDCs are limited in their ability to provide 
     services across state lines. This prevents SBDCs dealing with 
     disaster recovery, like New York and New Jersey, from being 
     able to draw upon the resources available in our nationwide 
     network of nearly 1,000 centers with over 4,500 business 
     advisors. It likewise prevents states with great experience 
     in disaster recovery assistance like Louisiana and Florida, 
     from providing assistance to their colleagues.
       Your proposed legislation amends that SBDC geographic 
     service restriction for the purposes of providing disaster 
     support and assistance. Our Association wholeheartedly 
     endorses that change. Allowing SBDCs to share resources 
     across state lines or other boundaries for the purpose of 
     disaster recovery is a common sense proposal, little 
     different from utilities sharing linemen. In addition, we 
     would like to note that this provision has been supported by 
     the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 
     twice in previous Congresses.
       In addition, the ASBDC wishes to express its support for 
     your proposals to amend the collateral requirements in the 
     disaster loan program for loans under $200,000. SBDCs 
     routinely assist small business owners with their 
     applications for disaster loan assistance and have often 
     faced clients with qualms about some of those requirements.
       We share a common goal of putting small business on the 
     road to recovery after disaster strikes and getting capital 
     flowing is a key factor in meeting that goal. To that end, 
     ASBDC supports your efforts to ease collateral requirements 
     and help improve the flow of disaster funds to small business 
     applicants. We believe your proposal to limit the use of 
     personal homes as collateral on smaller loans is consistent 
     with the need to get capital flowing to affected businesses 
     and ease the stress on these businesses. We also agree that 
     this change will not undermine the underwriting standards of 
     the disaster loan program.
       Thank you again for kind attention and continuing support 
     of small business.
           Sincerely,
                                                C.E. ``Tee'' Rowe,
     President/CEO, ASBDC.
                                  ____

                                            International Economic


                                          Development Council,

                                Washington, DC, February 13, 2013.
     Hon. Mary L. Landrieu,
     Chair, Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, U.S. 
         Senate.
     Hon. James E. Risch,
     Ranking Member, Committee on Small Business and 
         Entrepreneurship, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Landrieu and Senator Risch: On behalf of the 
     International Economic Development Council (IEDC), please 
     accept our appreciation for this opportunity to provide 
     comments related to proposed changes to federal disaster 
     assistance programs offered by the United States Small 
     Business Administration (SBA). Your continuing support of 
     these critical programs is worthy of praise and we thank you 
     for your leadership.
       IEDC has a strong history of supporting disaster planning 
     and recovery. Our organization, with a membership of over 
     4,000 dedicated professionals, responded to communities in 
     need following the 2005 hurricane season, the BP Gulf oil 
     spill and other disaster-related incidents by providing 
     economic development recovery assistance. We have continued 
     our work in this area through technical assistance projects 
     and partnerships with federal agencies and other non-
     governmental organizations. Our profession is invested in 
     helping our country prepare for and respond to disasters, 
     much the same as you and your colleagues on the Committee on 
     Small Business and Entrepreneurship. To this end, we support 
     proposed changes that will allow SBA to more effectively 
     deliver disaster recovery assistance to local businesses in 
     need of federal aid.
       Rebuilding the local economy must be a top priority 
     following a disaster, second only to saving lives and homes. 
     IEDC supports the targeted changing of the current collateral 
     requirements that state a business owner must place their 
     home up as collateral in order to secure an SBA disaster 
     business loan of $200,000 or less. In times of crisis, 
     affected business owners are understandably reluctant to 
     place their personal homes up as collateral in order to 
     obtain a much needed loan to rebuild their business. 
     Consequently, SBA loans put in place to help businesses 
     rebuild following a disaster go underutilized. As lawmakers, 
     you have a responsibility to protect the taxpayer, which is 
     why we understand the need for posting collateral of equal or 
     greater value to the amount of the loan. The proposed 
     targeted change that eliminates the specific requirement of 
     using a home as collateral to guarantee a loan of $200,000 or 
     less, and instead allowing business assets to act as 
     collateral, will promote greater utilization of the loans. 
     This is an idea we can all get behind; one that will lead to 
     greater, faster economic recovery.
       When disaster strikes, we should do everything in our power 
     to bring the full resources of the federal government to bear 
     in the impacted community. This includes, most especially, 
     bringing in top experts who can immediately begin helping 
     businesses and local economies recover. The national network 
     of over 1,100 Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) could 
     be an excellent resource to stricken communities. 
     Unfortunately, current rules prevent SBDC's from assisting 
     their counterparts in other jurisdictions. For example, those 
     communities in the mid-Atlantic and New England impacted by 
     Sandy are not able to benefit from the enormous

[[Page S1023]]

     amount of knowledge and experience in storm recovery held by 
     SBDCs in Florida and the Gulf region. Certainly, we can all 
     agree that disasters warrant an extraordinary response and 
     that response must include qualified expertise from all 
     corners of the federal government.
       Forty to sixty percent of small businesses that close as a 
     result of a disaster do not reopen. This is an unacceptably 
     high number. We would not accept that level of loss in homes 
     and we cannot accept that level of loss in jobs; our 
     communities cannot sustain such losses and duty dictates we 
     make certain they don't have to. By enacting common sense 
     legislation, like that which is under consideration here, and 
     freeing the flow of capital and expertise, we are taking 
     concrete steps to give our small businesses and local 
     economies the greatest chance to recover.
       IEDC is your partner in the work of job creation. We thank 
     you for your leadership in support of small business and 
     stand ready to offer our assistance in this and future 
     efforts.
           Sincerely,
     Paul L. Krutko,
       Chairman, International Economic Development Council and 
     President and CEO, Ann Arbor SPARK.
                                  ____

                                                       St. Tammany


                              Economic Development Foundation,

                                Mandeville, LA, February 19, 2013.
     Hon. Mary Landrieu,
     Chair, Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, U.S. 
         Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Landrieu: The St. Tammany Economic Development 
     Foundation thanks you for the opportunity to comment on the 
     proposed amendments to the disaster assistance provisions in 
     the Small Business Act (15 US 631 et seq.). As we learned 
     from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and most recently Isaac, the 
     sooner our small businesses are able to recover, the better 
     it is for the region, the state and the nation.
       We fully endorse the proposed amendment to Section 1 of the 
     bill regarding collateral on business disaster loans. If 
     approved, no longer would small business owners have to use 
     their primary personal residence for collateral towards SBA 
     disaster business loans less than $200,000 if other assets 
     are available of equal or greater value than the amount of 
     the loan. In times of crisis, affected business owners are 
     understandably reluctant to place their personal homes up as 
     collateral in order to obtain a much needed loan to rebuild 
     their business. Allowing business assets to act as collateral 
     will promote greater utilization of the loans; leading to 
     faster economic recovery.
       Under Section 2 of the bill, Small Business Development 
     Centers (SBDCs) are limited in their ability to provide 
     services across state lines. This prevents SBDCs in affected 
     areas from being able to draw upon the resources available 
     from their colleagues nationwide. Louisiana SBDCs have great 
     experience in disaster recovery assistance and should not be 
     prevented from providing assistance to their colleagues 
     outside of Louisiana in the event of disaster. Therefore, we 
     fully support this provision.
       We applaud your efforts to protect small businesses in the 
     wake of disasters and thank you for continuing to be a strong 
     advocate on their behalf. After all, small businesses are the 
     lifeblood of our great nation.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Brenda Bertus,
                                   Executive Director, St. Tammany
     Economic Development Foundation.
                                  ____

                                                   North Louisiana


                                         economic partnership,

                                                February 26, 2013.
     Hon. Mary Landrieu,
     Chair, Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, U.S. 
         Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Landrieu, The North Louisiana Economic 
     Partnership thanks you for the opportunity to comment on the 
     proposed changes to the disaster assistance programs offered 
     by the United States Small Business Administration. The 
     proposed amendments to the Small Business Act (15 USC 631 et 
     seq.) will greatly enhance federal assistance to small 
     businesses recovering from disasters. NLEP applauds your 
     efforts to support our small businesses which make up the 
     backbone of the American economy.
       As a regional economic development organization promoting 
     North Louisiana, NLEP often works with businesses impacted by 
     natural or manmade disasters. The impact of these disasters 
     can temporarily or permanently shut down small businesses, 
     leaving both small business owners and their employees 
     without a livelihood. The SBA disaster programs offer a real 
     lifeline to these impacted businesses which have very few 
     options available to them. The proposed amendment to Section 
     1 of the bill regarding collateral for business disaster 
     loans would allow more small businesses to utilize the 
     disaster loan programs. If approved, small business owners 
     would no longer have to use their primary residence as 
     collateral toward a SBA disaster business loan of less than 
     $200,000, if other assets are available. During a widespread 
     disaster, the primary residence of business owners may also 
     be impacted and requiring them to use their home as 
     collateral would create an onerous burden and/or be 
     financially unfeasible. Eliminating this collateral 
     requirement opens up assistance to those businesses most 
     impacted by disaster, speeding recovery for businesses and a 
     region's economy.
       The second proposed change to Section 2 of the Small 
     Business Act would allow Small Business Development Centers 
     (SBDCs) to provide technical assistance to impacted small 
     businesses beyond the current 250 mile limitation. The 
     Louisiana Small Business Development Centers (LSBDCs) have 
     successfully worked with countless small businesses 
     devastated by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Ike, and 
     most recently the BP oil spill. The experience and expertise 
     that the LSBDC could have shared with the SBDCs in the New 
     York and New Jersey area would have enhanced their 
     capabilities to cope with Superstorm Sandy. In times of 
     disaster, it is essential to collaborate and pool resources 
     in order to speed up delivery of much needed assistance.
       For these reasons, the North Louisiana Economic Partnership 
     fully endorses the proposed amendments to the current SBA 
     legislation that would open up, enhance and efficiently 
     deliver disaster assistance to small businesses.
           Sincerely,

                                                Scott Martinez

                                        President, North Louisiana
     Economic Partnership.
                                  ____

                                                 Bay Area Houston,


                                         Economic Partnership,

                                   Houston, TX, February 13, 2013.
     Hon. Mary Landrieu,
     Chair, Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, U.S. 
         Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Landrieu: The Texas economy has outperformed 
     the rest of the country not only over the long term but also 
     during the recent recession. Our pro-business climate has 
     been a huge contributing factor to that, and so have Texas' 
     small businesses. From 2002-2009, small businesses of fewer 
     than 10 employees fueled the Texas employment engine, adding 
     nearly 800,000 new jobs. When disaster strikes the Gulf 
     Coast, as it did with Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and 
     Ike, our small businesses are hit hard. The sooner they are 
     able to recover the better it is for the region, the state, 
     and the nation.
       This is why I am writing to support your proposed 
     legislative amendments to the disaster assistance provisions 
     in the Small Business Act (15 USC 631 et seq). Section 1 of 
     the bill addresses collateral on business disaster loans. If 
     approved, no longer would small business owners have to use 
     their primary personal residence for collateral towards SBA 
     disaster business loans less than $200,000 if other assets 
     are available of equal or greater value than the amount of 
     the loan. This would certainly help to reduce anxiety on the 
     part of small business owners and their families who have 
     already experienced enough stress through damage to or total 
     destruction of their businesses.
       Section 2 of the bill includes the provision that 
     authorizes the Small Business Administration to allow out-of-
     state small business development centers to provide 
     assistance in presidentially-declared disaster areas, which 
     is currently not allowed. When Hurricane Ike devastated our 
     region in September 2008, we welcomed any and all kinds of 
     disaster relief. The northeast just experienced a similar 
     disaster with Hurricane Sandy. Utility crews from across the 
     nation responded quickly to each. State lines should never be 
     used to prevent aid from reaching disaster victims. The 
     majority of the membership of our organization is comprised 
     of small businesses. On their behalf, we fully endorse this 
     provision.
       Thank you for working to keep America's small businesses 
     strong and helping them to recover from major storms that we 
     know will strike again.
           Sincerely,

                                                 Bob Mitchell,

                                       President, Bay Area Houston
     Economic Partnership.
                                  ____

                                                     SWLA Economic


                                         Development Alliance,

                              Lake Charles, LA, February 25, 2013.
     Hon. Mary Landrieu,
     Chair, Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, U.S. 
         Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Landrieu, The Southwest Louisiana Economic 
     Development Alliance welcomes the opportunity to comment on 
     the proposed amendments to the disaster assistance provisions 
     in the Small Business Act (15 US 631 et seq.). As we learned 
     from Hurricanes Rita and Ike, the sooner our small businesses 
     are able to recover, the better it is for the region, the 
     state and the nation.
       We fully endorse the proposed amendment to Section 1 of the 
     bill regarding collateral on business disaster loans. If 
     approved, no longer would small business owners have to use 
     their primary personal residence for collateral towards SBA 
     disaster business loans less than $200,000 if other assets 
     are available of equal or greater value than the amount of 
     the loan. In times of crisis, affected business owners are 
     understandably reluctant to place their personal homes up as 
     collateral in order to obtain a much needed loan to rebuild 
     their business. Allowing business assets to act as collateral 
     will promote greater utilization of the loans; leading to 
     faster economic recovery.
       Under Section 2 of the bill, Small Business Development 
     Centers (SBDCs) are limited in their ability to provide 
     service across state lines. This prevents SBDCs in affected 
     areas from being able to draw upon the resources available 
     from their colleagues nationwide. Louisiana SBDCs have great 
     experience in

[[Page S1024]]

     disaster recovery assistance and should not be prevented from 
     providing assistance to their colleagues outside of Louisiana 
     in the event of disaster. Therefore, we fully support this 
     provision.
       About 85% of the members of the Chamber SWLA are small 
     businesses. We applaud your efforts to protect small 
     businesses in the wake of disasters and thank you for 
     continuing to be a strong advocate on their behalf.
           Sincerely,

                                                 George Swift,

                                                    President/CEO,
                               SWLA Economic Development Alliance.
                                 ______