[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 158 (Tuesday, September 25, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H8802-H8803]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          SMALL BUSINESS ACCESS TO CAPITAL AND EFFICIENCY ACT

  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 6348) to adjust the real estate appraisal thresholds under 
the section 504 program to bring them into line with the thresholds 
used by the Federal banking regulators, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6348

       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 Access to 
     Capital and Efficiency Act'' or the ``Small Business ACE 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. APPRAISAL THRESHOLDS.

       Section 502(3)(E)(ii) of the Small Business Investment Act 
     of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 696(3)(E)(ii)) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating subclauses (I) and (II) as items (aa) 
     and (bb), respectively, and adjusting the margins of such 
     items accordingly;
       (2) by striking ``With respect to'' and inserting the 
     following:

       ``(I) In general.--With respect to'';

       (3) in item (aa), as so redesignated, by striking ``is more 
     than $250,000'' and inserting ``is more than the Federal 
     banking regulator appraisal threshold'';
       (4) in item (bb), as so redesignated, by striking ``is 
     $250,000 or less'' and inserting ``is equal to or less than 
     the Federal banking regulator appraisal threshold''; and
       (5) by adding at the end the following:

       ``(II) Federal banking regulator appraisal threshold 
     defined.--For purposes of this clause, the term `Federal 
     banking regulator appraisal threshold' means the lesser of 
     the threshold amounts set by the Board of Governors of the 
     Federal Reserve System, the Comptroller of the Currency, and 
     the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for when a 
     federally related transaction that is a commercial real 
     estate transaction requires an appraisal prepared by a State 
     licensed or certified appraiser.''.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the House Small Business Committee strives to create an 
environment where small businesses can thrive and create jobs. 
Unfortunately, small businesses are often hampered by conflicting 
Federal rules and regulations. This is the case when it comes to the 
appraisal threshold for commercial real estate.
  Earlier this year, Federal financial regulators, including the 
Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the 
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, increased the commercial 
real estate appraisal threshold from $250,000 to $500,000. 
Unfortunately, the Small Business Administration's threshold for the 
real estate-heavy 504/CDC loan program is set in statute at $250,000. 
The conflicting numbers produce confusion for and burdens on small 
business owners and the organizations that strive to assist them.
  H.R. 6348, the Small Business Access to Capital and Efficiency Act, 
also known as the Small Business ACE Act, modernizes and benchmarks the 
SBA's 504/CDC threshold value with the value set by the Federal 
financial regulators. This commonsense legislation will prevent future 
threshold changes from hampering small businesses that utilize SBA's 
many lending products.
  I want to thank Mr. Curtis of Utah for leading the efforts on this 
bill, as well as Ranking Member Velazquez

[[Page H8803]]

and Mr. Evans. It has broad bipartisan support.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 6348, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 6348, the Small 
Business ACE Act.
  This important legislation updates SBA's outdated real estate 
appraisal threshold for the 504 loan program. It is vital for our 
country's small businesses that we keep current laws in sync with what 
is going on in the commercial market.
  More importantly, this commonsense fix ensures as many small business 
borrowers as possible can affordably access the capital they need to 
grow their businesses and create jobs.
  Finally, I would like to take a moment to recognize the chairman for 
his continued willingness to work across the aisle. He and his staff 
have set a bipartisan tone that I think all of us on this committee can 
be proud of. As a result, we are carrying out our responsibilities in a 
timely manner with input from both Republican and Democratic Members.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support this piece of legislation, and 
I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman for her 
indications that we work very much in a bipartisan manner in our 
committee.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Utah (Mr. Curtis), whom I thank for his leadership in this effort.
  Mr. CURTIS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the chairman and 
ranking member for supporting the Small Business Access to Capital and 
Efficiency Act, or Small Business ACE Act. I am also grateful to the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Evans) for joining as a cosponsor and 
for my colleagues on the Small Business Committee for advancing this 
bipartisan legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, the Small Business ACE Act is critical to reducing 
burdensome red tape and regulations that fall so disproportionately on 
small business. Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy 
across the country and certainly in my home State of Utah where they 
make up over 99 percent of all Utah businesses and contribute two-
thirds of all job growth. Without a doubt, the strength of our economy 
depends on these small businesses.
  Although the economy continues to improve, small businesses and 
entrepreneurs often face challenges accessing capital. To assist 
creditworthy innovators, the Small Business Administration offers 
numerous lending programs, including the 504 loan program. Without 
using a single taxpayer dollar, the program has helped many well-known 
businesses throughout the United States and Utah.
  In the past 20 years, the 504 program has supported over 4,500 
entrepreneurs and nearly 64,000 jobs in Utah alone. However, despite 
the program's positive status, Federal red tape and conflicting 
regulations have hampered its development, weighing it down with 
roadblocks and uncertainty. As a result, many small businesses still 
have difficulty accessing capital.
  The Small Business ACE Act will help fix this by eliminating Federal 
regulations burdening the program and harmonizing conflicting real 
estate appraisal thresholds that have prevented eligible small 
businesses from accessing capital.
  I am pleased that my bill has broad support from important 
stakeholders, like the National Association of Development Companies, 
Mountain West Small Business Finance, and Utah Certified Development 
Company, that know better than anyone just how essential the 504 small 
business lending program is and how critical it is that we improve it. 
By reducing burdens on small businesses, we help ensure not only their 
individual success, but the success for our Nation's economy.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to put forth this commonsense legislation, 
and I urge my colleagues to support it.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Evans), who is the ranking member on the Subcommittee 
of Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access.

  Mr. EVANS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the chairman and the 
ranking member for their bipartisan leadership.
  I am pleased to join with my colleague, Congressman John Curtis from 
Utah, in putting forth this important piece of legislation. I am 
pleased to join as the cosponsor of Congressman Curtis on H.R. 6348, 
the Small Business Access to Capital and Efficiency Act, which adjusts 
the real estate appraisal threshold under the section 504 program to 
bring them into line with thresholds used by the Federal banking 
regulator. This bill also passed out of the Small Business Committee in 
July.
  The city of Philadelphia has a robust real estate industry which 
employs appraisers, lenders, construction workers, bankers, and 
numerous others. The point is the industry is responsible for jobs, 
jobs, and more jobs. Currently, the Small Business Act mandates this.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this particular bill. 
This is very important to our country.
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Evans) for his leadership on this.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I reserve the balance of 
my time.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, in closing, with this legislation, we are 
only responding to the reality of the situation in the commercial 
lending market.
  This is a commonsense fix with bipartisan support that will ensure 
small businesses are not unfairly burdened with appraisal requirements. 
Doing so allows small firms to allocate their working capital as wisely 
and efficiently as possible.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support this bill, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to 
close.
  Mr. Speaker, to conclude, the SBA's 504/CDC loan program is vital to 
many creditworthy small businesses that cannot obtain credit elsewhere. 
To reduce confusion from conflicting Federal rules, H.R. 6348 will 
update and bring SBA's commercial real estate threshold to the same 
level as other Federal financial regulators.

                              {time}  1700

  We must continue to work together to free small business owners from 
conflicting Federal regulations. I urge my colleagues to support this 
bipartisan reform instituted in H.R. 6348.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 6348.
  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.

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