[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 158 (Tuesday, September 25, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H8805-H8806]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              SMALL BUSINESS RUNWAY EXTENSION ACT OF 2018

  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 6330) to amend the Small Business Act to modify the method 
for prescribing size standards for business concerns.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6330

       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 Runway 
     Extension Act of 2018''.

     SEC. 2. MODIFICATION TO METHOD FOR PRESCRIBING SIZE STANDARDS 
                   FOR BUSINESS CONCERNS.

       Section 3(a)(2)(C)(ii)(II) of the Small Business Act (15 
     U.S.C. 632(a)(2)(C)(ii)(II)) is amended by striking ``3 
     years'' and inserting ``5 years''.

  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 in which 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.

[[Page H8806]]

  Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Knight and Ms. Clarke for this leading 
bipartisan legislation, which takes a critical step toward addressing 
the challenge that small contractors face when entering the middle 
market.
  The primary objective of the SBA's small business programs is to 
encourage the growth and vibrancy of the Federal supplier base, boost 
competition, protect against supplier consolidation, and spur 
innovation. These noble goals are thwarted when small businesses find 
themselves competing in the open market prematurely before they have 
the tools they need to succeed.
  Given the increasing size of Federal contract awards made today, one 
or two big awards won by a small contractor could easily force them out 
of the category of small business. Since many do not have the 
infrastructure or competitiveness to go head to head against firms many 
times their size, they often fail or become consumed into a larger 
competitor's supply chain. These results contravene the mission and 
purpose of the small business programs, further widening the divide 
between large and small contractors.
  Competitiveness takes time, hard work, and significant resources to 
build. However, difficult as it is to build competitiveness, it is just 
as easily lost. H.R. 6330 provides a solution to this problem, allowing 
small businesses extra time to potentially retain their ``small'' size 
status while they continue to develop their competitive edge.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6330, 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 support of H.R. 6330, the Small Business 
Runway Extension Act of 2018.
  Over the years, Congress has created numerous Federal programs, set-
asides, tax preferences, and SBA loan programs to help small businesses 
succeed. However, the advantages conferred by this program have led to 
heated debate over who is truly a small business and what an acceptable 
small business size standard is.
  The answer is an important one, as it can be underinclusive, thereby 
pushing a firm outside the standard, or it can be overinclusive, 
allowing large firms to compete in these programs. The end result is 
the same: small firms deprived of Federal contracting opportunities.
  This bill addresses the pressure placed on those businesses not able 
to compete against large entities from being prematurely placed outside 
their size standard by providing a more inclusive review of 5 years of 
their gross receipts.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support this very important 
legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Knight) and thank him for his leadership 
in this important measure.
  Mr. KNIGHT. Mr. Speaker, I thank my chairman for his support on this 
and many other issues that we see in our Small Business Committee.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6330, the Small 
Business Runway Extension Act of 2018.
  This bill is simple. It is commonsense. It is a measure designed to 
promote the sustainability, growth, and development of small Federal 
contractors into the open marketplace.
  Under existing law, the Small Business Administration calculates the 
size of a company by taking the average of the past 3 years of gross 
receipts. A company's average must be within established industry 
parameters set by the SBA in order to be considered a small business 
and be eligible to receive access to SBA's small business programs, 
resources, and assistance.
  My bill is very simple. It extends that time period out to 5 years. 
This additional time allows all small businesses an opportunity to 
mature before graduating out of the SBA's small business programs.
  Over the course of this Congress, we have conducted hearings, held 
roundtables, and heard stories of the overwhelming mid-market 
challenges forcing many successful small contractors to close their 
doors or stall their growth. Prospects for a newly graduated firm 
successfully integrating into the open marketplace are rapidly 
declining due to the widening gap between small and large contractors.
  Small firms are opting out--either voluntarily or, in many cases, 
involuntarily--from joining the Federal marketplace because of this 
rift. This outcome depletes our industrial base, reduces competition, 
and inhibits economic growth.
  Mr. Speaker, do we really want our small businesses to look at their 
ability to expand and their ability to be a larger and more prosperous 
business and say: I can't do this because I am going to move out of the 
SBA, so what I should do is maybe close my doors or just restrict our 
growth.
  That is not what America is all about. That is not what we want out 
of our small businesses. We want them to expand. We want them to bring 
new and innovative things to the marketplace. And we want them to 
expand and have jobs for our kids and for the next generation.
  Mr. Speaker, I think that this is a reasonable look at what we are 
trying to do, and I urge support of H.R. 6330.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, 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, this legislation gives small businesses more time to 
adjust to not being a small business anymore. We want our small 
businesses to thrive and grow and break through to the mid-tier and big 
business strata. Oftentimes, that is difficult.
  H.R. 6330 gives these firms just a little more time to adapt to their 
new business environment, so they can compete more efficiently and 
continue to grow and create more jobs for more Americans.
  I again thank Mr. Knight for his leadership on this.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan piece of 
legislation, and 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. 6330.
  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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