[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 181 (Wednesday, November 13, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H8803-H8805]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR RESERVISTS AND VETERANS ACT
Mr. SCHNEIDER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 3734) to require the Comptroller General of the United
States to report on access to credit for small business concerns owned
and controlled by covered individuals, to require the Administrator of
the Small Business Administration to report on the veterans interagency
task force, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3734
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 ``Successful Entrepreneurship
for Reservists and Veterans Act'' or the ``SERV Act''.
SEC. 2. REPORTING REQUIREMENT FOR VETERANS INTERAGENCY TASK
FORCE.
Section 32(c) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657b(c))
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(4) Report.--Along with the budget justification
documents for the Small Business Administration submitted to
Congress in connection with the budget for a fiscal year
submitted under 1105 of title 31, United States Code, the
Administrator shall submit a report--
``(A) discussing the appointments made to and activities of
the task force; and
``(B) identifying and outlining a plan for outreach and
promotion of the programs and services for veterans,
including Veteran Business Outreach Centers, Boots to
Business, Boots to Business Reboot, Service-Disabled
Entrepreneurship Development Training Program, Veteran
Institute for Procurement, Women Veteran Entrepreneurship
Training Program, and Veteran Women Igniting the Spirit of
Entrepreneurship.''.
SEC. 3. GAO REPORT ON ACCESS TO CREDIT.
(a) Report on Access to Credit.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the
United States shall submit a report on the ability of small
business concerns owned and controlled by covered individuals
to access credit to--
(A) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on
Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on
Small Business of the House of Representatives.
(2) Contents.--The report submitted under paragraph (1)
shall include, to the extent practicable, an analysis of--
(A) the sources of credit used by small business concerns
owned and controlled by covered individuals and the average
percentage of the credit obtained from each source by such
concerns;
(B) the default rate for small business concerns owned and
controlled by covered individuals, disaggregated by each
source of credit described in subparagraph (A), as compared
to the default rate for the source of credit for small
business concerns generally;
(C) the Federal lending programs available to provide
credit to small business concerns owned and controlled by
covered individuals;
(D) gaps, if any, in the availability of credit for small
business concerns owned and controlled by covered individuals
that are not being filled by the Federal Government or
private sources;
(E) obstacles faced by covered individuals in trying to
access credit;
(F) the extent to which deployment and other military
responsibilities affect the credit history of veterans and
Reservists; and
(G) the extent to which covered individuals are aware of
Federal programs targeted towards helping covered individuals
access credit.
(b) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) Covered individual.--The term ``covered individual''
means--
(A) a veteran;
(B) a service-disabled veteran;
(C) a Reservist;
(D) the spouse of an individual described in subparagraph
(A), (B), or (C); or
(E) the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces.
(2) Reservist.--The term ``Reservist'' means a member of a
reserve component of the Armed Forces, as described in
section 10101 of title 10, United States Code.
(3) Small business act definitions.--The terms ``service-
disabled veteran'', ``small business concern'', and
``veteran'' have the meanings given those terms,
respectively, under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 632).
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Schneider) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois.
General Leave
Mr. SCHNEIDER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Illinois?
There was no objection.
Mr. SCHNEIDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3734, the Successful
Entrepreneurship for Reservists, or SERV Act.
The SBA offers several programs to help aspiring and existing veteran
entrepreneurs launch and grow their small businesses. But as valuable
as they are, more must be done to promote these programs to guarantee
that our veterans are aware of them and utilizing them.
[[Page H8804]]
The Interagency Task Force on Veterans Small Business Development was
established to do just that. The task force is chaired by the SBA and
is comprised of representatives appointed by the SBA's administrator
from a variety of agencies, including: the SBA's Office of Veterans
Business Development, Department of Defense, Department of Labor,
Department of the Treasury, Veterans' Affairs, General Services
Administration, Office of Management and Budget, and four
representatives from veterans service and military organizations.
The task force is charged with coordinating efforts to improve
capital access, business development, and contracting goals for
veterans. Unfortunately, it hasn't filed an annual report since fiscal
year 2015. This delay is wholly unacceptable on its face. Considering
we heard from veterans about the needs for more outreach and
coordination of business services, it only makes the delay more
painful.
Today's legislation requires the SBA administrator to report annually
on the appointments made, highlighting the activities of and plan for
outreach and engagement by the Interagency Task Force on Veterans Small
Business Development.
Annual reporting will give Congress the visibility over the task
force responsible for serving our veterans at SBA and the ability to
provide proper oversight. Gathering a regular snapshot of the program
will enable Congress to make modifications where they are needed in a
timely fashion.
I want to thank Ms. Davids and Ranking Member Chabot for their
collaboration on this bill. I urge Members to support this bipartisan
legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3734, the Successful
Entrepreneurship for Reservists and Veterans Act or the SERV Act.
Veteran-owned small businesses are some of the Nation's most
innovative companies. They are nimble and move quickly as markets
change directions. The resources that are available to our veteran-
owned small businesses should be as effective and as efficient as the
owners themselves.
The SERV Act requires the SBA to outline the agency's veteran
outreach plans and veteran promotion plans to Congress. Additionally,
H.R. 3734, requires the Government Accountability Office to evaluate
credit availability of veteran, service-disabled veteran, and
reservist-owned small businesses.
I want to thank the gentlewoman from Kansas (Ms. Davids) for working
with me in a bipartisan manner on this legislation. I also want to
thank Chairwoman Velazquez for advancing this commonsense legislation
that will assist veterans as they work to launch and build strong small
businesses.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the SERV Act which was
favorably reported out of committee by voice vote, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. SCHNEIDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to
the gentlewoman from Kansas (Ms. Davids), my good friend and cosponsor
of this bill.
Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend and
colleague from Illinois for yielding.
The first thing I would like to do is thank Chairwoman Velazquez and
Ranking Member Chabot for continuing the Small Business Committee's
bipartisan efforts.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on
H.R. 3734, the Successful Entrepreneurship for Reservists and Veterans
Act, or the SERV Act, which I introduced with Ranking Member Chabot.
This bipartisan piece of legislation helps veteran business owners
succeed by studying the barriers they face, including lack of access to
capital and credit. It also helps ensure that veterans are aware of all
of the resources available to them through the Small Business
Administration.
I was fortunate enough to spend this past weekend on Veterans Day at
home in the district I represent in Kansas. I was meeting the brave men
and women who have served our country and was hearing about the issues
and opportunities that they have.
After everything our veterans have done for us, we must have their
backs. They deserve nothing less than access to jobs, healthcare, and
the services that they deserve.
That includes the ability to start and grow a small business.
Veterans possess many of the leadership and entrepreneurial skills to
start and grow small businesses, but they face unique challenges,
including difficulty accessing capital and credit.
Since it is tough to accumulate the type of credit needed to start a
business during your time in service, those issues are exactly what the
SERV Act is intending to address. The SERV Act requires a report from
the Comptroller General of the United States on the ability of veteran
and reservist small business owners to access credit.
The report will include new information and analysis on the sources
of credit that veterans and other reservists use to start and maintain
their businesses, as well as how deployment and other military
responsibilities affect a veteran's and reservist's credit.
Studying the problem of access to credit for veterans and reservists
is a crucial first step in finding the right solutions. This
legislation also helps connect veterans to existing programs in the
Small Business Administration that are aimed at helping veterans
transition their military skills from service to business, like Veteran
Business Outreach Centers, Boots to Business, or the Service-Disabled
Entrepreneurship Development Training.
These programs provide vital resources for veterans, but they are
only useful if veterans know about them. Without understanding the
programs, veterans are not going to be able to access them.
That is why the SERV Act requires the Interagency Task Force on
Veterans Small Business Development to develop a plan for outreach and
promotion of these incredible programs.
The task force is responsible for coordinating Federal efforts to
improve capital access, business development, and contracting
opportunities for veteran and service-disabled small businesses. But
the task force has not submitted a report to Congress since 2015. That
is why the SERV Act would require an annual report to Congress on its
appointments and to outline its plan for outreach on the many programs
available to veterans, service-disabled veterans, reservists, and their
spouses.
I urge all of my colleagues to support the SERV Act and help set our
veteran entrepreneurs up for success.
{time} 1330
Mr. SCHNEIDER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, veteran-owned small businesses deserve the
resources that will prepare them for future growth.
In order to improve our capital access programs for our Nation's
veteran-owned businesses, we must fully understand what they are facing
when seeking access to affordable and reliable capital. This bipartisan
bill will provide future Congresses with a better picture of what is
available to them and what is not and where we can plug the gaps for
them.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SCHNEIDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Assisting entrepreneurs requires integrated, comprehensive solutions
that leverage a combination of government and private efforts. Despite
progress we have made, hundreds of thousands of veterans and their
families continue to struggle, demonstrating how much more must be
done.
The interagency veterans task force is a critical part of this
effort, and we must hold agencies accountable for ensuring they are
meeting the duties placed upon them to maximize outreach to our
servicemembers. H.R. 3734 does just this by requiring regular reporting
by the task force to gather snapshots of programmatic outreach and
education to veterans.
It also asks the Government Accountability Office to study the many
issues raised by veteran entrepreneurs facing difficulty accessing
credit so that this body can better understand the financing needs of
veterans. Doing so enables us to take additional steps to ease the
burdens of not just transitioning back to civilian life, but also
risking more to start a business.
It is incumbent upon all of us to ensure that resources reach the
veterans
[[Page H8805]]
and servicemembers held in such high regard.
I sincerely thank Ms. Davids for spearheading this bill and working
with Ranking Member Chabot to make certain we hold agencies, through
the task force, accountable.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Schneider) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3734, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. SCHNEIDER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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