[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3445-S3446]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 6309. Ms. ERNST (for herself, Mr. Coons, Mr. Young, Mr. Husted,
Ms. Cortez Masto, and Mr. Scott of South Carolina) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 4784, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. ___. INCREASED LOAN LIMITS FOR SMALL MANUFACTURERS.
(a) Definitions.--Section 3 of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 632) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(gg) Small Manufacturer.--In this Act, the term `small
manufacturer' means a small business concern--
``(1) the primary business of which is classified in sector
31, 32, or 33 of the North American Industrial Classification
System; and
``(2) all of the production facilities of which are located
in the United States.''.
(b) Small Business Act Loan Limits for Small
Manufacturers.--Section 7(a) of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 636(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (3)--
(A) in subparagraph (A)--
(i) by inserting ``except as provided in subparagraph
(B),'' before ``if the total'';
(ii) by striking ``would exceed $3,750,000'' and inserting
the following: ``would exceed--
``(i) $3,750,000'';
[[Page S3446]]
(iii) in clause (i), as so designated, by striking ``,
except as provided in subparagraph (B);'' and inserting ``;
or''; and
(iv) by adding at the end the following:
``(ii) in the case of a borrower that is a small
manufacturer, $7,500,000 (or if the gross loan amount would
exceed $10,000,000);''; and
(B) in subparagraph (B)--
(i) by striking ``would exceed $4,500,000'' and inserting
the following: ``would exceed--
``(i) $4,500,000'';
(ii) in clause (i), as so designated, by striking ``section
7(a)(14) for export purposes; and'' and inserting ``paragraph
(14) for export purposes; or''; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(ii) in the case of a borrower that is a small
manufacturer, $9,000,000 (or if the gross loan amount would
exceed $10,000,000), of which not more than $8,000,000 may be
used for working capital, supplies, or financings under
paragraph (14) for export purposes; and''; and
(2) in paragraph (14)(B)(i), by striking ``than
$5,000,000.'' and inserting the following: ``than--
``(I) except as provided in subclause (II), $5,000,000; or
``(II) in the case of a loan made to a small manufacturer,
$10,000,000.''.
(c) Small Business Investment Act of 1958 Loan Limits for
Small Manufacturers.--Section 502(2)(A)(iii) of the Small
Business Investment Act (15 U.S.C. 696(2)(A)(iii)) is amended
by striking ``$5,500,000'' and inserting ``$10,000,000''.
(d) Inspector General Analysis.--Not later than 2 years
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector
General of the Small Business Administration shall--
(1) conduct an analysis on the cohort of loans made under
the amendments made by subsections (b) and (c) of this
section during the 1-year period beginning on such date of
enactment to determine--
(A) the projected default rate;
(B) the early default rate; and
(C) whether the loan limit increases under the amendments
made by subsections (b) and (c) introduce additional risk,
such as increased default amounts, larger guaranty purchase
amounts, or other potential impacts to the requirement that
the loan programs under section 7(a) of the Small Business
Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)) and title V of the Small Business
Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 695 et seq.) operate at no
cost to the Government; and
(2) submit to the Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small
Business of the House of Representatives a report regarding
the analysis under paragraph (1).
(e) Job Creation and Retention Report.--
(1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
(A) the term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of
the Small Business Administration;
(B) the term ``larger loan'' means--
(i) a loan made or guaranteed under section 7(a) of the
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)) for which--
(I) the total amount outstanding and committed to the
borrower from the business loan and investment fund
established by the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.)
is more than $3,750,000; or
(II) the gross loan amount is more than $5,000,000; or
(ii) a loan made under section 502(2)(A)(iii) of the Small
Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 696(2)(A)(iii))
for which the gross loan amount is more than $5,500,000; and
(C) the term ``small manufacturer'' has the meaning given
that term in subsection (gg) of section 3 of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632), as added by subsection (a) of
this section.
(2) Annual reports.--With respect to the year during which
this Act is enacted, and each of the next 4 years, the
Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Small Business
and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small
Business of the House of Representatives a report regarding
larger loans to small manufacturers, broken out by whether
the loan was made under section 7(a) of the Small Business
Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)) or section 502(2)(A)(iii) of the Small
Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 696(2)(A)(iii)),
which shall include--
(A) the quotient obtained by dividing--
(i) the total dollar amount of larger loans awarded to
small manufacturers during the applicable year; by
(ii) the number of jobs that were created or retained by a
small manufacturer during the applicable year as a result of
the receipt of a larger loan; and
(B) an analysis of whether the award of larger loans to
small manufacturers prevented the loss of jobs by employees
of small manufacturers.
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