[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 20013-20015]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 PROVIDING TECHNICAL, FINANCIAL, AND PROCUREMENT ASSISTANCE TO VETERAN-
                         OWNED SMALL BUSINESSES

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
now proceed to the consideration of calendar No. 254, H.R. 1568.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 1568) to provide technical, financial, and 
     procurement assistance to veteran-owned small businesses, and 
     for other purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, it is with great pleasure and enthusiasm 
that I rise in support of the Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small 
Business Development Act of 1999 (H.R. 1568). This bill is a critical 
building block in our efforts to provide significantly improved help to 
small businesses owned and operated by veterans and especially those 
small businesses owned by service-disabled veterans. This bill was 
approved by a unanimous vote of 18-0 in the Committee on Small Business 
after the Committee approved a substitute amendment that I offered with 
the Committee's Ranking Member, Senator Kerry.
  Over the past two years, as the Chairman of the Committee on Small 
Business, I have brought three bills to the Senate floor that place a 
special emphasis on helping veteran entrepreneurs. The need for this 
legislation became necessary as Federal support for veteran 
entrepreneurs, particularly service-disabled veterans, has declined. 
Significantly, support for veteran small business owners historically 
has been weak at the Small Business Administration (SBA).
  The Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 
1999 seeks to provide assistance to veteran-owned small businesses to 
enable them to start-up and grow their businesses. The bill places a 
specific emphasis on small businesses owned and controlled by service-
disabled veterans and directs SBA to undertake special initiatives on 
behalf of all veteran small business owners.
  H.R. 1568 has key provisions that are of particular importance to 
veterans. The bill establishes a federally chartered corporation called 
the National Veterans Business Development Corporation (Corporation/
NVBDC), whose purpose is to create a network of information and 
assistance centers to improve assistance for veterans who wish to 
start-up or expand a small businesses. The Corporation will be governed 
by a board of directors appointed by the President, who will take into 
consideration recommendations from the Chairmen and Ranking Members 
from the Committees on Small Business and Veterans Affairs of the 
Senate and House of Representatives before making appointments to the 
board. Although funds are authorized during the first four years of the 
Corporation, it is the expectation of the Committee on Small Business 
that it will become self-sufficient and will no longer need Federal 
assistance after this four year start-up period.
  In an effort to make its programs more readily available to veteran 
entrepreneurs, the SBA is required to ensure that the SCORE Program and 
the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Program work directly with 
the Corporation so that veteran entrepreneurs receive technical support 
and other needed assistance.
  H.R. 1568 places special emphasis on credit programs at SBA that can 
be helpful to veterans, and especially service-disabled veterans. The 
bill specifically targets veterans for the 7(a) guaranteed business 
loan program, the 504 Development Company Loan Program, and the 
Microloan Program.
  A key component of H.R. 1568 is to make Federal government contracts 
more readily available to service disabled veterans who own and control 
small businesses. The bill includes an annual goal of 3% of all Federal 
contract dollars for these small business owners. This goal is seen as 
an incentive to Federal agencies to undertake a major effort to make 
their procurement activities more accessible to veterans who made major 
sacrifices for our Nation.
  During the markup of H.R. 1568, the Committee approved a requirement

[[Page 20014]]

that the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) collect data to be 
reported annually to Congress on the number and dollar value of 
contracts and subcontracts awarded by Federal agencies to veteran-owned 
small businesses and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. 
This new requirement is critical if we are to measure the success of 
Federal agencies in meeting this 3% goal.
  Last year, the Committee on Small Business approved new initiatives 
to strengthen the mandate that SBA's programs be more responsive to all 
veteran small business owners. The ``Year 2000 Readiness and Small 
Business Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998'' (H.R. 3412) directed 
that veterans receive comprehensive help at SBA. This bill passed the 
Senate unanimously in September 1998; unfortunately, it was not taken 
up by the House of Representatives before the adjournment in the fall. 
The bill would have elevated the Office of Veterans Affairs at SBA to 
the Office of Veterans Business Development, to be headed by an 
Associate Administrator who would report directly to the SBA 
Administrator. This provision is contained in H.R. 1568.
  In addition, H.R. 3412 would have established an Advisory Committee 
on Veterans' Business Affairs comprised of veterans who own small 
businesses and representatives of national veterans service 
organizations. The bill also would have established the position of 
National Veterans' Business Coordinator within the Service Corps of 
Retired Executives (SCORE) Program. This new position would work within 
the SBA headquarters to ensure that SCORE's programs nationwide 
included entrepreneurial counseling and training for veterans. Both 
initiatives from H.R. 3412 are included in H.R. 1568.
  More recently, on June 6, 1999, the Committee approved the Military 
Reservists Small Business Relief Act of 1999 (S. 918) to assist 
military reservists called to active duty and the small businesses that 
employ them. This bill complements the provisions of the Veterans 
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act. Accordingly, the 
Committee voted unanimously to incorporate the full text of S. 918 into 
Title III (Technical Assistance) and Title IV (Financial Assistance) of 
H.R. 1568.
  During and after the Persian Gulf War in the early 1990's, the 
Committee heard from reservists whose businesses were harmed, severely 
crippled, or even lost, by their absence. These hardships can occur 
during a period of national emergency or during a period of contingency 
operation when troops are deployed overseas. To help such reservists 
and their small businesses, H.R. 1568 authorizes a deferral of loan 
repayments on any SBA direct loan, including a disaster loan, for an 
eligible small business. SBA is authorized to reduce the interest rate 
on the direct loans.
  SBA is also directed to publish guidelines within 30 days of 
enactment of the legislation to help its lending partners in the 7(a) 
guaranteed business loan program and the 504 Development Company 
program to develop procedures for providing loan repayment relief to 
small businesses that have been adversely affected by the departure of 
an essential employee to active military duty. Further, the bill 
establishes a low-interest economic injury loan program to be 
administered by the SBA through its disaster loan program. The purpose 
of these loans will be to provide interim operating capital to a small 
business that suffers substantial economic injury as a result of the 
departure of its essential employee to active duty and cannot obtain 
credit elsewhere.
  Mr. President, I have also introduced a non-controversial amendment 
to H.R. 1568, which would require the President, rather than the SBA 
Administrator, to appoint the voting members of the board of directors 
of the National Veterans Business Development Corporation. Senator 
Kerry has cosponsored this amendment. This change was requested by the 
Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Small Business. 
It is my understanding that with the adoption of this amendment and 
Senate passage of the H.R. 1568, as amended, that the House of 
Representatives is prepared to take up and pass the bill later this 
evening.
  We have an opportunity today to approve an excellent bill to help 
veteran small business owners, and I urge my colleagues to support both 
my amendment and the bill.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I support this bill. A little more than a 
year ago, SBA Administrator Aida Alvarez formed a task force to study 
the needs of veterans with a talent, skill, dream or need to start 
their own business. I commend the Administrator for her initiative. And 
thanks to the quick and earnest work of the task force representatives, 
particularly the Veterans Service Organizations and advocacy groups, a 
report was drafted in three short months.
  H.R. 1568 gives life to many of the 21 report recommendations. 
Appropriately, it includes S. 918, the Military Reservists Small 
Business Relief Act of 1999--the fourteenth report recommendation--that 
I introduced on March 29th and the full Senate passed by unanimous 
consent last week, on July 27th. Reservists have been asking for this 
safety net since 1991 to keep their businesses going while they are 
called to active duty. I am glad that we will again put this bill one 
step closer to enactment for the men and women who--whether deployed in 
Iraq, Bosnia or Kosovo--could benefit from the provisions of this bill 
now.
  These provisions should already be available for those who need it, 
and I deeply regret that it wasn't enacted earlier, either as S. 918 or 
as part of this bill, H.R. 1568. The nature of the provisions are 
uncontroversial. As S. 918, it passed the Committee on Small Business 
June 9th, almost 60 days ago, by unanimous consent and has 51 Senators 
co-sponsors--21 Republicans and 30 Democrats. Since then, it has also 
passed the full House and the Senate Committee on Small Business as 
part of this bill before us tonight, H.R. 1568.
  As much as I am frustrated by the delay, it probably doesn't compare 
to that of reservists who are on active duty and losing sleep over how 
they are going to keep their businesses going and avoid ruining their 
credit records. Ask the truck driver who serves in the Missouri 
National Air Guard and reported to active duty more than four months 
ago. He bought a new rig shortly before being called up and has hefty 
monthly payments to meet. He lined up a replacement to drive his truck 
while he was gone to keep money coming in, but the driver backed out of 
the agreement right before the reservist was to leave.
  He tried to do the right thing--to implement a contingent plan--and 
yet something beyond his control interfered. It's hard to keep your 
customers happy when their merchandise isn't getting delivered. And 
it's even harder to make your loan payments when you're not bringing in 
enough money.
  Or ask the reservist from Oklahoma who has supported his wife and 
four children for the past five years with a carpet and upholstery 
business. In 1998, he was called up for eight months, and he's been 
active this year since May 8th. What made it particularly damaging for 
his business this year was that he was called up at the beginning of 
the industry's high season. January to April are slow times, and April 
to December are the money-making months. He called my office a month 
ago to find out about this bill and find out how he could get 
assistance.
  Though this bill was still waiting for action by the full Senate, we 
put him in contact with the SBA office in Oklahoma City to find some 
way to help. After reviewing his options and what it would take to 
resuscitate his business, he called to say that he was closing shop for 
good: ``I'm just going to close my business down. I'm not going to try 
to get a small business loan. I want to cut my losses now. . . .''
  I look forward to spreading the message that reservists, such as this 
man from Oklahoma, will soon be able to apply for loan deferrals, 
reductions on interest rates, low-interest disaster loans, and get 
training assistance for the employee or family left behind to run their 
businesses.

[[Page 20015]]

  Importantly, this bill goes further, making more comprehensive 
changes for all veterans. Incorporating other recommendations that are 
designed to help service-disabled veterans and veteran form and expand 
small businesses, H.R. 1568--
  Elevates the SBA's Office of Veterans Affairs so that it has more 
credibility and visibility.
  Creates a federally chartered corporation to facilitate technical and 
management assistance to veteran entrepreneurs.
  Establishes a three-percent procurement goal for service-disabled 
veteran-owned businesses.
  Requires the Federal Procurement Data System to collect data on the 
percentage and dollar value of prime contracts and subcontracts awarded 
to small businesses owned and controlled by veterans and service-
disabled veterans.
  According to the SBA and the Department of Veterans Administration, 
out of the estimated 22 million veterans in this country, 4 million own 
their own businesses. I encourage the SBA and the veterans groups to 
use these tools to make real progress in expanding and strengthening 
small businesses owned by veterans and service-disabled veterans so 
that they can have the dignity and financial benefits of self-
sufficiency.
  Mr. President, I thank my colleagues for supporting veterans and 
small business. It's one vote that will help thousands.


                           Amendment No. 1617

(Purpose: To make amendments with respect to the Board of Directors of 
        the National Veterans Business Development Corporation)

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk and ask 
for its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Kansas [Mr. Brownback], for Mr. Bond, for 
     himself, and Mr. Kerry, proposes an amendment numbered 1617.

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of 
the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

       On page 55, strike line 5 and all that follows through page 
     56, line 15, and insert the following:
       ``(2) Appointment of voting members.--The President shall, 
     after considering recommendations which shall be proposed by 
     the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the Committees on Small 
     Business and the Committee on Veterans Affairs of the House 
     of Representatives and the Senate, appoint United States 
     citizens to be voting members of the Board, not more than 5 
     of whom shall be members of the same political party.
       On page 57, line 11, strike ``Administrator'' and insert 
     ``President''.

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
amendment be agreed to, the committee substitute be agreed to, the bill 
be read the third time, and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid 
upon the table, and that any statements relating to the bill ber 
printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 1617) was agreed to.
  The committee amendment, as amended, was agreed to.
  The bill (H.R. 1568), as amended, was passed.

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