[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 15793-15797]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            SMALL BUSINESS ADVOCACY IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2003

  Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1772) to improve small business advocacy, and for other 
purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H. R. 1772

       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 Advocacy 
     Improvement Act of 2003''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       (1) Excessive regulations continue to burden the Nation's 
     small businesses.
       (2) Federal agencies continue to propose regulations that 
     impose disproportionate burdens on small businesses.
       (3) An independent office of small business advocacy will 
     help to ensure that Federal agencies are responsive to small 
     businesses and that those agencies comply with their 
     statutory obligations with respect to small businesses.
       (4) The independence of an office that acts as an advocate 
     for small businesses is essential to ensure that it can serve 
     as an effective advocate without being restricted by the 
     views or policies of the Small Business Administration or any 
     other Federal executive branch agency.
       (5) To be effective an office that acts as an advocate for 
     small businesses needs sufficient resources to conduct 
     creditable economic studies and research which are necessary 
     for the maintenance of small business databases and for the 
     accurate assessment of the impact of regulations on small 
     businesses, the role of small business in the Nation's 
     economy, and the barriers to the growth of small businesses.
       (6) The research, information, and expertise provided by an 
     independent office of small business advocacy will be a 
     valuable source of information and advice for Congress and 
     Federal agencies with which the office will work on behalf of 
     small businesses.
       (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
       (1) to ensure that there exists an entity that has the 
     statutory independence and adequate financial resources to 
     effectively advocate for and on behalf of small business;
       (2) to require that such an entity report to the Chairmen 
     and Ranking Members of the Committee on Small Business of the 
     House of Representatives and the Committee on Small Business 
     and Entrepreneurship of the Senate, and to the Administrator 
     of the Small Business Administration in order to keep them 
     fully and currently informed about issues and regulations 
     affecting small business concerns and the necessity for 
     corrective action by the regulatory agency or Congress;
       (3) to provide a separate authorization for appropriations 
     for such an entity; and
       (4) to strengthen the role of the Small Business and 
     Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman by ensuring 
     continued cooperation between the Ombudsman and the Office of 
     Advocacy of the Small Business Administration.

     SEC. 3. APPOINTMENT OF CHIEF COUNSEL OF ADVOCACY.

       (a) In General.--Section 201 of Public Law 94-305 (15 
     U.S.C. 634a) is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``(a)'' before ``There is established'';
       (2) by striking the second sentence; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(b) The management of the Office shall be vested in a 
     Chief Counsel for Advocacy who shall be appointed from 
     civilian life by the President, by and with the advice and 
     consent of the Senate, and who should be appointed without 
     regard to political affiliation and on the basis of fitness 
     to perform the duties of the office.
       ``(c) No individual may be appointed under subsection (b) 
     if such individual has served as an officer or employee of 
     the Small Business Administration during the 5-year period 
     preceding the date of such individual's appointment.
       ``(d) An individual serving as Chief Counsel on the date of 
     the expiration of any term of the President may not continue 
     to serve as Chief Counsel for more than 1 year after such 
     date unless such individual is reappointed after such date by 
     the President, by and with the advice and consent of the 
     Senate. The preceding sentence shall not apply in the case of 
     the expiration of a term of an individual holding the office 
     of President if such individual is elected to the office of 
     President for a term successive to such term.''.
       (b) Incumbent Chief Counsel for Advocacy.--The individual 
     serving as the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 
     Business Administration on the date of the enactment

[[Page 15794]]

     of this Act shall continue to serve in that position after 
     such date in accordance with section 201 of Public Law 94-305 
     (15 U.S.C. 634a), as amended by this section.

     SEC. 4. PRIMARY FUNCTIONS OF OFFICE OF ADVOCACY.

        Section 202 of Public Law 94-305 (15 U.S.C. 634b) is 
     amended--
       (1) in paragraph (6) by striking ``to minority 
     enterprises'' and inserting ``to small business concerns 
     owned and controlled by socially and economically 
     disadvantaged individuals, to small business concerns owned 
     and controlled by women, and to small business concerns owned 
     and controlled by veterans'';
       (2) in paragraph (7) by striking ``minority enterprises'' 
     and inserting ``small business concerns owned and controlled 
     by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, small 
     business concerns owned and controlled by women, and small 
     business concerns owned and controlled by veterans'';
       (3) in paragraph (8) by striking ``minority and other small 
     business enterprises'' and inserting ``small business 
     concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically 
     disadvantaged individuals, small business concerns owned and 
     controlled by women, small business concerns owned and 
     controlled by veterans, and other small businesses'';
       (4) in paragraph (9) by striking ``complete'' and inserting 
     ``compete'';
       (5) by striking paragraph (11);
       (6) by redesignating paragraph (12) as paragraph (11);
       (7) in paragraph (11) (as so redesignated)--
       (A) by striking ``serviced-disabled'' and inserting 
     ``service-disabled''; and
       (B) by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; 
     and''; and
       (8) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(12) make such recommendations and submit such reports as 
     the Chief Counsel determines appropriate to the President, to 
     the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the Committee on Small 
     Business of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
     Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate, and to the 
     Administrator of the Small Business Administration, with 
     respect to issues and regulations affecting small businesses 
     and the necessity for corrective action by any Federal agency 
     or by Congress.''.

     SEC. 5. ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS.

       (a) In General.--Section 203 of Public Law 94-305 (15 
     U.S.C. 634c) is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``(a)'' before ``The Office of Advocacy 
     shall also perform''; and
       (2) in subsection (a) (as so designated)--
       (A) in paragraph (4) by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (B) in paragraph (5) by striking the period at the end and 
     inserting a semicolon; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(6) maintain economic databases and make the information 
     contained therein available to the Administrator of the Small 
     Business Administration and to Congress;
       ``(7) carry out the responsibilities of the Chief Counsel 
     under chapter 6 of title 5, United States Code; and
       ``(8) maintain a memorandum of understanding with the Small 
     Business and Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman 
     regarding methods and procedures for cooperation between the 
     Ombudsman and the Office of Advocacy and transmit a copy of 
     such memorandum to the Committee on Small Business of the 
     House of Representatives and the Committee on Small Business 
     and Entrepreneurship of the Senate.''.
       (b) Appropriation Request.--Section 203 of Public Law 94-
     305 (15 U.S.C. 634c) is further amended by adding at the end 
     the following:
       ``(b)(1) For each fiscal year, the Chief Counsel shall 
     transmit the Office of Advocacy's appropriation estimate and 
     request to the Office of Management and Budget, the Committee 
     on Small Business of the House of Representatives, the 
     Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the 
     Senate, and the Committees on Appropriations of the House of 
     Representatives and the Senate.
       ``(2) Each budget of the United States Government submitted 
     by the President shall include a separate statement of the 
     amount of appropriations requested for the Office of 
     Advocacy.
       ``(3) Each such budget shall also include a statement 
     indicating whether the proportion of the funds requested for 
     the Office of Advocacy when compared to the funds requested 
     for the Small Business Administration has increased, 
     decreased, or stayed the same relative to the proportion of 
     the amount appropriated for the Office of Advocacy for the 
     previous fiscal year when compared to the amount appropriated 
     for the Small Business Administration for the previous fiscal 
     year.''.

     SEC. 6. PRINCIPAL DEPUTY CHIEF COUNSEL AND REGIONAL 
                   ADVOCATES.

        Section 204 of Public Law 94-305 (15 U.S.C. 634d) is 
     amended--
       (1) by inserting ``(a)'' before ``In carrying out''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(b)(1) The Chief Counsel may appoint 1 individual to 
     serve as Principal Deputy Chief Counsel.
       ``(2) The Principal Deputy Chief Counsel shall be paid at 
     an annual rate not less than the minimum rate, nor more than 
     the maximum rate, for the Senior Executive Service under 
     chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code.
       ``(3) An individual appointed to a position under this 
     subsection shall not be counted toward the limitation 
     contained in subsection (a)(1) regarding the number of 
     individuals who may be compensated at a rate in excess of the 
     lowest rate for GS-15 of the General Schedule.
       ``(c) The Chief Counsel may appoint regional advocates 
     within each Standard Federal Region as appropriate. Such 
     regional advocates shall--
       ``(1) assist in examining the role of small business in the 
     economy of the United States by identifying academic and 
     other research institutions that focus on small business 
     concerns and linking these research resources to research 
     activities conducted by the Office of Advocacy;
       ``(2) assist in representing the views and interests of 
     small business concerns before Federal agencies whose 
     policies and activities may affect small business;
       ``(3) assist the functioning of regional small business 
     fairness boards in coordination with the Small Business and 
     Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman;
       ``(4) assist in enlisting the cooperation and assistance of 
     public and private agencies, businesses, and other 
     organizations in disseminating information about the programs 
     and services provided by the Federal Government that are of 
     benefit to small business concerns and the means by which 
     small business concerns can participate in or make use of 
     such programs and services; and
       ``(5) carry out such duties pursuant to the mission of the 
     Office of Advocacy as the Chief Counsel may assign.''.

     SEC. 7. OVERHEAD AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.

        Section 205 of Public Law 94-305 (15 U.S.C. 634e) is 
     amended by inserting before ``Each department'' the 
     following:
       ``(a) The Administrator of the Small Business 
     Administration shall provide the Office of Advocacy with 
     appropriate and adequate office space at central and field 
     office locations of the Administration, together with such 
     equipment, office supplies, communications facilities, and 
     personnel and maintenance services as may be necessary for 
     the operation of such offices.
       ``(b)''.

     SEC. 8. REPORTS.

        Section 206 of Public Law 94-305 (15 U.S.C. 634f) is 
     amended by striking ``The Chief Counsel may'' and all that 
     follows through ``on his activities.'' and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(a) Not less than annually, the Chief Counsel shall 
     submit to the President, the Committee on Small Business of 
     the House of Representatives, the Committee on Small Business 
     and Entrepreneurship of the Senate, the Committee on 
     Government Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Government 
     Reform of the House of Representatives, and the Committees on 
     the Judiciary of the Senate and the House of Representatives, 
     and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration a 
     report on agency compliance with chapter 6 of title 5, United 
     States Code.
       ``(b) In addition to the reports required by this title, 
     the Chief Counsel may prepare and publish such other reports 
     as the Chief Counsel determines appropriate.
       ``(c)''.

     SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

        Section 207 of Public Law 94-305 (15 U.S.C. 634g) is 
     amended by striking ``not to exceed $1,000,000'' and 
     inserting ``$10,000,000 for fiscal years 2003 and 2004, 
     $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, and $14,000,000 for fiscal 
     year 2006''.

     SEC. 10. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

       (a) Rural Tourism Training Program.--Section 311 of the 
     Small Business Administration Reauthorization and Amendments 
     Act of 1990 (15 U.S.C. 653 note; 104 Stat. 2832) is amended 
     by striking ``Chief Counsel for Advocacy'' and inserting 
     ``Administrator''.
       (b) Small Business and Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement 
     Ombudsman.--Section 30(b)(2) of the Small Business Act (15 
     U.S.C. 657(b)(2)) is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (2) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(F) maintain a memorandum of understanding with the 
     Office of Advocacy regarding methods and procedures for 
     cooperation between the Ombudsman and the Office of 
     Advocacy.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Manzullo) and the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands 
(Mrs. Christensen) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Manzullo).


                             General Leave

  Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1772.

[[Page 15795]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration is unique within the executive branch. The main role of 
the Chief Counsel for Advocacy is to ensure that proposed regulations 
and policies do not unduly burden small businesses even if it means 
opposing part of the President's agenda. In the past, this independence 
has been put to the test.
  The purpose of this legislation is to protect the Office of Advocacy 
from threats of funding cuts in order to enhance its independence. H.R. 
1772 is nearly identical to legislation this House passed unanimously 
on May 21, 2002. In fact, H.R. 1772 is essentially a conference report 
agreed to with the other body last year, but unfortunately there was 
not enough time on the Senate floor to get this passed. The only 
differences between H.R. 1772 and the advocacy bill from last year is 
that there would be only one instead of two principal deputies at the 
Office of Advocacy and the rank of Chief Counsel is not elevated one 
level. However, the heart of this bill creating a separate budgetary 
line item for the Office of Advocacy is the same as last year.
  To ensure that there are no games played with the Chief Counsel's 
budget, Congress will also get a sneak peek at the initial budget 
request he submits to the Office of Management and Budget before it 
becomes part of the President's official budget request. A separate 
budgetary line item is the top legislative priority for Tom Sullivan, 
the current Chief Counsel for the Office of Advocacy, and I am pleased 
to assist him in strengthening this office in moving this legislation.
  I want to commend two of our subcommittee chairmen, the gentleman 
from Missouri (Mr. Akin) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Schrock) 
for championing this legislation on focus and other important 
priorities.
  H.R. 1772 is one part of the overall solution to help reinvigorate 
our struggling small manufacturers battle unsound government 
regulations.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the Office of Advocacy serves a critical role to our 
Nation's entrepreneurs. It is a lone voice in the executive branch 
making sure that our Federal agencies take a step back and consider the 
needs of small businesses.
  By raising awareness, Advocacy ensures that our Federal government 
accomplishes its intended goals without unfairly burdening small 
businesses. Too often the needs of small businesses are forgotten in 
Washington and the demands of corporate America come first.
  Small businesses simply do not have the resources to keep up with the 
complex and burdensome Federal policies that take a one-size-fits-all 
approach. The need for a voice for small businesses in the Federal 
Government is why Congress created the Office of Advocacy. Congress 
made sure that Advocacy could produce reports and submit views without 
review by OMB, the only entity within the administration that can do 
this.
  This allows the Chief Counsel to review legislation and regulations 
and truly call them as he sees them. However, too often the important 
work of Advocacy is compromised. The unique role of Advocacy has made 
it a target of entities such as the Small Business Administration and 
the Office of Management and Budget. Over the years the Chief Counsel 
has had to weather the stormy relationship with these two entities as 
they have attempted to limit the voice of Advocacy through budget 
shortfalls and other measures.
  Mr. Speaker, for Advocacy to be effective, it must be truly 
independent to carry out its duties. The Chief Counsel must be able to 
critique an administration's agencies without concerns that the one 
holding the purse can silence them.
  I wish to commend the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Akin) and the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Schrock) for their efforts in taking this 
difficult issue on. It is an arduous task to balance the right 
combination of fiscal autonomy and flexibility necessary for Advocacy 
to do its job effectively.
  H.R. 1774 gives Advocacy a separate line item so that it is no longer 
subject to a SBA Administrator who designates the Chief Counsel's fund 
as his personal slush fund. While this is a noble attempt to address 
the challenges facing Advocacy, H.R. 1774 falls short. While creating a 
line item may limit some of the Small Business Administrator's ability 
to control funding, the bill creates new problems and might actually 
increase the ways that SBA and OMB can influence the Office of 
Advocacy. The proposal is going to increase the scrutiny and profile of 
Advocacy but offers no protections from these problems.
  Under H.R. 1774, an SBA Administrator will continue to have tools to 
exert pressure on a Chief Counsel. Because Advocacy will remain housed 
in the Small Business Administration and will rely on the resources of 
the Administrator, SBA will have control over the operations of the 
Chief Counsel. Nothing in this legislation prevents the SBA from 
charging for such services or prevents it from offering subpar 
services.
  This legislation also exposes Advocacy to a greater threat from OMB. 
In the budget process, there will be no barriers for OMB to cut funding 
to a Chief Counsel that is viewed as being overly critical. Under H.R. 
1772, Advocacy's budget will stand on its own, thus simplifying OMB's 
ability to underfund its budget.
  One cannot underestimate the incentives of the Office of Management 
and Budget to limit the voice of Advocacy. I ask, how can Advocacy be 
independent if one day the Chief Counsel is criticizing a President's 
prescription drug plan, for example, and the next day he has to request 
funding from the body charged with carrying out the President's agenda?
  An unintended consequence of this legislation is also the negative 
impact that Advocacy could have on other Small Business programs. If 
Congress is looking to restore dollars to an underfunded Advocacy, its 
first target for offsets could be critical SBA programs. We must make 
sure that the Chief Counsel will have a fully staffed office and know 
that such funding is not coming at the expense of other Small Business 
Administration programs.
  H.R. 1772 should be viewed as a starting point. As this proposal 
works its way through the legislative process, proper safeguards must 
be in place if we are to approve the final version. H.R. 1772 in its 
current form does not address all of the issues surrounding the 
independence problem. In some ways, it exposes the Chief Counsel to 
even greater influence. However, because of the importance of an 
independent Advocacy we must get this legislation moving.
  I wish to thank the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Akin) for getting 
this process going and look forward to working with him and our other 
colleagues to make sure that we can create a more independent Office of 
Advocacy. As an engine behind this Nation's economy, our small 
businesses deserve it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Akin), the chairman of the Subcommittee on 
Workforce, Empowerment and Government Programs.
  Mr. AKIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. 
Manzullo) for allowing me to take up the Advocacy improvement bill, 
H.R. 1772. I would also like to thank my friend, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Schrock), for working with me on this important piece of 
legislation.
  The Office of Advocacy is essential to the elimination of federally 
imposed regulations that just do not make sense. It is a government 
entity that exemplifies public service at its best and it is devoted to 
ensuring that small businesses are not encumbered by regulatory burdens 
that cost time and

[[Page 15796]]

money and energy but achieve little, if anything.
  The Office of Advocacy sometimes faces opposition from Federal 
regulatory entities that dislike having their regulations modified or 
questioned, and yet the office has been tireless and a key voice for 
small businessmen and women confronting these large agencies to prevent 
them from imposing unnecessary rules and regulations on small 
businesses and family owned companies.
  The legislation before us today will give more power to the SBA's 
Office of Advocacy to do its vital work. H.R. 1772 will, among other 
things, give the Office of Advocacy its own source of funding through a 
line item in the Federal budget, thus giving the office a more 
permanent and autonomous role that makes it less susceptible to 
budgetary bullying from some of the folks in the executive branch that 
might have been offended.
  Many colleagues of mine from both sides of the aisle frequently hear 
praises from constituents on the exemplary job of the Office of 
Advocacy. H.R. 1772 will ensure that that office is empowered and 
protected and given the tools that it needs to continue doing such a 
commendable job. As we strengthen the Office of Advocacy, the small 
business owners and entrepreneurs throughout the country will be better 
served. The real concerns of small business owners will be heard more 
clearly and addressed more readily as soon as this bill is signed into 
law.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his leadership on this 
important issue.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no speaker at this time. I 
reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1030

  Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Schrock), the chairman of the Subcommittee 
on Regulatory Reform and Oversight.
  Mr. SCHROCK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois for 
yielding me the time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1772, the Small 
Business Advisory Improvement Act.
  The gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Akin) and I cosponsored this 
legislation to strengthen an important office that supports our 
Nation's small businesses.
  I want to start by reading a few statistics: $843 billion, that is a 
B, that is the annual cost of regulations to Americans; $6,975, that is 
the average cost per employee of regulations to small businesses; 8.2 
billion hours, billion with a B, this is the annual time taken away 
from family and productive work to comply with Federal paperwork 
requirements.
  I hope that everyone recognizes what a great drain on the creative 
resources of our entrepreneurs this burden has become. All that money 
and all those hours are spent on doing things that have nothing to do 
with creating jobs or making a better life for that citizen and his or 
her family. What a great waste of our natural resources.
  I want to share with my colleagues another statistic: $21 billion, 
that is with a B, $21 billion, that is the amount of money the SBA's 
Office of Advocacy helped save the small businesses of this Nation last 
year. We should do all we can to support an office that acts as 
independent advocate for small business within the Federal Government, 
especially when this office also saves taxpayers time and money.
  This savings is created by the good men and women of SBA's Office of 
Advocacy who work tirelessly to monitor the regulators in the other 
agencies of the Federal Government. They inject sensitivity to the 
needs and concerns of small business in every rule-making that will 
impact them, and they train their regulators in how to better comply 
with laws that Congress has put on the books, like the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act and the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness 
Act.
  I know that without the Office of Advocacy and their good work, small 
businesses would be filling out more forms that have nothing to do with 
their business, paying more to comply with Federal regulations and 
requirements, and spending less times with their families.
  I have only been the chairman of the Subcommittee on Regulatory 
Reform and Oversight for a short time, but in that short time I have 
heard from a great many small business industries. They all believe 
that the Office of Advocacy is doing a tremendous job in helping to 
save small businesses money and save them from unnecessary regulatory 
burdens.
  From the home builders to the florists, from microbusinesses to small 
manufacturers, they all seem to agree that the Office of Advocacy is a 
necessary safeguard for small businesses; and they strongly support 
making the office more independent.
  Unfortunately, there have been times in the Office of Advocacy's 
history when its independence was threatened. Since its views are 
completely independent of the administration which it serves, it is 
often at odds with that administration. One example would be the 
previous administration's ergonomic rules, rules that would have caused 
small businesses endless amounts of money. That rule-making put the 
Office of Advocacy squarely in opposition to a rule that was being 
proposed by another agency and one that the residents of the last White 
House supported.
  It is for circumstances like that that the office must have some 
degree of budgetary independence from the Small Business Administration 
to be able to remain independent.
  Additional concepts in the bill like continued cooperation with the 
Office of National Ombudsman and greater oversight of agency compliance 
with regulatory flexibility statutes are more reasons to support H.R. 
1772.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to protect the private sector of 
our economy from unnecessary governmental burdens by passing this bill.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  No one disputes the accomplishments and the importance of the Office 
of Advocacy. Just as the role of small business is more critical during 
an economic downturn, so is the need for an independent Office of 
Advocacy. To achieve the goal of independence, it needs a delicate 
balancing act.
  As a voice of small business, the chief counsel is often in a 
difficult situation because his office is a part of the same Federal 
Government it has been charged with monitoring, and many of these 
bodies within the Federal Government have incentives to limit the chief 
counsel's effectiveness.
  In our efforts to increase independence, we need to make sure that an 
SBA administrator can no longer meddle in the affairs of the Office of 
Advocacy. The chief counsel should be able to perform his or her role 
without having to look over their shoulder.
  Legislation must strengthen the ability of advocates to speak out 
against all agencies, including the Office of Management and Budget. 
OMB must not be able to hold funding over the head of the chief counsel 
as a threat to fall in line with an administration.
  Finally, in our efforts to solve this problem, we must not create new 
ones. We do not want a situation where we are robbing Peter to pay 
Paul. Advocacy funding must not come at the expense of Small Business 
Administration programs designed to help our Nation's small businesses. 
To do so would be a step backward for this Nation's small business.
  I am confident that because of the bipartisan nature of this debate 
it will allow us to fashion a solution that gives advocacy the 
necessary freedom to operate. Today we have started that process, and I 
look forward to working with our colleagues to increase the voice of 
small business.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  This is a good bill. It advances the cause of an independent Office 
of Advocacy. It enhances the budget. It makes the administration, 
whether Republican or Democratic, more responsive to the person who 
occupies the Office of Advocacy; and I would urge my colleagues for a 
``yes'' vote.

[[Page 15797]]

  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Petri). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Manzullo) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1772, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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