[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 16784]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

  (At the request of Mr. Daschle, the following statement was ordered 
to be printed in the Record.)
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           NATIONAL VETERANS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

 Mr. KERRY. Madam President, I am pleased to join my colleagues 
in the Senate--Chair of the Committee on Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship Olympia Snowe and former House Small Business 
Committee Chairman Jim Talent--in support of legislation that will 
ensure the National Veterans Business Development Corporation is able 
to continue serving veteran small business owners.
  In a letter to the Office of Management and Budget on March 19, 2004, 
the Department of Justice concluded that the Veterans Corporation is a 
government agency, and therefore subject to the laws, regulations, and 
guidance applicable to all executive branch agencies. This opinion by 
the admiration not only goes against congressional intent, but it 
severely undermines the ability of the corporation to deliver needed 
assistance to veteran entrepreneurs.
  As a supporter of the original legislation that established the 
Veterans Corporation, I can tell you that Congress fully intended the 
Veterans Corporation to be a private entity and not a Federal agency. 
This bipartisan legislation simply clarifies the status of the Veterans 
Corporation and reaffirms Congress's original objective.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation, which we 
seek to pass today. Passing this legislation expeditiously will mean 
that the Veterans Corporation can continue to carry out its 
congressionally mandated mission and that our veteran-owned small 
business are able to receive the development assistance they need to 
start and expand.

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