[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Page 1527]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          SMALL BUSINESS AND FARM ENERGY EMERGENCY RELIEF ACT

  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, as small businesses in the State of 
Washington continue to struggle with the extraordinarily high costs of 
electricity following the Western Energy Crisis of 2000-2001 and 
significant increases in the costs of other petroleum fuels, I wanted 
to make a statement in support of the Small Business and Farm Energy 
Emergency Relief Act of 2005, S. 269, introduced yesterday by the 
Senator from Massachusetts, Mr. Kerry. This legislation establishes a 
critically important safety net for small businesses and family farms 
that suffer direct economic injury due to exorbitant and immediate 
increases in energy costs, and I am pleased to be an original 
cosponsor.
  During the 107th Congress, I was proud to cosponsor the Small 
Business and Farm Energy Emergency Relief Act of 2001, which contained 
many of the same provisions that are included in this legislation.
  The Small Business and Farm Energy Emergency Relief Act of 2005 would 
provide small businesses and farms economic relief in the form of low-
interest emergency loans to help mitigate the effects of significant 
spikes in the prices of heating oil, propane, natural gas, and 
kerosene. To be eligible, an applicant must be a small-business owner 
or agriculture producer, must have used all reasonably available funds 
it may have, and must be unable to obtain credit elsewhere. The U.S. 
Small Business Administration would provide loans to small-businesses 
and farms would apply for loans through the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture.
  As my colleagues know, small businesses and farms typically operate 
on narrow margins. They depend on affordable and stable cost inputs--
such as fuel--to maintain their productivity. However, the recent 
volatility of energy prices has levied a considerable strain on the 
operating budgets of many American small businesses and family farms 
and ultimately threatened their sustainability. Without this emergency 
assistance, the viability of some Washington State small businesses and 
farms would be compromised during times when energy prices spike. This 
emergency relief program is vital to protecting small businesses from 
the considerable economic impact of surging energy costs and we must do 
all that is possible to help them overcome these challenges.
  Mr. President, the Small Business and Farm Energy Emergency Relief 
Act provides critical assistance for our small businesses and farms 
through trying economic conditions. Therefore, I urge my colleagues to 
give it their full support.

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