[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 19636]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     INTRODUCTION OF THE VETERANS CORPORATION REAUTHORIZATION AND 
                            ENHANCEMENT ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SUSAN A. DAVIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 25, 2006

  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce 
legislation on behalf of America's veterans seeking to start and 
operate their own businesses.
  Along with my colleagues Mr. Evans from Illinois and Ms. Herseth from 
South Dakota, I offer The Veterans Corporation Reauthorization and 
Enhancement Act of 2006 to ensure our veterans have access to the 
training, the assistance, and the capital to start and manage a 
business.
  Congress passed The Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business 
Development Act of 1999 establishing the National Veterans Business 
Development Corporation to provide all of these crucial aspects of 
entrepreneurship to veterans.
  As a result of that landmark legislation, the Veterans Corporation 
has provided training to over 8,000 veterans and has helped over 550 
veterans start businesses during 2006 alone.
  Unfortunately, Congress has yet to reauthorize the Veterans 
Corporation, leaving its funding in question each year.
  It was an honor to offer an amendment to the Science, State, Justice, 
Commerce, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for 2007 (H.R. 5672) 
in June increasing its funding to $1.5 million for the next fiscal 
year.
  Now, I join with Mr. Evans and Ms. Herseth to introduce legislation 
ensuring funding for this worthy program through 2012.
  By passing this legislation, we can make sure our brave service 
members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan will have access to 
entrepreneurship training.
  Those who are courageously fighting abroad deserve the opportunity to 
start a business and achieve that aspect of the American Dream.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge you to act on this legislation and encourage 
business ownership for veterans.

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