[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Pages 21663-21665]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    TO EXTEND TEMPORARILY CERTAIN AUTHORITIES OF THE SMALL BUSINESS 
                             ADMINISTRATION

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 6159 which was received 
from the House.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the title of the bill.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 6159) to extend temporarily certain 
     authorities of the Small Business Administration.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to the consideration 
of the bill.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, tomorrow--September 30, 2006--many of the 
SBA's programs and authorities expire. Our committee worked together to 
come up with a bipartisan package, a true give-and-take on ideas, 
including many reforms driven by needs identified in the response to 
the gulf hurricanes last year. That comprehensive small business 
reauthorization bill, S. 3778, is opposed by the administration, and is 
being blocked from consideration in the full Senate through various 
holds.
  We finished our work at the end of July, and the bill has been 
pending on the Senate calendar for consideration

[[Page 21664]]

since August 2. The administration and other opponents have had 9 weeks 
to work out a compromise. But they don't want to. SBA has told the 
small business community that they don't want an SBA reauthorization 
bill this year; they only want to reauthorize their ability to 
cosponsor events with the private sector.
  In the absence of passing that legislation, which is a replay of our 
last reauthorization bill, S. 1375, that was obstructed, the agency is 
at the mercy of a continuing resolution, CR. Unfortunately, a 
continuing resolution doesn't extend all the authorities needed for the 
agency to operate. H.R. 6159 was put forward to catch some of the 
programs that would fall through the cracks. However, according to CRS 
and the Senate Legislative Counsel, as drafted, the bill still doesn't 
close the gaps. The gaps leave open the Advisory Committee on Veterans 
Business Affairs, the New Markets Venture Capital Program, and the 
Program for Investment in Micro-entrepreneurs.
  There are disagreements over the interpretations of what needs to be 
authorized, and some of our colleagues have argued that even if there 
are disagreements on the interpretation of what programs are covered by 
H.R. 6159, we should move the bill anyway because we have a letter from 
SBA committing to cover those provisions considered ambiguous. 
Specifically, SBA gave Chairman Snowe a letter on September 27, 2006, 
committing to run the programs we are concerned about. Our colleagues 
argue that SBA would be bound by those written interpretations. 
However, I am sure my colleagues can understand why we might not feel 
comfortable relying on that letter given that on September 19, 8 days 
earlier, SBA sent a list to my staff regarding which programs are 
covered by a CR, those with ``hard sunset dates,'' and it contradicted 
the letter to our chairman. The contradictions raise valid concerns, 
and I am sorry that the Senate did not adopt the language that 
eliminates any vagueness. Neither CRS nor Legislative Counsel has an 
agenda with regard to SBA's reauthorization, so we prefer to go with 
their interpretations.
  What are the contradictions?: *The Advisory Committee on Veterans 
Business Affairs, *The SBDC Drug-Free Workplace program, *The Pre-
Disaster Mitigation program,
  In the e-mail, SBA said:

       Those marked with an * do not need authorization language 
     in the CR to operate the core mission of the SBA on a short-
     term basis. Grants for the year have already been given out 
     and other programs have the ability to operate without 
     authorizing language or are not operating and/or do not have 
     an appropriation.
       In the letter, SBA said these programs ``would not be 
     covered by the CR and that [they] would cease to operate if 
     H.R. 6159 were not enacted.''

  Also, problematic is the date. The bill extends the programs through 
February 2, 2007, instead of November 17, consistent with the CR. 
Because the SBA has the cosponsorship authority, there is no incentive 
for the agency to come negotiate with us on the comprehensive 
reauthorization bill.
  We were given this bill last week, and told we had one hour to 
approve it. We tried, but our conversations, as referenced above, with 
CRS and Senate Legislative Counsel identified holes in the legislation. 
We asked Legislative Counsel to draft the corrections and told our 
colleagues that we were waiting for the draft. They moved forward 
without us. This take-it-or-leave-it approach is unnecessary.
  Let the record reflect that we have been willing to compromise all 
along and only asked that the language accomplish: extension of 
programs or authorities that would fall through the cracks based on 
discussions with CRS and Senate Legislative Counsel and a date change 
to keep folks working to pass, this 109th Congress, S. 3778, the 
Senate's bipartisan, comprehensive SBA Reauthorization Act. We did not 
include provisions outside those goals.
  It is disappointing that our goal was not shared. I am hopeful that 
the Veterans Committee will continue and that SBA will not pull 
resources from the New Markets Program or later argue that not 
addressing PRIME was a statement from the Senate that we didn't mean 
for it to be extended. That would be inaccurate, as reflected in S. 
3778, where PRIME is moved to the Small Business Act and reauthorized.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, as chair of the Senate Committee on Small 
Business and Entrepreneurship, I rise today to ask unanimous consent to 
approve H.R. 6159, a bill passed by the House of Representatives on 
Tuesday that would provide a short-term extension of the Small Business 
Administration, SBA, and all of its programs. In particular, it ensures 
the continued authority, through February 2, 2007, of the SBA's Pre-
Disaster Mitigation Program, the Small Business Development Center 
Drug-Free Workplace Grants, the Advisory Committee on Veterans Business 
Affairs, and also the SBA's Cosponsorship and Gift Acceptance 
Authority.
  Currently, many of the SBA's programs, authorities, or provisions 
authorized under the Small Business Act and the Small Business 
Investment Act are scheduled to expire on September 30, 2006. While 
most of the SBA's programs can operate through appropriations and the 
Continuing Resolution, this bill makes certain that the SBA will 
continue its vital small business lending programs such as the 7(a) 
loan guaranty program; the Certified Development Company program; and 
the Small Business Investment Companies program.
  On July 27, 2006, the Small Business Committee unanimously reported 
out the Small Business Improvements and Reauthorization Act of 2006 (S. 
3778), a comprehensive, bipartisan bill which reauthorizes the SBA for 
the next 3 years. This bill is a product of the committee's work over 
the last 2 years and includes many critical provisions to improve and 
revitalize the SBA and its programs.
  My SBA Reauthorization bill will enhance the SBA's role in assisting 
American small businesses to thrive and grow, through the agency's 
lending programs as well as other programs and services. Most 
importantly, it will enable the agency to help small businesses 
continue creating new jobs for our economy. Since 1999, the SBA's 
programs and services have time and again proven their value, helping 
to create or retain over 5.3 million jobs in the United States.
  I am confident that we can enact legislation to reauthorize the SBA 
before the 109th Congress ends and I am committed to work with my 
colleagues to pass a bipartisan bill. However, in the interim, we must 
ensure that the SBA can continue to offer the entire range of its 
programs to our nation's small businesses, which are the backbone of 
our economic foundation, creating nearly three-quarters of all new jobs 
and generating about 50 percent of the nation's gross domestic product.
  However, at stake today are four key SBA programs and authorities, 
including the Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs, which is 
scheduled to transfer to the Veterans Corporation on October 1, 2006. 
In a letter from SBA Administrator Steven C. Preston, dated September 
27, 2006, the SBA stated that . . . if H.R. 6159 is not passed, then 
the Advisory Committee will terminate, and its duties will be assumed 
by the NVBDC [National Veterans Business Development Corporation].
  We must act today to ensure that the SBA, the Advisory Committee on 
Veterans Business Affairs, and all of SBA's programs continue to 
operate. The bill before us achieves that goal by extending the 
authorization for the SBA's program through February 2, 2007. That will 
provide sufficient time and opportunity for both the Senate and the 
House to pass a SBA Reauthorization legislation, for Congress to 
reconcile the differences, and for the President to sign a long-term 
reauthorization bill for the SBA.
  Too much was at stake for small businesses, and our economy as a 
whole, to allow SBA and critical small business programs and services 
to languish. We must find essential agreement and fulfill its 
obligation to America's small businesses. Clearly, if we strive for 
anything less, we would fail to support the backbone of our economy, 
our hope for innovation and new

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technology, and our small firms that employ millions across the nation 
ensure the success of tomorrow's entrepreneurs.
  Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6159 and thereby 
ensure that the SBA will continue to serve small businesses and enable 
small businesses to obtain the financing they need, as they contribute 
so greatly to the revitalization of our national economy.
  Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read the third 
time and passed, a motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any 
statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (H.R. 6159) was ordered to a third reading, was read the 
third time, and passed.

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