[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 15]
[House]
[Pages 21383-21384]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3206) to provide for an additional temporary extension of 
programs under the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment 
Act of 1958 through December 15, 2007, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3206

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. ADDITIONAL TEMPORARY EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF 
                   PROGRAMS UNDER THE SMALL BUSINESS ACT AND THE 
                   SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT ACT OF 1958.

       (a) In General.--Section 1 of the Act entitled ``An Act to 
     extend temporarily certain authorities of the Small Business 
     Administration'', approved October 10, 2006 (Public Law 109-
     316; 120 Stat. 1742), as amended by section 1 of Public Law 
     110-4 (121 Stat. 7), is further amended by striking ``July 
     31, 2007'' each place it appears and inserting ``December 15, 
     2007''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
     shall take effect on July 31, 2007.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Grijalva) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GRIJALVA. 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 the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Arizona?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, the legislation being offered today will 
extend the authorization of the Small Business Administration and its 
programs through December 15, 2007.
  As Congress moves forward on improving SBA and the services it 
provides, this short-term extension will ensure that small businesses 
have many of the tools they need to be successful in today's economy.
  I am pleased to say the Small Business Administration Committee has 
made significant progress in making long overdue improvements to this 
agency. During the 110th Congress, the House Small Business Committee 
has successfully reported nearly a dozen bills, each designed to update 
and upgrade SBA programs to meet the needs of the 21st-century 
entrepreneur.
  Nearly all of this legislation has been passed out of the House, and 
every single bill has had broad bipartisan support. With their passage, 
we are well on our way to providing the most significant overhaul of 
the Small Business Administration and its programs in at least two 
decades.
  During this Congress, the House Small Business Committee has 
successfully moved forward on legislation that will provide affordable 
loans to entrepreneurs, prevent large corporations from being awarded 
small business contracts, and ensure veterans, women, and minority-
owned firms have access to the assistance that they need. And in light 
of the failures we saw during Katrina, the committee reported a bill 
that will improve SBA's disaster loan program. This has been completed 
in a span of a little over 6 months.
  Our committee has been able to provide these changes due to the 
outstanding leadership of Ranking Member Chabot and our Chair, Nydia 
Velazquez. They have worked in a bipartisan manner to provide the 
necessary tools for this Nation's small businesses.
  The extension before us today will allow the committees in the House 
and Senate to work out the differences in their bills and get them 
signed into law. These major changes require time to reconcile the 
House and Senate bills. H.R. 3206 provides the necessary time while 
ensuring operation of these programs are not interrupted. I urge 
support of this extension.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise today in support of H.R. 3206. This bill is very simple: it 
extends the authorization of all programs authorized by the Small 
Business Act, the Small Business Investment Act, and any program 
operated by the Small Business Administration for which Congress has 
already appropriated funds. This extension will last until December 15, 
2007. This extension is necessary because authorization for various 
programs operated by the SBA ceases on July 31, 2007, tomorrow.
  Working in a bipartisan manner with Chairwoman Velazquez and myself, 
the committee has ordered 12 bills to be reported out, of which nine 
have passed this body, the House of Representatives.

[[Page 21384]]

  While the pace has been furious, more needs to be done in the 
examination of programs within the committee's jurisdiction. These 
include small business government contracting programs, investment 
programs for small businesses, and improving the management of the SBA.
  This work cannot be done in a deliberative, thoughtful, and 
bipartisan manner by midnight tomorrow. Even if the committee and the 
House finish its deliberations on all aspects of the SBA and its 
programs, we operate, after all, in a bicameral legislative system. 
Time is needed for the legislative process in both bodies to function 
and, if necessary, for the two bodies to meet in a conference to iron 
out any disagreements concerning each body's deliberations about how 
best to ensure that the SBA and its myriad programs are best promoting 
the health of America's entrepreneurs. I urge my colleagues to support 
H.R. 3206.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 3206.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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