[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 21]
[House]
[Pages 27987-27989]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1100
                 EXPANDING ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACT OF 2009

  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1842) to amend the Small Business Act to improve the Small 
Business Administration's entrepreneurial development programs, and for 
other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1842

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Expanding Entrepreneurship 
     Act of 2009''.

     SEC. 2. EXPANDING ENTREPRENEURSHIP.

       Section 4 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 633) is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(g) Management and Direction.--
       ``(1) Plan for entrepreneurial development and job creation 
     strategy.--The Administrator shall develop and submit to 
     Congress a plan, in consultation with a representative from 
     each of the agency's entrepreneurial development programs, 
     for using the Small Business Administration's entrepreneurial 
     development programs to create jobs during fiscal years 2010 
     and 2011. The plan shall include the Administration's plan 
     for drawing on existing programs, including Small Business 
     Development Centers, Women's Business Centers, SCORE, 
     Veterans Business Centers, Native American Outreach, and 
     other appropriate programs. The Administrator shall identify 
     a strategy for each Administration region to create or retain 
     jobs through Administration programs. The Administrator shall 
     identify, in consultation with appropriate personnel from 
     entrepreneurial development programs, performance measures 
     and criteria, including job creation, job retention, and job 
     retraining goals, to evaluate the success of the 
     Administration's actions regarding these efforts.

[[Page 27988]]

       ``(2) Data collection process.--The Administrator shall, 
     after notice and opportunity for comment, promulgate a rule 
     to develop and implement a consistent data collection process 
     to cover all entrepreneurial development programs. Such data 
     collection process shall include data relating to job 
     creation, performance, and any other data determined 
     appropriate by the Administrator with respect to the 
     Administration's entrepreneurial development programs.
       ``(3) Coordination and alignment of sba entrepreneurial 
     development programs.--The Administrator shall submit 
     annually to Congress, in consultation with other Federal 
     departments and agencies as appropriate, a report on 
     opportunities to foster coordination, limit duplication, and 
     improve program delivery for Federal entrepreneurial 
     development programs.
       ``(4) Database of entrepreneurial development service 
     providers.--The Administrator shall, after a period of 60 
     days for public comment, establish a database of providers of 
     entrepreneurial development services and, make such database 
     available through the Administration's Web site. The database 
     shall be searchable by industry, geography, and service 
     required.
       ``(5) Community specialist.--The Administrator shall 
     designate not less than one staff member in each 
     Administration district office as a community specialist who 
     has as their full-time responsibility working with local 
     entrepreneurial development service providers to increase 
     coordination with Federal resources. The Administrator shall 
     develop benchmarks for measuring the performance of community 
     specialists under this subsection.
       ``(6) Entrepreneurial development portal.--The 
     Administrator shall publish a design for a Web-based portal 
     to provide comprehensive information on the Administration's 
     entrepreneurial development programs. After a period of 60 
     days for public comment, the Administrator shall establish 
     such portal and--
       ``(A) integrate under one Web portal, Small Business 
     Development Centers, Women's Business Centers, SCORE, 
     Veterans Business Centers, the Administration's distance 
     learning program, and other programs as appropriate;
       ``(B) revise the Administration's primary Web site so that 
     the Web portal described in subparagraph (A) is available as 
     a link on the main Web page of the Web site;
       ``(C) increase consumer-oriented content on the 
     Administration's Web site and focus on promoting access to 
     business solutions, including marketing, financing, and human 
     resources planning;
       ``(D) establish relevant Web content aggregated by industry 
     segment, stage of business development, level of need, and 
     include referral links to appropriate Administration 
     services, including financing, training and counseling, and 
     procurement assistance; and
       ``(E) provide style guidelines and links for visitors to 
     the Administration's Web site to be able to comment on and 
     evaluate the materials in terms of their usefulness.
       ``(7) Pilot programs.--The Administrator may not conduct 
     any pilot program for a period of greater than 3 years if the 
     program conflicts with, or uses the resources of, any of the 
     entrepreneurial development programs authorized under section 
     8(b)(1)(B), 21, 29, 32, or any other provision of this 
     Act.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
New York (Ms. Velazquez) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. 
Luetkemeyer) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in 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 
gentlewoman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, entrepreneurial development initiatives, 
or ED programs, provide critical services for aspiring entrepreneurs 
seeking to launch a new enterprise. These programs also help 
established businesses that are trying to expand and create new jobs.
  By helping small firms flourish, the SBA's ED services will be vital 
to sustaining our economic recovery. But for this to happen, the SBA 
must use its resources effectively. This is especially true during 
economic downturns. After all, when money is scarce, we want to make 
sure the taxpayer gets the most job-creating bang for their buck.
  We already know that ED initiatives are a wise investment. Every 
dollar put into these programs returns $2.87 to the U.S. Treasury. The 
legislation that we are considering today will make these programs even 
more responsive, so that they better meet the needs of small business 
owners.
  H.R. 1842 will bring enhanced coordination to the SBA's portfolio of 
ED services. In order for these initiatives to perform at their full 
potential, we have to know what is working and what could function 
better. This bill takes important steps in that direction. Requiring 
the SBA to collect data will provide important insights into the 
strengths of the ED program and highlight where there is room for 
improvement.
  The bill also instructs the SBA to develop a plan outlining how to 
use ED initiatives to create new jobs over the next 2 years. Given the 
current state of the economy, it make sense that the agency focus on 
using ED to expand employment options. The bill will also reduce 
duplication between different ED initiatives. By verifying that the 
SBA's right hand knows what the left hand is doing, we will further 
leverage the agency's resources and channel more support to small 
businesses.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill. It puts in place some commonsense 
steps that are badly needed at SBA. Most importantly, this bill will 
ensure the SBA's programs do a better job of helping businesses. I 
think all of us can stand behind that goal. I urge my colleagues to 
vote ``yes.''
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, first I would like to recognize Chairman Velazquez for 
her great leadership and bipartisan fashion on this committee which has 
a myriad of issues that we address on a daily basis, and I want to 
thank her for her excellent leadership and providing us a forum to 
debate these ideas in a fair fashion.
  I am proud to support H.R. 1842, the Expanding Entrepreneurship Act 
of 2009, to assist many fellow small business owners and employees 
throughout my district in Missouri and throughout the country. Small 
businesses have generated up to 80 percent of net new jobs annually 
over the last decade and continue to contribute 38 percent to the gross 
domestic product. As we try to jumpstart the slumping economy and put 
people back to work, it only makes sense to provide relief and not more 
onerous tax hikes to our Nation's most productive job creators.
  While this logic has underpinned alternative plans supported by 
myself and many of my colleagues to boost the economy and ensure growth 
in the future, it has been all but ignored by the administration and 
the majority in Congress. At a time when small businesses are 
struggling to keep their doors open, we must remain ever vigilant in 
improving the efficacy of entrepreneurial and technical assistance 
programs. We also need to ensure our small businesses are able to 
adequately utilize all available resources.
  My bill beefs up support services in key entrepreneurial development 
programs, making these programs more effective and responsive to the 
needs of small businesses and ensuring that existing programs are being 
used effectively and duplicative government programs are done away 
with.
  To make these widely used programs more responsive to the needs of 
small businesses and at no cost to the taxpayers, H.R. 1842 establishes 
planning standards within these programs, requires maintenance of an 
entrepreneurial development database, and ensures that someone is 
available to assist small businesses at all SBA district offices. The 
bill also requires the SBA to develop a job-creation strategy for 2009-
2010.
  The bill also expands specific programs, such as small business 
development centers, women's business centers, and the Service Corps of 
Retired Executive, or SCORE. These widely used programs are intended to 
assist entrepreneurs with practical and technical skills needed to help 
start and sustain a business.
  In addition, the bill creates new support programs for veteran-owned 
and Native American-owned small businesses, improves cross-program 
coordination to maximize use of program resources, and creates 21st-
century online learning initiatives for entrepreneurs.

[[Page 27989]]

  An investment in entrepreneurial development programs yields strong 
returns. In 2008, the SBA entrepreneurial development programs helped 
to generate 73,000 new jobs and bring $7.2 billion into the economy. 
Some economists have estimated that every dollar invested in these 
initiatives returns $2.87 to our economy and helps these small 
businesses thrive.
  Since the onset of the credit crisis over 2 years ago, available 
credit to small businesses and consumers has contracted by trillions of 
dollars. Without access to credit, small businesses can't grow, can't 
hire, and too often end up going out of business. That is why I am 
particularly pleased to support a bill that strengthens small business 
development centers, one-stop assistance centers for current and 
prospective small business owners designed to assist small firms in 
securing capital and credit.
  As Louis Celli, CEO of the Northeast Veterans Business Resource 
Center in Boston, put it at a recent hearing on this same subject, we 
have the right focus by wanting ``to interweave these programs together 
and really force everybody to play in the same sandbox.'' And by making 
entrepreneurial development programs more effective, we can be not only 
more responsive to small businesses but also be better stewards of 
taxpayers' dollars.
  I urge my colleagues to support the legislation.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise before you today in 
support of H.R. 1842, the ``Expanding Entrepreneurship Act of 2009.'' I 
would like thank my colleague, Representative Luetkemeyer, for 
introducing this act of solidarity, as well as the cosponsors.
  When people think of the American Dream, there are few things they 
are more likely to think of than opening a small business. Our 
President called them the dreamers who built this country. In his 
words, ``They're the workers who took a chance on their desire to be 
their own boss, the part-time inventors who became the full-time 
entrepreneurs, the men and women who have helped build the American 
middle class, keeping alive that most American of ideals.'' My home 
city is very much a part of this dream--according to Fortune Small 
Business magazine, Houston, Texas, is one of the five best cities in 
which to start a small business.
  That is what makes the Expanding Entrepreneurship Act such an 
important bill. It would make several changes to the Small Business 
Administration's, SBA, entrepreneurial development programs including 
establishment of planning standards, greater coordination of SBA 
programs, maintenance of an entrepreneurial development database, 
creation of an entrepreneurial development portal, and the introduction 
of community specialists to the program.
  Under this legislation, the Administrator of the SBA would be 
required to develop a job creation strategy for 2009-2010. This plan 
would include the agency's intent for using existing programs, 
including Small Business Development Centers, SBDCs, Women's Business 
Centers, WBCs, Service Corps for Retired Executives, SCORE, Veterans' 
Business Outreach Centers, Native American Outreach, and other 
appropriate initiatives, to create and retain jobs throughout the 
United States. The SBA Administrator would establish performance 
measures and criteria including job creation, job retention and job 
retaining goals, to evaluate the agency's progress in this effort.
  Also, under this act the Administrator would be required to oversee 
the coordination of SBA's Entrepreneurial Development Programs with 
other Federal agencies when it's appropriate. The Administrator would 
be required to report to Congress annually on opportunities to foster 
coordination, limit duplication, and improve Federal entrepreneurial 
development programs, without regard to the agency that houses an 
entrepreneurial outreach effort.
  To ensure easy access for entrepreneurs, a portal will be designed on 
the SBA website with links to all of the SBA's entrepreneurial 
development programs. This portal will also have links to relevant web 
content organized by industry type, stage of business, and level of 
need. A separate database of providers of entrepreneurial development 
services will also be established on the SBA's website.
  A community specialist would also be recruited to serve in every SBA 
District office. Their sole purpose would be working with local 
entrepreneurial development service providers to improve coordination 
with Federal resources. This will make the bill especially helpful for 
minority owned businesses.
  This legislation is particularly efficient because it develops a cost 
effective way to reach a larger number of entrepreneurs in need and 
coordinates all entrepreneurial development programs eliminating 
duplication and government waste.
  That is why I am supporting this legislation--because of what it will 
do to help women, minorities, and veterans who gave the ultimate 
service to our great country to be a part of its great dream.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1842, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________