[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 14150-14151]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             TEMPORARY EXTENSION OF SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS

  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 5849) to provide for an additional temporary extension of 
programs under the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment 
Act of 1958, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5849

       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 most recently amended by section 1 
     of Public Law 111-162 (124 Stat. 1129), is amended by 
     striking ``July 31, 2010'' each place it appears and 
     inserting ``September 30, 2010''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) 
     shall take effect on July 30, 2010.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
New York (Ms. Velazquez) and the

[[Page 14151]]

gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Westmoreland) 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 
have 5 legislative days 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, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  In every previous recession, small businesses have been central to 
our economic recovery. The Small Business Administration has an 
important role to play in giving businesses tools they need to succeed. 
Technical assistance programs operated by the SBA provide critical 
expertise in everything from writing a business plan, to finding new 
customers, to marketing a product.

                              {time}  1340

  While our Nation's financial landscape has improved, many small firms 
cannot find the financing they need. To bridge this gap, the agency's 
lending programs put over $15 billion into the economy, making them the 
single largest source of long-term capital. So that entrepreneurs can 
better tap into the Federal marketplace, there is also assistance to 
help businesses navigate our government's procurement process. Taken 
together, this portfolio of services can empower small businesses to 
create new jobs and accelerate our recovery.
  Since the start of this Congress, the House has passed 16 bills to 
strengthen and modernize the SBA initiatives. However, before these 
programs are fully updated, they must be extended. This legislation 
ensures these programs keep operating.
  I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WESTMORELAND. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the gentlelady from New York, 
the chairlady's request to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 5849, a bill 
to provide a 2-month extension of the Small Business Administration's 
core programs through September 30, 2010. The previous extension that 
passed last April will expire at the end of this week.
  In this tough economy, small businesses need all the help they can 
get. However, as the economic downturn has continued, entrepreneurs 
have lost the support they need from Congress and the administration to 
help them do what they do best--create jobs and opportunities. Instead 
of listening to the needs of the small business community, Congress has 
continued along with the destructive course of tax increases, 
government expansion, massive deficits, and job-killing regulations.
  Mr. Speaker, as we move toward extending these SBA programs, yet 
again a temporary effort to shore up our economy and small businesses, 
we must remember that uncertainty is the enemy of growth. Certain 
legislative and regulatory proposals that have been considered in 
Congress lately have injected a tremendous amount of certainty into our 
markets, uncertainty into our markets. This ambiguity creates unique 
difficulties for entrepreneurs. It makes them less willing to take 
risk, to expand operations, or hire new workers.
  Entrepreneurs have created nearly 70 percent of all new jobs in the 
U.S. in recent years. We can all agree that their contributions to our 
economy and job force will be what will lead us to our recovery. It's 
time to show our small business owners that we recognize and support 
this central role they play in our economy. We can do so by approving 
this temporary extension of SBA programs, and then we must continue our 
work by crafting and implementing a more thoughtful and complete 
reauthorization of these critical programs.
  I would also like to take this opportunity to commend the gentlelady 
from New York for her leadership in the small business committee. Her 
determination to work for the betterment of America's small businesses 
has allowed us to produce numerous pieces of bipartisan legislation 
that have reauthorized and modernized the SBA in these programs. 
Although we have not yet been able to successfully negotiate a 
compromise between our bills in what have previously passed the House 
and those that the Senate has passed, I remain confident that we will 
reach an agreement soon and look forward to working with the chairwoman 
to that end.
  Again, I thank the chairwoman for her leadership and support her 
request to pass H.R. 5849, and I urge all Members to vote for the 
measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WU. Mr. Speaker, I rise in reluctant support of H.R. 5849, which 
extends the Small Business Administration's programs--including the 
Small Business Innovation Research program--for another 60 days. It is 
disappointing that we must again approve an extension of these 
programs, particularly the SBIR program. We should have reauthorized 
SBIR long ago, and we should not be dragging this process out further. 
Unfortunately, we find ourselves yet again without a compromise bill as 
the program's most recent extension sunsets.
  Knowledge-driven endeavors are essential if our nation is to compete 
globally, but without making important changes to the 20-year-old SBIR 
program, we are giving today's companies outdated tools. Today's 
extension marks the seventh time since September 2008 that we have 
approved a ``temporary'' extension of the SBIR program. This is a 
travesty.
  Mr. Speaker, I will be supporting today's extension of the SBIR 
program. But I am utterly opposed to a further extension after today. 
We have an obligation to America's high-tech entrepreneurs to ensure a 
steady and predictable funding stream from the SBIR program that is 
updated for today's economy. It is time we complete our work on this 
vital program. We have dillydallied for far too long. We can resolve 
any remaining differences in the bills passed by each chamber in 30 
minutes if the principals will simply get in one room and negotiate 
face-to-face in good faith.
  I look forward to working with my colleague, the chair of the House 
Small Business Committee, Ms. Velazquez, to finalize a full 
reauthorization of the SBIR program in the coming weeks.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express strong support 
for House Resolution 5849, which extends temporary programs under the 
Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958.
  It is a well known fact that small businesses drive our economy in a 
significant way and serve as a stimulator for job creation and economic 
development. In my congressional district, there are thousands of small 
businesses which provide work opportunities and facilitate the 
continuous flow of goods and services which help to keep the economy 
moving.
  Again, I express my strong support for House Resolution 5849 and look 
forward to its implementation.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. 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. 5849.
  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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