[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11390-11392]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 VETERANS ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACT OF 2015

  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2499) to amend the Small Business Act to increase access to 
capital for veteran entrepreneurs, to help create jobs, and for other 
purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2499

       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 ``Veterans Entrepreneurship 
     Act of 2015''.

     SEC. 2. PERMANENT SBA EXPRESS LOAN GUARANTEE FEE WAIVER FOR 
                   VETERANS.

       Section 7(a)(31) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
     636(a)(31)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(G) Guarantee fee waiver for veterans.--
       ``(i) Guarantee fee waiver.--The Administrator may not 
     collect a guarantee fee described in paragraph (18) in 
     connection with a loan made under this paragraph to a veteran 
     or spouse of a veteran on or after October 1, 2015.
       ``(ii) Exception.--If the President's budget for the 
     upcoming fiscal year, submitted to Congress pursuant to 
     section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, includes a 
     cost for the program established under this subsection that 
     is above zero, the requirements of clause (i) shall not apply 
     to loans made during such upcoming fiscal year.
       ``(iii) Definition.--In this subparagraph, the term 
     `veteran or spouse of a veteran' means--

       ``(I) a veteran, as defined in section 3(q)(4);
       ``(II) an individual who is eligible to participate in the 
     Transition Assistance Program established under section 1144 
     of title 10, United States Code;
       ``(III) a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces 
     named in section 10101 of title 10, United States Code;
       ``(IV) the spouse of an individual described in subclause 
     (I), (II), or (III); or
       ``(V) the surviving spouse (as defined in section 101 of 
     title 38, United States Code) of an individual described in 
     subclause (I), (II), or (III) who died while serving on 
     active duty or as a result of a disability that is service-
     connected (as defined in such section).''.

     SEC. 3. REPORT ON ACCESSIBILITY AND OUTREACH TO FEMALE 
                   VETERANS BY THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION.

       Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 
     Act, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a report 
     assessing the level of

[[Page 11391]]

     outreach to and consultation with female veterans regarding 
     access to capital by women's business centers (as described 
     in section 29 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656)) and 
     Veterans Business Outreach Centers (as referred to in section 
     32 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 657b)).

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to 
include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Every day, American soldiers are risking their lives and leaving 
family and friends and loved ones behind to protect our freedoms and 
defend the United States. Currently, there are over 21 million veterans 
living all across the United States. When these brave men and women 
return home, they strive to transition seamlessly, hopefully, back into 
their civilian lives.
  Veterans face challenges in that transition, one of those being 
employment. Our most recent veterans who have served in Active Duty at 
any time since September 2001 have a higher unemployment rate than the 
average civilian. In particular, our recent female veterans have an 
unemployment rate that is over twice the national average.
  While finding employment upon transition to civilian life is a 
challenge, many veterans find that skills learned during military 
service translate well into entrepreneurship. Yet many veterans have 
found it difficult to obtain the funds needed to start a small 
business.
  In looking for ways to finance their new businesses, veterans may 
turn to the Small Business Administration, the SBA, for loan 
assistance. In fiscal year 2014, veterans received over 2,000 7(a) 
loans, totaling almost $600 million, but I believe we can do more to 
get these loans into the hands of veterans. Already the SBA 
Administrator is using her authority to waive certain fees charged to 
veterans.
  One way to increase veterans' access to capital is to make SBA loans 
more affordable for veterans by permanently waiving the up-front fee 
charged by the SBA to borrowers through the agency's 7(a) express loan 
program. H.R. 2499 does just that, all at no cost to the taxpayer.
  H.R. 2499 strikes a delicate balance between providing a fee waiver 
to help America's veterans while safeguarding scarce taxpayer dollars 
by creating an exception to the fee waiver in any year where an 
appropriation is necessary to cover the cost of the overall 7(a) loan 
program. This ensures that this fee waiver will never have a cost to 
the taxpayer.
  I believe, as many Americans do, that we must support our veterans, 
and this legislation provides support to veteran entrepreneurs for 
years to come at no cost. It is a smart, commonsense approach which had 
broad bipartisan support and passed out of our committee by a voice 
vote, meaning basically everyone supported it on the committee.
  Further, this bill has support from major veterans' groups who are 
well aware of the challenges that brave veterans face in transitioning 
to civilian life.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2499, and I reserve the balance 
of my time.

                              {time}  1645

  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Veterans play a significant role in the U.S. economy. They own 2.4 
million businesses, employ 5.8 million people, and have generated well 
over $1 trillion in receipts.
  Like most small businesses, access to capital is still hard to come 
by, yet is vital to their existence, paving the way for growth and 
continued job creation. As the Federal Government's main provider of 
small business assistance, the SBA guarantees loans to veteran-owned 
businesses through a number of lending programs.
  In 2013, the agency's 7(a) program provided over 2,000 veterans with 
loans, totaling $600 million. This, however, represented only 4 percent 
overall. In an effort to increase veteran lending volume, the SBA has 
waived the borrower fees paid by veterans on small-dollar and SBA 
Express loans.
  In 2014, the impact of the waiver was a mixed bag. While veterans saw 
a 23 percent increase in loans of $150,000 or less, the program 
experienced an 8 percent decrease in veteran loans overall. The 
initiative has had more success this year with veteran lending seeing a 
20 percent increase, which is outpacing the 7(a) program's overall 
growth.
  To build on that trend, H.R. 2499 will make the fee waiver permanent 
for veterans who are seeking an SBA Express loan. It will reduce costs, 
spur more veterans to borrow, and, in turn, will grow businesses and 
create jobs.
  I want to thank Chairman Chabot for introducing this bill to keep 
more dollars in veteran entrepreneurs' hands. We know that every little 
bit counts when trying to start or to grow a small business, and I 
cannot think of a group that is more deserving than that of our 
veterans.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Knight).
  Mr. KNIGHT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2499, the 
Veterans Entrepreneurship Act of 2015.
  This will expand opportunities for veterans who return home and want 
to apply their skills and disciplines in starting businesses.
  What we are doing today is talking about letting our leaders who are 
out in the field and are defending our Nation come home and do the same 
thing here, bring their entrepreneurial skills and bring their 
leadership skills to small business, to the business industry, and to 
do it in the way they have done when protecting the Nation.
  Our fighting men and women are uniquely inclined to succeed in 
business ventures. They are hard workers and natural leaders and are 
trained to build teams and to think critically in high-pressure 
environments.
  Veteran-owned small businesses make up about 9 percent of all small 
firms and nearly 4 million businesses, with average annual revenues of 
almost $500,000. These are people who know how to succeed. These are 
people who know how to lead.
  This bill is just taking away some of the obstacles, making it a 
little bit easier for our leaders to come back into the 
entrepreneurship of America and succeed.
  While the economic environment is improving generally, some of our 
vets are having a tough time getting access to the funds they need to 
put their skills into action.
  Particularly, female veterans are dealing with outsized obstacles in 
transitioning to the private sector. The unemployment rate for women 
warfighters who have come home from Iraq and Afghanistan is 11.4 
percent, more than twice that of what our male veterans' national 
average is.
  It is time we turned our attention to addressing the problems faced 
by our veteran entrepreneurs, who have made such tremendous sacrifices 
and who want to continue to pursue the American Dream.
  This bill takes a prudent, responsible step in harnessing their 
skills and expertise in order to add value to the economy and in 
lowering the barriers for these trained leaders to get their ideas off 
the ground.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, in closing, the 7(a) loan program 
provides a critical source of capital for our veterans.
  This year the SBA lending to veteran-owned firms is on track to 
exceed $1 billion for the first time ever. Today's bill will save 
veterans millions of dollars every year at no cost to the taxpayers.
  That means that veteran-owned businesses can invest or reinvest this

[[Page 11392]]

money into their businesses. Our Nation's veterans are some of the most 
prolific small business creators, establishing thousands of firms every 
year.
  I would like to thank Chairman Chabot for taking steps to expand 
access to capital for this important group of job creators. I look 
forward to working with him and our colleagues in the Senate to move 
this legislation forward.
  I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of the staff 
of the Small Business Committee for their hard work, especially a staff 
member on my side, Justin Pelletier.
  I urge a ``yes'' vote.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. In 
closing, I would, first of all, like to acknowledge that Mr. Knight, 
who just spoke, is a veteran himself, and we certainly appreciate his 
service to our country.
  Again, I want to stress that H.R. 2499 will provide greater 
assistance to our veterans without imposing any additional costs on 
taxpayers.
  The enactment of H.R. 2499 then represents only a small token of the 
appreciation that we can show to our veterans as they take their skills 
learned through service to create small businesses that will help 
create jobs, thus serving our country a second time. I urge my 
colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 2499.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 2499, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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