[Senate Report 113-33]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


113th Congress }                                              {  Report

 1st Session   }                 SENATE                       {  113-33
_______________________________________________________________________

                         SUMMARY OF LEGISLATIVE

                        AND OVERSIGHT ACTIVITIES

                       DURING THE 112TH CONGRESS

               (January 3, 2011 through January 3, 2013)

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                              COMMITTEE ON

                   SMALL BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP

                          UNITED STATES SENATE




[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]



                 April 22, 2013.--Ordered to be printed

                                _____

                  U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

29-010                    WASHINGTON : 2011










                         LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

                              ----------                              

                          U.S. Senate, Committee on
                       Small Business and Entrepreneurship,
                                                    Washington, DC.
Hon. Joseph R. Biden, Jr.,
President of the Senate,
Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. President: Senate Rule XXVI.8(b) requires the 
submission of a report of the activities of the Senate 
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship for the 
previous Congress.
    In accordance with the requirements, I am submitting the 
report of the activities of the Committee during the 112th 
Congress. This report outlines the most noteworthy legislative 
achievements and other achievements and activities of our 
Committee.
            Sincerely,
                                          Mary L. Landrieu,
                                                             Chair.















                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page

MEMBERSHIP.......................................................    VI

JURISDICTION.....................................................     1

OVERVIEW.........................................................     2

KEY LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES.......................................     5
    Extending the 504 Loan Guaranty Program Refinance Authority..     5
    Enhancing the SBIC Program...................................     5
    Oversight of SBA Lending in Communities......................     5
    Implementation of the Small Business Jobs Act Capital 
      Provisions.................................................     6
    Crowdfunding.................................................     7
    Disaster Loan Assistance.....................................     7
    Improving the SBA's Surety Bond Guarantee Program............     8
    Making Contracting for Women-Owned Small Businesses Fairer...     9
    Contracting Fraud Prevention.................................     9
    Elimination of the TVC.......................................     9
    SCORE for Small Business Act of 2012.........................    10
    Today's Entrepreneurs are Advancing Mentorship Act...........    10
    Reauthorization of the SBIR/STTR Programs....................    10
    Regulatory Reform............................................    12
    Committee Review of Entrepreneurship Proposals...............    13
    Small Business Tax Bills Introduced..........................    16
    Form 1099 Repeal.............................................    16
    Small Business Tax Extenders.................................    17

MEASURES ENACTED OR OBVIATED.....................................    18

NOMINATIONS......................................................    20

HEARINGS, ROUNDTABLES, AND MARKUPS...............................    20

OVERSIGHT........................................................    27

RULES............................................................    34

STAFF............................................................    38

COMMITTEE PUBLICATIONS...........................................    39

BILLS REFERRED...................................................    39








                               MEMBERSHIP

            COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

                      One Hundred Twelfth Congress

                              ----------                              

                   MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana, Chair
                OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine, Ranking Member

CARL LEVIN, Michigan                 DAVID VITTER, Louisiana
TOM HARKIN, Iowa                     JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho
JOHN KERRY, Massachusetts            MARCO RUBIO, Florida
JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut     RAND PAUL, Kentucky
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington           KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire
MARK PRYOR, Arkansas                 MICHAEL ENZI, Wyoming
BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland         SCOTT BROWN, Massachusetts
JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire        JERRY MORAN, Kansas
KAY HAGAN, North Carolina

           Donald R. Cravins, Jr., Democratic Staff Director
              Wallace K. Hsueh, Republican Staff Director

----------
The Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship has no 
subcommittees. They were abolished in 1995, at the start of the 104th 
Congress, under Chairman Kit Bond (Republican, Missouri) and Ranking 
Member Dale Bumpers (Democrat, Arkansas).
113th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                     113-33

======================================================================



 
   SUMMARY OF LEGISLATIVE AND OVERSIGHT ACTIVITIES DURING THE 112TH 
           CONGRESS (JANUARY 3, 2011 THROUGH JANUARY 3, 2013)

                                _______
                                

                 April 22, 2013.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

        Ms. Landrieu, from the Committee on Small Business and 
               Entrepreneurship, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                              Jurisdiction

    The jurisdiction of the Committee on Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship is set forth in rule XXV(1)(o) of the Standing 
Rules of the Senate.
    Per rule XXV(1)(o) of the Standing Rules of the Senate:
    (1) Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship to 
which committee shall be referred all proposed legislation, 
messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to 
the Small Business Administration;
    (2) Any proposed legislation reported by such committee 
which relates to matters other than the functions of the Small 
Business Administration shall, at the request of the chairman 
of any standing committee having jurisdiction over the subject 
matter extraneous to the functions of the Small Business 
Administration, be considered and reported by such standing 
committee prior to its consideration by the Senate; and 
likewise measures reported by other committees directly 
relating to the Small Business Administration shall, at the 
request of the Chair of the Committee on Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship, be referred to the Committee on Small 
Business and Entrepreneurship for its consideration of any 
portion of the measure dealing with the Small Business 
Administration and be reported by this committee prior to its 
consideration by the Senate.
    (3) Such committee shall also study and survey by means of 
research and investigation all problems of American small 
business enterprises and report thereon from time to time.
    Per rule XXV(3)(a) of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the 
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship shall be made 
up of 18 members. However, at the start of the 112th Congress, 
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Minority Leader Mitch 
McConnell (R-KY) put forth S. Res. 42 and S. Res. 43, which 
laid out the members of the Committee and increased the number 
of members from 18 to 19, with ten (10) for the majority and 
nine (9) for the minority. When there is a difference, 
resolutions take precedence over the Rules.

                                Overview

    The 112th Congress began on January 3, 2011 and ended on 
January 3, 2013. Barack H. Obama was the President of the 
United States at the start of the 112th Congress, and he was 
re-elected to a second term at the end of the 112th Congress. 
The Democrats were in the majority with 51 Democrats and 2 
Independents who caucused with the Democrats. The Republicans 
were in the minority and held 47 seats. Senator Mary L. 
Landrieu of Louisiana was again the chair of the Senate 
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship (the 
Committee), and Senator Olympia J. Snowe of Maine was the 
ranking minority member. There were 19 members of the 
Committee, divided between ten (10) for the majority and nine 
(9) for the minority. There were five (5) new members on the 
minority side: Mr. Marco Rubio of Florida; Mr. Rand Paul of 
Kentucky; Ms. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire; Mr. Scott Brown of 
Massachusetts; and Mr. Jerry Moran of Kansas. During the 112th 
Congress, Ms. Snowe and Mr. Lieberman announced that they would 
not seek re-election.
    As the 112th Congress convened in January of 2011, the 
country was continuing to recover from the recession that began 
in late 2007, a time referred to as the worst economic crisis 
since the Great Depression. Following the collapse of the U.S. 
housing market and devaluation of collateral for businesses, 
the near-collapse of the financial markets, an ever-increasing 
national deficit, growing unemployment rates, and a decrease in 
consumer confidence and spending, small businesses were still 
facing difficult times.
    Complicating matters, in 2011, in connection with the 
Congressional debate over the federal debt and deficit, and 
whether and how to raise the nation's debt ceiling limit, 
Congress enacted the Budget Control Act (P.L. 112-25) (the 
BCA). Under the BCA, Congress raised the federal debt limit, 
instituted ten-year discretionary spending caps, and provided 
for automatic, across-the-board budget cuts to achieve at least 
$1.2 trillion in deficit reduction over the next ten years 
(sequestration) in the event Congress failed to pass 
legislation reported out by a Joint Select Committee on Deficit 
Reduction (the Super Committee) by January 15, 2012. To aid the 
Super Committee with its work on developing legislation, Chair 
Landrieu and Ranking Member Snowe each submitted letters of 
recommended deficit reduction proposals related to the Small 
Business Administration (the SBA or the Agency). Ultimately, 
the Super Committee failed to find agreement and report out a 
bill, which triggered sequestration (automatic, across-the-
board cuts).
    On top of these economic hardships, natural disasters 
created historic hardships on business and homeowners on the 
East Coast. Superstorm Sandy, which struck the northeastern 
United States on October 29th, was reported as the largest-
sized storm system in U.S. history. Superstorm Sandy claimed 
the lives of 132 Americans, damaged or destroyed more than 
651,000 homes and 459,000 businesses, and left more than 8.5 
million families without power, heat, or running water. The 
scale of this disaster created significant housing and 
transportation challenges, and successful recovery required 
sustained effort at the federal, State, and local level, from 
government, private businesses, and voluntary organizations. 
The need and demand for the SBA and its partners to provide 
small businesses with capital, counseling, and contracting 
assistance remained critical, and the Committee and the SBA 
faced the continued challenge from the 111th Congress of 
increasing SBA's capacity to assist small businesses.
    To help small businesses address the challenges described 
during the two years of the 112th Congress, Chair Landrieu 
continued her focus from the last Congress on access to 
capital. While the Committee staff would hear that conditions 
were improving somewhat since the most difficult times in 2009 
and 2010, at many hearings and roundtables, witnesses and 
participants would tell the Committee that capital was still 
difficult for small businesses to obtain. The larger loan 
amounts as well as the fee waivers and higher guarantees 
included in the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (the SBJA) 
continued the Committee's work to jumpstart SBA lending, and 
continued having a strong effect that led to record SBA numbers 
in the 112th Congress.
    More specifically, in the two years immediately following 
passage of the SBJA, the SBA experienced the two largest 
lending years in the history of the Agency. In Fiscal year 
2011, SBA loan approvals supported loans to almost 62,000 small 
business owners and pumped $30.5 billion into local 
communities. For Fiscal Year 2012, SBA loan approvals supported 
$30.25 billion in loans to nearly 54,000 small businesses.
    In addition to access to capital, Chair Landrieu and 
Ranking Member Snowe made long-term reauthorization of the 
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business 
Technology Transfer (STTR) programs a priority during the 112th 
Congress. The SBIR and STTR programs are the largest federal 
research and development programs for small businesses, and it 
was important to give them stability after the string of short-
term extensions since 2008. Thanks to the collaboration of the 
chairmen and ranking members of the Senate and House Armed 
Services Committees, Chair Landrieu and Ranking Member Snowe 
succeeded in getting a six-year reauthorization of the programs 
to the president's desk for signature on December 31, 2011.
    Also of note, Chair Landrieu, Ranking Member Snowe and the 
Committee also focused on putting in place more tools to level 
the playing field for small businesses competing for contracts 
with the federal government. They succeeded in getting enacted 
improvements to the SBA's surety bond guarantee program and 
eliminating the limits placed on contract set-asides for women-
owned small businesses.
    To chip away at the high unemployment rates, Chair Landrieu 
placed a major emphasis on cultivating entrepreneurship. The 
Committee and other members of the Senate took seriously the 
findings made by the Kauffman Foundation, which stated that 
most jobs are created by start-ups of less than three years and 
high-growth firms. The Committee also built a public record and 
took action on policy recommendations gathered from Committee 
roundtables and hearings that were designed to steer federal 
resources towards policies that foster such firms.
    Three of the roundtables the Committee held were focused on 
examining the unique aspects of the ecosystem of 
entrepreneurship. An ecosystem is defined as ``a system formed 
by the interaction of a community of organisms with their 
environment.'' In this context, the Committee roundtables 
looked at the specific relationship between entrepreneurs and 
the current environment for entrepreneurship and how to make 
the system more robust. During these roundtables, the Committee 
heard from 40 experts who made more than 60 recommendations on 
how the federal government could help small businesses, 
entrepreneurs and start-up companies. These recommendations 
formed the basis of the Success Ultimately Comes from Capital, 
Contracting, Education, Strategic Partnerships and Smart 
Regulation (SUCCESS) Act of 2012. Included in the SUCCESS Act 
were a number of extensions of expiring or expired tax cuts for 
small businesses for 2012 and 2013, as well as provisions on 
improving access to capital, expanding export and contracting 
opportunities, encouraging education and mentoring. The SUCCESS 
Act almost passed the Senate with bipartistan support as part 
of S. 2237, the Small Business Jobs and Tax Relief Act of 2012.
    Finally, Chair Landrieu and Ranking Member Snowe continued 
efforts to provide tax relief for small businesses and 
introduced legislation to extend tax relief included in the 
SBJA. At the end of the 112th Congress, several critical small 
business tax provisions were enacted in connection with 
legislation to extend expiring individual tax cuts first passed 
under the Bush Administration.
    Building upon efforts led by Chair Landrieu and Ranking 
Member Snowe in the 111th Congress to repeal expanded Form 1099 
reporting requirements set to take effect in 2012 (the 2012 
Form 1099 Reporting Requirements), Senate Finance Committee 
Chairman Max Baucus, along with Chair Landrieu, introduced the 
Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act of 2011 (S. 72 
) on January 25, 2011, which was enacted as part of the 
Comprehensive 1099 Taxpayer Protection and Repayment of 
Exchange Subsidy Overpayments Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-9).
    In examining all these issues and more during the 112th 
Congress, the Committee held 23 hearings, field hearings, 
roundtables and markups. During these hearings and roundtables, 
the Committee heard from more than 142 experts on a variety of 
subjects important to small businesses, from disaster recovery 
and the aforementioned high-growth firms, to closing the wealth 
gap for minorities through entrepreneurship and small business 
ownership. The Senate considered numerous measures related to 
the Small Business Committee's jurisdiction, and the Committee 
weighed in with the Administration on oversight through 78 
letters to various state and federal agencies.
    This report of activities of the Committee on Small 
Business and Entrepreneurship during the 112th Congress is 
submitted in accordance to the requirements of Rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, which stipulate that all standing 
committees report to the Senate on its legislative activities 
during the preceding Congress. This report summarizes the 
legislative and oversight activities of the Committee on 
critical issues of concern to small businesses.

                       Key Legislative Activities

    Extending the 504 Loan Guaranty Program Refinance 
Authority. The ability to refinance owner-occupied commercial 
real estate debt through the 504 loan guaranty program, 
originally allowed by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 
2009 (ARRA) (P.L. 111-5), was temporarily expanded by the Small 
Business Jobs Act of 2010. The authority was a zero-cost way to 
help small businesses access their own equity that they had 
built up over the years in order to hire additional employees 
or retain those currently employed.
    It took some time for the SBA to create a regulation 
implementing the 504 refinance authority, and the initial 
regulation was not fully consistent with legislative intent. 
When the SBA revised the regulation such that it was more in 
line with legislative intent, participation took off beginning 
in the early spring of 2012, providing more than $2.2 billion 
in capital to small business owners during Fiscal Year 2012. 
However, on September 27, 2012 just as the program was 
accelerating and the lending community began to utilize it, the 
program expired.
    Chair Landrieu and Ranking Member Snowe filed several bills 
to extend the 504 refinancing provision. The provision was 
originally introduced as S. 2364 by Senators Landrieu, Snowe 
and Shaheen along with five other bipartisan co-sponsors--
Senators Isakson, Thune, Klobuchar, Tim Johnson, and Pryor. The 
504 refinance provision was also included in Title II of the 
Success Ultimately Comes from Capital, Contracting, Education, 
Strategic Partnerships, and Smart Regulations (SUCCESS) Act, 
which almost passed the Senate as part of S. 2337, the Small 
Business Jobs and Tax Relief Act of 2012. Additionally, Chair 
Landrieu included the 504 refinance provision in a substitute 
amendment that she offered to the Jumpstart Our Business 
Startups (JOBS) Act of 2012 and also offered it as an amendment 
to S. 3457, the Veterans Jobs Corps Act of 2012. Ultimately, 
however, none of the bills or amendments made it to the 
president's desk during the 112th Congress.
    Enhancing the SBIC Program. The Small Business Investment 
Company (SBIC) program is the SBA's venture capital program. It 
has served for decades as a model of a public-private 
partnership. The core debenture program is a zero-cost, 
symbiotic arrangement whereby the government and private 
investors work together to invest wisely in deserving small 
businesses. In May of 2012, Chair Landrieu introduced S. 3253, 
the Expanding Access to Capital for Entrepreneurial Leaders 
(EXCEL) Act, with Ranking Member Snowe. The bill would have 
raised the statutory cap for the program from $3 billion to $4 
billion. It also would have increased the family of funds limit 
(multiple licensees under common control) from $225 million to 
$350 million. These provisions were also included in the 
SUCCESS Act.
    Oversight of SBA Lending in Communities. Chair Landrieu 
included in the SUCCESS Act an initiative called the ``Small 
Business Lender Activity Index.'' The purpose was to increase 
transparency and clarity on the part of the SBA in order to 
help small businesses use the loan programs. The small business 
lender activity index was to be an online database posted on 
the SBA's website. This would have allowed a small business 
access to an SBA-backed loan more easily or would have helped 
an economic development official identify where the SBA's 
programs were being utilized and where there was room for 
improvement. This provision was included in the SUCCESS Act.
    Implementation of the Small Business Jobs Act Capital 
Provisions. After passing the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 
(SBJA), which passed September 27, 2010, Chair Landrieu spent 
considerable time in the 112th Congress ensuring the law was 
being implemented effectively. The access to capital sections 
in the SBJA fell roughly into two categories: (a) programs 
administered by the SBA, and (b) programs administered by the 
Department of the Treasury (Treasury). The SBJA enhanced the 
loan programs at the SBA, by, among other things, increasing 
the 7(a) loan limits from $2 million to $5 million; the 504 
loan limit from $1.5 million to $5.5 million; and the microloan 
limit from $35,000 to $50,000. Also included in the SBJA was 
the temporary authority to refinance owner occupied commercial 
real estate debt through the 504 loan program.
    In the two years immediately following passage of the SBJA, 
the SBA experienced the two largest lending years in the 
history of the Agency. For Fiscal Year 2011, SBA loan approvals 
supported $30.5 billion (61,689 loans) in its two main loan 
programs, 7(a) and 504. For fiscal 2012, SBA loan approvals for 
the same programs supported $30.25 billion (53,848 loans) to 
small businesses. Breaking down the loan approvals for Fiscal 
Year 2012, the totals for the 7(a) loan program include 44,377 
loans to small businesses, for $15.15 billion. For the 504 loan 
program, the totals include 9,471 loans supporting $15.09 
billion in small business lending. The supported amount for 504 
loans includes the SBA-backed portion and the third-party loans 
made by commercial lenders as part of the funding package. The 
504 loan data for 2012 also includes approximately $2 billion 
of refinancings.
    The Treasury programs included the Small Business Lending 
Fund (SBLF) and the State Small Business Credit Initiative 
(SSBCI). The SBLF was a $30-billion fund intended to encourage 
lenders with less than $10 billion in assets to increase their 
small business lending. The SSBCI provided $1.4 billion in 
grants to states to support small business programs.
    Under the Small Business Lending Fund (SBLF), Treasury 
invested more than $4.0 billion in 332 lenders. By the end of 
fiscal 2012, the vast majority of SBLF participants increased 
their small business lending. Participants increased their 
small business lending by a total of $7.4 billion, and 78% 
increased their small business lending by 10 percent or more. 
Similarly situated banks that did not participate in the SBLF 
had not increased their small business lending by comparable 
amounts. The SSBCI allocated $1.4 billion in grants for state 
run small business lending programs. As part of oversight of 
the implementation, the Committee heard testimony from two 
state recipients, and conducted interviews with an additional 
six state recipients.
    The Committee notes that all Republicans on the Committee 
opposed the SBJA. They had many concerns about the SBLF, 
including: (a) the program too closely resembled the Troubled 
Asset Relief Program's Capital Purchase Program, and (b) it 
would lead to higher risk lending by banks.
    Crowdfunding. The Committee also explored crowdfunding, an 
innovative option for small businesses to obtain financing. The 
initiative was considered a new fundraising model designed to 
allow entrepreneurs to solicit investments for small businesses 
online. The idea gained momentum in early 2012, and the 
Committee heard testimony on February 1, 2012, from one of the 
strongest proponents in support of changing the Securities and 
Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations to enable crowdfunding, 
Mr. Tim Rowe, the founder and CEO of the Cambridge Innovation 
Center in Massachusetts.
    The Committee saw merit in the idea of crowdfunding, and 
Chair Landrieu co-sponsored the Capital Raising Online While 
Deterring Fraud and Unethical Non-Disclosure Act (the CROWDFUND 
Act) of 2011 (S. 1970) with Senators Merkley and Bennet, which 
was introduced on December 8, 2011. The crowdfunding language 
ultimately passed the Senate as part of the JOBS Act of 2012 on 
March 22, 2012. It was signed into law by President Obama on 
April 5, 2012 (P.L. 112-106). From the outset, the Committee 
recognized the potential paradigm shift such a fundraising 
model could promote, but was equally conscious of the necessary 
investor protections that would be crucial to prevent 
widespread fraud. Thus, after passage, the Committee encouraged 
the SEC to issue a rule that would strike the appropriate 
balance.
    Disaster Loan Assistance. As with other congresses, Chair 
Landrieu believed that disaster loan assistance was one of the 
SBA's most important services, and she made the programs a 
priority. She continually sought ways to make the SBA disaster 
programs more affordable and responsive to the business owners 
and home owners who rely on the SBA in desperate times. Below 
are two pieces of disaster legislation that Chair Landrieu 
pursued as part of the Committee's legislative agenda in the 
112th Congress.
    The first bill, S. 653, the Southeast Hurricanes Small 
Business Disaster Relief Act, was re-introduced by Chair 
Landrieu with Senators Cochran and Wicker on March 28, 2011. 
The bill would have authorized the SBA to waive up to $15,000 
of interest on 2005/2008 business disaster loans from Miss., 
Ala., La., and Tex. for severe damage caused by Hurricanes 
Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Ike, and economic injury from the 
Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Businesses would have still been 
responsible for the principal and the remaining interest. 
During the 111th Congress, a similar proposal--S. 2986--was 
endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Conference 
of Mayors, the New York Times, the Times Picayune, and various 
Gulf Coast chambers of commerce and local governments. S. 653 
was not enacted into law before the adjournment of the 112th 
Congress.
    The second bill, S. 3672, was introduced by Chair Landrieu 
to improve collateral requirements for the SBA's business 
disaster loans. The purpose of the bill was to address years of 
complaints from small business owners that the SBA disaster 
loan program required business owners to pledge their house in 
order to get a loan, even if they had other collateral. This 
bill would have clarified that for SBA disaster business loans 
of less than $200,000, the SBA would have been required to 
utilize assets other than the primary residence if those assets 
were available to use as collateral towards the loan. The bill 
specified that these assets should be of equal or greater value 
than the amount of the loan. Also, to ensure that the change 
would guarantee a targeted improvement and maintain good under-
writing standards, the bill included language to clarify that 
the provision would in no way require SBA to reduce the amount 
or quality of collateral it could seek on these types of loans.
    During the 112th Congress, S. 3672 passed the Senate on 
December 28, 2012 by a vote of 62-32 as part of H.R. 1, the 
Senate-passed Disaster Relief Appropriations Act. However, it 
was not included in H.R. 152, the House-passed Disaster Relief 
Appropriations Act that subsequently was enacted into law.
    The Committee notes that the disaster loan collateral 
provision was similar to Section 204 of S. 2731, the Small 
Business Administration Disaster Recovery and Reform Act of 
2009 that Chair Landrieu and Senator Bill Nelson introduced 
during the 111th Congress. A similar provision also passed the 
House of Representatives twice that Congress. H.R. 3854, which 
included a modified collateral requirement under Section 801, 
passed the House on October 29, 2009, by a vote of 389-32. The 
provision also passed the House again on November 6, 2009, by a 
voice vote as Section 2 of H.R. 3743.
    Improving the SBA's Surety Bond Guarantee Program. The 
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 [P.L. 
112-239] increased the SBA's Surety Bond Guarantee Program's 
bond limit from $2 million to $6.5 million. The limit had been 
$2 million since 2000, and was temporarily increased from 
February 17, 2009, through September 30, 2010, through the 
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to $5 million, 
and up to $10 million if a federal contracting officer 
certified in writing that a guarantee in excess of $5 million 
was necessary. The purpose of raising the program's bond limit 
was to increase contracting opportunities for small businesses 
and bring the limit more in line with limits of other small 
business programs, such as the 8(a) Minority Small Business and 
Capital Ownership Development Program and the Historically 
Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Program.
    There were several legislative efforts during the 112th 
Congress to increase the program's bond limit. First, the 
Expanding Opportunities for Main Street Act of 2011 (S. 1334), 
introduced by Senator Tom Udall, and its companion bill in the 
House (H.R. 2424), introduced by Representative Bobby Rush, 
would have reinstated and made permanent ARRA's higher limits. 
Neither of these bills was reported by a committee for 
consideration by the House or the Senate.
    Second, the American Jobs Act of 2011 (S. 1660), and its 
companion bill in the House, H.R. 12, would have provided $3 
million in additional funding to pay for the cost of 
temporarily increasing the program's bond limit to $5 million 
from $2 million until the end of FY2012. Cloture on a motion to 
proceed to S. 1660 was not invoked in the Senate on October 11, 
2011, by a vote of 50 to 49. H.R. 12 was not reported by a 
committee for consideration in the House.
    Last, on December 12, 2012, the Senate Committee on 
Appropriations released its draft of the Hurricane Sandy 
Emergency Assistance Supplemental bill, and it included a 
provision to increase the surety bond program's bond limit to 
$5 million. The provision was later removed from the 
Supplemental bill, following enactment of H.R. 4310, the 
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, 
because, as stated at the beginning of this section, the NDAA 
included the surety bond program changes and became law on 
January 2, 2013.
    Making Contracting for Women-Owned Small Businesses Fairer. 
Originally introduced by Senators Snowe, Landrieu, Gillibrand, 
Bennet, Mikulski, Murkowski, and Shaheen as S. 2172, the 
Fairness in Women-Owned Small Business Contracting Act sought 
to eliminate the limits on contract award amounts and the 
prohibition against sole-source contract awards for Women-Owned 
Small Businesses. The National Defense Authorization Act for 
Fiscal Year 2013 [P.L. 112-239] authorized set-aside contracts 
of any value for Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSBs). 
Previously, agencies could only set aside contracts for whose 
value was below $4 million ($6.5 in the case of manufacturing 
contracts).
    Contracting Fraud Prevention. S. 633, the Small Business 
Contracting Fraud Prevention Act of 2011, was introduced on 
March 17, 2011 by Ranking Member Snowe, Chair Landrieu and 
Senators Scott Brown, Enzi, and Merkley. This initiative came 
on the heels of several vulnerabilities and abuses in nearly 
all of the SBA's contracting programs, as identified in 
multiple reports by the nonpartisan Government Accountability 
Office (GAO). The Small Business Contracting Fraud Prevention 
Act provided a comprehensive oversight framework within SBA to 
execute effective certification, surveillance and monitoring, 
and robust enforcement of its entire contracting portfolio. 
Among other things, S.633 would have amended the Small Business 
Act to include penalties for a business that misrepresents 
itself as a small business owned and controlled by service-
disabled veterans. The bill would have also amended the 8(a) 
program to direct the Comptroller General, every three years, 
to evaluate the 8(a) program and report evaluation results to 
the Committees on Small Business. It also would have required 
related 8(a) program oversight by the SBA Administrator. S. 633 
directed the Administrator to: (1) ensure the accuracy and 
appropriate revision of HUBZone maps, (2) ensure that only 
small businesses determined to be qualified to participate in 
HUBZone programs were participating, (3) report to the Small 
Business Committees about HUBZone small business applications 
or recertifications, and (4) develop measures and implement 
plans to assess the effectiveness of the HUBZone program. In 
the end, S. 633 passed the Senate with amendments by unanimous 
consent on September 21, 2011, but was not enacted into law 
before the adjournment of the 112th Congress.
    Elimination of the TVC. The National Veterans Business 
Development Corporation's (TVC) federal authorization was 
terminated at the end of the 112th Congress as part of P.L. 
112-239, the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013. More 
specifically, it was eliminated by S. Amdt. 3133, put forward 
by Ranking Member Snowe, for herself and Chair Landrieu, and 
passed as part of a manager's package of amendments on November 
30, 2012. The Committee had raised questions about the 
management and spending decisions made by the TVC and its 
leaders for years, which were detailed in a 2008 Senate Small 
Business and Entrepreneurship Committee Report. The report 
found, among other things, that the TVC had failed to support 
Veteran Business Resource Centers, had wasteful programs, 
lacked outcomes-based measurements, provided its employees with 
unacceptably high executive compensation, engaged in dubious 
expenditures, and failed to properly fundraise. Because of 
questions regarding mismanagement and potential fraud, the 
Committee sought to eliminate funding for the program starting 
in 2008. Two reports issued by the GAO in 2003 and 2004 
criticized the TVC for the lack of internal controls and the 
inability to measure effectiveness of the program. The 
statutory purpose of the program is now being filled by the 
Office of Veterans Business Development.
    SCORE for Small Business Act of 2012. Chair Landrieu 
considers public-private partnerships to be a pragmatic and 
powerful solution to many problems, from commercialization of 
research to training entrepreneurs. Often neither the private 
sector nor the government can do it all alone. The SBA's SCORE 
program embodies the power of public-private partnerships. The 
Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) is a non-profit 
association, authorized under the Small Business Act, and a 
Resource Partner of the Small Business Administration (SBA). 
SCORE, which is made up of a network of 12,800 volunteers, is 
dedicated to educating and assisting entrepreneurs and small 
business owners in the formation, growth and expansion of their 
small businesses. In Fiscal Year 2011, SCORE estimated that it 
served more than 400,000 clients, and helped to create 40,537 
businesses and more than 67,098 jobs. The Committee heard time 
and again at hearings and roundtables from volunteers serving 
in SCORE, and business owners who received SCORE assistance, 
about SCORE and how it could help the economy so much more if 
it had adequate support.
    The SCORE for Small Business Act of 2012 (S. 3508) would 
have increased SCORE's authorization level to $13 million in 
Fiscal Year 2013, $15 million in Fiscal Year 2014, and $17 
million in Fiscal Year 2015. According to SCORE, the proposed 
increase in funding would have allowed SCORE to complete a 
large-scale transformation process that would have dramatically 
increased the number of businesses started during the next five 
years and implemented initiatives targeted at improving the 
efficiency and effectiveness of the program.
    Today's Entrepreneurs are Advancing Mentorship Act. S. 3638 
was designed by Chair Landrieu to strengthen America's 
entrepreneurial ecosystem by empowering the SBA's Office of 
Entrepreneurial Education and invigorating students of all 
ages, entrepreneurs and mentors throughout the country. 
Specifically, it would have formally authorized the SBA's 
Emerging Leaders Initiative (e200), a training initiative that 
specifically focused on executives of businesses poised for 
growth in historically challenged communities. The bill 
authorized $2 million per year for FY13 through FY15 for the 
e200 program.
    Reauthorization of the SBIR/STTR Programs. The Small 
Business and Entrepreneurship Committee has oversight of the 
two largest federal research and development programs for small 
businesses, the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and 
Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Through 
these programs, the government partners with small businesses, 
or small businesses and research universities or labs, to help 
solve its research and development problems by making small but 
sufficient awards to test as many ideas as possible. The focus 
is on discovering, funding, and evaluating the initial, 
highest-risk, most cutting-edge exploratory research that is 
necessary to achieve significant technological innovations and 
breakthroughs, and to increase private-sector commercialization 
of innovation derived from federal research and development. As 
a result, these programs stimulate the economy, and create 
businesses and jobs by making good use of the country's 
entrepreneurs, scientists and engineers.
    For the fourth Congress, the Committee worked to 
reauthorize the SBIR and STTR programs, which originally 
expired on September 30, 2008, and on September 30, 2009. They 
did so because virtually all members believed the SBIR and STTR 
programs were still necessary to stimulate America's innovation 
economy, to remedy the continued underrepresentation of small 
businesses in federal research and development, and to use 
small businesses to help government agencies meet national 
needs. Chair Landrieu and Ranking Member Snowe worked closely 
to build on legislation developed in previous congresses by 
Ranking Member Snowe when she was chair, and by Senator Kerry 
when he was chair.
    During the 112th Congress, the SBIR and STTR programs were 
extended five times. The purpose of the extensions was to 
prevent the SBIR and STTR participating agencies from slowing 
down or shutting down their programs, as happened around the 
time of the 2000 SBIR reauthorization, which hurt many small 
businesses and delayed needed research. The extensions were as 
follows: (1) P.L. 112-1; (2) P.L. 112-17; (3) P.L. 112-33; (4) 
P.L. 112-36; and (5) P.L. 112-55.
    The legislation ultimately was enacted as part of P.L. 112-
81, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
2012, signed on December 31, 2011. Division E, the SBIR/STTR 
Reauthorization Act of 2011, among other things, extended the 
SBIR and STTR programs to September 30, 2017.
    The Committee notes that there were two main bills through 
which the Committee worked to provide long-term reauthorization 
and stability to the SBIR and STTR programs in the 112th 
Congress. S. 493, the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011, 
introduced by Chair Landrieu for herself and Ranking Member 
Snowe and others on March 4, 2011, and S. 1867, the National 
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (as S. Amdt. 
1115). S. 1867 was ultimately incorporated into H.R. 1540.
    S. 493, the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011, was 
amended by a Manager's Amendment, and reported favorably out of 
Committee by a nearly unanimous vote of 18-1. It was then 
considered on the Senate floor in the spring of 2010 after 84 
members voted in support of cloture to begin debate on passage 
of the bill through the full Senate. After five weeks on the 
floor, it did not pass the full Senate. However, Chair 
Landrieu's SBIR amendment to the Senate NDAA bill (S. 1867) was 
agreed to by an overwhelming voice vote on December 1, 2011, 
and then preserved in conference in H.R. 1540 with very few 
changes.
    S. 493 incorporated most of the SBIR and STTR provisions 
adopted by the Committee in the 109th Congress from S. 3778, in 
the 110th Congress from S. 3362, and in the 111th Congress from 
S. 1233 and S. 4053. It was S. 1233 that incorporated 
provisions from H.R. 2965, the comprehensive SBIR and STTR 
reauthorization bill adopted by the House of Representatives. 
S. 4053 went further than S. 493 and included not just the 
blending of the Senate and the House bills, but it also 
included a break-through compromise between the Biotechnology 
Industry Organization (BIO) and the Small Business Technology 
Council (SBTC) on the issue of the participation of companies 
majority-owned by multiple venture capital companies in the 
SBIR program. S. 4053 did not get a vote in the House before 
the end of the 111th Congress, but it did help in the new 112th 
Congress to move an SBIR/STTR reauthorization bill quickly 
through the Committee and on to the calendar for deliberation 
by the full Senate.
    The highlights of the law are as follows: (1) provided 
stability with long-term authorizations for six years, through 
September 30, 2017; (2) increased the SBIR allocation 
incrementally from 2.5 to 3.2% and increased the STTR 
allocation incrementally from .3 to .45%; (3) increased award 
sizes for Phase I from $100k to $150k ($225k with 50% 
increase), for Phase II from $750k to $1m ($1.5m with 50% 
increase); (4) established a sequential Phase II at $1m ($1.5m 
with 50% increase); (5) provided the SBA the power to adjust 
award levels for inflation annually instead of every five 
years; (6) allowed for participation of firms majority owned by 
multiple venture capital, hedge fund or equity firms in a 
portion of the SBIR program (25% at NIH, NSF, and DoE; 15% at 
other 8 agencies); (7) allowed agencies on a three-year pilot 
basis to use 3% of SBIR funds for administration of the SBIR 
and STTR programs, including outreach to under-served states 
and populations and reducing the timeframe for decisions and 
disbursement of funds; (8) moderated the skipping Phase I 
provision and the commercialization index; and (9) it directed 
the agencies to shorten their timeframe for final decision to 
90 days.
    Regulatory Reform. Having heard repeatedly from small 
business owners about the difficulties they face in complying 
with onerous federal regulations, Ranking Member Snowe 
introduced S. 1030--the Freedom from Restrictive Excessive 
Executive Demands and Onerous Mandates (FREEDOM) Act of 2011. 
The measure was co-sponsored by Senator Coburn. Committee 
hearings revealed that small businesses too often lack the 
resources to follow the myriad regulatory changes spanning the 
various government agencies that affect their businesses. S. 
1030 would have modernized the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 
to require that federal agencies conduct comprehensive analyses 
of the potential impacts that regulations could have on small 
businesses.
    Among other provisions, the FREEDOM Act directed agencies 
to revise the RFA to ensure that foreseeable indirect economic 
effects would be taken into consideration, required a periodic 
review of existing rules that impact small business, and 
ensured that agencies would conduct small business impact 
studies on guidance documents as well as on RFA-compliant 
regulations. The legislation also would have expanded the 
placement of small business review panels, which at that time 
only applied to three agencies, to nine additional federal 
agencies over the course of three years. On June 9, 2012, The 
FREEDOM Act received a Senate floor vote as an amendment to the 
Economic Development Revitalization Act of 2011 (S. 782). The 
amendment received bipartisan support, including six Democrats, 
but failed 53-46.
    Committee Review of Entrepreneurship Proposals. Building 
off of research from Babson College, widely considered one of 
the country's top colleges for entrepreneurship education, and 
with feedback from other stakeholders, the Committee conducted 
a series of roundtables from February to April 2012 on 
strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem for small 
businesses. The goal of these roundtables was to take the ideas 
that came out of these discussions and use them as the 
foundation for a major piece of legislation to support the 
entrepreneurial ecosystem. The first roundtable on February 1, 
2012 was entitled ``Developing and Strengthening High-Growth 
Entrepreneurship.'' This roundtable set the stage for Committee 
discussions by exploring the success of high-growth firms in 
job creation and why it was so important to replicate that 
success. The second roundtable was on March 22, 2012 and was 
entitled ``A Spotlight on Small Business Investment Companies 
(SBIC) and Their Role in the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem.'' That 
roundtable looked at how we could enhance the SBIC program, 
which had a long record of success for getting capital into the 
hands of America's job creators. The last roundtable was on 
April 18, 2012 and was entitled ``Perspectives from the 
Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: Creating Jobs and Growing Businesses 
through Entrepreneurship.'' That roundtable discussed how 
different stakeholders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem were 
creating new entrepreneurs and growing businesses.It brought 
together key stakeholders from different levels of an 
entrepreneurial ecosystem: universities and entrepreneurship 
programs, federal and local officials, investors, private 
sector accelerators, mentors, and successful entrepreneurs.
    As a result of these three roundtables, the Committee 
received almost 60 specific policy recommendations from the 41 
participants. Some of these recommendations fell under the 
jurisdictions of other Senate committees, while other proposals 
had a significant cost associated with them or lacked the 
strong bipartisan support necessary to move them forward in the 
Senate. Chair Landrieu consulted with numerous colleagues on 
the Committee to identify six ``domains'' of proposals on which 
to focus Committee efforts: (1) Tax and Finance; (2) Access to 
Capital; (3) Access to Global Markets; (4) Access to Mentoring, 
Education and Strategic Partnerships; (5) Access to Government 
Contracting; and (6) Transparency, Accountability, and 
Effectiveness. These domains formed the six titles of S. 3442, 
the Success Ultimately Comes from Capital, Contracting, 
Education, Strategic Partnerships, and Smart Regulations 
(SUCCESS) Act of 2012.
    On July 12, 2012, the full Senate voted on the SUCCESS Act 
as part of S. Amdt. 2521 to S. 2237, the Small Business Jobs 
and Tax Relief Act of 2012. S. Amdt. 2521 received a vote of 
57-41, including five Republicans. These provisions were 
subsequently introduced as stand-alone legislation by Chair 
Landrieu on July 25, 2012. Ranking Member Snowe also included 
many of these provisions as part of S. 3572, the Restoring Tax 
and Regulatory Certainty to Small Business Act of 2012 that she 
introduced on September 9, 2012. Unfortunately, neither S. 3442 
nor S. 3572 were enacted into law before the adjournment of the 
112th Congress.
    On November 29, 2012, the Committee held a legislative 
hearing entitled ``Creating Jobs and Growing the Economy: 
Legislative Proposals to Strengthen the Entrepreneurial 
Ecosystem.'' This hearing discussed legislative proposals 
promoting job creation and small business growth in 
entrepreneurial ecosystems. Legislation discussed at that 
hearing included S. 3442, the SUCCESS Act, and S. 3572, the 
Restoring Tax and Regulatory Certainty to Small Business Act of 
2012.
    S. 3442, the SUCCESS Act, had many titles and comprehensive 
reach. Title I of the SUCCESS Act provided almost $12 billion 
in tax incentives to assist small businesses. All five tax 
provisions within the SUCCESS Act were based upon S. 2050 that 
was introduced in January 2012 by Ranking Member Snowe and 
Chair Landrieu. S. 2050, the Small Business Tax Extenders Act, 
reflected the work of multiple senators including: Senators 
Snowe, Kerry, Merkley, Cardin, Isakson, and Shaheen.
    Title II of the SUCCESS Act focused on improving access to 
capital for small businesses. It included three components: (1) 
S. 3253, the Expanding Access to Capital for Entrepreneurial 
Leaders (EXCEL) Act, that Chair Landrieu introduced to enhance 
the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program by raising 
program cap from $3 billion to $4 billion and increasing the 
amount of leverage by SBIC licensees under common control from 
$225 million to $350 million. (2) S. 2364, Ranking Member 
Snowe's bill that would have extended for a year and a half a 
provision allowing small business owners to use Small Business 
Administration (SBA) 504 loans to refinance existing commercial 
mortgages. And, (3), Chair Landrieu's initiative to require the 
SBA to post a user friendly Lender Activity Index on the SBA 
website. Users would have been able to immediately access data 
such as, name of bank, number of SBA loans each bank made, 
total dollar amount of SBA loans of each bank, and industries 
lent to (hospitality, manufacturing, service, software, etc.).
    Title III of the SUCCESS Act focused on promoting exports 
from small businesses. The Small Business Jobs Act made major 
changes to the international trade work done by the SBA. The 
export provisions of Tile III are taken from S. 3218, the 
Shaheen-Ayotte Small Business Growth Act of 2012, as well as S. 
3277, the Go Global Act of 2012, that Senator Shaheen and Chair 
Landrieu authored in 2012.
    Title IV of the bill focused on promoting small business 
access to mentoring, education and strategic partnerships. 
Subtitle A of this title was originally introduced by Ranking 
Member Snowe and Chair Landrieu as S. 3198, the Strengthening 
Resources for America's Entrepreneurs Act of 2012.
    Subtitle B of the bill came from S. 3197, the Women's Small 
Business Ownership Act, which was sponsored by Ranking Member 
Snowe and Chair Landrieu. This subtitle focused on the SBA 
Women's Business Center (WBC) program.
    Subtitle C of the SUCCESS Act was Ranking Member Snowe's 
Strengthening America's Small Business Development Centers Act. 
It would have reauthorized the SBDC program at the existing 
$135 million authorization level through FY15, encouraged SBDCs 
to improve outreach and communications to universities, 
community colleges, and junior colleges and allowed the SBA 
Administrator to authorize out-of-state SBDCs to provide 
assistance in declared disaster areas.
    Subtitle D of Title IV was originally introduced as S. 3281 
by Senators Snowe, Kerry, and Coburn. This subtitle repealed 
federal authorization of the National Veterans Business 
Development Corporation (TVC).
    Title V of the SUCCESS Act focused on promoting federal 
government contracting opportunities for small businesses. It 
included S. 2187, the Small Business Administration Surety Bond 
Increase Act, originally introduced by Senators Cardin, 
Landrieu and Snowe. It would have made permanent the American 
Recovery & Reinvestment Act provision by Senator Cardin that 
temporarily increased the size of a SBA surety bond guarantee 
from $2 million to $5 million. As mentioned earlier, this 
provision was ultimately included in the National Defense 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 [P.L. 112-239].
    Subtitle B of Title V was originally introduced by Senators 
Snowe, Landrieu, Enzi, Brown, and Merkley, and eight other 
senators, as S. 633, the Small Business Contracting Fraud 
Prevention Act. The provisions in Subtitle B provided the SBA 
Inspector General with enhanced tools to eliminate fraud in 
small business contracting programs by imposing greater 
penalties for fraud and requiring that firms be debarred for 
five years if they misrepresent their status as veteran-owned 
for purposes of programs under the act.
    Subtitle C under Title V was originally introduced by 
Senators Snowe, Landrieu, Gillibrand, Bennet, Mikulski, 
Murkowski, and Shaheen as S. 2172, the Fairness in Women-Owned 
Small Business Contracting Act. It sought to eliminate the 
limits on contract award amounts and the prohibition against 
sole-source contract awards to Women-Owned Small Businesses.
    Subtitle D of the Title V of the SUCCESS Act originated in 
the House of Representatives as H.R. 3851, the Small Business 
Advocate Act of 2012, by Congressman Sam Graves. This provision 
required the Director of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged 
Business Utilization (OSDBU), which is established within all 
major federal Executive Agencies, to be compensated at up to a 
Senior Executive Service Level.
    The final title of the SUCCESS Act was focused on improving 
federal government transparency, accountability, and 
effectiveness. A key component of this title was the result of 
the work of Senator Hagan from North Carolina. In particular, 
Subtitle A of Title VI was based upon Senator Hagan's 
legislation, S. 3194, the Small Business Common Application Act 
of 2012. The section aimed to streamline assistance for small 
businesses facing layers of paperwork when applying for a 
grant, seeking technical assistance or bidding on a contract 
from the federal government.
    Subtitle A of the final title built off of provisions in S. 
3194 by establishing an Executive Committee of 12 federal 
agency representatives, headed by the SBA Administrator, to 
review the feasibility of establishing a Small Business Common 
Application. This Executive Committee would have then provided 
recommendations to the Executive Branch and Congress within 270 
days on establishing a common application and web portal for 
small businesses. The small business ``common app'' would have 
functioned much like the one that students complete to apply to 
multiple colleges and universities simultaneously. It would 
have ensured that small businesses across the country could 
concentrate on growing and creating jobs--instead of filling 
out mountains of repetitive paperwork.
    Small Business Tax Bills Introduced. On May 12, 2011, 
Ranking Member Snowe and Chair Landrieu once again introduced 
the Small Business Tax Equalization and Compliance Act (S. 974) 
to provide the salon industry the same tax rules on tips paid 
to employees as permitted in the restaurant industry. 
Specifically, the bill provided a tax credit designed for salon 
employers to offset the matching Social Security and Medicare 
taxes that the salon employer is required to pay on the tips 
that employees receive from customers. Building upon similar 
legislation introduced in previous Congresses, including the 
111th Congress, the legislation would have also helped to make 
more even-handed IRS enforcement of laws on payroll and income 
taxes. Subsequent to introduction, S. 974 was referred to the 
Senate Finance Committee, which did not take action on the 
bill.
    On March 22, 2012, Sen. Kerry and Chair Landrieu introduced 
the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit Improvement Act (S. 
2227) to expand and simplify the small business health care tax 
credit created by ACA for employee health insurance expenses of 
small employers. S. 2227 was referred to the Senate Finance 
Committee, which did not take action on the bill.
    On March 29, 2012, Ranking Member Snowe and Chair Landrieu, 
along with Senators Alexander, Boxer, Corker, and Hutchinson 
introduced the Songwriters Tax Simplification Reauthorization 
Act (S. 2258). Building on legislation introduced in previous 
Congresses, the bill was designed to reinstate the ability of 
American music publishers and self-published songwriters to 
elect to use a simplified 5-year, 20 percent, per year 
amortization schedule for tax purposes for song catalogues. S. 
2258 was referred to the Finance Committee, which did not take 
action on the bill.
    Form 1099 Repeal. Building upon efforts led by Chair 
Landrieu and Ranking Member Snowe in the 111th Congress to 
repeal expanded Form 1099 reporting requirements set to take 
effect in 2012 (the 2012 Form 1099 Reporting Requirements), 
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, along with Chair 
Landrieu, introduced the Small Business Paperwork Mandate 
Elimination Act of 2011 (S. 72 ) on January 25, 2011. 
Originally enacted as an offset to the Affordable Care Act 
(P.L. 111-148) (ACA), the 2012 Form 1099 Reporting Requirements 
would have expanded existing IRS Form 1099 reporting 
requirement to require any business to file a Form 1099 for 
payments made for goods--in addition to services--that cost 
$600 or more. This would have created another category of 
income that required a Form 1099 filing requirement. In 
addition, the 2012 Form 1099 Reporting Requirements also 
required businesses that made payments to corporations for 
services that cost $600 or more to file Form 1099s to report 
those payments.
    Immediately following the enactment of ACA, small 
businesses raised concerns regarding the cost and regulatory 
burden the new 2012 Form 1099 Reporting Requirements triggered. 
In connection with the debate on the SBIR bill, the Senate 
passed H.R. 4 to repeal the 2012 Form 1099 Reporting 
Requirements on April 5, 2011. President Obama signed into law 
the repeal of the 2012 Form 1099 Requirements as part of the 
Comprehensive 1099 Taxpayer Protection and Repayment of 
Exchange Subsidy Overpayments Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-9) on April 
14, 2011.
    Small Business Tax Extenders. On January 31, 2012, Ranking 
Member Snowe and Chair Landrieu introduced the Small Business 
Tax Extenders Act (S. 2050) to extend expired and expiring tax 
relief for small businesses, which had been included in prior 
legislation. The bill was referred to the Senate Finance 
Committee and no further action was taken.
    On March 25, 2012, Majority Leader Reid introduced the 
Small Business Jobs and Tax Relief Act of 2012 (S. 2237), and 
Chair Landrieu co-sponsored the bill on April 25, 2012. S. 2237 
included a new hire tax credit targeted to small businesses and 
an extension of bonus depreciation as well as a related 
provision that allowed taxpayers who use the percentage-of-
completion method of accounting to elect bonus depreciation, 
which was included in S. 2050. Chair Landrieu filed the SUCCESS 
Act as an amendment to S. 2237, which included several key 
small business tax priorities from S. 2050. The Senate failed 
to adopt the SUCCESS Act as an amendment to S. 2237 on July 12, 
2012, and the Senate failed to invoke cloture on S. 2237 on 
July 12, 2012.
    On July 19, 2012, the Senate passed the Middle Class Tax 
Cut Act (S. 3412) that included extensions, through 2013, of 
some of the small business tax provisions included in S. 2050. 
S. 3412 was placed on the Senate calendar and no further action 
was taken. Separately, on July 26, 2012, the Senate Finance 
Committee reported out The Family and Business Tax Cut 
Certainty Act of 2012 (S. 3521) that also included some small 
business tax provisions included in S. 2050. The Senate did not 
further consider S. 3521.
    On September 19, 2012, Ranking Member Snowe introduced the 
Restoring Tax and Regulatory Certainty to Small Businesses Act 
of 2012 (S. 3572), which contained the small business tax 
relief extensions in S. 2050 filed jointly by Chair Landrieu 
and Ranking Member Snowe. The bill also included regulatory 
reforms that had not been previously included. Ranking Member 
Snowe incorporated the regulatory relief provisions from the 
FREEDOM Act (S. 1030) into S. 3572, as well as an additional 
section that required a ``regulatory report card'' annually 
submitted to Congress that would have identified all of the 
regulations spanning multiple agencies that impact small 
business in an effort to address what some perceive as a lack 
of transparency and accessibility. The bill was referred to the 
Senate Finance Committee and no further action was taken.

    On January 1, 2013, the Senate passed the American Taxpayer 
Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) (P.L. 112-240), which President Obama 
signed into law on January 2, 2013. ATRA included an extension 
of bonus depreciation and the related bonus depreciation 
provision from S. 2050, as well as the following key small 
businesses tax relief provisions from S. 2050:
    Extension of 100% Capital Gains Exclusion: Until 2009, non-
corporate taxpayers were allowed to exclude 50% of the gain 
from the sale of stock of qualified small businesses (QSB) if 
the taxpayers held the stock for more than 5 years. The 
Recovery Act of 2009 increased the 50% exclusion to 75% and the 
Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 and subsequent legislation 
increased and extended the exclusion to 100% through 2011. 
However, as of January 1, 2012, the 100% exclusion reverted to 
50% and startup investments were no longer entitled to 
preferential capital gains treatment. ATRA extended the 100% 
exclusion from tax the gain on the sale of QSB stock held for 
more than 5 years and that is acquired before January 1, 2014, 
with an effective retroactive date for any stock acquired after 
December 31, 2011.
    Extension of Enhanced S-Corp Built-in Gains (BIG) 
Provision: When a corporation becomes an S-corporation, it is 
required to hold its business assets for 10 years or pay 
punitive taxes. This 10-year holding period is too long and 
ties up assets that could be sold to raise capital. In the 
Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (SBJA) (P.L. 111-499), Congress 
reduced this holding period to 5 years to better match business 
planning cycles and allow S-corporations access to capital. 
ATRA extended the shortened 5-year holding provision through 
2013.
    Extension of Enhanced Section 179 Deduction: Under the SBJA 
and other subsequent legislation, for taxable years beginning 
in 2010 and 2011, small businesses could write-off for capital 
expenditures for qualifying Sec. 179 property up to $500,000 
and the phase-out threshold has been increased to $2,000,000. 
These thresholds were up from prior law thresholds. In 
addition, for the first time, the SBJA allowed taxpayers to 
expense $250,000 of the cost of improvements to real property, 
including qualified restaurant property and qualified retail 
property.
    ATRA extended the more generous Sec. 179 provision through 
2013 that was included in the S. 2050, S. 3442 (the SUCCESS 
Act), and S. 3572 that allows small businesses to immediately 
write-off up to $500,000 (up from $250,000) for tangible 
personal property and up to $250,000 for improvements to 
leasehold property and retail property.

Measures Enacted or Obviated Relevant to the Senate Committee on Small 
                     Business and Entrepreneurship

     S. Res. 42: Introduced by Sen. Reid on 2/3/2011. 
Constituted the majority party's membership on the Senate 
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship for the 112th 
Congress.
     S. Res. 43: Introduced by Sen. McConnell on 2/3/
2011. Constituted the minority party's membership on the Senate 
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship for the 112th 
Congress.
     Rules of Procedure for the Senate Committee on 
Small Business and Entrepreneurship for the 112th Congress 
adopted by voice vote and published on 2/17/2011.
     S. Res. 66: Introduced by Sen. Landrieu on 2/17/
2011. Authorized expenditures by the Committee on Small 
Business and Entrepreneurship for the 112th Congress.
     S. Res. 197: Introduced by Sen. Landrieu on 5/24/
2011. Designated the week which began on May 15, 2011, as 
National Small Business Week.
     S. Res. 320: Introduced by Sen. Landrieu on 11/10/
2011. Designated November 26, 2011, as Small Business Saturday.
     S. Res. 469: Introduced by Sen. Landrieu on 5/21/
2012. Designated the week which began on May, 20, 2012, as 
National Small Business Week.
     S. Res. 589: Introduced by Sen. Snowe on 9/22/
2012. Designated November 24, 2012, as Small Business Saturday.
     P.L. 112-1 (H.R. 366): Introduced by Congressman 
Sam Graves on 1/20/2011 and signed into law on 1/31/2011. 
Extended certain SBA programs from January 31, 2011 through May 
31, 2011 (4 months).
     P.L. 112-9 (S. 72): Introduced by Senator Baucus 
with 17 original cosponsors on 1/25/2011 and signed into law on 
4/1/2011. Repealed the Form 1099 reporting requirements set to 
take effect in 2012. Senate passed H.R. 4 (the House version) 
to repeal the requirements on April 5, 2011.
     P.L. 112-17 (S. 1082): Introduced by Sen. Landrieu 
on 5/26/2011 and signed into law on 6/1/2011. Extended certain 
SBA programs from May 31, 2011, through July 31, 2011, and 
extended the SBIR and STTR programs from May 31, 2011 through 
September 30, 2011 (two months for general SBA, four months for 
SBIR/STTR and DoD's Commercialization Pilot programs).
     P.L. 112-33 (H.R. 2017): Introduced by Congressman 
Aderholt on 5/15/2011 and signed into law on 9/30/2011. 
Continued appropriations for Fiscal Year 2012, government-wide, 
through October 4, 2011, and also extended the SBIR, STTR, and 
Commercialization Pilot programs for the same period (4 days).
     P.L. 112-36 (H.R. 2608): Introduced by Congressman 
Sam Graves on 7/21/2011 and signed into law on 10/05/2011. 
Original language would have extended the SBA from July 31, 
2011, through December 31, 2011 (five months); eliminated 11 
authorized programs; and eliminated 1 pilot program (Emerging 
Leaders). The Senate amended the bill on July 28, 2011, and 
sent back 1 year instead of five months; changed the repeal 
dates from date of enactment to the start of FY2012, modified 
the repeal of the Emerging Leaders pilot; and added Dr. 
Coburn's deficit reduction language. The House decided not to 
act and let certain SBA authorities lapse, such as 
cosponsorship. The bill was ultimately used as the vehicle for 
the FY2012 continuing appropriations, and extended the SBIR, 
STTR, and Commercialization Pilot programs from October 5, 
2011, through November 18, 2011 (about six weeks)
     P.L. 112-55 (H.R. 2112): Introduced by Congressman 
Jack Kingston on 6/3/2011 and signed into law on 11/18/2011. 
Made Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 
2012 and extended the SBIR, STTR, and Commercialization Pilot 
programs from November 17th, 2011 through December 16th, 2011 
(one month).
     P.L. 112-78 (H.R. 3765): Introduced by Congressman 
Dave Camp on 12/23/2011 and signed into law 12/23/2011. Amends 
the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job 
Creation Act of 2010 and extended a number of small business 
tax relief measures through 2012.
     P.L. 112-81 (H.R. 1540): Introduced by Congressman 
Buck McKeon on 4/14/2011 and signed into law on 12/31/2011. The 
bill authorized the Department of Defense programs for Fiscal 
Year 2012 and included Division E, the SBIR/STTR 
Reauthorization Act of 2011, which comprehensively extended the 
SBIR, STTR and Commercialization Pilot/Readiness programs 
through September 30, 2017 (six years).
     P.L. 112-240 (H.R. 8), Introduced by Congressman 
Dave Camp on 7/24/2012 and signed into law on 1/2/2013. 
Extended through 2013 a number of small business tax relief 
measures, including extension of the 100% capital gains 
exclusion, the enhanced S-corp built-in gains, and the Sec. 179 
deduction.

                              Nominations

    The Small Business Administration has four positions which 
are filled by presidential nomination and require Senate 
confirmation under the jurisdiction of the Senate Committee on 
Small Business and Entrepreneurship. The positions are: SBA 
Administrator, SBA Deputy Administrator, SBA Inspector General, 
and Chief Counsel for Advocacy.
    During the 112th Congress, only the position of Chief 
Counsel for Advocacy needed Senate action. The position of SBA 
Administrator was held by Karen Gordon Mills, confirmed April 
3, 2009. The position of SBA Deputy Administrator was held by 
Marie Annette Collins Johns, confirmed on June 22, 2010. The 
position of SBA Inspector General was held by Peggy E. 
Gustafson, confirmed on September 24, 2009.

Dr. Winslow Lorenzo Sargeant

    On January 26, 2011, President Obama nominated Winslow 
Lorenzo Sargeant, Ph.D. to serve as Chief Counsel for Advocacy 
for the SBA's Office of Advocacy. The nomination was reported 
favorably out of the Committee, 17-2, on October 12, 2011. On 
November 18, 2011, Dr. Sargeant's nomination was confirmed by a 
voice vote of the full Senate.
    This was the second time that President Obama nominated Dr. 
Sargeant for the position. Dr. Sargeant was first nominated on 
June 8, 2009, during the 111th Congress. On August 6, 2009, the 
Committee held a hearing to consider the nomination of Dr. 
Winslow. The Committee voted in favor of Dr. Sargeant by a vote 
of 13-6. After reporting out Dr. Sargeant's nomination to the 
full Senate, there were objections to the unanimous consent 
agreements to confirm his nomination before the full Senate, 
and he did not get a vote. On August 19, 2010, nearly a year 
after receiving approval from the Committee, Dr. Sargeant was 
recess-appointed to the position of Chief Counsel of the Office 
of Advocacy by President Obama.

        Hearings, Roundtables, and Markups of the 112th Congress


                             FIRST SESSION

     February 3, 2011: Hearing to Organize the 
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Senator 
Landrieu chaired. Staff testimony from Mr. Donald R. Cravins, 
Jr., Democratic Staff Director and Chief Counsel; Mr. Wallace 
Hsueh, Republican Staff Director; and Ms. Caroline Bruckner, 
General Counsel. The Committee met to consider the Committee's 
rules of procedure and to discuss a budget resolution. The 
rules establish how the Committee will operate and the rights 
of the Majority and the Minority for the session of Congress.
     February 17, 2011: Markup to Organize the 
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Senator 
Landrieu chaired. The Committee met to adopt the Committee's 
rules of procedure and to vote on a budget resolution. The vote 
established funding for the Committee for the 112th Congress 
(vote occurred off the Senate Floor).
     February 17, 2011: Hearing titled 
``Reauthorization of the SBIR and STTR Programs,'' Senator 
Landrieu chaired. Testimony from Charles W. Wessner, Ph.D., 
Director of Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, The 
National Academies; Irwin Mark Jacobs, Ph.D., Co-Founder, 
Qualcomm; Matthew Silver, Ph.D., Co-Founder & Chief Executive 
Officer, Cambrian Innovation; Mr. Jere Glover, Executive 
Director, Small Business Technology Council; Mr. Joe Hernandez, 
Chief Executive Officer, Signal Genetics, On Behalf of the 
Biotechnology Industry Organization. The Committee met to 
review what role the SBIR and STTR programs play in spurring 
U.S. of innovation and economic development.
     March 3, 2011: Hearing titled ``Closing the Wealth 
Gap: Exploring Minority Access to Capital and Contracting 
Opportunities,'' Senator Landrieu chaired. Testimony from The 
Honorable Marie Johns, Deputy Administrator, U.S. Small 
Business Administration; Dr. Robert W. Fairlie, Professor of 
Economics, University of California, Santa Cruz; Mr. Marc 
Morial, President and CEO, National Urban League; Ms. Susan 
Allen, President and CEO, U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of 
Commerce; Mr. B. Doyle Mitchell, Chairman, National Bankers 
Association; Ms. Martha Montoya, Procurement Chair and Board 
Member, U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; The Honorable Peggy 
Gustafson, Inspector General, U.S. Small Business 
Administration; Mr. Greg Kutz, Managing Director of Forensic, 
Audits and Special Investigations, Government Accountability 
Office. The Committee met to highlight the fact that a large 
number of studies show that the wealth gap, as well as limited 
access to capital, counseling, and contracting hinders the 
formation and growth of minority-owned businesses.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Chair Landrieu also held two informal, unofficial meetings on 
the topic of closing the wealth gap: September 22, 2011, ``Closing the 
Wealth Gap: Utilizing Minority Owned Businesses as Vehicles for Job 
Creation and Economic Recovery,'' and on September 19, 2012, ``Closing 
the Wealth Gap through the African American Entrepreneurial 
Ecosystem.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
     March 8, 2011: Roundtable titled ``Reauthorization 
of SCORE: Discussion and Recommendations for Volunteer-based 
Small Business Assistance,'' Senator Landrieu chaired. 
Testimony from Ms. Sheree Joy Burlington, Owner and Designer, 
Museware Pottery, Manchester, New Hampshire; Mr. Ridgley Evers, 
Member, Board of Directors, SCORE; Dr. Erik Pages, President, 
EntreWorks Consulting; Ms. Penny K. Pickett, Associate 
Administrator Office of Entrepreneurial Development, U.S. Small 
Business Administration; Mr. Leonard H. Sedlin, Director, SCORE 
Louisiana; Mr. W. Ken Yancey, Chief Executive Officer, SCORE; 
Mr. Ronald D. Weiss, Director, SCORE New Hampshire; Mr. William 
B. Shear, Director of Financial Markets and Community 
Investment, U.S. Government Accountability Office. The 
Committee met to discuss the value of SCORE, the need for the 
program's reauthorization, and recommendations for 
reauthorization legislation in the 112th Congress.
     March 9, 2011: Markup titled ``SBIR/STTR 
Reauthorization,'' Senator Landrieu chaired. To discuss 
legislative proposals approving and reauthorizing the federal 
government's two largest research and development programs, the 
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and the Small 
Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. S. 493, the 
``SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011,'' was amended by a 
Manager's Amendment, and reported favorably by a nearly 
unanimous vote of 18-1.
     March 31, 2011: Hearing titled ``President's 
FY2012 Budget Request for the U.S. Small Business 
Administrations & Office of Advocacy,'' Senator Landrieu 
chaired. Testimony from The Honorable Winslow Sargeant, Ph.D., 
Chief Counsel for Advocacy, U.S. Small Business Administration; 
The Honorable Karen Gordon Mills, Administrator, U.S. Small 
Business Administration. The Committee met to discuss President 
Obama's Fiscal Year 2012 budget request of $985 million for the 
SBA.
     May 19, 2011: Hearing titled ``Small Business 
Recovery: Progress Report on the Implementation of the Small 
Business Jobs Act of 2010,'' Senator Landrieu chaired. 
Testimony from The Honorable Marie Johns, Deputy Administrator, 
Small Business Administration; Mr. Don Graves, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary, Small Business, Community Development, and Housing 
Policy, U.S. Department of Treasury; Eric Blinderman, Founder 
and owner, Mas restaurant; Kristie Arslan, Executive Director, 
National Association for the Self-Employed; Patrick Woodie, 
Vice President, Rural Programs, North Carolina Rural Center. 
The Committee met to (1) Review the status of the federal 
government's implementation of the Small Business Jobs Act of 
2010; and (2) Hear directly from businesses owners and groups 
assisting businesses about whether provisions from the law have 
helped create jobs and grow small businesses.
     June 16, 2011: Hearing titled ``An Examination of 
SBA Programs: Eliminating Inefficiencies, Duplications, Fraud 
and Abuse,'' Senator Landrieu chaired. Testimony from the 
Honorable Karen Gordon Mills, Administrator, U.S. Small 
Business Administration; the Honorable Peggy E. Gustafson, 
Inspector General, U.S. Small Business Administration; Mr. 
William B. Shear, Director of Financial markets, and Community 
Investment, U.S. Government Accountability Office; Mr. Kevin 
Baron, Director of Government Affairs, American Small Business 
League; Mr. Tad DeHaven, Budget Analyst, Cato Institute; Ms. 
Fran Pastore, President and CEO, Women's Business Development 
Council; Mr. Greg Clarkson, Executive Vice President--SBA 
Lending Division, BBVA Compass Bank, and also Chairman, NAGGL 
Board of Directors. The Committee met to focus on examining 
actions that could be taken to reduce or eliminate wasteful, 
duplicative, or ineffective operations of the SBA's programs 
without undermining the SBA's ability to serve the needs of 
small business owners.
     June 30, 2011: Roundtable titled ``The SBA in Your 
Community: A Review of SBA Field Operations,'' Senator Landrieu 
chaired. Testimony from Mr. Edward J. Cadena, District 
Director, Nevada District Office, U.S. Small Business 
Administration; Mr. Dave Dickson, District Director, 
Philadelphia District Office, U.S. Small Business 
Administration; Ms. Lynn Douthett, District Director, North 
Carolina District Office, U.S. Small Business Administration; 
Mr. Gilbert Goldberg, District Director, Cleveland District 
Office, U.S. Small Business Administration; Ms. Greta 
Johansson, District Director, New Hampshire District Office, 
U.S. Small Business Administration; Mr. Greg Lopez, District 
Director, Colorado District Office, U.S. Small Business 
Administration; Ms. Linda Nelson, District Director, Arkansas 
District Office, U.S. Small Business Administration; Mr. Robert 
H. Nelson, District Director, Massachusetts District Office, 
U.S. Small Business Administration; Mr. Norm Proctor, District 
Director, Idaho District Office, U.S. Small Business 
Administration; Ms. Prayina Raghavan, District Director, New 
York City District Office, U.S. Small Business Administration; 
Mr. Stephan D. Umberger, District Director, Baltimore District 
Office, U.S. Small Business Administration. The Committee met 
to discuss with SBA district directors and field operations 
staff the SBA programs in local communities.
     July 11, 2011: Field Hearing titled ``A Year After 
the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Status of Recovery Efforts 
in Florida,'' Senator Rubio chaired. Testimony from Mr. Adam H. 
Putnam, Commissioner, Florida Department of Agriculture and 
Consumer Services; Mr. Joe Gilchrist, Owner, Flora-Bama Lounge, 
Package, and Oyster Bar; Mr. Collier Merrill, Chairman, 
Pensacola Chamber of Commerce; Captain Bob Zales, President, 
National Association of Charterboat Operators (NACO). The field 
hearing evaluated the economic and ecological recovery status 
of the Gulf of Mexico a year after the oil spill by assessing 
the efforts of the short-term recovery effort, evaluating what 
is needed for the long-term recovery of the Gulf, and 
identifying areas where the U.S. Congress could best assist 
those worst impacted by the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
     July 21, 2011: Roundtable titled ``Entrepreneurial 
Development: Obstacles and Opportunities for Supporting, 
Sustaining and Growing America's Entrepreneurs,'' Senator 
Landrieu chaired. Testimony from Mr. Leo J. Bottary, Vice 
President of Public Affairs, Vistage International, Inc.; Mr. 
Charles ``Tee'' Rowe, President and Chief Executive Officer, 
Association of Small Business Development Centers; Mr. Bill 
Shear, Director, Financial Markets and Community Investment, 
Government Accountability Office; Ms. Holly I. Schick, Deputy 
Associate Administrator, Office of Entrepreneurial Development, 
U.S. Small Business Administration; Mr. Scott Snair, Program 
Director, New Jersey Veterans Business Outreach Center; Mr. 
Clinton Tymes, Director, Delaware Small Business Development 
Center; Ms. Julie R. Weeks, Chair of the Board, Association of 
Women's Business Centers; Mr. Daryl Williams, Chief Executive 
Officer, Urban Entrepreneur Partnership Inc.; Mr. W. Kenneth 
Yancey, Jr., Chief Executive Officer, SCORE. The Committee met 
to hear from various representatives of the relevant trade 
associations, small business owners, and the SBA regarding 
SBA's entrepreneurial development programs and possible 
legislative proposals to improve/reauthorize these programs.
     July 25, 2011: Field Hearing titled ``The Role of 
Small Businesses in Strengthening Cyber Security Efforts in the 
United States,'' Senator Cardin chaired. Testimony from Mr. 
Patrick D. Gallagher, Director, National Institute of Standards 
and Technology of the U.S. Department of Commerce; Ms. Jennifer 
S. Walsmith, Senior Acquisition Executive, National Security 
Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense; Mr. Christian 
Johansson, Secretary of the Department of Business and Economic 
Development for the State of Maryland; Mr. Charles Iheagwara, 
Chief Marketing and Business Development officer for Unatek, 
Inc.; Ms. Sarah Djamshidi, Executive Director for Chesapeake 
Innovation Center; Mr. Gregory von Lehmen, Provost for the 
University of Maryland University College. To discuss federal 
cyber security initiatives and opportunities for small 
businesses to contract with the federal government.
     August 11, 2011: Field Hearing titled ``The Role 
of Exports in Small Business Growth and Job Creation,'' Senator 
Shaheen chaired. Testimony from the Honorable Marie Johns, 
Deputy Administrator, Office of the Administrator, U.S. Small 
Business Administration; Ms. Wanda Felton, First Vice President 
and Vice Chair, Board of Directors, Export-Import Bank of the 
United States; James M. Cox, Regional Director, Northeast, 
Commercial Service, U.S. Commerce Department; Mr. Richard L. 
Friedman, President and CEO, Carpenter & Company, Inc.; Ms. 
Dawn Wivell, Former Director, Office of International Commerce/
International Trade Resource Center, State of New Hampshire; 
Mr. Thomas Moulton, President and CEO, Sleepnet Corporation; 
Ms. Grace Preston, International Sales Manager, Secure Care 
Products, Inc. The field hearing was to discuss how small 
businesses could positively affect job growth and creation 
through exports.
     September 15, 2011: Hearing titled ``Disaster 
Recovery: Evaluating the Role of America's Small Businesses in 
Rebuilding their Communities,'' Senator Landrieu chaired. 
Testimony from Mr. Albert B. Sligh, Jr., Associate 
Administrator, Mission Support Bureau, Federal Emergency 
Management Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; 
Brigadier General (BG) Theodore Harrison, Director, National 
Contracting Organization, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Mr. 
Bill Woods, Director, Acquisition and Sourcing Management, U. 
S. Government Accountability Office; Mrs. Terri Bennett, 
Program Manager, Heartland PTAC; Mr. Sid Davis, President, Big 
John's Heavy Equipment, Inc.; Mr. Dale Rentrop, Jr., President, 
Tiger Tugz, LLC; Mrs. Mindy Nunez-Airhart, Marketing Director 
and Assistant to the President, Southern Services & Equipment, 
Inc. The Committee met to (1) hear directly from small business 
owners on opportunities and challenges in working with the 
federal government on disaster recovery contracts; (2) hear 
from federal agencies on how they contract with small 
businesses after disasters; and (3) establish a Committee 
record on post-Katrina and post-Joplin issues that might impact 
recovery from 2011 disasters.
     October 12, 2011: Markup for the nomination of Dr. 
Winslow L. Sargeant to be chief counsel for advocacy, Small 
Business Administration. Voted out of Committee by a vote of 
17-2.
     October 18, 2011: Hearing titled ``Small Business 
Jobs Act of 2010, One Year Later,'' Senator Landrieu chaired. 
Testimony from the Honorable Timothy Geithner. The Committee 
met to discuss the effectiveness of the Small Business Jobs Act 
of 2011.

                             SECOND SESSION

     February 1, 2012: Roundtable titled ``Developing 
and Strengthening High-Growth Entrepreneurship,'' Senator 
Landrieu chaired. Testimony from Mr. Wayne Crews, Vice 
President for Policy, Competitive Enterprise Institute; Dr. 
Douglas Holtz-Eakin, President, American Action Forum; Mr. 
Barry Evans, CEO, Calxeda; Mr. Ridgely C. Evers, Managing 
Partner, Tapit Partners LLC; Mr. Stephen Ezell, Senior Analyst, 
Information Technology & Innovation Foundation; Mr. Mike 
Farmer, Founder and CEO, Leap2; Mr. Michael A. Finney, 
President and CEO, Michigan Economic Development Corporation; 
Mr. Sean Greene, Associate Administrator for Investment, U.S. 
Small Business Administration; Mr. Jim Kessler, Senior Vice 
President for Policy, Third Way; Mr. Brink Lindsey, Research 
and Policy Associate, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation; Mr. 
Jonathan Ortmans, Senior Fellow, Ewing Marion Kauffman 
Foundation; Mr. Tim Rowe, Founder and CEO, Cambridge Innovation 
Center; Ms. Madeleine Sumption, Policy Analyst, Migration 
Policy Institute; Ms. Diane Tomb, President and CEO, National 
Association of Women Business Owners. The Committee met to 
discuss effective methods of strengthening growth among U.S. 
small businesses.
     March 22, 2012: Roundtable titled ``A Spotlight on 
Small Business Investment Companies and their Role in the 
Entrepreneurial Ecosystem,'' Senator Landrieu chaired. 
Testimony from Mr. Roger Bates, President, MEP R&H Supply, 
Inc.; Mr. Vincent D. Foster, Chairman of the Board & Chief 
Executive Officer, Main Street Capital Corporation; Mr. James 
Goodman, President, Gemini Investors; Mr. Harry Haskins, Deputy 
Associate Administrator for Investment, U.S. Small Business 
Administration; Mr. Manuel A. Henriquez, Chairman & Chief 
Executive Officer, Hercules Technology Growth Capital; Mr. Tim 
Rafalovich, Vice President, Community Lending and Investment, 
Wells Fargo Bank; Mr. Charles Rothstein, Senior Managing 
Director, Michigan Growth Fund; Mr. Barry Wides, Deputy 
Comptroller, Community Affairs Office of the Comptroller of the 
Currency; Mr. Seth Alvord, Managing Partner, Balance Point 
Capital; Mr. Rick Girard, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, 
Girard Environmental Services; Mr. Thies Kolln, Partner, AAVIN 
Private Equity; Mr. Carl Kopfinger, Senior Vice President, 
Community Capital Group, Venture Capital & Mezzanine Investment 
Division, TD Bank; Mr. Dan Penberthy, Chief Financial Officer & 
Executive Vice President, RAND Capital Corporation; Mr. Don 
Sackett, Senior Vice President & Business Manager, Olympus 
Innov-X. The Committee met to discuss various players in the 
Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) community, to 
highlight the success of the SBIC program, and to examine 
opportunities for improvement.
     March 29, 2012: Hearing titled ``The FY 2013 
Budget Request for the Small Business Administration,'' Senator 
Landrieu chaired. Testimony from the Honorable Karen Mills, 
Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration; Mr. Ridgely 
C. Evers, Managing Partner, Tapit Partners LLC; Mr. Christopher 
G. Hurn, Chief Executive Officer and Cofounder, Mercantile 
Capital Corporation; Mr. Bill Shear, Director, Financial 
Markets & Community Investment, U.S. Government Accountability 
Office; Mr. Tony Wilkinson, President, National Association of 
Government Guaranteed Lenders; The Honorable Peggy E. 
Gustafson, Inspector General, U.S. Small Business 
Administration; The Honorable Winslow Sargeant, Chief Counsel 
for Advocacy, U.S. Small Business Administration. The Committee 
met to discuss the President's FY2013 request for $1.1 billion 
for the SBA
     April 18, 2012: Roundtable titled ``Perspectives 
from the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: Creating Jobs and Growing 
Businesses through Entrepreneurship,'' Senator Landrieu 
chaired. Testimony from Mr. Nishith Acharya, Director, Office 
of Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Economic Development 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce; Mr. Evan Burfield, 
Chairman, StartupDC; Mr. Scott Daugherty, Executive Director, 
North Carolina Small Business Technology Development Center; 
Ms. Christina Friederichs, Managing Director, Helzberg 
Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program; Mr. Scott Gerber, Founder & 
President, Young Entrepreneur Council; Ms. Juliet Gorman, 
Communications Director, Etsy; Patricia G. Greene, Ph.D., Paul 
T. Babson Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies, Babson College; Ms. 
Jennifer Hyman, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Rent 
the Runway; Mr. Alex Laskey, President & Founder, Opower; the 
Honorable Craig Lowe, Mayor, City of Gainesville; Matt 
Mitchell, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center at 
George Mason University; Mr. Joe Nigro, Business Evangelist, 
Vsnap.com; Mr. Vivek Wadhwa, Fellow, Stanford University; Mr. 
Tim Williamson, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, The 
Idea Village. The Committee met to discuss high growth 
entrepreneurship and job creation, including the federal 
government's role in strengthening entrepreneurial ecosystems.
     November 29, 2012: Hearing titled ``Creating Jobs 
and Growing the Economy: Legislative Proposals to Strengthen 
the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem,'' Senator Landrieu chaired. 
Testimony from Mr. Michael Chodos, Associate Administrator, 
Office of Entrepreneurial Development, U.S. Small Business 
Administration; Mr. Sean Greene, Associate Administrator for 
Investment & Special Advisor of Innovation, U.S. Small Business 
Administration; Mr. Scott Gardiner, Executive Vice President, 
Granite State Economic Development Corporation; Mrs. Fonda 
Lindfors New, Chief Executive Officer, QRI, Inc.; Mr. Joshua A. 
Etemadi, Sales Manager, Construction Bonds, Inc.; Mr. David 
Clough, State Director, Maine Chapter, National Federation of 
Independent Business; Ms. Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Senior Fellow, 
Manhattan Institute for Policy Research; Ms. Julie Weeks, 
President and Chief Executive Officer, Womenable. The purpose 
of this hearing was to discuss legislative proposals that 
promote job creation and small business growth in 
entrepreneurial ecosystems. The hearing followed up on previous 
roundtables held by the Committee between February and April 
2012. At these three (3) roundtables, stakeholders from each 
level of the entrepreneurial ecosystem highlighted best 
practices, successful programs, and provided other 
recommendations that could be included in legislation. The 
November 29, 2012 hearing provided an opportunity for Committee 
members to highlight their relevant legislative proposals with 
Committee leadership, federal officials, and other 
stakeholders.
     December 13, 2012: Hearing titled ``Hurricane 
Sandy: Assessing the federal Response and Small Business 
Recovery Efforts,'' Senator Landrieu chaired. Testimony from 
Mr. Michael Chodos, Associate Administrator, Office of 
Entrepreneurial Development, U.S. Small Business 
Administration; Mr. James Rivera, Associate Administrator, 
Office of Disaster Assistance, U.S. Small Business 
Administration; Mr. Jim King, State Director, New York Small 
Business Development Center Network; Mr. Kevin S. Law, 
President and CEO, Long Island Association; the Honorable Dawn 
Zimmer, Mayor, City of Hoboken, New Jersey. This hearing 
assessed the SBA's response to Hurricane Sandy and small 
business recovery in the impacted region. The Committee also 
reviewed the SBA's progress in implementing the 2008 disaster 
reforms and opportunities for additional improvements in the 
113th Congress.

                               Oversight

     Letter to the SBA Regarding Duplicative Programs: 
On January 25, 2011, Chair Landrieu and Ranking Member Snowe 
sent a letter to Administrator Karen Mills (SBA) detailing the 
Committee's plan to undertake a careful examination of ways to 
improve and strengthen small business programs within the SBA, 
including the possibility of eliminating duplicative, 
ineffective, or redundant programs.
     Letter to the Small Business Administration 
Regarding Lending: On February 1, 2011, Ranking Member Snowe 
sent a letter to Administrator Karen Mills (SBA) requesting 
information on the default rate of loans within the 504 lending 
program for each individual lender and the recovery rates for 
each holder.
     Letter to the President's Council on Jobs and 
Competitiveness: On February 8, 2011, Chair Landrieu and 
Ranking Member Snowe sent a letter to Chairman Jeffery Immelt 
(Jobs Council) urging the Council to incorporate strong small 
business initiatives, particularly in exporting, in the 
development of economic policies and recommendations.
     Letter to Five (5) Agencies Regarding Support for 
Risk Retention Provisions and the Qualified Residential 
Mortgage Exemption in Section 941 of Dodd-Frank: On February 
16, 2011, Chair Landrieu and Senators Kay Hagan and Johnny 
Isakson sent a letter to Secretary Donovan (Housing and Urban 
Development), Chair Bernanke (Federal Reserve), Acting Director 
Edward DeMarco (Federal Housing Finance Agency), Chair Sheila 
Bair (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation), Chair Mary 
Shapiro (Securities and Exchange Commission), and Acting 
Comptroller John Walsh (Office of the Comptroller of the 
Currency) expressing their support for the risk retention 
provisions and the Qualified Residential Mortgage Exemption of 
Section 941 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 
Protection Act.
     Letter to the Budget Committee Regarding Views and 
Estimates on SBA's FY2012 Budget: On March 18, 2011, Chair 
Landrieu submitted the views and estimates on the President's 
Fiscal Year 2012 budget request for the SBA and other matters 
under the jurisdiction of the SBC to Kent Conrad (Chairman of 
the Budget Committee) and Jeff Sessions (Ranking Member). 
Ranking Member Snowe sent a separate Views and Estimates letter 
on March 18, 2011.
     Letter to the Small Business Administration 
Regarding the SBA's interpretation of the statute authorizing 
the State Trade and Export Promotion pilot grant program: On 
March 30, 2011, Chair Landrieu and Ranking Member Snowe sent a 
letter to Administrator Mills expressing concerns that the SBA 
was only considering applications from states with 
international trade agencies.
     Letter to the SBA Regarding Congressional Intent 
of the SBA's Intermediary Lending Pilot Program: On April 1, 
2011, Chair Landrieu and Senator Carl Levin submitted a letter 
to Administrator Karen Mills (SBA) seeking to clarify the 
intent of the Intermediary Lending Pilot Program.
     Letter to the SBA Regarding SBA's Outreach to the 
Louisiana Delta Region: On April 29, 2011, Chair Landrieu 
submitted a request to Administrator Karen Mills (SBA) for 
increased SBA outreach in the Louisiana Delta Region.
     Letter to the SBA Regarding Result of the Truth in 
Lending Act's Regulatory Requirements: On May 2, 2011, Chair 
Landrieu submitted a letter to Chair Ben Bernanke (Federal 
Reserve) requesting that the regulations under the Truth in 
Lending Act and their application to traditional portfolio 
lenders not unnecessarily hinder the ability of those lenders 
to meet their borrowers' needs.
     Letter to Department of Agriculture Regarding 
Outreach to the Louisiana Delta Region: On May 4, 2011, Chair 
Landrieu issued a letter to Secretary Tom Vilsack (Department 
of Agriculture) requesting increased outreach by the Department 
of Agriculture in the Louisiana Delta Region.
     Letter to the Secretary of Labor Regarding ESOP 
Annual Appraiser: On May 6, 2011, Chair Landrieu and Ranking 
Member Snowe sent a letter to Secretary Solis (DOL) regarding 
the Department's proposed rule for expanding the definition of 
the term ``fiduciary'' to include ESOP annual appraisers. See 
75 Fed. Reg. 65263 (Oct. 22, 2010). The letter pointed out that 
ESOPs employ 10 percent of the private sector and the proposed 
expanding of the definition of the term ``fiduciary'' would 
create undue expense and additional regulatory burden for 
ESOPs. DOL later revoked the proposed rules.
     Letter to Six (6) Agencies Regarding Exemption 
from Risk Retention for Safe Mortgage Products: On May 26, 
2011, Chair Landrieu and Senators Kay Hagan and Johnny Isakson 
submitted a letter to Secretary Shaun Donovan (HUD), Chair Mary 
Shapiro (SEC), Chair Ben Bernanke (Federal Reserve), Acting 
Comptroller John Walsh (OCC), Chair Sheila Bair (FDIC), and 
Acting Director Edward Demarco (Federal Housing Finance Agency) 
requesting that they create a broad exemption from risk 
retention for historically safe mortgage products consistent 
with Section 941 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and 
Consumer Protection Act.
     Letter to Senate Financial Services Appropriations 
Subcommittee Regarding the SBA's FY 2012 Funding: On May 27, 
2011, Chair Landrieu sent a letter to Richard Durbin (Chair) 
and Jerry Moran (Ranking Member) with funding recommendations 
for the SBA programs for FY2012.
     Letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce: On June 
1, 2011, Ranking Member Snowe sent a letter to Secretary Locke 
(Commerce) urging his agency to reduce the cost-sharing 
requirement for the Manufacturing Extension partnership. This 
letter followed a GAO report exploring options for reducing the 
cost-share requirement.
     Letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation: 
On June 23, 2011, Ranking Member Snowe sent a letter to 
Secretary Ray LaHood (Transportation) to express concerns with 
regulations that some believed would add to the cost of 
transporting goods in the United States. This letter was 
cosigned by Senators Thune, Corker, Brown, and Ayotte and 
Congressmen Young, Walden, Issa, Latta, Coffman, Cravaack, 
Graves, Hanna, Walsh, West, and Long.
     Letter to the SBA Requesting Information on the 
Jobs Act: On June 27, 2011, Chair Landrieu submitted a letter 
to Deputy Administrator Marie Johns (SBA) requesting specific 
information on the impact of the Jobs Act on small businesses 
nationwide.
     Letter to the SBA Regarding the White House Rural 
Council: On June 29, 2011, Chair Landrieu submitted a letter to 
Karen Mills (SBA) to follow-up on the June 16, 2011 oversight 
hearing and to request that the SBA assist the White House 
Rural Council in implementing its rural economic strategy, with 
a particular focus on small business job creation and economic 
development in rural communities.
     Letter to the SBA Regarding the SBA-USDA 
Memorandum of Understanding: On June 30, 2011, Chair Landrieu 
and Senators Maria Cantwell, Kay Hagan, and Mark Pryor 
requested from Deputy Administrator Marie Johns (SBA) answers 
to questions on the SBA-USDA Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), 
which was meant to better coordinate SBA and USDA programs to 
assist small businesses in underserved rural areas. The MOU set 
a goal to increase the number of small business loans 
guaranteed by SBA and USDA, as well as to expand technical 
assistant efforts in those areas. This letter served to 
determine whether the SBA has implemented and reached the 
aforementioned goals.
     Letter to the SBA Following the June 16, 2011 SBC 
Antifraud Hearing: On July 5, 2011, Chair Landrieu and Ranking 
Member Snowe sent a letter to Administrator Karen Mills (SBA) 
requesting clarification of the outstanding issues and 
discrepancies that arose from the June 16, 2011 hearing 
entitled ``Examination of SBA Programs: Eliminating 
Inefficiencies, Duplications, Fraud, and Abuse,'' with an 
emphasis on issues that affect federal contracting and the 
SBA's oversight and maintenance of its lending and contracting 
programs.
     Letter to the SBA Concerning the SBA 
Interpretation of the Duplication of Benefits: On July 5, 2011, 
Chair Landrieu submitted to Administrator Karen Mills (SBA) a 
letter expressing the Chair's concern about the SBA 
interpretation of duplication of benefits following declared 
disasters.
     Letter to the SBA Requesting Evaluation of the 
SBA's Entrepreneurial Development Programs: On July 6, 2011, 
Chair Landrieu and Ranking Member Snowe sent to Administrator 
Karen Mills (SBA) a letter seeking an extensive evaluation of 
the SBA's entrepreneurial development programs.
     Letter to the SBA Regarding Ineligibility of 
Aquaculture Businesses for EIDLs: On July 7, 2011, Chair 
Landrieu requested information from Deputy Administrator Marie 
Johns (SBA) regarding the impact of the ineligibility of 
aquaculture businesses to apply for the SBA Economic Injury 
Disaster Loans (EIDLS) following the Deepwater Horizon 
disaster.
     Letter to the SBA Regarding the High Decline Rates 
of SBA Disaster Loans: On July 7, 2011, Chair Landrieu and 
Senators Claire McCaskill and Roy Blunt requested from 
Administrator Karen Mills (SBA) an explanation for the high 
decline rates on SBA disaster loans and the reasons for such 
declines.
     Letter to the SBA Regarding the Implementation of 
a Joint Small Business Program between the SBA and the 
Department of Commerce: On July 7, 2011, Chair Landrieu 
submitted a letter to Secretary Gary Locke (Department of 
Commerce) and Administrator Karen Mills (SBA) requesting that 
both the Department of Commerce (DOC) and the SBA provide 
information on the effectiveness and utilization of a joint 
online export readiness assessment tool. The letter also asked 
for information on coordination between DOC and SBA offices and 
resource partners on export promotion.
     Letter to the Small Business Administration 
Regarding Competitive Grants: On July 28, 2011, Ranking Member 
Snowe and House Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves 
sent a letter to Administrator Karen Mills (SBA) and Deputy 
Administrator Marie Johns (SBA) to express disagreement with 
the SBA's decision to divide approximately $3 million into 15 
competitive grants and, by doing so, preclude 48 Small Business 
Development Centers from supplemental funding for FY2011.
     Letter to the SBA Regarding Improvements to the 
SBA Disaster Assistance Program: On August 3, 2011, Chair 
Landrieu issued a letter to Administrator Karen Mills (SBA) 
that recommended improvements to the SBA's disaster assistance 
efforts, including how to best fund Small Business Development 
Centers (SBDCs) following future natural disasters.
     Letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange 
Commission Regarding Dodd-Frank: On November 17, 2011, Ranking 
Member Snowe, Senator Scott Brown, and Representatives Sam 
Graves, Rosco Bartlett, Scott Tipton, and Joe Walsh sent a 
letter to Chairperson Mary Shapiro (SEC) expressing concerns 
with the Securities and Exchange Commission's implementation of 
Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 
Protection Act (P.L. 111-203) which requires the SEC to 
promulgate rules requiring American companies to disclose use 
of the conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of the 
Congo.
     Letter to the U.S. Government Accountability 
Office Regarding Dodd-Frank: On December 22, 2011, Ranking 
Member Snowe sent a letter to Gene Dodaro, Comptroller General 
of the United States, requesting that the Government 
Accountability Office examine the impact of the Dodd-Frank Wall 
Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act on community banks, 
credit unions, and small businesses.
     Letter to the SBA Regarding the Deadline for the 
VC SBIR Rulemaking: On January 24, 2012, Chair Landrieu and 
Congressman Sam Graves sent a letter to Administrator Karen 
Mills (SBA) urging the Agency to expeditiously carryout the 
rulemaking for Section 5107 of 2012 NDAA. That section made it 
possible for firms that are majority-owned by multiple venture 
capital operating companies, hedge funds, or private equity 
firms to compete for a portion of the SBIR program funds.
     Letter to the GAO Requesting Co-Requestor Status 
on the Forensic Audit and Investigative Service Report on 
Franchise Lending: On February 6, 2012, Chair Landrieu and 
Ranking Member Snowe submitted a letter to Comptroller General 
Gene Dodaro (Government Accountability Office) asking that they 
both be added as co-requestors of the GAO's Forensic Audit and 
Investigative Service report on franchise lending at the SBA.
     Letter to President Obama Regarding the SBA 
Administrator as a Cabinet Level Position: On February 8, 2012, 
Ranking Member Snowe sent a letter to President Obama 
requesting clarification on whether the SBA Administrator would 
remain a Cabinet-level position should the Administration 
reorganize the Agency structure.
     Letter to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 
Regarding Contracting Fraud: On February 9, 2012, Ranking 
Member Snowe sent a letter to Secretary Erik Shinseki 
(Veterans) requesting that he provide detailed information on 
what steps the VA was taking to ensure that only eligible 
businesses were participating in their procurement program 
while protecting legitimate veteran businesses applying for 
verification. Ranking Member Snowe also reiterated the need for 
more to be done to streamline the process and improve fraud 
prevention controls.
     Letter to Senate Majority Leader Reid Regarding 
Senate Action on Export-Import Bank: On February 22, 2012, 
Chair Landrieu and Senators Jeanne Shaheen, John Kerry, Maria 
Cantwell, Joseph Lieberman, and Kay Hagan sent a letter to 
Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican Leader Mitch 
McConnell requesting that the Senate move forward to 
reauthorize the Export-Import Bank before its temporary 
extension expired in May 2012.
     Letter to the Budget Committee Regarding Views and 
Estimates on SBA's FY13 Budget: On March 9, 2012, Chair 
Landrieu sent to Senators Kent Conrad (Chair of the Budget 
Committee) and Jeff Sessions (Ranking Member) her views and 
estimates on the President's Fiscal Year 2013 budget request 
for the SBA. Ranking Member Snowe sent a separate Views and 
Estimates letter on March 9, 2012.
     Letter to Commerce Regarding the Market 
Development Cooperator Program: On March 21, 2012, Chair 
Landrieu and Ranking Member Snowe submitted to Secretary John 
Bryson (Department of Commerce) a request for additional 
information on the history and administration of the Market 
Development Cooperator Program (MDCP) administered by the 
Manufacturing and Services unit (MAS) of the ITA.
     Letter to Labor Secretary Solis Regarding 
Application of Fair Labor Standards Act to Domestic Service: On 
March 21, 2012, Chair Landrieu sent to Secretary Hilda Solis 
(Labor) a letter urging the Secretary to carefully consider the 
potential impact of the Department of Labor (DOL) proposed rule 
entitled, Application of the Fair Labor Standards Act to 
Domestic Service (76 Fed. Reg. 81190), on small businesses 
engaged in providing companion care services. According to the 
Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy (Advocacy), 
more than 90% of home care companies are considered small 
businesses under the SBA definition of less than $13.5 million 
dollars in annual revenue.
     Letter to Senate Financial Services Appropriations 
Subcommittee Regarding SBA's 2013 Funding: On March 29, 2012, 
Chair Landrieu submitted a letter to Senators Durbin (Chairman) 
and Moran (Ranking Member) her recommendations for the SBA's 
FY2013 appropriations.
     Letter to the U.S. Department of Labor Regarding 
the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938: On March 20, 2012, 
Ranking Member Snowe sent a letter seeking withdrawal of the 
Department of Labor's proposed revisions to current regulations 
pertaining to the exemption for companionship services and 
live-in domestic services from minimum wage and overtime 
requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
     Letter to the GAO Regarding Evaluation of the 
SBA's Patriot Express Pilot Loan Program: On April 19, 2012, 
Chair Landrieu, Ranking Member Snowe, and Senator Mark Pryor 
submitted to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro (GAO) a formal 
request for a report from the GAO evaluating the SBA's Patriot 
Express Pilot Loan Program.
     Letter to the Congressional Budget Office 
Regarding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: On 
June 28, 2012, Ranking Member Snowe sent a letter to Dr. 
Douglas Elemdorf (Director of the Congressional Budget Office) 
urging a reexamination of the budgetary impact of the Patient 
Protection and Affordable Care Act and a report to Congress.
     Letter to the OMB and SBA on the Subsidy Cost 
Estimates of the 7(a) and 504 Loan Programs: On July 20, 2012, 
Chair Landrieu sent to Acting Director Jeffrey Zients (OMB) and 
Administrator Karen Mills (SBA) a letter of concern about the 
subsidy cost estimates associated with the 7(a) and 504 loan 
programs. Chair Landrieu requested the actual econometric model 
used to forecast 7(a) and 504 loan performance, as well as any 
changes made to the model from the previous fiscal year.
     Letter to 11 Agencies Regarding the Allocation 
Increases to the SBIR/STTR Programs: On July 23, 2012, Chair 
Landrieu and Ranking Member Snowe submitted to Arne Duncan 
(Department of Education), Charles Bolden (NASA), Janet 
Napolitano (Homeland Security), Kathleen Sebelius (Health and 
Human Services), Leon Panetta (Department of Defense), Lisa 
Jackson (Environmental Protection Agency), Ray LaHood 
(Department of Transportation), Rebecca Blank (Department of 
Commerce), Steven Chu (Department of Energy), Subra Suresh 
(National Science Foundation), and Tom Vilsack (Department of 
Agriculture) a request for information on the allocation 
increases made to the SBIR-STTR programs through P.L. 112-81 
and on each agency's or department's plans to use the new 
administrative funds.
     Letter to the Federal Trade Commission on the 
Threat and Security to American Information Technology (IT) and 
Intellectual Property (IP): On April 2, 2012, Chair Landrieu 
and Ranking Member Snowe submitted a letter to Chairman Jon 
Leibowitz, Commissioner J. Thomas Rosch, Commissioner Edith 
Ramirez, and Commissioner Julie Brill (Federal Trade 
Commission) asking for the consideration of a request submitted 
by the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) to use 
all the tools at the Federal Trade Commission's disposal to 
fight the theft and use of stolen American manufacturing 
information technology (IT) and intellectual property (IP).
     Letter to the SBA on Loan Amounts Available Under 
Current Disaster Loan Regulations: On August 31, 2012, Chair 
Landrieu and Congressman Cedric Richmond submitted to 
Administrator Karen Mills (SBA) a request for the SBA to raise 
the maximum loan amounts available to homeowners and renters 
under the SBA disaster loan regulations.
     Letter to the SBA on Funding to the Louisiana 
Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs): On September 10, 
2012, Chair Landrieu issued a request to Administrator Karen 
Mills (SBA) for the SBA to provide appropriate funding to the 
Louisiana Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) following 
Hurricane Isaac.
     Letter to the SBA on the Proposed Regulatory 
Changes Related to the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011: 
On August 22, 2012, Chair Landrieu, Ranking Member Snowe, and 
Senators Jeanne Shaheen, Scott Brown, Tom Udall, and Kelly 
Ayotte submitted comments to Administrator Karen Mills (SBA) 
regarding the SBA's proposed amendments to the regulations 
governing the SBIR program under related to the SBIR/STTR 
Reauthorization Act of 2011.
     Letter to 3 Departments Regarding Community Bank 
Regulation: On September 27, 2012, the following Senators: Mark 
Warner, Patrick Toomey, Johnny Isakson, Jon Tester, John 
Barrasso, Ben Nelson, Debbie Stabenow, Mike Johanns, Mike 
Crapo, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Michael Bennet, Roy Blunt, Saxby 
Chambliss, Maryk Pryor, Joseph Manchin, Ron Wyden, Jerry Moran, 
Lindsey Graham, Kelly Ayotte, Mike Lee, Bill Nelson, Richard 
Burr, Kent Conrad, Marco Rubio, Max Baucus, Chuck Grassley, Kay 
Hagan, John Thune, John Boozman, Mitch McConnell, Michael Enzi, 
Olympia Snowe, John Cornyn, John Kerry, Mary Landrieu, James 
Risch, John Hoeven, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Robert 
Menendez, Tom Coburn, Jeanne Shaheen, Daniel Coats, Orrin 
Hatch, James Inhofe, Pat Roberts, Scott Brown, Ron H. Johnson, 
Roger Wicker, Amy Klobuchar, Robert Portman, Jon Kyl, and Herb 
Kohl issued a letter to Chair Ben Bernanke (Federal Reserve), 
Comptroller Tom Curry (Office of the Comptroller of the 
Currency), and Acting Chairman Marty Gruenberg (Federal Deposit 
Insurance Corporation). This letter urged the Agencies to 
consider the impact of applying standards developed for large, 
complex institutions on the unique and vital role that 
community banks play in the U.S. financial system.
     Letter to 3 Departments Regarding the Extension of 
the Comment Period on Basel III: On October 22, 2012, Chair 
Landrieu and Senator David Vitter, along with Congressmen 
Rodney Alexander, Charles Boustany, Steve Scalise, Bill 
Cassidy, John Fleming, Jeff Landry, and Cedric Richmond, 
submitted a letter to Chair Ben Bernanke (Federal Reserve), 
Acting Chairman Martin Gruenberg (FDIC), and Comptroller Thomas 
Curry (OCC). This letter from the Louisiana Congressional 
Delegation commended the recipients for their decision to 
extend the comment period on the Basel III regulatory capital 
due to the overly complex nature of the proposal and the 
possible harm to smaller banks and thrifts.
     Letter to the SBA on the Disaster Response to 
Hurricane Sandy: On December 6, 2012, Chair Landrieu and 
Senators Richard Blumenthal, Kay Hagan, Frank Lautenberg, 
Charles Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Robert Menendez issued 
a letter to Administrator Karen Mills (SBA) regarding the SBA's 
disaster response to Hurricane Sandy.
     Letter to the SEC Requesting Regulations on 
Crowdfunding: On December 10, 2012, Chair Landrieu and Senators 
Scott Brown, Jeff Merkeley, Michael Bennet, and Congressman 
Patrick McHenry wrote to Mary Shapiro (Securities and Exchange 
Commission) requesting that the Securities and Exchange 
Commission promulgate proposed regulations on crowdfunding in 
the most expeditious manner possible.
     Letter to the Department of Veterans' Affairs on 
Small Business Contributions to the Southeast Louisiana 
Veterans Healthcare Replacement Hospital Project: On December 
19, 2012, Chair Landrieu submitted a letter to Secretary Erik 
Shinseki (Department of Veterans Affairs) urging maximum 
practical utilization of local and small businesses in the 
construction of the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Healthcare 
Replacement Hospital Project.

       Rules for the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and 
                Entrepreneurship for the 112th Congress


                      (Adopted February 17, 2011)


                              JURISDICTION

    Per rule XXV(1) of the Standing Rules of the Senate:
    (o)(1) Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship to 
which committee shall be referred all proposed legislation, 
messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to 
the Small Business Administration;
    (2) Any proposed legislation reported by such committee 
which relates to matters other than the functions of the Small 
Business Administration shall, at the request of the chairman 
of any standing committee having jurisdiction over the subject 
matter extraneous to the functions of the Small Business 
Administration, be considered and reported by such standing 
committee prior to its consideration by the Senate; and 
likewise measures reported by other committees directly 
relating to the Small Business Administration shall, at the 
request of the Chair of the Committee on Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship, be referred to the Committee on Small 
Business and Entrepreneurship for its consideration of any 
portion of the measure dealing with the Small Business 
Administration and be reported by this committee prior to its 
consideration by the Senate.
    (3) Such committee shall also study and survey by means of 
research and investigation all problems of American small 
business enterprises, and report thereon from time to time.

                            GENERAL SECTION

    All applicable provisions of the Standing Rules of the 
Senate, the Senate Resolutions, and the Legislative 
Reorganization Acts of 1946 and of 1970 (as amended), shall 
govern the Committee.

                                MEETINGS

    (a) The regular meeting day of the Committee shall be the 
first Thursday of each month unless otherwise directed by the 
Chair. All other meetings may be called by the Chair as he or 
she deems necessary, on 5 business days notice where 
practicable. If at least three Members of the Committee desire 
the Chair to call a special meeting, they may file in the 
office of the Committee a written request therefore, addressed 
to the Chair. Immediately thereafter, the Clerk of the 
Committee shall notify the Chair of such request. If, within 3 
calendar days after the filing of such request, the Chair fails 
to call the requested special meeting, which is to be held 
within 7 calendar days after the filing of such request, a 
majority of the Committee Members may file in the Office of the 
Committee their written notice that a special Committee meeting 
will be held, specifying the date, hour and place thereof, and 
the Committee shall meet at that time and place. Immediately 
upon the filing of such notice, the Clerk of the Committee 
shall notify all Committee Members that such special meeting 
will be held and inform them of its date, hour and place. If 
the Chair is not present at any regular, additional or special 
meeting or hearing, such member of the Committee as the Chair 
shall designate shall preside. For any meeting or hearing of 
the Committee, the Ranking Member may delegate to any Minority 
Member the authority to serve as Ranking Member, and that 
Minority Member shall be afforded all the rights and 
responsibilities of the Ranking Member for the duration of that 
meeting or hearing. Notice of any designation shall be provided 
to the Chief Clerk as early as practicable.
    (b) It shall not be in order for the Committee to consider 
any amendment in the first degree proposed to any measure under 
consideration by the Committee unless an electronic copy of 
such amendment has been delivered to the Clerk of the Committee 
at least 2 business days prior to the meeting. Following 
receipt of all amendments, the Clerk shall disseminate the 
amendments to all Members of the Committee. This subsection may 
be waived by agreement of the Chair and Ranking Member or by a 
majority vote of the members of the Committee.

                                QUORUMS

    (a)(1) A majority of the Members of the Committee shall 
constitute a quorum for reporting any legislative measure or 
nomination.
    (2) One-third of the Members of the Committee shall 
constitute a quorum for the transaction of routine business, 
provided that one Minority Member is present. The term 
``routine business'' includes, but is not limited to, the 
consideration of legislation pending before the Committee and 
any amendments thereto, and voting on such amendments, and 
steps in an investigation including, but not limited to, 
authorizing the issuance of a subpoena.
    (3) In hearings, whether in public or closed session, a 
quorum for the asking of testimony, including sworn testimony, 
shall consist of one Member of the Committee.
    (b) Proxies will be permitted in voting upon the business 
of the Committee. A Member who is unable to attend a business 
meeting may submit a proxy vote on any matter, in writing, or 
through oral or written personal instructions to a Member of 
the Committee or staff. Proxies shall in no case be counted for 
establishing a quorum.

                              NOMINATIONS

    In considering a nomination, the Committee shall conduct an 
investigation or review of the nominee's experience, 
qualifications, suitability, and integrity to serve in the 
position to which he or she has been nominated. In any hearings 
on the nomination, the nominee shall be called to testify under 
oath on all matters relating to his or her nomination for 
office. To aid in such investigation or review, each nominee 
may be required to submit a sworn detailed statement including 
biographical, financial, policy, and other information which 
the Committee may request. The Committee may specify which 
items in such statement are to be received on a confidential 
basis.

                                HEARINGS

    (a)(1) The Chair of the Committee may initiate a hearing of 
the Committee on his or her authority or upon his or her 
approval of a request by any Member of the Committee. If such 
request is by the Ranking Member, a decision shall be 
communicated to the Ranking Member within 7 business days. 
Written notice of all hearings, including the title, a 
description of the hearing, and a tentative witness list shall 
be given at least 5 business days in advance, where 
practicable, to all Members of the Committee.
    (2) Hearings of the Committee shall not be scheduled 
outside the District of Columbia unless specifically authorized 
by the Chair and the Ranking Minority Member or by consent of a 
majority of the Committee. Such consent may be given 
informally, without a meeting, but must be in writing.
    (b)(1) Any Member of the Committee shall be empowered to 
administer the oath to any witness testifying as to fact.
    (2) The Chair and Ranking Member shall be empowered to call 
an equal number of witnesses to a Committee hearing. Subject to 
Senate Standing Rule 26(4)(d), such number shall exclude any 
Administration witness unless such witness would be the sole 
hearing witness, in which case the Ranking Member shall be 
entitled to invite one witness. The preceding two sentences 
shall not apply when a witness appears as the nominee. 
Interrogation of witnesses at hearings shall be conducted on 
behalf of the Committee by Members of the Committee or such 
Committee staff as is authorized by the Chair or Ranking 
Minority Member.
    (3) Witnesses appearing before the Committee shall file 
with the Clerk of the Committee a written statement of the 
prepared testimony at least two business days in advance of the 
hearing at which the witness is to appear unless this 
requirement is waived by the Chair and the Ranking Minority 
Member.
    (c) Any witness summoned to a public or closed hearing may 
be accompanied by counsel of his or her own choosing, who shall 
be permitted while the witness is testifying to advise the 
witness of his or her legal rights. Failure to obtain counsel 
will not excuse the witness from appearing and testifying.
    (d) Subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses or the 
production of memoranda, documents, records, and other 
materials may be authorized by the Chair with the consent of 
the Ranking Minority Member or by the consent of a majority of 
the Members of the Committee. Such consent may be given 
informally, without a meeting, but must be in writing. The 
Chair may subpoena attendance or production without the consent 
of the Ranking Minority Member when the Chair has not received 
notification from the Ranking Minority Member of disapproval of 
the subpoena within 72 hours of being notified of the intended 
subpoena, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. Subpoenas 
shall be issued by the Chair or by the Member of the Committee 
designated by him or her. A subpoena for the attendance of a 
witness shall state briefly the purpose of the hearing and the 
matter or matters to which the witness is expected to testify. 
A subpoena for the production of memoranda, documents, records, 
and other materials shall identify the papers or materials 
required to be produced with as much particularity as is 
practicable.
    (e) The Chair shall rule on any objections or assertions of 
privilege as to testimony or evidence in response to subpoenas 
or questions of Committee Members and staff in hearings.
    (f) Testimony may be submitted to the formal record for a 
period not less than two weeks following a hearing or 
roundtable, unless otherwise agreed to by Chair and Ranking 
Member.

                        CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

    (a) No confidential testimony taken by, or confidential 
material presented to, the Committee in executive session, or 
any report of the proceedings of a closed hearing, or 
confidential testimony or material submitted pursuant to a 
subpoena, shall be made public, either in whole or in part or 
by way of summary, unless authorized by a majority of the 
Members. Other confidential material or testimony submitted to 
the Committee may be disclosed if authorized by the Chair with 
the consent of the Ranking Member.
    (b) Persons asserting confidentiality of documents or 
materials submitted to the Committee offices shall clearly 
designate them as such on their face. Designation of 
submissions as confidential does not prevent their use in 
furtherance of Committee business.

                         MEDIA AND BROADCASTING

    (a) At the discretion of the Chair, public meetings of the 
Committee may be televised, broadcasted, or recorded in whole 
or in part by a member of the Senate Press Gallery or an 
employee of the Senate. Any such person wishing to televise, 
broadcast, or record a Committee meeting must request approval 
of the Chair by submitting a written request to the Committee 
Office by 5 p.m. the day before the meeting. Notice of 
televised or broadcasted hearings shall be provided to the 
Ranking Minority Member as soon as practicable.
    (b) During public meetings of the Committee, any person 
using a camera, microphone, or other electronic equipment may 
not position or use the equipment in a way that interferes with 
the seating, vision, or hearing of Committee members or staff 
on the dais, or with the orderly process of the meeting.

                             SUBCOMMITTEES

    The Committee shall not have standing subcommittees.

                           AMENDMENT OF RULES

    The foregoing rules may be added to, modified or amended; 
provided, however, that not less than a majority of the entire 
Membership so determined at a regular meeting with due notice, 
or at a meeting specifically called for that purpose.

  Staff of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship


Donald R. Cravins, Jr., Democratic Staff Director and Chief Counsel
Wallace K. Hsueh, Republican Staff Director

Democratic Staffers:
Caroline Bruckner, General Counsel
Krystal Brumfield, Tax and Procurement Counsel
Kristen Bushnell, Executive Assistant, Research Analyst
Richard Carbo, Press Secretary
Ellen Devine, Legislative Aide
Katie Elder, Research Analyst
David Gillers, Counsel
John High, Professional Staff Member
Alex Johnson, Research Analyst
Ross LeBlanc, Research Analyst
Cheryl Miller, Deputy Staff Director
Ross Nodurft, Senior Research Analyst
Claire O'Rourke, Professional Staff Member
Elle Ourso, Deputy Press Secretary
Irma Palmer, Deputy Press Secretary
Princess Prince, Executive Assistant
Ami Sanchez, Counsel
Rob Sawicki, Communications Director
Jim Simpson, Policy Correspondent, Legislative Aide
Hope Stephens, Policy Correspondent
Brian Van Hook, Policy Director
Kevin Wheeler, Deputy Democratic Staff Director
Afton Zaunbrecher, Policy Correspondent, Legislative Aide

Republican Staffers:
Chris Averill, Professional Staff Member
Corey Cooke, Research Assistant
Tara Crumb, Staff Assistant
Diane Dietz, Professional Staff Member
Constantine Efstathiou, Staff Assistant
James Gelfand, Counsel
Alex Hecht, Chief Counsel/Regulatory Counsel
Lindsey Hughes, Professional Staff Member
Steve Keen, Professional Staff Member
Chris Lucas, Counsel
Scott McCandless, Tax Counsel
Jelena McWilliams, Assistant Chief Counsel
Shelley New, Research Assistant
Adam Reece, Senior Professional Staff Member
Jake Triolo, Professional Staff Member
Matt Walker, Deputy Republican Staff Director and Chief Counsel
Meredith West, Senior Professional Staff Member

Non-Designated Staffers:
Joan Evans, Chief Clerk
Alex Gamoran, Staff Assistant
Justin Jerome, Systems Administrator
Christina Jones, Staff Assistant
Derek Pangallo, Systems Administrator
Ruda Pollard, Staff Assistant
Darla Ripchensky, Chief Clerk
Monisha Smith, Hearing Clerk

                         Committee Publications


               Hearings, Field Hearings, and Roundtables

     A Year After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The 
Status of Recovery Efforts in Florida. July 11, 2011. S. Hrg. 
112-433.
     The Role of Small Businesses in Strengthening 
Cyber Security Efforts in the United States. July 25, 2011. S. 
Hrg. 112-262.
     The Role of Exports in Small Business Growth and 
Job Creation. August 11, 2011. S. Hrg. 112-494.
     Disaster Recovery: Evaluating the Role of 
America's Small Businesses in Rebuilding Their Communities. 
September 15, 2011. S. Hrg. 112-722.
     Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, One Year Later. 
October 18, 2011. S. Hrg. 112-488.
     Developing and Strengthening High-Growth 
Entrepreneurship. February 1, 2012. S. Hrg. 112-429.
     A Spotlight on Small Business Investment Companies 
and their Role in the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. March 22, 
2012. S. Hrg. 112-487.
     The FY 2013 Budget Request for the Small Business 
Administration. March 29, 2012. S. Hrg. 112-500.
     Perspectives from the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: 
Creating Jobs and Growing Businesses through Entrepreneurship. 
April 18, 2012. S. Hrg. 112-617.

                                Reports

     Summary of Legislative and Oversight Activities 
During the 111th Congress. March 28, 2011. Report 112-6.

     Bills Referred to the Senate Committee on Small Business and 
               Entrepreneurship During the 112th Congress

     S. 236 (Ms. McCaskill) 1/31/2011. A bill to 
eliminate the preferences and special rules for Alaska Native 
Corporations under section 8(a) of the Small Business Act.
     S. 257 (Ms. Landrieu) 2/2/2011. Small Business 
Broadband and Emerging Information Technology Enhancement Act 
of 2011.
     S. 370 (Mr. Casey) 2/16/2011. A bill to require 
contractors to notify small business concerns that have been 
included in offers relating to contracts let by Federal 
agencies, and for other purposes.
     S. 493 (Ms. Landrieu) 3/4/2011. SBIR/STTR 
Reauthorization Act of 2011.
     S. 532 (Mr. Pryor) 3/9/2011. Patriot Express 
Authorization Act of 2011.
     S. 633 (Ms. Snowe) 3/17/2011. Small Business 
Contracting Fraud Prevention Act of 2011.
     S. 653 (Ms. Landrieu) 3/28/2011. Southeast 
Hurricanes Small Business Disaster Relief Act of 2011.
     S. 681 (Ms. Snowe) 3/30/2011. Greater 
Accountability in the Lending Fund Act of 2011.
     S. 976 (Mr. Casey) 5/12/2011. Monroe County 
HUBZone Act of 2011.
     S. 1078 (Ms. Landrieu) 5/25/2011. Small Business 
Additional Temporary Extension Act of 2011.
     S. 1110 (Mr. Enzi) 5/26/2011. Small Business 
Fairness Act of 2011.
     S. 1154 (Mr. Baucus) 6/7/2011. Honoring Promises 
to Service-Disabled Veterans Act of 2011.
     S. 1511 (Ms. Landrieu) 9/6/2011. Gulf Coast 
Disadvantaged Business Relief Act of 2011.
     S. 1590 (Ms. McCaskill) 9/21/2011. Fairness for 
Small Businesses in Federal Contracting Act of 2011.
     S. 1709 (Mr. Casey) 10/13/2011. Small Business 
Disaster Assistance Act of 2011.
     S. 1756 (Ms. Hagan) 10/20/2011. HUBZone Protection 
Act of 2011.
     S. 1828 (Mr. Kerry) 11/8/2011. Increasing Small 
Business Lending Act of 2011.
     S. 2136 (Ms. Landrieu) 2/28/2011. A bill to 
increase the maximum amount of leverage permitted under title 
III of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, and for other 
purposes.
     S. 2157 (Mr. Nelson) 3/6/2012. Shuttle Workforce 
Revitalization Act of 2012.
     S. 2172 (Ms. Snowe) 3/7/2012. Fairness in Women-
Owned Small Business Contracting Act of 2012.
     S. 2187 (Mr. Cardin) 3/12/2012. A bill to remove 
the sunset date for amendments to the Small Business Investment 
Act of 1958, and for other purposes.
     S. 2364 (Ms. Snowe) 4/25/2012. A bill to extend 
the availability of low-interest refinancing under the local 
development business loan program of the Small Business 
Administration.
     S. 3174 (Mr. Kerry) 5/14/2012. Vocational and 
Technical Entrepreneurship Development Act of 2012.
     S. 3194 (Ms. Hagan) 5/16/2012. Small Business 
Common Application Act of 2012.
     S. 3196 (Ms. Snowe) 5/17/2012. National Womens' 
High-Growth Business Bipartisan Task Force Act of 2012.
     S. 3197 (Ms. Snowe) 5/17/2012. Women's Small 
Business Ownership Act of 2012.
     S. 3198 (Ms. Landrieu) 5/17/2012. Strengthening 
Resources for America's Entrepreneurs Act of 2012.
     S. 3200 (Ms. Landrieu) 5/17/2012. A bill to 
require the Small Business Administration to submit a regular 
National Small Business Index to Congress to assess how 
policies provide incentives or impediments to small business 
development.
     S. 3213 (Mr. Cardin) 5/22/2012. Small Business 
Goaling Act of 2012.
     S. 3214 (Ms. Landrieu) 5/22/2012. TEAM Act.
     S. 3246 (Ms. Snowe) 5/24/2012. SCORE Program 
Improvement Act of 2012.
     S. 3253 (Ms. Landrieu) 5/24/2012. EXCEL Act.
     S. 3277 (Ms. Landrieu) 6/7/2012. Go Global Act of 
2012.
     S. 3281 (Ms. Snowe) 6/7/2012. A bill to terminate 
the federal authorization of the National Veterans Business 
Development Corporation.
     S. 3442 (Ms. Landrieu) 7/25/2012. SUCCESS Act of 
2012.
     S. 3508 (Ms. Landrieu) 8/2/2012. SCORE for Small 
Business Act of 2012.
     S. 3638 (Ms. Landrieu) 11/26/2011. TEAM Act of 
2012.
     S. 3672 (Ms. Landrieu) 12/12/2011. A bill to 
clarify the collateral requirement for certain loans under 
section 7(d) of the Small Business Act, and for other purposes.
     S. 3675 (Ms. Collins) 12/12/2011. HUBZone 
Expansion Act of 2012.
     S. 3681 (Ms. Landrieu) 12/13/2011. A bill to 
clarify the collateral requirement for certain loans under the 
SBA Disaster Loan Program, and for other purposes.
     S. RES. 66 (Ms. Landrieu) 2/17/2011. An original 
resolution authorizing expenditures by the Committee on Small 
Business and Entrepreneurship.
     S. RES. 348 (Ms. Snowe) 12/15/2011. A resolution 
expressing the sense of the Senate that the Secretary of the 
Treasury should take actions to increase the transparency and 
accountability of the Small Business Lending Fund Program.

                                  
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