House, Senate Small Business Leaders Applaud Passage of Veterans Entrepreneurship Act

Statement

House and Senate Small Business Committee leaders this evening applauded passage of the final version of H.R. 2499, the Veterans Entrepreneurship Act of 2015. The bill, which waives upfront fees for veterans applying for 7(a) express loans through the Small Business Administration (SBA), was amended by the Senate late last week as increased demand drove the 7(a) program to its initial limit of $18.75 billion.

In addition to waiving fees for veterans, H.R. 2499, in its final form, raises the 7(a) program's lending authority from $18.75 billion to $23.5 billion through the end of the fiscal year and requires the SBA to communicate more consistently and quickly with Congress before the limit is reached again, all at no additional cost to taxpayers.

House Small Business Committee Chairman Steve Chabot (R-OH), the bill's original author, said, "I am pleased that House and Senate leaders on both sides of the aisle not only came together to open doors for our veteran entrepreneurs, but responded quickly and efficiently to the growing demand for 7(a) loans in a way that prevents future temporary suspensions of the program and lays no additional cost on taxpayers. I appreciate the leadership and focus of everyone involved here to put our small businesses first."

Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee Chairman David Vitter (R-LA): "Supporting small businesses is not a partisan issue, which is why I'm glad to see my House colleagues act quickly to pass my sensible and timely bipartisan amendment to keep lending flowing to small businesses," said Vitter. "I want to thank House Small Business Committee Chairman Steve Chabot and Ranking Member Nydia Velázquez for their hard work and leadership to help America's small businesses get back to work and stop worrying about access to capital."

House Small Business Committee Ranking Member Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) said, "This legislation will turn back on the spigot for small business loans guaranteed by the SBA, getting capital back into entrepreneurs' hands. That means more firms will have resources to invest in their operations, expand and ultimately create good paying jobs. I'm pleased we reached this compromise and look forward to seeing it swiftly enacted so that there is minimal disruption to the program."

Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee Ranking Member Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH): "As this legislation heads to the President's desk, I want to thank my colleagues in the House, Chairman Steve Chabot and Ranking Member Nydia Velázquez, for their diligent work to advance the Veterans Entrepreneurship Act and get the SBA's most in-demand loan program up and running again," said Senator Shaheen. "It's great to have such strong allies on behalf of America's small businesses on the other side of the Capitol. Many veterans are applying the same can-do approach they used in the military to start and grow their own small businesses, and our legislation will help veterans by waiving some of the fees with federal small business loans. I'm very pleased that this legislation also allows the SBA's popular 7(a) loan program to meet the demand from America's small business. I look forward to the President signing this bill into law."