Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006

SCIENCE, STATE, JUSTICE, COMMERCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2006 -- (House of Representatives - June 15, 2005)

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AMENDMENT OFFERED BY MS. MOORE OF WISCONSIN

Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

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Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer an amendment which seeks to restore funding for a program of vital importance to distressed and blighted communities, both in urban and rural areas which are being left behind at an astounding pace in our global economy.

The New Market Venture Capital program really was designed by this House in 2000 for the purpose of making equity investments in small businesses that operate in economically distressed communities through the creation of the New Market Venture Capital companies.

Most conventional venture firms, of course, are very risk-averse to invest in these economically distressed areas, and this program was designed to fill that gap in access to capital.

During the first round of awards, the New Market Venture Capital program developed a company to serve Appalachia, the Central Appalachian region of Ohio, Kentucky, Maryland and West Virginia, and they invested this first round $2.8 million in four companies to help these rural communities.

Mr. Chairman, my amendment would provide $30 million in debenture guarantees and $5 million for operational assistance grants to fund the creation of a fresh round of New Market Venture Capital companies. And it is paid for by using funds from the Small Business Administration's salary and expense account.

Mr. Chairman, I have given you an example of how we have helped small rural areas, but I would like to call your attention to my own community in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which I think bears mentioning.

In 2002, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that 59 percent of African American males in Milwaukee were unemployed and out of the workforce. Since 1999, the unemployed residents of any color has increased by 80 percent. And in the last 5 years we have lost 33,000 manufacturing jobs. We know, of course, that small businesses create 75 percent of all new jobs and account for 99 percent of all employers.

Mr. Chairman, I would think that this would be a grand bipartisan effort. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, the new markets program was intended to be a pilot project from fiscal year 2001 to 2006. There are still funds available for this program. There is no need to provide additional funds at this time, especially at the expense of terminating over 400 employees at the SBA. This would result in the termination, which would not be good for anyone. These employees work on critical technical assistance and loan programs at the SBA.

The amendment unnecessarily provides funds for a program that has almost $2 million left in its budget for technical assistance and over $3.1 million in loan authority. The program received a one-time funding of $59 million in fiscal year 2001 that has still not been entirely spent.

I urge the Members to reject the amendment. Particularly we would not want to cut employees who work on programs like small business development centers and women's business centers. So I understand what the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore) is doing, but I would urge that we reject the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, I just want to thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) for his stewardship over these funds. I just want to respond to a couple of things that he said.

First of all, the balance of those funds for the New Venture Capital Program has been rescinded, so it is not available for another round.

Also, you know, I do not know where the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) received his figures about displacing 400 employees at the SBA. Certainly, I support the SBA and its functions, but we are talking here in this amendment about distressed communities and not disadvantages bureaucrats.

Mr. Chairman, I would offer to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) that if he were upset about the source of funding for this amendment, that he would not disparage the wonderful purpose of this amendment, but would rather seek to work with me to find ways to do this.

Surely we have an employment crisis. This initiative will help distressed communities versus just trying to buoy up a bureaucracy. Mr. Chairman, I would ask the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) to work with me.

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