Small Business Disaster Readiness And Reform Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

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Mr. GRAVES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today in support of H.R. 3743, the Small Business Disaster Readiness and Reform Act of 2009. I would like to thank the chairwoman and the gentleman from Alabama for working very hard, obviously, in the committee to the bring this bill to the floor.

In 2008, Congress took action to address the inadequate response that the Small Business Administration had to the gulf hurricanes of 2005. The expectation was that those changes would alleviate many of the problems identified by small business owners, the Government Accountability Office, and the SBA found in response to Hurricane Katrina. However, GAO testified before the committee this summer and found that the SBA implementation of those changes had not been accomplished. That means that the SBA may not be able to respond adequately to a major disaster like Hurricane Katrina.

A key element noted by GAO is the need for coordination. The bill requires the establishment of regional working groups to develop regional disaster plans in addition to the national plan that was required by Congress last year. This is sensible because some areas of the country are more prone to hurricanes while others are more prone to flooding and others to even things like wildfires. The national plan simply cannot cover with any specificity the range of disasters to which the SBA must respond. This should improve the overall emergency preparedness of the SBA.

GAO and the committee remain concerned about the difficulty that small businesses have in filing applications for disaster loans. H.R. 3743 recognizes that the SBA entrepreneur development partners can assist small business owners that need to file an application for a disaster loan and authorizes additional funds to these partners to provide such assistance to those seeking to recover from a disaster.

Another primary focus of the committee's examination of the disaster loan process has been the disbursement process. Although changes were made in 2008, further refinements are needed to ensure that small businesses have access to funds needed to restore their operations and help their communities recover from the disaster.

I would reiterate that this bill before us today builds on important work already done by Congress and will provide additional assurances that the SBA is capable of responding to the next natural or manmade disaster.

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

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