Temporary Extension Of Small Business Programs

Floor Speech

Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 3253) to provide for an additional temporary extension of programs under the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, and for other purposes.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 3253

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. ADDITIONAL TEMPORARY EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF PROGRAMS UNDER THE SMALL BUSINESS ACT AND THE SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT ACT OF 1958.

(a) In General.--Section 1 of the Act entitled ``An Act to extend temporarily certain authorities of the Small Business Administration'', approved October 10, 2006 (Public Law 109-316; 120 Stat. 1742), as most recently amended by section 1 of Public Law 111-136 (124 Stat. 6), is amended by striking ``April 30, 2010'' each place it appears and inserting ``July 31, 2010''.

(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall take effect on April 29, 2010.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velázquez) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Graves) each will control 20 minutes.

The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New York.

GENERAL LEAVE

Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from New York?

There was no objection.

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

Mr. Speaker, our economy is showing significant signs of improvement: consumer spending is climbing, manufacturers are adding jobs, and retail sales rose substantially for the first 3 months of this year. All of these are positive signs; however, if our recovery is going to produce the jobs that the American people need and deserve, small businesses will be central to the equation.

In every previous recession, small firms have served as job-creating catalysts. Not only do small firms add jobs faster than big companies, but many dislocated workers launch their own ventures during economic downturns. Those enterprises in turn often grow and create employment opportunities for the American people. For entrepreneurs to play this role, they need the right tools. The legislation before us will extend the Small Business Administration programs that help new ventures form and existing businesses grow.

Since the start of this Congress, the House has passed 16 bills to strengthen SBA initiatives. This included legislation to modernize the SBA's capital access programs so that small businesses can weather the credit crunch. However, before the SBA programs are fully updated, they must be extended. This bill ensures these initiatives keep operating. We cannot afford any of the SBA services to lapse just as our recovery is getting off the ground.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' and reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GRAVES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the chairwoman's request to suspend the rules and pass S. 3253. The bill is a simple 3-month extension of all the Small Business Administration's core programs until July 31, 2010.

This bill is necessary because the temporary extension we approved in January is going to expire at the end of this week. Over the past 3 years, the House Small Business Committee has worked in a productive, bipartisan manner to author legislation reauthorizing and improving the Small Business Administration and its programs. I commend the chairwoman on her leadership and willingness to work in this fashion. By working together, we have reported and passed several bills that would modernize the SBA, allowing it to serve small business owners in the 21st century.

Unfortunately, our counterparts in the other body have not worked as diligently, and unless we pass this extension, many of the SBA programs that our small businesses rely on are going to expire on Friday.

Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. It is because of them that we have seen nominal gains in our economy recently. Still, the national unemployment rate hovers around 10 percent, with some States experiencing as much as 14 percent. If we are serious about our recovery efforts, helping our small businesses thrive has to be our first priority.

The programs run by the SBA provide a critical foundation that small businesses depend on to succeed. Whether it is designing a business plan, acquiring financing, or looking for technical assistance, the SBA is often the first place entrepreneurs turn to in helping build and growing their businesses. It's essential that we keep these programs running while we maintain our efforts to work on full reauthorization.

While we are continuing to work with our colleagues in the other body, we need more time to thoughtfully and completely reauthorize these critical programs. I am hopeful that we will be able to complete the work on full reauthorization by the end of this Congress.

Again, I support the chairwoman's request to pass S. 3253 and urge all of my colleagues to do so.

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Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 3253, which extends the Small Business Act.

I support this legislation because it is crucial that the Small Businesses Administration programs that have helped launch and sustain so many small businesses are allowed to continue.

Small businesses employ just over half of all private sector employees, with a payroll of about $175 billion, and create many of the new jobs we need. More than half of all Americans work at or own a small business. Small businesses have been responsible for the majority of new jobs created in this country. Anyone who talks about getting our economy on track and does not talk about what we need to do for small business is missing a huge piece of the puzzle.

In my district, the 37th Congressional District of California, there are approximately 16,300 small businesses.

But in the global economy of the 21st century, small businesses, very much like the banks and the auto industry, need sound fiscal options to remain competitive, especially in difficult economic times for them and their customers.

This is where the Small Business Administration can help.

The SBA exists to aid and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation.

The SBA was established in 1953 by the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation.

The SBA's Office of Business Development assists firms owned and controlled by economically and socially disadvantaged individuals enter the economic mainstream by providing firm-specific analyses, counseling, management training, professional consulting and monitoring services, and access to business development opportunities under section 8(a) of the Small Business Act.

Much like the loan guarantee program, the Section 8(a) program is well intended. But one of its problems is that too often program participants are ``graduated'' before they are sufficiently prepared to compete for contracts with large and established companies in the private sector.

This has resulted in a large number of former 8(a) companies failing to remain in business shortly after leaving the development program.

I have introduced legislation that can build upon the loan guarantee program extended by H.R. 493 and which would eliminate the problem of ``graduating'' Section 8(a) program participants before they are sufficiently prepared to compete for contracts with large and established companies in the private sector.

My legislation, H.R. 4897, the ``Not Too Small to Succeed in Business Act,'' reforms and modernizes the Section 8(a) program to help more small and disadvantaged business enterprises (DBE) remain in business and hire more workers by doing the following:

1. Amending the Small Business Act to increase the net worth limits (to $750,000) used by SBA in determining whether an applicant satisfies the ``economically disadvantaged'' requirement for admission to the program and increases to $2.25 million the net worth required for early graduation from the program.

2. Extending the Section 8(a) program period to 11 years, from the current 9 years.

3. Granting a one-time 2-year reinstatement in the Section 8(a) program for companies who were graduated from the program at the expiration of the 9-year term.

Mr. Speaker, extending the programs under the SBA Act, including the Loan Guarantee Program and amending the Section 8(a) Small and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program are a necessary part of strengthening our ability to help small businesses succeed and provide jobs for our people. I urge all members to join me in voting for S. 3253.

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Mr. GRAVES. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. I yield back the balance of my time.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velázquez) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, S. 3253.

The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.

A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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