STATEMENT
of the
Honorable Nydia M. Velázquez, Chairwoman
House Committee on Small Business
Markup of SBA Disaster Assistance and Loan Program Legislation
March 15, 2007

Today’s order of business is the mark- up of legislation addressing 3 very different but important roles that the Small Business Administration (SBA) plays, access to capital, disaster assistance and contracting. This committee has held a number of hearings on these topics, heard from small business owners as well as small business advocates and these 3 bills address many of the issues brought up during those discussions.
 
The legislation being marked up today was a bipartisan effort. I want to thank Mr. Chabot for all of his input. We did not agree on everything but, in the end, the conversations that we had and issues discussed were helpful and productive.   It is my hope that our committee continues to work in this manner on our future legislative endeavors.

There is no question that many small businesses were affected by Hurricane Katrina and that the SBA’s disaster response was in question.  The RECOVER Act of 2007 requires that the SBA have a plan in place for such disasters and makes tools available to provide relief in a quicker more efficient manner.  I strongly believe the RECOVER Act of 2007 will help prevent a situation like what occurred after Hurricane Katrina from ever happening again.

The devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina resulted in many small firms losing out on a great deal of revenue. The Disadvantaged Business Disaster Eligibility Act introduced by Rep. Jefferson, gives more time to entrepreneurs who have been harmed by the Gulf Coast hurricanes to participate in federal contracts.

The third bill, The Small Business Lending Improvements Act of 2007, introduced by Ms. Bean and Mr. Chabot, will reduce the financial and regulatory burden placed on small businesses.  Most importantly, it will make loans more economical while providing long term stability.

With the adoption of these bills we begin work on bringing the Small Business Administration back to its original mission – providing entrepreneurs with competitive tools for today’s marketplace. There is no doubt that these programs are valuable for entrepreneurs and today’s legislation helps ensure the SBA will be the premier resource for our nation’s 26 million small businesses.