[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3483 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3483
To amend the Small Business Act to establish a temporary loan program
and a temporary vocational development program for small business
concerns owned and controlled by veterans.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 7, 2003
Mr. Udall of New Mexico (for himself and Mrs. Kelly) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Small Business Act to establish a temporary loan program
and a temporary vocational development program for small business
concerns owned and controlled by veterans.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Seeds for Soldiers Act''.
SEC. 2. TEMPORARY LOAN PROGRAM FOR SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS OWNED AND
CONTROLLED BY VETERANS.
(a) In General.--The Administrator of the Small Business
Administration may make loans under section 7(a) of the Small Business
Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)) to small business concerns owned and controlled
by veterans.
(b) Special Rules.--Notwithstanding the requirements of section 7
of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636), the following special rules
apply to loans described in subsection (a):
(1) Purpose of loans.--The Administrator may make such
loans for any business purpose, including the refinancing of
any outstanding business debt.
(2) Deferral of payments without interest.--No payment of
principal on any such loan shall be due or payable during the
1-year period beginning on the date that such loan is issued.
Any interest payable with respect to such loan for such period
shall be paid by the Administration.
(3) Amount of loans.--Any such loan may be made if the
total amount outstanding and committed to the borrower under
section 7(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)) would
not exceed $3,000,000.
(4) Guaranteed loans.--In the case of an agreement to
participate on a deferred basis in any such loan--
(A) Participation.--Such participation by the
Administration shall be equal to 90 percent of the
balance of the financing outstanding at the time of
disbursement of the loan.
(B) Guarantee fees.--The Administrator shall
collect (except in the case of a loan that is repayable
in 1 year or less) a guarantee fee, which shall be
payable by the participating lender, and may be charged
to the borrower as follows:
(i) A guarantee fee equal to 0.5 percent of
the deferred participation share of a total
loan amount that is not more than $150,000.
(ii) A guarantee fee equal to 1.5 percent
of the deferred participation share of a total
loan amount that is more than $150,000, but not
more than $700,000.
(iii) A guarantee fee equal to 2 percent of
the deferred participation share of a total
loan amount that is more than $700,000.
(C) Annual fees.--The annual fee assessed and
collected on any such loan shall not exceed an amount
equal to 0.15 percent of the outstanding balance of the
deferred participation share of the loan.
(5) Credit elsewhere.--The Administrator may make such
loans without regard to the ability of a small business concern
to obtain credit elsewhere.
(6) Collateral.--The Administrator shall make such loans
without regard to the availability of collateral to secure such
loans.
(c) Termination.--The Administrator shall not make any loan under
this section after December 31, 2005.
(d) Definitions.--For purpose of this section, the terms
``Administrator'', ``Administration'', ``credit elsewhere'', and
``small business concern owned and controlled by veterans'' have the
respective meanings given such terms in section 3 of the Small Business
Act (15 U.S.C. 632), except as provided in subsection (b)(8).
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $25,000,000 for fiscal year
2004. Such sum shall remain available until expended.
SEC. 3. TEMPORARY VOCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR VETERANS.
(a) Establishment.--In accordance with this section, the
Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall make grants to
small business development centers to enable such centers to provide to
veterans a program of assistance that includes training in a vocational
or technical trade and entrepreneurial assistance in establishing and
operating a small business concern that provides services in such
trade.
(b) Minimum Grant.--The Administrator shall not make a grant under
this section for an amount less than $500,000.
(c) Application and Award.--Each small business development center
seeking a grant under this section shall submit to the Administrator an
application in such form as the Administrator may require. The
application shall include information regarding the applicant's goals
and objectives for the program of assistance described in subsection
(a). In awarding the grants, the Administrator shall consider the needs
of the area served by the small business development center, including
whether the small business development center is located in the
proximity of a United States military installation.
(d) Termination.--The Administrator shall not make any grant under
this section after December 31, 2005.
(e) Coordination With Small Business Act.--Grants made under this
section shall not be taken into account for purposes of section 21 of
the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648).
(f) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the Small Business Administration.
(2) Small business development center.--The term ``small
business development center'' means a small business
development center described in section 21 of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648).
(3) Veteran.--The term ``veteran'' has the meaning given
such term in section 3(q)(4) of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 632(q)(4)).
(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $25,000,000 for fiscal year
2004. Such sum shall remain available until expended.
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