To amend the National Trails System Act to require the Secretary of the Interior to update the feasibility and suitability studies of four national historic trails, and for other purposes.

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

Today I rise in support of H.R. 7175, the Small Business Lending Improvements Act of 2008. I especially would like to thank Chairwoman Velazquez for working in a cooperative and bipartisan manner to bring this important bill to the House floor. Once again, she has done so. She has been working in such a manner for the last 2 years. I commend her for that.

All of us are aware of the recent turmoil in the financial markets. These problems also directly impact America's small businesses. Availability of credit is reduced thereby dampening the capacity of small businesses to create much-needed jobs. Yet it's not just the availability of credit that adversely impacts America's small business owners. These people are also ordinary men and women with the same concerns about the value of their homes, the safety of their investments, the spiking interest rates, and the outlook for the future of their children that every American has to be concerned about in these uncertain times.

The bill before us today will not remedy all of these problems, but it will make important improvements in the capacity of small businesses to obtain needed capital without further adding to the potential problems facing our financial sector.

Although the changes in the bill are modest, they include key components of H.R. 1336 that the House overwhelmingly passed back in 2007. These modifications will increase the availability of credit for small businesses and reduce unnecessary paperwork on lenders without undermining the scrutiny provided by the Small Business Administration of the lenders or borrowers.

Title I makes very modest changes to the operation of the SBA's core 7(a) lending program. Nevertheless, these changes will improve the liquidity in the small business lending market while making the loans available to more small businesses. It's important to note that nothing in title I changes the standards under which the SBA guarantees the issuance of loans or alters the fact that the program operates without any taxpayer subsidy. I want to reiterate that: Operates without any taxpayer subsidy.

I'm most proud of title II of H.R. 7175. It modifies and strengthens the loan program operated pursuant to title V of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958. Certified development companies, or CDCs, are vital to long-term economic and community development in my district and throughout the country. CDCs operate to provide long-term fixed- rate financing for small business concerns who find their financing needs cannot be met due to the loan limits of the 7-day loan program. And unlike many 7-day lenders, CDCs must be locally based so they have a key understanding of the needs of the communities they serve.

The first thing that title II does is change the name of the program. While this may sound minor, it will provide greater recognition to CDCs and enable them to better promote their important mission of local economic development.

Section 202 makes important technical changes to the definitions in the CDC program, including, most importantly, defining the term ``certified development company.'' As a corollary, title II eliminates the outdated term ``qualified state and local development company'' from the Small Business Investment Act of 1958.

In my estimation, section 203 is the most important provision in the bill. It statutorily establishes the procedures by which the SBA designates entities as CDCs. The most important requirements of the statutory procedures is the mandate that the CDC have local board members familiar with the economic development needs of the community. Even though the bill authorizes expansion only into neighboring states, the CDC must have representatives that understand the local economic development needs of the new state of operation.

Another very important aspect of the bill authorizes the CDCs to perform their own liquidations. Under the current process, the SBA performs liquidations and only receives about 20 cents on the dollar, a wholly inadequate return on guarantees issued by the Federal Government.

By having CDCs with their local expertise performing liquidations, the taxpayers will receive a better return on their guarantee, something essential given current conditions in the financial markets.

Title II also makes other changes providing greater financial opportunities for small businesses under the CDC program and enhance local economic development without placing any undue risk on the taxpayer.

Finally, title III of H.R. 7175 makes some technical changes to the operation of the small business investment company program. By making it easier to calculate investment limits, SBICs will be better able to manage their portfolios thereby increasing the overall value of their portfolios without placing the Federal taxpayer at any increased risk.

Together, all of these changes made will spur economic development, which is really one of the key things we need to do at this time.

For these reasons, I ask my colleagues to support passage of this.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton).

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7175) to amend the Small Business Act to improve the section 7(a) lending program, and for other purposes.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill which would help entrepreneurs gain access to vital capital. Even before the recent troubles on Wall Street began, securing funding was an uphill battle for small businesses. Today, it is even more challenging than ever.

The effects of the current lending slump have been taxing. Liquidity challenges have caused lenders to cut lines of credit and recall loans to small firms. As these crucial sources of investment dry up, entrepreneurs have few places left to turn.

Venture capital investors, who have historically fueled the startup community, are becoming more and more cautious in doing so. At the same time, commercial banks have raised the bar for lending criteria on interest rates.

While the Small Business Administration has historically helped entrepreneurs during economic downturns, it is also failing to meet funding needs. In fact, the Small Business Administration lending is down 25 percent this year. Most small businesses rely on some form of loans or credit in order to meet their daily needs. Not surprisingly, the consequences of today's downturn in funding have had a crippling effect on their community.

The Small Business Financing Improvement Act of 2008 will help in small but important ways in part by enhancing the Small Business Administration lending programs. For example, it will improve the administration's 7(a) initiative, which is its most frequently used line of small business credit. It would also ease the flow of investments from venture capitalists. This will be particularly helpful as venture capital funding has a history of sparking innovation.

Furthermore, the bill I am proposing today will encourage lending from commercial banks. It will also do this by reducing the regulatory burden for financiers looking to fund small firms. In light of their current reluctance to make small business loans, this will be a tremendous incentive for banks to assist entrepreneurs.

This act will help thousands of small firms maintain and grow their companies. It will do this by allowing them to access the funds they need to go about their daily business and do everything from meet payroll to stock their shelves. Capital is the most basic and essential building block for small business ownership. After all, it is what allows entrepreneurs to start companies in the first place. For this reason, the bill has won full approval from the Small Business Administration.

I should also add that this provision has at one point or another been passed in the House.

Small businesses employ half of this Nation's workforce, and entire local economies depend on their success. The bill we're considering here today will be an important first step in ensuring that America's entrepreneurs can achieve their success. With this in mind, I urge my colleagues to support its passage.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers.

I reserve my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers on this side, and I'm prepared to close.

Mr. Speaker, let me just say that small businesses are the innovators in this country and that for the last 7 years, this administration's failed policies have not provided the tools and resources for small businesses to be part of the energy solution and make this country energy independent.

We passed H.R. 6 last year. Let's get the White House and the administration to implement those provisions that will allow for small businesses to be part of innovation in relation to energy independence in this country.

I yield back the balance of my time.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

This appears to be a pretty good bill, but we're not going to help small business until we get an energy package that's going to lower the price of energy, gasoline, and other forms of energy in this country. We're sending $700 billion a year overseas that could be kept here in America by drilling here in America and getting energy out of the ground here in America creating hundreds of thousands of jobs. That's not going to happen. That's not going to happen until we get a good energy bill.

We're asked today to deal with a $700 billion piece of legislation that will help keep this country's economy afloat. And I submit to my colleagues tonight or today that even if we passed that and we solved this problem temporarily, we're going to be right back here if we don't deal with the energy crisis.

This energy crisis is taking money out of everybody's pockets: small business, big business, homeowners. If a person has to pay exorbitant prices to fill their gas tank to get their kids to and from school and to and from work, it's going to hurt them. It's going to hurt them when they have to buy groceries that are transported across this country by diesel fuel and trucks. And because of that, people's cost of living is going up and up and up. And if you don't think that's going to have an impact on their ability to pay their home mortgages, you're just not thinking straight.

We have to deal with the energy crisis so people can spend less on energy, can have that money for food for their kids, and to get to and from school and to and from work and to pay for their home mortgages.

I think we have to deal with the crisis that faces us right now. But I think all of us ought to be aware that until we solve the energy crisis, until we become energy independent or move rapidly in that direction, we're going to continue to have problems in the future with this economy. This economy cannot stand $4 a gallon gasoline. We just can't. And it is going to impact every area of this economy now and in the future.

Even if we pass this so-called bailout bill today or next week or tomorrow, whenever we pass it, it's not going to solve the problem until we deal with the energy crisis which is an integral part of the problems facing America.