II
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1196
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 8, 2009
Ms. Landrieu introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
A BILL
To amend the Small Business Act to improve the Office of International Trade, and for other purposes.
Short title
This Act may be cited as
the Small Business International Trade
Enhancements Act of 2009
.
Small Business Administration Associate Administrator for International Trade
Establishment
Section 22 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 649) is amended—
by striking
Sec.
22. (a) There
and inserting the following:
Office of International Trade
Establishment
Office
There
; and
in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following:
Associate Administrator
The head of the Office shall be the Associate Administrator for International Trade, who shall be responsible to the Administrator.
.
Authority for Additional Associate Administrator
Section 4(b)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 633(b)(1)) is amended—
in the fifth
sentence, by striking five Associate Administrators
and
inserting Associate Administrators
; and
by adding at the
end the following: One such Associate Administrator shall be the
Associate Administrator for International Trade, who shall be the head of the
Office of International Trade established under section 22.
.
Discharge of International Trade Responsibilities of Administration
Section 22 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 649) is amended by adding at the end the following:
Discharge of International Trade Responsibilities of Administration
The Administrator shall ensure that—
the responsibilities of the Administration regarding international trade are carried out by the Associate Administrator;
the Associate Administrator has sufficient resources to carry out such responsibilities; and
the Associate Administrator has direct supervision and control over—
the staff of the Office; and
any employee of the Administration whose principal duty station is an Export Assistance Center, or any successor entity.
.
Role of Associate Administrator in carrying out international trade policy
Section 2(b)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631(b)(1)) is amended in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)—
by inserting
the Administrator of
before the Small Business
Administration
; and
by inserting
through the Associate Administrator for International Trade, and
before in cooperation with
.
Implementation date
Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall appoint an Associate Administrator for International Trade under section 22(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 649(a)), as added by this section.
Office of International Trade
Amendments to section 22
Section 22 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 649) is amended—
in subsection (b)—
by striking
(b) The Office
and inserting the following:
Trade distribution network
The Associate Administrator
;
in the matter
preceding paragraph (1), by inserting Export Assistance Centers,
after export promotion efforts,
; and
by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
assist in maintaining a distribution network, using regional and local offices of the Administration, the small business development center network, networks of women's business centers, and Export Assistance Centers for programs relating to—
trade promotion;
trade finance;
trade adjustment assistance;
trade remedy assistance; and
trade data collection;
;
in subsection (c)—
by striking
(c) The Office
and inserting the following:
Promotion of sales opportunities
The Associate Administrator
;
by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (8) as paragraphs (2) through (9), respectively;
by inserting before paragraph (2), as so redesignated, the following:
establish annual goals for the Office relating to—
enhancing the exporting capability of small business concerns and small manufacturers;
facilitating technology transfers;
enhancing programs and services to assist small business concerns and small manufacturers to compete effectively and efficiently against foreign entities;
increasing the ability of small business concerns to access capital;
disseminating information concerning Federal, State, and private programs and initiatives; and
ensuring that the interests of small business concerns are adequately represented in trade negotiations;
;
in paragraph (2),
as so redesignated, by striking mechanism for
and all that
follows through (D) assisting
and inserting the
following:
mechanism for—
identifying subsectors of the small business community with strong export potential;
identifying areas of demand in foreign markets;
prescreening foreign buyers for commercial and credit purposes; and
assisting
;
in paragraph
(5)(A), as so redesignated, by striking Gross State Produce
and
inserting Gross State Product
;
in paragraph (6), as so redesignated, by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
in paragraph (9), as so redesignated—
in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)—
by striking
full-time export development specialists to each Administration regional
office and assigning
; and
by striking
office. Such specialists
and inserting office and
providing each Administration regional office with a full-time export
development specialist, who
;
in
subparagraph (D), by striking and
at the end;
in subparagraph (E), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
by adding at the end the following:
participate, jointly with employees of the Office, in an annual training program that focuses on current small business needs for exporting; and
develop and conduct training programs for exporters and lenders, in cooperation with the Export Assistance Centers, the Department of Commerce, small business development centers, and other relevant Federal agencies.
;
in subsection (d)—
by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (5) as clauses (i) through (v), respectively, and adjusting the margins accordingly;
by striking
(d) The Office
and inserting the following:
Export financing programs
In general
The Associate Administrator
; and
by striking
To accomplish this goal, the Office shall work
and inserting the
following:
Trade finance specialist
To accomplish the goal established under paragraph (1), the Associate Administrator shall—
designate at least 1 individual within the Administration as a trade finance specialist to oversee international loan programs and assist Administration employees with trade finance issues; and
work
;
in subsection
(e), by striking (e) The Office
and inserting the
following:
Trade Remedies
The Associate Administrator
;
by amending subsection (f) to read as follows:
Reporting requirement
The Associate Administrator shall submit an annual report to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives that contains—
a description of the progress of the Office in implementing the requirements of this section;
for any travel by the staff of the Office, the destination of such travel and the benefits to the Administration and to small business concerns resulting from such travel; and
a description of the participation by the Office in trade negotiations.
;
in subsection (g), by striking (g) The Office and inserting the following:
Studies
The Associate Administrator
; and
by adding after subsection (h), as addded by section 2 of this Act, the following:
Export assistance centers
In general
During the period beginning on October 1, 2009, and ending on September 30, 2012, the Administrator shall ensure that the number of full-time equivalent employees of the Office assigned to the Export Assistance Centers is not less than the number of such employees so assigned on January 1, 2003.
Priority of placement
The Administrator shall give priority, to the maximum extent practicable, to placing employees of the Administration at any Export Assistance Center that—
had an Administration employee assigned to the Export Assistance Center before January 2003; and
has not had an Administration employee assigned to the Export Assistance Center during the period beginning January 2003, and ending on the date of enactment of this subsection, either through retirement or reassignment.
Needs of exporters
The Administrator shall, to the maximum extent practicable, strategically assign Administration employees to Export Assistance Centers, based on the needs of exporters.
Goals
The Associate Administrator shall work with the Department of Commerce and the Export-Import Bank to establish shared annual goals for the Export Assistance Centers.
Oversight
The Associate Administrator shall designate an individual within the Administration to oversee all activities conducted by Administration employees assigned to Export Assistance Centers.
Definitions
In this section—
the term Associate Administrator means the Associate Administrator for International Trade described in subsection (a)(2);
the term Export Assistance Center means a one-stop shop for United States exporters established by the United States and Foreign Commercial Service of the Department of Commerce pursuant to section 2301(b)(8) of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4721(b)(8)); and
the term Office means the Office of International Trade established under subsection (a)(1).
.
Report
Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit a report to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives on any travel by the staff of the Office of International Trade of the Administration, including the destination of such travel and the benefits to the Administration and to small business concerns resulting from such travel.
International trade loans
In general
Section 7(a)(3)(B) of
the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)(3)(B)) is amended by striking
$1,750,000, of which not more than $1,250,000
and inserting
$2,750,000 (or if the gross loan amount would exceed $3,670,000), of
which not more than $2,000,000
.
Working capital
Section 7(a)(16)(A) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)(16)(A)) is amended—
in the matter
preceding clause (i), by striking in—
and inserting
—
;
in clause (i)—
by inserting
in
after (i)
; and
by striking
or
at the end;
in clause (ii)—
by inserting
in
after (ii)
; and
by striking the
period at the end and inserting , including any debt that qualifies for
refinancing under any other provision of this subsection; or
;
and
by adding at the end the following:
by providing working capital.
.
Collateral
Section 7(a)(16)(B) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)(16)(B)) is amended—
by striking
Each loan
and inserting the following:
In general
Except as provided in clause (ii), each loan
; and
by adding at the end the following:
Exception
A loan under this paragraph may be secured by a second lien position on the property or equipment financed by the loan or on other assets of the small business concern, if the Administrator determines the lien provides adequate assurance of the payment of the loan.
.
Sense of Congress relating to Assistant United States Trade Representative for Small Business
Findings
Congress finds the following:
According to the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business Administration, small business concerns (as that term is defined in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)) represent 97 percent of all exporters in the United States and account for 29 percent of the total exporting volume. Despite the overwhelming majority of exporters that are small business concerns, fewer than 1 percent of all small business concerns in the United States are engaged in trade-related business activities.
According to the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business Administration, more than 72 percent of all exporters in the United States employ fewer than 20 employees. Small business concerns often do not have the sales volume or resources to overcome the costs of trade barriers and overhead expenses in international transactions, nor can small business concerns afford to maintain employees with international trade expertise to resolve trade problems.
Small business advocacy groups often lack political influence in foreign countries, which hinders efforts to solve problems outside the legal process. Small business advocates are not as visible or vocal on issues relating to international trade as are the advocates for other issues, due to a lack of resources for advocacy.
In 1988, Congress passed section 8012 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 631 note), which expressed the sense of Congress that the United States Trade Representative should appoint a special trade assistant for small business. As of June 2009, the position has not been established by the United States Trade Representative.
Sense of Congress
It is the sense of Congress that the United States Trade Representative should establish the position of Assistant United States Trade Representative for Small Business, to—
promote the trade interests of small business concerns;
identify and address foreign trade barriers that impede the exportation of goods by small business concerns;
ensure that small business concerns are adequately represented during trade negotiations by the United States Trade Representative; and
coordinate with other Federal agencies that are responsible for providing information or assistance to small business concerns.