To amend title 1, United States Code, to provide for a definition of the term "State" and to include territories therein, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1702, the Small Business Development Centers Improvement Act of 2018.

I want to thank my colleague, Congressman Blum of Iowa, for working with me to help American small businesses via this critical Small Business Development Centers bill.

The small business development centers provide assistance in Philadelphia and nationwide to small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs throughout the United States and its territories. SBDCs help entrepreneurs from Ogontz Avenue to Broad Street to realize the dream of owning a business and help existing businesses remain competitive in a complex, ever-changing global marketplace.

SBDCs are hosted by leading universities and State economic development agencies and funded, in part, through a partnership with SBA. SBA advisers provide aspiring and current small-business owners a variety of free business counseling and low-cost training centers and business development plans, manufacturing assistance, financial packaging, lending assistance, exporting and importing support, disaster recovery assistance, procurement and contracting aid, market research help and program support, and healthcare guidance.

Mr. Speaker, last week, at the Enterprise Center Minority Business Development Center in Philadelphia, run by an incredibly capable woman by the name of Della Clark, I had the honor of hosting the gentlewoman from New York, Ranking Member Velazquez, at a roundtable for women entrepreneurs.

I want to take a moment to thank the participants, the audience, and the community, as this is the type of collaboration necessary to ensure that we use small businesses and the SBDCs as another tool in the toolbox to help revitalize our city and remake it. Roundtables like those last week in Philadelphia are where entrepreneurs can share information, resources, and expertise, like background on small business development centers, with those who may not be aware of them.

Access to capital is key for entrepreneurs in Philadelphia that look to start new business ventures and expand existing ones. Economic development, both long- and short-term, is a by-product of small businesses receiving affordable financing to help them create jobs in their local communities.

This is an example of small business firms utilizing other financial programs, but this is where SBDCs are so critical because they help us make the connection to financing that otherwise would be missing. Traditional lending sources often ignore many communities around the country, resulting in small business utilization of other financial programs.

SBDCs began in 1976 with only eight participating universities. In fiscal year 2017, 188,225 entrepreneurs now receive business consulting, over 245,000 entrepreneurs are trained, and 14 million new businesses were created because of SBDCs.

Sometimes small businesses will utilize traditional sources such as their local banks, but many small bank owners will attest, sometimes avenues are not available, and that is where the SBA can be a lifesaver. Among the improvements we can make, we can work to make SBDCs better through the grants, loans, and other assistance to make SBDCs the garage of today, so that when an entrepreneur from North Philly has a dream, guts, and moxie to walk into one, they are not laughed at and turned away or spurned away. Let's face it: many of the people who have that dream and inspiration are not experts at spreadsheets, invoice management, and contract jargon.

This is a goal, as a member of this important committee, to ensure that any American can use the SBDC as a garage, like the Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Angela Riches of the world. Mr. Speaker, that is what the American Dream is all about.

I look forward to working with my colleague, Congressman Blum, and other members of the committee. I especially want to thank all of the members of the committee working together because, when areas such as North Philly, West Philly, South Philly, Narberth, Bala Cynwyd, or Ardmore have investment and capital needs, they know where to go and whom to ask for the SBA assistance.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues, and I encourage them to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 1702.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1702) to amend the Small Business Act to improve the small business development centers program, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1702, the Small Business Development Centers Improvement Act of 2018, will expand the resources available to America's entrepreneurs through the nearly 1,000 small business development centers, or SBDCs, located throughout the country.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Evans) for introducing this bill.

Over 99 percent of all businesses in our Nation are small, and those businesses employ nearly 60 million Americans. The U.S. economy depends on the success of small businesses. Providing support to entrepreneurs and small-business owners must be a priority for this Congress, and SBDCs offer that support.

Small business development centers offer low- or no-cost business counseling and training to aspiring entrepreneurs and existing small- business owners alike. The support offered at these centers ranges from creating the first business plan, commercial advertising and branding, and navigating the international trade market.

The importance of the assistance offered at SBDCs really cannot be overstated. In fiscal year 2017 alone, last year, SBDCs trained over 245,000 clients and advised over 188,000 individuals, resulting in the creation of over 14,000 new small businesses and the infusion of roughly $5.6 billion into the American economy.

For every Federal dollar appropriated to the SBDC program, $43.50 in new capital was generated. The legislation we are discussing today will only serve to increase the impact of SBDCs.

H.R. 1702 includes a number of commonsense updates to the SBDC program. This legislation will increase awareness of the technical and managerial training opportunities offered at centers by allowing SBDCs to market and advertise their products and services. This simple change can have a significant impact on our economy by ensuring that those entrepreneurs seeking to start or scale a business know where to turn for help.

Additionally, H.R. 1702 will strengthen the SBDC accreditation process and ensure client information remains confidential. These changes facilitate the efficient and effective use of taxpayer dollars at every SBDC.

Through H.R. 1702, this legislation, we will provide greater support to the men and women throughout our country who are working tirelessly to create jobs, enhance our communities, and support our economies.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Comer), a very valuable member of the Small Business Committee.

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Evans) for his leadership on this and many other issues on the committee.

The small business development centers, SBDCs, serve, really, a very important purpose in furthering entrepreneurship and business creation throughout the United States. Many of the Nation's nearly 30 million small businesses have utilized the services offered by the SBDCs, and this bill improves and modernizes that network.

I again want to commend Mr. Evans for formulating this bill, pushing it through, and now taking this important step in actually entering it into the law.

I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1702, the Small Business Development Centers Improvement Act.

Whether it is helping to create a business plan, navigate the procurement process, market a new product, or identify international trade opportunities, the SBA's entrepreneurial development programs provide an array of services to help small firms navigate obstacles, grow, and thrive.

Entrepreneurs, therefore, significantly benefit from having tools to identify, fiscally plan for, and maintain critical business improvements.

Entrepreneurs located throughout the country, including in underserved rural and inner-city communities, benefit from accessible, affordable technical assistance. This reduces their isolation from buyers and other businesses.

In addition to outreach, hands-on counseling is critical for businesses to obtain information pertinent to their local market and capacities. That is why SBDCs are so critical to our local communities.

Today's bill modernizes and strengthens the SBDC network by improving data collection, streamlining collaboration, reducing paperwork, and allowing additional outreach on marketing to be performed.

H.R. 1702 is a comprehensive bill providing necessary steps forward to advance our Nation's entrepreneurial economic system.

Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Evans), who is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access and also a sponsor of the bill.

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

There is no question that we need to support the cornerstone of the SBA's entrepreneurial programs, the small business development centers. H.R. 1702 does just that by updating marketing strategies and requiring more reporting so we can better understand the system provided to our constituencies.

Today's bill is endorsed by America's SBDCs, an association representing the 63 SBDC networks and their nearly 1,000 centers.

I would like to thank Representative Evans for leading this bill and all his efforts to improve the program. I would also like to thank Halimah Locke and Veena Srinivasa for their dedicated work on this legislation.

I urge Members to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1709, the Small Business Development Centers Improvement Act of 2018, expands support for entrepreneurs by modernizing the statute governing the Small Business Administration's Small Business Development Centers program.

Small Business Development Centers, or SBDCs, provide entrepreneurs and small-business owners with business counseling and training at roughly 1,000 locations throughout the country.

These centers, spanning rural and urban areas alike, have had an immense impact on the American economy. As a result of SBDC training, a new job is created every 5\1/2\ minutes, a new business is created every 30 minutes, and $100,000 in sales is generated every 8.2 minutes.

The SBDC program is providing small-business owners and entrepreneurs with the resources they need to be successful.

H.R. 1702 further expands support for entrepreneurs by ensuring that the SBA focuses its resources and attention on congressionally authorized entrepreneurial development programs, such as SBDCs. This provision will promote operational efficiency within these programs, to the benefit of both small-business owners and taxpayers.

Additionally, this legislation allows SBDCs to market or advertise their business counseling and training programs. This will increase the impact of SBDCs by ensuring that entrepreneurs and small-business owners are aware of the resources available to them.

Finally, H.R. 1702 includes minor programmatic updates, including confidentiality requirements and data collection requirements that allow for the continued integrity of the SBDC program overall.

Small business development centers serve an important purpose in furthering entrepreneurship and business creation throughout the United States. H.R. 1702 allows SBDCs to continue to fulfill this purpose.

I urge my colleagues to support the bill.