On the recordMarch 9, 2011
I rise today to join with my friend and colleague, Senator Mark Pryor, in introducing the Patriot Express Authorization Act of 2011. This legislation codifies a critical Small Business Administration, SBA, lending program for America's veterans and Reservists, as well as their spouses. It is critical that we support our nation's veterans and, in particular, our service-members returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. Regrettably, the unemployment rate for veterans of these two wars is 12.5 percent--a full 3.6 percent higher than the national unemployment rate for the overall population. Many of these brave men and women have aspirations of owning their own business, and I was proud to work with Senator Kerry to pass the Military Reservist and Veteran Small Business Reauthorization and Opportunity Act of 2008, which President George W. Bush signed into law three years ago. This legislation contains a number of provisions to help veterans and Reservists who own or are seeking to own a business, and created an Interagency Task Force on Veterans Small Business Development, which President Obama formed by Executive Order last spring, to assist veterans with government contracting and capital access opportunities in particular.
