James M. Talent: “Mr. Speaker, H.R. 818, the Disaster Mitigation Act of 1999, is a common-sense approach to applying the principle of…”

“Mr. Speaker, H.R. 818, the Disaster Mitigation Act of 1999, is a common-sense approach to applying the principle of preventive care in coping with natural disasters. H.R. 818 is substantially identical to a measure reintroduced by Senator Cleland, the measure which actually passed the Senate last year. It is part of the administration's budget request, and it has substantial bipartisan support. Since 1953, the Small Business Administration has administered the Disaster Loan Program authorized by section 7(b) of the Small Business Act. This program provides loans to help small businesses rebuild after natural disasters. In past years, the loan program has spent billions of dollars helping small businesses recover from natural disasters. For example, in fiscal year 1998, the SBA lent $728 million for 30,154 disaster loans. In 1997, it lent $1.1 billion for 49,515 disaster loans. In 1994, the SBA's highest demand came when it loaned over $4.1 billion for damage done due to the Northridge Earthquake in California. It was important, Mr. Speaker, that we do this to help people recover from the damage inflicted by natural disasters.”