Nydia M. Velazquez: “What amazes me is if the gentleman from North Carolina is so concerned about this legislation, where were you when the…”

“What amazes me is if the gentleman from North Carolina is so concerned about this legislation, where were you when the Small Business Committee was considering this legislation? We had a number of Members who do not sit on the Small Business Committee come before our committee to discuss issues related to the disaster loan legislation. Where were you? And let me say more. If you had come before our committee, you would have learned that what this motion to recommit does is to reinstate policies that the SBA already does. This amendment merely restates what the Small Business Administration does and could actually have the opposite effect and allow more individuals with questionable character to get SBA disaster loans. The Small Business Administration already has a standard operating procedure that provides that no loans shall be made to individuals of low character. The SBA rules and regulations provide that individuals with criminal records and arrest records or who are on probation are considered to be in that category. Simply put, this means that felons are not able to get SBA loans. I will also note that adopting this motion will for all intents and purposes kill the bill, meaning a little over 1 month before hurricane season, the Federal Government will not have a plan to respond to disasters. Disaster victims will be trapped in the bureaucracy between FEMA and SBA.”