Steve Chabot: “Mr. Chairman, today, Madam Chairwoman and I rise to support H.R. 1332, the Small Business Lending Improvements Act of…”

“Mr. Chairman, today, Madam Chairwoman and I rise to support H.R. 1332, the Small Business Lending Improvements Act of 2007. I want to especially thank the chairwoman and the gentlelady, Congresswoman Bean, for working in a cooperative and bipartisan manner to bring this bill before the House, and I want to commend them for again working with us on this. The Small Business Lending Improvements Act amends the Small Business Act to make necessary improvements and technical changes to the primary lending program offered by the Small Business Administration, the SBA, the 7(a) guaranteed loan program. H.R. 1332 also amends title V of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to make significant and necessary changes to the loan program, sometimes called the 504 loan program. Before addressing the particulars of the legislation, it is important to note what H.R. 1332 does not do. The legislation does not modify the subsidy rate for the 7(a) guaranteed lending program. The subsidy rate for the program currently is zero. After this bill is enacted, the subsidy rate for the 7(a) lending program will be zero. In fact, if this bill attempted to modify the subsidy rate, it could not because it would require an appropriation. And of course, as an authorizing committee, we are unable to appropriate. So any argument that this bill will cost hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars over 10 years or so is just plain wrong.”