John Spratt: “This is not only good, but necessary, legislation. I am glad to see us move it. S. 141, this bill before us, would allow…”

“This is not only good, but necessary, legislation. I am glad to see us move it. S. 141, this bill before us, would allow the Office of Management and Budget, OMB, to change its 2003 technical assumptions regarding the SBA general business program. Without this change, everybody should understand this, SBA will have to reduce the 2003 loan volume supported by this program by about 50 percent, 50 percent below the 2002 level of $9.3 billion. This legislation was referred to our committee, the Committee on the Budget, because it required an exception to the usual strictures of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act that bind OMB to one set of assumptions throughout a budget year. OMB has had chronic problems with overestimating the credit subsidy rate for general business loans, the so-called 7(a) program and related programs.”