Supporting Our Patriotic Businesses Act of 2005 - Authorizes appropriations for the Small Business Administration's (SBA) Office of Veteran Business Development.
Amends the Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999 to permanently extend the authority and duties of the SBA's Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs.
Amends the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to exempt service members called to active duty from professional or occupational continuing education requirements while they are called up, or within the 120-day period after active duty release.
Amends the Small Business Act to allow small businesses owned by veterans and service-disabled veterans to extend their SBA program participation time limitations by the length of time of active duty.
Requires the Secretary of each military department to take measures to counsel Guard and Reserve members about the importance of timely notifying their employers after they receive active duty orders (other than training).
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1014 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1014
To provide additional relief for small business owners ordered to
active duty as members of reserve components of the Armed Forces, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 12, 2005
Ms. Snowe introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide additional relief for small business owners ordered to
active duty as members of reserve components of the Armed Forces, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Supporting Our Patriotic Businesses
Act of 2005''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) From September 2001 through November 2004,
approximately 410,000 members of the reserve components of the
Armed Forces, including the National Guard and Reserves, have
been mobilized in support of United States military operations.
(2) According to 2004 data from the Manpower Data Center of
the Department of Defense, an estimated 35 percent of Guard
members and Reservists are either self-employed or own or are
employed by a small business.
(3) The majority of privately employed National Guard and
Reserve members either work for a small business or are self-
employed.
(4) As a result of activations, many small businesses have
been forced to go without their owners and key personnel for
months, and sometimes years, on end.
(5) The effects have been devastating to such patriotic
small businesses.
(6) The Office of Veterans Business Development of the
Small Business Administration has made a concerted effort to
reach out to small businesses affected by deployments, but
given the sheer numbers of those deployed, their resources have
been stretched thin.
(7) In addition, the Office of Veterans Business
Development has been required to broaden its delivery of
services, as directed by Executive Order 13360, to provide
procurement training programs for service-disabled veterans.
(8) This Act will help to stem the effects of National
Guard and Reservist deployments on small businesses, and better
assist veterans and service-disabled veterans with their
business needs.
SEC. 3. INCREASED FUNDING FOR THE OFFICE OF VETERANS BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT.
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Office of Veterans
Business Development of the Small Business Administration, and to
remain available until expended--
(1) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2006;
(2) $2,100,000 for fiscal year 2007; and
(3) $2,200,000 for fiscal year 2008.
SEC. 4. PERMANENT EXTENSION OF SBA ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON VETERANS
BUSINESS AFFAIRS.
(a) Assumption of Duties.--Section 33 of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 657c) is amended--
(1) by striking subsection (h); and
(2) by redesignating subsections (i) through (k) as
subsections (h) through (j), respectively.
(b) Permanent Extension of Authority.--Section 203 of the Veterans
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999 (15 U.S.C.
657b note) is amended by striking subsection (h).
SEC. 5. PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING.
(a) In General.--Title VII of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act
(50 U.S.C. App. 591 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following new section:
``SEC. 707. CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS FOR PROFESSIONAL AND
OCCUPATIONAL LICENSES.
``(a) Applicability.--This section applies to any servicemember
who, after the date of enactment of this section, is ordered to active
duty (other than for training) pursuant to section 688, 12301(a),
12301(g), 12302, 12304, 12306, or 12307 of title 10, United States
Code, or who is ordered to active duty under section 12301(d) of such
title, during a period when members are on active duty pursuant to any
such section.
``(b) Continuing Education Requirements.--A servicemember described
in subsection (a) may not be required to complete the satisfaction of
any continuing education requirements imposed with respect to the
profession or occupation of the servicemember that accrue during the
period of active duty of the servicemember as described in that
subsection--
``(1) during such period of active duty; and
``(2) during the 120-day period beginning on the date of
the release of the servicemember from such period of active
duty.
``(c) Active Duty Defined.--In this section, the term `active duty'
has the meaning given that term in section 101(d) of title 10, United
States Code.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for such Act is
amended by adding at the end the following new item:
``Sec. 707. Continuing education requirements for professional
and occupational licenses.''.
SEC. 6. RELIEF FROM TIME LIMITATIONS FOR VETERAN-OWNED SMALL
BUSINESSES.
Section 3(q) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(q)) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(5) Relief from time limitations.--
``(A) In general.--Any time limitation on any
qualification, certification, or period of
participation imposed under this Act on any program
available to small business concerns shall be extended
for a small business concern that--
``(i) is owned and controlled by--
``(I) a veteran who was called or
ordered to active duty under a
provision of law specified in section
101(a)(13)(B) of title 10, United
States, on or after September 11, 2001;
or
``(II) a service-disabled veteran
who became such a veteran due to an
injury or illness incurred or
aggravated in the active miliary,
naval, or air service during a period
of active duty pursuant to a call or
order to active duty under a provision
of law referred to in subclause (I) on
or after September 11, 2001; and
``(ii) was subject to the time limitation
during such period of active duty.
``(B) Duration.--Upon submission of proper
documentation to the Administrator, the extension of a
time limitation under subparagraph (A) shall be equal
to the period of time that such veteran who owned or
controlled such a concern was on active duty as
described in that subparagraph.''.
SEC. 7. COUNSELING OF MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVES ON
NOTIFICATION OF EMPLOYERS REGARDING MOBILIZATION.
(a) Counseling Required.--The Secretary of each military department
shall provide each member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces
under the jurisdiction of the Secretary who is on active duty for a
period of more than 30 days, or on the reserve active-status list,
counseling on the importance of notifying such member's employer on a
timely basis of any call or order of such member to active duty other
than for training.
(b) Frequency of Counseling.--Each member of the Armed Forces
described in subsection (a) shall be provided the counseling required
by that subsection not less often than once each year.
SEC. 8. STUDY ON OPTIONS FOR IMPROVING TIMELY NOTICE OF EMPLOYERS OF
MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVES REGARDING
MOBILIZATION.
(a) Study Required.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense shall conduct a
study of the feasibility and advisability of various options
for improving the time in which employers of members of the
reserve components of the Armed Forces are notified of the call
or order of such members to active duty other than for
training.
(2) Purpose.--The purpose of the study under paragraph (1)
shall be to identify mechanisms, if any, for eliminating or
reducing the time between--
(A) the date of the call or order of members of the
reserve components of the Armed Forces to active duty;
and
(B) the date on which employers of such members are
notified of the call or order of such members to active
duty.
(b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate
committees of Congress a report on the study conducted under subsection
(a). The report shall include--
(1) a description of the study, including the options
addressed under the study; and
(2) such recommendations for legislative or administrative
action as the Secretary considers appropriate in light of the
results of the study.
(c) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this section,
the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(1) the Committees on Armed Services and Small Business and
Entrepreneurship of the Senate; and
(2) the Committees on Armed Services and Small Business of
the House of Representatives.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5101)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. (text of measure as introduced: CR S5101-5103)
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line