II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1724 

To provide assistance for small businesses damaged by Hurricane Katrina, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2005 

Ms. SNOWE (for herself, Mr. VITTER, and Mr. TALENT) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small 

Business and Entrepreneurship 

A BILL 

To provide assistance for small businesses damaged by 

Hurricane Katrina, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Small Business, Homeowners, and Renters Disaster Re6 lief Act of 2005’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Disaster loans. 

Sec. 3. Development company debentures. 

Sec. 4. Small business emergency relief. 
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Sec. 5. Entrepreneurial development. 

Sec. 6. Small Business Development Centers. 

Sec. 7. HUBZones. 

Sec. 8. Outreach programs. 

Sec. 9. Small business bonding threshold. 

Sec. 10. Supplemental emergency loans. 

Sec. 11. Small business participation. 

Sec. 12. Energy emergency relief. 

Sec. 13. Budgetary Treatment of Loans and Financings. 

Sec. 14. Emergency spending. 

1 SEC. 2. DISASTER LOANS. 

2 Section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

3 636(b)) is amended by inserting immediately after para4 graph (3) the following: 

5 ‘‘(4) DISASTER LOANS AFTER HURRICANE

6 KATRINA.— 

7 ‘‘(A) ADDITIONAL LOAN AUTHORITY.— 

8 ‘‘(i) LOANS TO SMALL BUSINESSES.— 

9 In addition to any other loan authorized by 

10 this subsection, the Administrator may 

11 make such loans under this subsection (ei12 ther directly or in cooperation with banks 

13 or other lending institutions through agree14 ments to participate on an immediate or 

15 deferred basis) as the Administrator deter16 mines appropriate to a small business con17 cern or small agricultural cooperative that 

18 demonstrates a direct adverse economic 

19 impact caused by Hurricane Katrina, 

20 based on such criteria as the Adminis-
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1 trator may set by rule, regulation, or 

2 order. 

3 ‘‘(ii) LOANS TO NONPROFITS.—In ad4 dition to any other loan authorized by this 

5 subsection, the Administrator may make 

6 such loans under this subsection (either di7 rectly or in cooperation with banks or 

8 other lending institutions through agree9 ments to participate on an immediate or 

10 deferred basis) as the Administrator deter11 mines appropriate to a non-profit organiza12 tion for purposes of repairing damage 

13 caused by Hurricane Katrina or per14 forming other hurricane relief services in a 

15 damaged area. 

16 ‘‘(B) INCREASED LOAN CAPS.— 

17 ‘‘(i) AGGREGATE LOAN AMOUNTS.— 

18 Except as provided in clause (ii), the ag19 gregate loan amount outstanding and com20 mitted to a qualified borrower in a dam21 aged area under this paragraph may not 

22 exceed $10,000,000. 

23 ‘‘(ii) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The Ad24 ministrator may, at the discretion of the 
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1 Administrator, waive the aggregate loan 

2 amount established under clause (i). 

3 ‘‘(C) DEFERMENT OF DISASTER LOAN PAY4 MENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

6 any other provision of law, payments of 

7 principal and interest on a loan to a quali8 fied borrower located in a damaged area 

9 made under this subsection before, on, or 

10 after the date of enactment of this para11 graph shall be deferred, and no interest 

12 shall accrue with respect to such loan, dur13 ing the time period described in clause (ii). 

14 ‘‘(ii) TIME PERIOD.—The time period 

15 for purposes of clause (i) shall be 1 year 

16 from the later of the date of enactment of 

17 this paragraph or the date of issuance of 

18 a loan described in clause (i), but may be 

19 extended to 2 years from such date, at the 

20 discretion of the Administrator. 

21 ‘‘(iii) RESUMPTION OF PAYMENTS.— 

22 At the end of the time period described in 

23 clause (ii), the payment of periodic install24 ments of principal and interest shall be re25 quired with respect to such loan, in the 
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1 same manner and subject to the same 

2 terms and conditions as would otherwise be 

3 applicable to any other loan made under 

4 this subsection. 

5 ‘‘(D) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph, 

6 the following definitions shall apply: 

7 ‘‘(i) DAMAGED AREA.—The term 

8 ‘damaged area’ means an area which the 

9 President has designated as a disaster area 

10 as a result of Hurricane Katrina of August 

11 2005. 

12 ‘‘(ii) QUALIFIED BORROWER.—The 

13 term ‘qualified borrower’ means a small 

14 business concern or non-profit organiza15 tion— 

16 ‘‘(I) located in a damaged area; 

17 or 

18 ‘‘(II) located in a State contig19 uous to a damaged area that is using, 

20 or intends to use, a loan made under 

21 this subsection for purposes of re22 building or conducting operations in a 

23 damaged area.’’. 
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1 SEC. 3. DEVELOPMENT COMPANY DEBENTURES. 

2 Section 503 of the Small Business Investment Act 

3 of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 697) is amended by adding at the end 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(j) DEBENTURES AFTER HURRICANE KATRINA.— 

6 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any 

8 other guarantee authorized by this section, the 

9 Administrator may guarantee the timely pay10 ment of all principal and interest as scheduled 

11 on any debenture issued for purposes of re12 building or resuming operations in a damaged 

13 area, as the Administrator determines appro14 priate. 

15 ‘‘(B) TERMS.—The Administrator shall es16 tablish a fee for a guarantee issued under sub17 paragraph (A) that is lower than that for other 

18 guarantees under this section. 

19 ‘‘(2) EXISTING GUARANTEES.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

21 other provision of law, the Administrator may 

22 temporarily defer payments of principal and in23 terest on a guarantee made under this section 

24 before the date of enactment of this subsection 

25 to a small business concern in a damaged area, 
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1 in any case in which the payments are owed to 

2 the Administration. 

3 ‘‘(B) PAYMENTS TO OTHER PARTIES.— 

4 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 

5 Administrator may temporarily make payments 

6 of principal and interest on a loan made under 

7 this section before the date of enactment of this 

8 subsection to a small business concern in a 

9 damaged area, in any case in which the pay10 ments are owed to a person other than the Ad11 ministration. 

12 ‘‘(C) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—The 

13 authority to defer, or make, payments under 

14 this paragraph shall terminate 1 year after the 

15 date of enactment of this subsection. 

16 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the fol17 lowing definitions shall apply: 

18 ‘‘(A) DAMAGED AREA.—The term ‘dam19 aged area’ means an area which the President 

20 has designated as a disaster area as a result of 

21 Hurricane Katrina of August 2005. 

22 ‘‘(B) QUALIFIED BORROWER.—The term 

23 ‘qualified borrower’ means a small business con24 cern— 

25 ‘‘(i) located in a damaged area; or 
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1 ‘‘(ii) that demonstrates a direct ad2 verse economic impact caused by Hurri3 cane Katrina, based on such criteria as the 

4 Administrator may set by rule, regulation, 

5 or order.’’. 

6 SEC. 4. SMALL BUSINESS EMERGENCY RELIEF. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section— 

8 (1) the term ‘‘small business concern’’ has the 

9 same meaning as in section 3 of the Small Business 

10 Act; and 

11 (2) the terms ‘‘Administration’’ and ‘‘Adminis12 trator’’ mean the Small Business Administration 

13 and the Administrator thereof, respectively. 

14 (b) BUSINESS LOAN PROGRAMS.—Section 20(e) of 

15 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 note) is amend16 ed— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘$25,050,000,000’’ and insert18 ing ‘‘$30,550,000,000’’; and 

19 (2) in paragraph (1)(B)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘$17,000,000,000’’ and in21 serting ‘‘$20,000,000,000’’; 

22 (B) by striking ‘‘$7,500,000,000’’ and in23 serting ‘‘$10,000,000,000’’; and 

24 (C) by striking ‘‘25,050,000,000’’ and in25 serting ‘‘30,550,000,000’’. 
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1 (c) GRANTS TO STATES DAMAGED BY HURRICANE

2 KATRINA.—There is authorized to be appropriated, and 

3 there is appropriated, to the Department of Commerce 

4 $400,000,000 to provide, through appropriate government 

5 agencies in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, and 

6 Florida, to provide bridge grants and loans to small busi7 ness concerns located in the area which the President has 

8 designated as a disaster area as a result of Hurricane 

9 Katrina, to assist in covering costs of such concerns until 

10 they are able to obtain loans through Administration as11 sistance programs or other sources. 

12 (d) DISASTER LOAN ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS.—In ad13 dition to any other amounts otherwise appropriated for 

14 such purpose, there is authorized to be appropriated, and 

15 there is appropriated, to the Administration $86,000,000, 

16 to make loans under section 7(b) of the Small Business 

17 Act. 

18 (e) OTHER DISASTER LOANS FOLLOWING HURRI19 CANE KATRINA.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (4) of section 

21 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)), 

22 as added by this Act, is amended by adding at the 

23 end the following: 

24 ‘‘(E) REFINANCING DISASTER LOANS

25 AFTER HURRICANE KATRINA.— 
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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any loan made 

2 under this subsection that was outstanding 

3 as to principal or interest on August 24, 

4 2005, may be refinanced by a small busi5 ness concern that is located in an area des6 ignated by the President as a disaster area 

7 as a result of Hurricane Katrina of 2005 

8 (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘dis9 aster area’), and the refinanced amount 

10 shall be considered to be part of the new 

11 loan for purposes of this subparagraph. 

12 ‘‘(ii) NO EFFECT ON ELIGIBILITY.—A 

13 refinancing under clause (i) by a small 

14 business concern shall be in addition to 

15 any other loan eligibility for that small 

16 business concern under this Act. 

17 ‘‘(F) REFINANCING BUSINESS DEBT.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any business debt 

19 of a small business concern that was out20 standing as to principal or interest on Au21 gust 24, 2005, may be refinanced by the 

22 small business concern if it is located in 

23 the disaster area. With respect to a refi24 nancing under this clause, payments of 

25 principal shall be deferred, and interest 
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1 may accrue, during the 1-year period fol2 lowing the date of refinancing, and the re3 financed amount shall be considered to be 

4 part of a new loan for purposes of this 

5 subparagraph. 

6 ‘‘(ii) RESUMPTION OF PAYMENTS.—At 

7 the end of the 1-year period described in 

8 clause (i), the payment of periodic install9 ments of principal and interest shall be re10 quired with respect to such loan, in the 

11 same manner and subject to the same 

12 terms and conditions as would otherwise be 

13 applicable to any other loan made under 

14 this subsection. 

15 ‘‘(G) TERMS.—A loan under subparagraph 

16 (E) or (F) shall be made at the same interest 

17 rate as economic injury loans under paragraph 

18 (2). 

19 ‘‘(H) EXTENDED APPLICATION PERIOD.— 

20 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 

21 Administrator shall accept applications for as22 sistance under paragraphs (1) and (4) until one 

23 year after the date on which the President des24 ignated the area as a disaster area as a result 

25 of Hurricane Katrina. 
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1 ‘‘(I) NO SALE.—No loan under this sub2 section made as a result of Hurricane Katrina 

3 may be sold.’’. 

4 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—Section 7(b) of 

5 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) is 

6 amended in the undesignated matter at the end— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘, (2), and (4)’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘and (2)’’; and 

9 (B) by striking ‘‘, (2), or (4)’’ and insert10 ing ‘‘(2)’’. 

11 SEC. 5. ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT. 

12 In addition to any other amounts authorized for any 

13 fiscal year, there are authorized to be appropriated, and 

14 there is appropriated, to the Administration, to remain 

15 available until expended, for fiscal year 2006— 

16 (1) $21,000,000, to be used for activities of 

17 small business development centers pursuant to sec18 tion 21 of the Small Business Act, $15,000,000 of 

19 which shall be non-matching funds and used to aid 

20 and assist small business concerns affected by Hur21 ricane Katrina; 

22 (2) $2,000,000, to be used for the SCORE pro23 gram authorized by section 8(b)(1) of the Small 

24 Business Act, for the activities described in section 

25 8(b)(1)(B)(ii) of that Act, $1,000,000 of which shall 
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1 be used to aid and assist small business concerns af2 fected by Hurricane Katrina; 

3 (3) $4,500,000, to be used for activities of 

4 women’s business centers authorized by section 

5 29(b) of the Small Business Act and for recipients 

6 of a grant under section 29(l) of that Act, 

7 $2,500,000 of which shall be non-matching funds 

8 used to aid and assist small business concerns af9 fected by Hurricane Katrina, which may also be 

10 made available to a women’s business center whose 

11 5-year project ended in fiscal year 2004; 

12 (4) $1,250,000, to be used for activities of the 

13 office of veteran’s business development pursuant to 

14 section 32 of the Small Business Act, $750,000 of 

15 which shall be used to aid and assist small business 

16 concerns affected by Hurricane Katrina; and 

17 (5) $5,000,000, to be used for activities of the 

18 microloan program authorized by clauses (ii) and 

19 (iii) of section 7(m)(1)(G) of the Small Business Act 

20 to aid and assist small business concerns adversely 

21 affected by Hurricane Katrina. 

22 SEC. 6. SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS. 

23 Section 21(a)(4) of the Small Business Act (15 

24 U.S.C. 648(a)(4)) is amended by adding at the end the 

25 following: 
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1 ‘‘(D) FISCAL YEARS 2005 AND 2006.—For 

2 fiscal years 2005 and 2006, the Administrator 

3 has the authority to waive the maximum 

4 amount of $100,000 for grants under para5 graph (C)(viii) for small business development 

6 centers assisting small business concerns ad7 versely affected by Hurricane Katrina.’’. 

8 SEC. 7. HUBZONES. 

9 Section 3(p)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

10 632(p)(1)) is amended— 

11 (1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘or’’; 

12 (2) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period 

13 and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

14 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(F) the Hurricane Katrina disaster area, 

16 as designated by the Administrator.’’. 

17 SEC. 8. OUTREACH PROGRAMS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 

20 Small Business Administration shall establish a con21 tracting outreach and technical assistance program for 

22 small business concerns which have had a primary place 

23 of business in, or other significant presence in the Hurri24 cane Katrina disaster area at any time following the 60 
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1 days prior to the designation of such area by the Adminis2 trator. 

3 (b) ADMINISTRATOR ACTION.—The Administrator 

4 may fulfill the requirement of subsection (a) by acting 

5 through— 

6 (1) the Small Business Administration; 

7 (2) the Federal agency small business officials 

8 designated under Section 15(k)(1) of the Small 

9 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(k)(1)); and 

10 (3) any Federal, State, or local government en11 tity, higher education institution, or private non12 profit organization that the Administrator may deem 

13 proper, upon conclusion of a memorandum of under14 standing or assistance agreement, as appropriate, 

15 with the Administrator. 

16 SEC. 9. SMALL BUSINESS BONDING THRESHOLD. 

17 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for all 

18 procurements related to Hurricane Katrina, the Adminis19 trator may, upon such terms and conditions as it may pre20 scribe, guarantee and enter into commitments to guar21 antee any surety against loss resulting from a breach of 

22 the terms of a bid bond, payment bond, performance bond, 

23 or bonds ancillary thereto, by a principal on any total work 

24 order or contract amount at the time of bond execution 

25 that does not exceed $10,000,000. 
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1 SEC. 10. SUPPLEMENTAL EMERGENCY LOANS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7(a) of the Small Busi3 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)) is amended by adding at the 

4 end the following: 

5 ‘‘(32) SUPPLEMENTAL EMERGENCY LOANS

6 AFTER HURRICANE KATRINA.— 

7 ‘‘(A) LOAN AUTHORITY.—In addition to 

8 any other loan authorized by this subsection, 

9 the Administrator shall make such loans under 

10 this subsection (either directly or in cooperation 

11 with banks or other lending institutions through 

12 agreements to participate on an immediate or 

13 deferred basis) as the Administrator determines 

14 appropriate to a small business concern ad15 versely affected by Hurricane Katrina, subject 

16 to subparagraph (B). 

17 ‘‘(B) OVERSIGHT PROTECTIONS.—In mak18 ing any loan under subparagraph (A)— 

19 ‘‘(i) the borrower shall be made aware 

20 that such loans are for those adversely af21 fected by Hurricane Katrina; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) for loans made in cooperation 

23 with a bank or other lending institution— 

24 ‘‘(I) lenders shall document for 

25 the Administrator how the borrower 

26 was adversely affected by Hurricane 
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1 Katrina, whether directly, or indi2 rectly; and 

3 ‘‘(II) not later than 6 months 

4 after the date of enactment of this 

5 paragraph, and every 6 months there6 after until the date that is 18 months 

7 after the date of enactment of this 

8 paragraph, the Comptroller General 

9 shall make a report regarding such 

10 loans to the Committee on Small 

11 Business and Entrepreneurship of the 

12 Senate and the Committee on Small 

13 Business of the House of Representa14 tives, including verification that such 

15 loans are being used for purposes au16 thorized by this paragraph. 

17 ‘‘(C) FEES.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

19 any other provision of law, the Adminis20 trator shall, in lieu of the fee established 

21 under paragraph (23)(A), collect an annual 

22 fee of 0.25 percent of the outstanding bal23 ance of deferred participation loans made 

24 under this subsection to qualified bor-
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1 rowers for a period of 1 year after the date 

2 of enactment of this paragraph. 

3 ‘‘(ii) GUARANTEE FEES.—Notwith4 standing any other provision of law, the 

5 guarantee fee under paragraph (18)(A) for 

6 a period of 1 year after the date of enact7 ment of this subparagraph shall be as fol8 lows: 

9 ‘‘(I) A guarantee fee equal to 1 

10 percent of the deferred participation 

11 share of a total loan amount that is 

12 not more than $150,000. 

13 ‘‘(II) A guarantee fee equal to 

14 2.5 percent of the deferred participa15 tion share of a total loan amount that 

16 is more than $150,000, but not more 

17 than $700,000. 

18 ‘‘(III) A guarantee fee equal to 

19 3.5 percent of the deferred participa20 tion share of a total loan amount that 

21 is more than $700,000.’’. 

22 (b) APPROPRIATION.—There is authorized to be ap23 propriated, and there is appropriated, $75,000,000 to 

24 carry out the amendment made by subsection (a). 
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1 SEC. 11. SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION. 

2 In order to facilitate the maximum practicable par3 ticipation of small business concerns in activities related 

4 to relief and recovery from Hurricane Katrina, the Admin5 istrator and the head of any Federal agency making pro6 curements related to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, 

7 shall set a goal, to be met within a reasonable time, of 

8 awarding to small business concerns not less than 30 per9 cent of amounts expended for prime contracts and not less 

10 than 40 percent of amounts expended for subcontracts on 

11 procurements such agency related to the aftermath of 

12 Hurricane Katrina. 

13 SEC. 12. ENERGY EMERGENCY RELIEF. 

14 (a) SMALL BUSINESS AND FARM ENERGY EMER15 GENCY DISASTER LOAN PROGRAM.— 

16 (1) SMALL BUSINESS DISASTER LOAN AUTHOR17 ITY.—Section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 

18 U.S.C. 636(b)) is amended by inserting after para19 graph (4), as added by this Act, the following: 

20 ‘‘(5)(A) For purposes of this paragraph— 

21 ‘‘(i) the term ‘base price index’ means the 

22 moving average of the closing unit price on the 

23 New York Mercantile Exchange for heating oil, 

24 natural gas, gasoline, or propane for the 10 

25 days, in each of the most recent 2 preceding 
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1 years, which correspond to the trading days de2 scribed in clause (ii); 

3 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘current price index’ means 

4 the moving average of the closing unit price on 

5 the New York Mercantile Exchange, for the 10 

6 most recent trading days, for contracts to pur7 chase heating oil, natural gas, gasoline, or pro8 pane during the subsequent calendar month, 

9 commonly known as the ‘front month’; 

10 ‘‘(iii) the term ‘significant increase’ 

11 means— 

12 ‘‘(I) with respect to the price of heat13 ing oil, natural gas, gasoline, or propane, 

14 any time the current price index exceeds 

15 the base price index by not less than 40 

16 percent; and 

17 ‘‘(II) with respect to the price of ker18 osene, any increase which the Adminis19 trator, in consultation with the Secretary 

20 of Energy, determines to be significant; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(iv) a small business concern engaged in 

23 the heating oil business is eligible for a loan, if 

24 the small business concern sells not more than 

25 10,000,000 gallons of heating oil per year. 
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1 ‘‘(B) The Administration may make such loans, 

2 either directly or in cooperation with banks or other 

3 lending institutions through agreements to partici4 pate on an immediate or deferred basis, to assist a 

5 small business concern that has suffered or that is 

6 likely to suffer substantial economic injury on or 

7 after January 1, 2005, as the result of a significant 

8 increase in the price of heating oil, natural gas, gas9 oline, propane, or kerosene occurring on or after 

10 January 1, 2005. 

11 ‘‘(C) Any loan or guarantee extended pursuant 

12 to this paragraph shall be made at the same interest 

13 rate as economic injury loans under paragraph (2). 

14 ‘‘(D) No loan may be made under this para15 graph, either directly or in cooperation with banks 

16 or other lending institutions through agreements to 

17 participate on an immediate or deferred basis, if the 

18 total amount outstanding and committed to the bor19 rower under this subsection would exceed 

20 $1,500,000, unless such borrower constitutes a 

21 major source of employment in its surrounding area, 

22 as determined by the Administration, in which case 

23 the Administration, in its discretion, may waive the 

24 $1,500,000 limitation. 
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1 ‘‘(E) For purposes of assistance under this 

2 paragraph— 

3 ‘‘(i) a declaration of a disaster area based 

4 on conditions specified in this paragraph shall 

5 be required, and shall be made by the President 

6 or the Administrator; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) if no declaration has been made pur8 suant to clause (i), the Governor of a State in 

9 which a significant increase in the price of heat10 ing oil, natural gas, gasoline, propane, or ker11 osene has occurred may certify to the Adminis12 tration that small business concerns have suf13 fered economic injury as a result of such in14 crease and are in need of financial assistance 

15 which is not otherwise available on reasonable 

16 terms in that State, and upon receipt of such 

17 certification, the Administration may make such 

18 loans as would have been available under this 

19 paragraph if a disaster declaration had been 

20 issued. 

21 ‘‘(F) Notwithstanding any other provision of 

22 law, loans made under this paragraph may be used 

23 by a small business concern described in subpara24 graph (B) to convert from the use of heating oil, 

25 natural gas, gasoline, propane, or kerosene to a re-
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1 newable or alternative energy source, including agri2 culture and urban waste, geothermal energy, cogen3 eration, solar energy, wind energy, or fuel cells.’’. 

4 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 3(k) 

5 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(k)) is 

6 amended— 

7 (A) by inserting ‘‘, significant increase in 

8 the price of heating oil, natural gas, gasoline, 

9 propane, or kerosene’’ after ‘‘civil disorders’’; 

10 and 

11 (B) by inserting ‘‘other’’ before ‘‘eco12 nomic’’. 

13 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after 

14 the date on which the Administrator of the Small 

15 Business Administration issues guidelines under 

16 subsection (c)(1), and annually thereafter, the Ad17 ministrator shall submit to the Committee on Small 

18 Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and 

19 the Committee on Small Business of the House of 

20 Representatives, a report on the effectiveness of the 

21 assistance made available under section 7(b)(5) of 

22 the Small Business Act, as added by this subsection, 

23 including— 

24 (A) the number of small business concerns 

25 that applied for a loan under that section 
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1 7(b)(5) and the number of those that received 

2 such loans; 

3 (B) the dollar value of those loans; 

4 (C) the States in which the small business 

5 concerns that received such loans are located; 

6 (D) the type of energy that caused the sig7 nificant increase in the cost for the partici8 pating small business concerns; and 

9 (E) recommendations for ways to improve 

10 the assistance provided under that section 

11 7(b)(5), if any. 

12 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

13 by this subsection shall apply during the 4-year pe14 riod beginning on the earlier of the date on which 

15 guidelines are published by the Administrator of the 

16 Small Business Administration under subsection (c), 

17 or 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

18 with respect to assistance under section 7(b)(5) of 

19 the Small Business Act, as added by this subsection. 

20 (b) FARM ENERGY EMERGENCY RELIEF.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 321(a) of the Con22 solidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 

23 U.S.C. 1961(a)) is amended— 

24 (A) in the first sentence— 
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1 (i) by striking ‘‘operations have’’ and 

2 inserting ‘‘operations (i) have’’; and 

3 (ii) by inserting before ‘‘: Provided,’’ 

4 the following: ‘‘, or (ii)(I) are owned or op5 erated by such an applicant that is also a 

6 small business concern (as defined in sec7 tion 3 of the Small Business Act (15 

8 U.S.C. 632)), and (II) have suffered or are 

9 likely to suffer substantial economic injury 

10 on or after January 1, 2005, as the result 

11 of a significant increase in energy costs or 

12 input costs from energy sources occurring 

13 on or after January 1, 2005, in connection 

14 with an energy emergency declared by the 

15 President or the Secretary’’; 

16 (B) in the third sentence, by inserting be17 fore the period at the end the following: ‘‘or by 

18 an energy emergency declared by the President 

19 or the Secretary’’; and 

20 (C) in the fourth sentence— 

21 (i) by inserting ‘‘or energy emer22 gency’’ after ‘‘natural disaster’’ each place 

23 that term appears; and 

24 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or declaration’’ after 

25 ‘‘emergency designation’’. 
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1 (2) FUNDING.—Funds available on the date of 

2 enactment of this Act for emergency loans under 

3 subtitle C of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De4 velopment Act (7 U.S.C. 1961 et seq.) shall be avail5 able to carry out the amendments made by para6 graph (1) to meet the needs resulting from natural 

7 disasters. 

8 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after 

9 the date on which the Secretary of Agriculture 

10 issues guidelines under subsection (c)(1), and annu11 ally thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the 

12 Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

13 and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 

14 Forestry of the Senate and to the Committee on 

15 Small Business and the Committee on Agriculture of 

16 the House of Representatives, a report that— 

17 (A) describes the effectiveness of the as18 sistance made available under section 321(a) of 

19 the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development 

20 Act (7 U.S.C. 1961(a)), as amended by this 

21 section; and 

22 (B) contains recommendations for ways to 

23 improve the assistance provided under such sec24 tion 321(a). 
27 

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1 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

2 by this subsection shall apply during the 4-year pe3 riod beginning on the earlier of the date on which 

4 guidelines are published by the Secretary of Agri5 culture under subsection (c), or 30 days after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, with respect to assist7 ance under section 321(a) of the Consolidated Farm 

8 and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1961(a)), as 

9 amended by this subsection. 

10 (c) GUIDELINES AND RULEMAKING.— 

11 (1) GUIDELINES.—Not later than 30 days after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

13 of the Small Business Administration and the Sec14 retary of Agriculture shall each issue guidelines to 

15 carry out subsections (a) and (b), respectively, and 

16 the amendments made thereby, which guidelines 

17 shall become effective on the date of their issuance. 

18 (2) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 30 days 

19 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis20 trator of the Small Business Administration, after 

21 consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall pro22 mulgate regulations specifying the method for deter23 mining a significant increase in the price of kerosene 

24 under section 7(b)(5)(A)(iii)(II) of the Small Busi25 ness Act, as added by this Act. 
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1 SEC. 13. BUDGETARY TREATMENT OF LOANS AND 

2 FINANCINGS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Assistance made available under 

4 any loan made or approved by the Administration under 

5 this Act, subsections (a) or (b) of section 7 of the Small 

6 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)), as amended by this Act, 

7 except for subsection 7(a)(23)(C), or financings made 

8 under title V of the Small Business Investment Act of 

9 1958 (15 U.S.C. 695 et seq.), as amended by this Act, 

10 on and after the date of enactment of this Act, shall be 

11 treated as separate programs of the Small Business Ad12 ministration for purposes of the Federal Credit Reform 

13 Act of 1990 only. 

14 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—Assistance under this Act and 

15 the amendments made by this Act shall be available effec16 tive only to the extent that funds are made available under 

17 appropriations Acts, which funds shall be utilized to offset 

18 the cost (as such term is defined in section 502 of the 

19 Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990) of such assistance. 

20 SEC. 14. EMERGENCY SPENDING. 

21 Appropriations under this Act are designated as 

22 emergency spending, as provided under section 402 of H. 

23 Con. Res. 95 (109th Congress). 

Æ