IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 921 

Providing for the concurrence by the House in the Senate amendment to 

H.R. 4253, with an amendment. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 16, 2008 

Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ submitted the following resolution; which was considered and 

agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Providing for the concurrence by the House in the Senate 

amendment to H.R. 4253, with an amendment. 

1 Resolved, That upon the adoption of this resolution 

2 the bill (H.R. 4253) entitled ‘‘An Act to improve and ex3 pand small business assistance programs for veterans of 

4 the armed forces and military reservists, and for other 

5 purposes’’, with the Senate amendment thereto, shall be 

6 considered to have been taken from the Speaker’s table 

7 to the end that the Senate amendment thereto be, and 

8 the same is hereby, agreed to with the following amend9 ment: 

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1 In lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted by 

2 the amendment of the Senate, insert the following: 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military Reservist and 

5 Veteran Small Business Reauthorization and Opportunity 

6 Act of 2008’’. 

7 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

8 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—VETERANS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 

Sec. 101. Increased funding for the Office of Veterans Business Development. 

Sec. 102. Interagency task force. 

Sec. 103. Permanent extension of SBA Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs. 

Sec. 104. Office of Veterans Business Development. 

Sec. 105. Increasing the number of outreach centers. 

Sec. 106. Independent study on gaps in availability of outreach centers. 

Sec. 107. Veterans assistance and services program. 

TITLE II—RESERVIST PROGRAMS 

Sec. 201. Reservist programs. 

Sec. 202. Reservist loans. 

Sec. 203. Noncollateralized loans. 

Sec. 204. Loan priority. 

Sec. 205. Relief from time limitations for veteran-owned small businesses. 

Sec. 206. Service-disabled veterans. 

Sec. 207. Study on options for promoting positive working relations between 

employers and their Reserve Component employees. 

Sec. 208. Increased Veteran Participation Program. 

9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act— 

11 (1) the term ‘‘activated’’ means receiving an 

12 order placing a Reservist on active duty; 

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1 (2) the term ‘‘active duty’’ has the meaning 

2 given that term in section 101 of title 10, United 

3 States Code; 

4 (3) the terms ‘‘Administration’’ and ‘‘Adminis5 trator’’ mean the Small Business Administration 

6 and the Administrator thereof, respectively; 

7 (4) the term ‘‘Reservist’’ means a member of a 

8 reserve component of the Armed Forces, as de9 scribed in section 10101 of title 10, United States 

10 Code; 

11 (5) the term ‘‘Service Corps of Retired Execu12 tives’’ means the Service Corps of Retired Execu13 tives authorized by section 8(b)(1) of the Small 

14 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(b)(1)); 

15 (6) the terms ‘‘service-disabled veteran’’ and 

16 ‘‘small business concern’’ have the meaning as in 

17 section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

18 632); 

19 (7) the term ‘‘small business development cen20 ter’’ means a small business development center de21 scribed in section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 

22 U.S.C. 648); and 

23 (8) the term ‘‘women’s business center’’ means 

24 a women’s business center described in section 29 of 

25 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656). 

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1 TITLE I—VETERANS BUSINESS 

2 DEVELOPMENT 

3 SEC. 101. INCREASED FUNDING FOR THE OFFICE OF VET4 ERANS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro6 priated to the Office of Veterans Business Development 

7 of the Administration, to remain available until ex8 pended— 

9 (1) $2,100,000 for fiscal year 2008; and 

10 (2) $2,300,000 for fiscal year 2009. 

11 (b) FUNDING OFFSET.—Amounts necessary to carry 

12 out subsection (a) shall be offset and made available 

13 through the reduction of the authorization of funding 

14 under section 20(e)(1)(B)(iv) of the Small Business Act 

15 (15 U.S.C. 631 note). 

16 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con17 gress that any amounts provided pursuant to this section 

18 that are in excess of amounts provided to the Administra19 tion for the Office of Veterans Business Development in 

20 fiscal year 2007, should be used to support Veterans Busi21 ness Outreach Centers. 

22 SEC. 102. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE. 

23 Section 32 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

24 657b) is amended— 

25 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as (f); and 

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1 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(c) INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE.— 

4 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days 

5 after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 

6 President shall establish an interagency task force to 

7 coordinate the efforts of Federal agencies necessary 

8 to improve capital and business development oppor9 tunities for, and ensure achievement of the pre-es10 tablished Federal contracting goals for, small busi11 ness concerns owned and controlled by service-dis12 abled veterans and small business concerns owned 

13 and controlled by veterans (in this section referred 

14 to as the ‘task force’). 

15 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of the task 

16 force shall include— 

17 ‘‘(A) the Administrator, who shall serve as 

18 chairperson of the task force; and 

19 ‘‘(B) a senior level representative from— 

20 ‘‘(i) the Department of Veterans Af21 fairs; 

22 ‘‘(ii) the Department of Defense; 

23 ‘‘(iii) the Administration (in addition 

24 to the Administrator); 

25 ‘‘(iv) the Department of Labor; 

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1 ‘‘(v) the Department of the Treasury; 

2 ‘‘(vi) the General Services Administra3 tion; 

4 ‘‘(vii) the Office of Management and 

5 Budget; and 

6 ‘‘(viii) 4 representatives from a vet7 erans service organization or military orga8 nization or association, selected by the 

9 President. 

10 ‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The task force shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) consult regularly with veterans serv12 ice organizations and military organizations in 

13 performing the duties of the task force; and 

14 ‘‘(B) coordinate administrative and regu15 latory activities and develop proposals relating 

16 to— 

17 ‘‘(i) improving capital access and ca18 pacity of small business concerns owned 

19 and controlled by service-disabled veterans 

20 and small business concerns owned and 

21 controlled by veterans through loans, sur22 ety bonding, and franchising; 

23 ‘‘(ii) ensuring achievement of the pre24 established Federal contracting goals for 

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1 trolled by service-disabled veterans and 

2 small business concerns owned and con3 trolled by veterans through expanded men4 tor-prote ́ge ́ assistance and matching such 

5 small business concerns with contracting 

6 opportunities; 

7 ‘‘(iii) increasing the integrity of cer8 tifications of status as a small business 

9 concern owned and controlled by service10 disabled veterans or a small business con11 cern owned and controlled by veterans; 

12 ‘‘(iv) reducing paperwork and admin13 istrative burdens on veterans in accessing 

14 business development and entrepreneurship 

15 opportunities; 

16 ‘‘(v) increasing and improving train17 ing and counseling services provided to 

18 small business concerns owned and con19 trolled by veterans; and 

20 ‘‘(vi) making other improvements re21 lating to the support for veterans business 

22 development by the Federal Government.’’. 

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1 SEC. 103. PERMANENT EXTENSION OF SBA ADVISORY COM2 MITTEE ON VETERANS BUSINESS AFFAIRS. 

3 (a) ASSUMPTION OF DUTIES.—Section 33 of the 

4 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657c) is amended— 

5 (1) by striking subsection (h); and 

6 (2) by redesignating subsections (i) through (k) 

7 as subsections (h) through (j), respectively. 

8 (b) PERMANENT EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY.—Sec9 tion 203 of the Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small 

10 Business Development Act of 1999 (15 U.S.C. 657b note) 

11 is amended by striking subsection (h). 

12 SEC. 104. OFFICE OF VETERANS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT. 

13 Section 32 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

14 657b) is amended by inserting after subsection (c) (as 

15 added by section 102) the following: 

16 ‘‘(d) PARTICIPATION IN TAP WORKSHOPS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Associate Adminis18 trator shall increase veteran outreach by ensuring 

19 that Veteran Business Outreach Centers regularly 

20 participate, on a nationwide basis, in the workshops 

21 of the Transition Assistance Program of the Depart22 ment of Labor. 

23 ‘‘(2) PRESENTATIONS.—In carrying out para24 graph (1), a Veteran Business Outreach Center may 

25 provide grants to entities located in Transition As26 sistance Program locations to make presentations on 

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1 the opportunities available from the Administration 

2 for recently separating or separated veterans. Each 

3 presentation under this paragraph shall include, at 

4 a minimum, a description of the entrepreneurial and 

5 business training resources available from the Ad6 ministration. 

7 ‘‘(3) WRITTEN MATERIALS.—The Associate Ad8 ministrator shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) create written materials that provide 

10 comprehensive information on self-employment 

11 and veterans entrepreneurship, including infor12 mation on resources available from the Admin13 istration on such topics; and 

14 ‘‘(B) make the materials created under 

15 subparagraph (A) available to the Secretary of 

16 Labor for inclusion in the Transition Assistance 

17 Program manual. 

18 ‘‘(4) REPORTS.—The Associate Administrator 

19 shall submit to Congress progress reports on the im20 plementation of this subsection. 

21 ‘‘(e) WOMEN VETERANS BUSINESS TRAINING.—The 

22 Associate Administrator shall— 

23 ‘‘(1) compile information on existing resources 

24 available to women veterans for business training, 

25 including resources for— 

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1 ‘‘(A) vocational and technical education; 

2 ‘‘(B) general business skills, such as mar3 keting and accounting; and 

4 ‘‘(C) business assistance programs targeted 

5 to women veterans; and 

6 ‘‘(2) disseminate the information compiled 

7 under paragraph (1) through Veteran Business Out8 reach Centers and women’s business centers.’’. 

9 SEC. 105. INCREASING THE NUMBER OF OUTREACH CEN10 TERS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall use the 

12 authority in section 8(b)(17) of the Small Business Act 

13 (15 U.S.C. 637(b)(17)) to ensure that the number of Vet14 erans Business Outreach Centers throughout the United 

15 States increases— 

16 (1) subject to subsection (b), by at least 2, for 

17 each of fiscal years 2008 and 2009; and 

18 (2) by the number that the Administrator con19 siders appropriate, based on need, for each fiscal 

20 year thereafter. 

21 (b) LIMITATION.—Subsection (a)(1) shall apply in a 

22 fiscal year if, for that fiscal year, the amount made avail23 able for the Office of Veterans Business Development is 

24 more than the amount made available for the Office of 

25 Veterans Business Development for fiscal year 2007. 

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1 SEC. 106. INDEPENDENT STUDY ON GAPS IN AVAILABILITY 

2 OF OUTREACH CENTERS. 

3 The Administrator shall sponsor an independent 

4 study on gaps in the availability of Veterans Business Out5 reach Centers across the United States, to inform deci6 sions on funding and on the allocation and coordination 

7 of resources. Not later than 6 months after the date of 

8 enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to 

9 Congress a report on the results of the study. 

10 SEC. 107. VETERANS ASSISTANCE AND SERVICES PRO11 GRAM. 

12 Section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648) 

13 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(n) VETERANS ASSISTANCE AND SERVICES PRO15 GRAM.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A small business develop17 ment center may apply for a grant under this sub18 section to carry out a veterans assistance and serv19 ices program. 

20 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS OF PROGRAM.—Under a pro21 gram carried out with a grant under this subsection, 

22 a small business development center shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) create a marketing campaign to pro24 mote awareness and education of the services of 

25 the center that are available to veterans, and to 

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1 disabled veterans, military units, Federal agen2 cies, and veterans organizations; 

3 ‘‘(B) use technology-assisted online coun4 seling and distance learning technology to over5 come the impediments to entrepreneurship 

6 faced by veterans and members of the Armed 

7 Forces; and 

8 ‘‘(C) increase coordination among organi9 zations that assist veterans, including by estab10 lishing virtual integration of service providers 

11 and offerings for a one-stop point of contact for 

12 veterans who are entrepreneurs or owners of 

13 small business concerns. 

14 ‘‘(3) AMOUNT OF GRANTS.—A grant under this 

15 subsection shall be for not less than $75,000 and 

16 not more than $250,000. 

17 ‘‘(4) FUNDING.—Subject to amounts approved 

18 in advance in appropriations Acts, the Administra19 tion may make grants or enter into cooperative 

20 agreements to carry out the provisions of this sub21 section.’’. 

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1 TITLE II—RESERVIST 

2 PROGRAMS 

3 SEC. 201. RESERVIST PROGRAMS. 

4 (a) APPLICATION PERIOD.—Section 7(b)(3)(C) of the 

5 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(3)(C)) is amend6 ed— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘90 days’’ and inserting ‘‘1 

8 year’’; and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The 

10 Administrator may, when appropriate (as deter11 mined by the Administrator), extend the ending date 

12 specified in the preceding sentence by not more than 

13 1 year.’’. 

14 (b) PRE-CONSIDERATION PROCESS.— 

15 (1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

16 ‘‘eligible Reservist’’ means a Reservist who— 

17 (A) has not been ordered to active duty; 

18 (B) expects to be ordered to active duty 

19 during a period of military conflict; and 

20 (C) can reasonably demonstrate that the 

21 small business concern for which that Reservist 

22 is a key employee will suffer economic injury in 

23 the absence of that Reservist. 

24 (2) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 6 

25 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

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1 Administrator shall establish a pre-consideration 

2 process, under which the Administrator— 

3 (A) may collect all relevant materials nec4 essary for processing a loan to a small business 

5 concern under section 7(b)(3) of the Small 

6 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(3)) before an 

7 eligible Reservist employed by that small busi8 ness concern is activated; and 

9 (B) shall distribute funds for any loan ap10 proved under subparagraph (A) if that eligible 

11 Reservist is activated. 

12 (c) OUTREACH AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PRO13 GRAM.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 

15 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis16 trator, in consultation with the Secretary of Vet17 erans Affairs and the Secretary of Defense, may de18 velop a comprehensive outreach and technical assist19 ance program (in this subsection referred to as the 

20 ‘‘program’’) to— 

21 (A) market the loans available under sec22 tion 7(b)(3) of the Small Business Act (15 

23 U.S.C. 636(b)(3)) to Reservists, and family 

24 members of Reservists, that are on active duty 

25 and that are not on active duty; and 

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1 (B) provide technical assistance to a small 

2 business concern applying for a loan under that 

3 section. 

4 (2) COMPONENTS.—The program shall— 

5 (A) incorporate appropriate websites main6 tained by the Administration, the Department 

7 of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of De8 fense; and 

9 (B) require that information on the pro10 gram is made available to small business con11 cerns directly through— 

12 (i) the district offices and resource 

13 partners of the Administration, including 

14 small business development centers, wom15 en’s business centers, and the Service 

16 Corps of Retired Executives; and 

17 (ii) other Federal agencies, including 

18 the Department of Veterans Affairs and 

19 the Department of Defense. 

20 (3) REPORT.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 

22 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 

23 and every 6 months thereafter until the date 

24 that is 30 months after such date of enactment, 

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1 the Administrator shall submit to Congress a 

2 report on the status of the program. 

3 (B) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted 

4 under subparagraph (A) shall include— 

5 (i) for the 6-month period ending on 

6 the date of that report— 

7 (I) the number of loans approved 

8 under section 7(b)(3) of the Small 

9 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(3)); 

10 (II) the number of loans dis11 bursed under that section; and 

12 (III) the total amount disbursed 

13 under that section; and 

14 (ii) recommendations, if any, to make 

15 the program more effective in serving small 

16 business concerns that employ Reservists. 

17 SEC. 202. RESERVIST LOANS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator and the Sec19 retary of Defense shall develop a joint website and printed 

20 materials providing information regarding any program 

21 for small business concerns that is available to veterans 

22 or Reservists. 

23 (b) MARKETING.—The Administrator is authorized— 

24 (1) to advertise and promote the program under 

25 section 7(b)(3) of the Small Business Act jointly 

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1 with the Secretary of Defense and veterans’ service 

2 organizations; and 

3 (2) to advertise and promote participation by 

4 lenders in such program jointly with trade associa5 tions for banks or other lending institutions. 

6 SEC. 203. NONCOLLATERALIZED LOANS. 

7 Section 7(b)(3) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

8 636(b)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(G)(i) Notwithstanding any other provi10 sion of law, the Administrator may make a loan 

11 under this paragraph of not more than $50,000 

12 without collateral. 

13 ‘‘(ii) The Administrator may defer pay14 ment of principal and interest on a loan de15 scribed in clause (i) during the longer of— 

16 ‘‘(I) the 1-year period beginning on 

17 the date of the initial disbursement of the 

18 loan; and 

19 ‘‘(II) the period during which the rel20 evant essential employee is on active 

21 duty.’’. 

22 SEC. 204. LOAN PRIORITY. 

23 Section 7(b)(3) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

24 636(b)(3)), as amended by this Act, is amended by adding 

25 at the end the following: 

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1 ‘‘(H) The Administrator shall give priority 

2 to any application for a loan under this para3 graph and shall process and make a determina4 tion regarding such applications prior to proc5 essing or making a determination on other loan 

6 applications under this subsection, on a rolling 

7 basis.’’. 

8 SEC. 205. RELIEF FROM TIME LIMITATIONS FOR VETERAN9 OWNED SMALL BUSINESSES. 

10 Section 3(q) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

11 632(q)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(5) RELIEF FROM TIME LIMITATIONS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any time limitation 

14 on any qualification, certification, or period of 

15 participation imposed under this Act on any 

16 program that is available to small business con17 cerns shall be extended for a small business 

18 concern that— 

19 ‘‘(i) is owned and controlled by— 

20 ‘‘(I) a veteran who was called or 

21 ordered to active duty under a provi22 sion of law specified in section 

23 101(a)(13)(B) of title 10, United 

24 States Code, on or after September 

25 11, 2001; or 

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1 ‘‘(II) a service-disabled veteran 

2 who became such a veteran due to an 

3 injury or illness incurred or aggra4 vated in the active military, naval, or 

5 air service during a period of active 

6 duty pursuant to a call or order to ac7 tive duty under a provision of law re8 ferred to in subclause (I) on or after 

9 September 11, 2001; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) was subject to the time limitation 

11 during such period of active duty. 

12 ‘‘(B) DURATION.—Upon submission of 

13 proper documentation to the Administrator, the 

14 extension of a time limitation under subpara15 graph (A) shall be equal to the period of time 

16 that such veteran who owned or controlled such 

17 a concern was on active duty as described in 

18 that subparagraph. 

19 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTION FOR PROGRAMS SUBJECT

20 TO FEDERAL CREDIT REFORM ACT OF 1990.— 

21 The provisions of subparagraphs (A) and (B) 

22 shall not apply to any programs subject to the 

23 Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 

24 661 et seq.).’’. 

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1 SEC. 206. SERVICE-DISABLED VETERANS. 

2 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

4 shall submit to the Committee on Small Business and En5 trepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small 

6 Business of the House of Representatives a report describ7 ing— 

8 (1) the types of assistance needed by service9 disabled veterans who wish to become entrepreneurs; 

10 and 

11 (2) any resources that would assist such serv12 ice-disabled veterans. 

13 SEC. 207. STUDY ON OPTIONS FOR PROMOTING POSITIVE 

14 WORKING RELATIONS BETWEEN EMPLOYERS 

15 AND THEIR RESERVE COMPONENT EMPLOY16 EES. 

17 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Comptroller General of 

18 the United States shall conduct a study on options for pro19 moting positive working relations between employers and 

20 Reserve component employees of such employers, includ21 ing assessing options for improving the time in which em22 ployers of Reservists are notified of the call or order of 

23 such members to active duty other than for training. 

24 (b) REPORT.— 

25 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

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1 troller General of the United States shall submit to 

2 the appropriate committees of Congress a report on 

3 the study conducted under subsection (a). 

4 (2) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under 

5 paragraph (1) shall— 

6 (A) provide a quantitative and qualitative 

7 assessment of— 

8 (i) what measures, if any, are being 

9 taken to inform Reservists of the obliga10 tions and responsibilities of such members 

11 to their employers; 

12 (ii) how effective such measures have 

13 been; and 

14 (iii) whether there are additional 

15 measures that could be taken to promote 

16 positive working relations between Reserv17 ists and their employers, including any 

18 steps that could be taken to ensure that 

19 employers are timely notified of a call to 

20 active duty; and 

21 (B) assess whether there has been a reduc22 tion in the hiring of Reservists by business con23 cerns because of— 

24 (i) any increase in the use of Reserv25 ists after September 11, 2001; or 

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1 (ii) any change in any policy of the 

2 Department of Defense relating to Reserv3 ists after September 11, 2001. 

4 (c) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS DE5 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate commit6 tees of Congress’’ means— 

7 (1) the Committee on Armed Services and the 

8 Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

9 of the Senate; and 

10 (2) the Committee on Armed Services and the 

11 Committee on Small Business of the House of Rep12 resentatives. 

13 SEC. 208. INCREASED VETERAN PARTICIPATION PROGRAM. 

14 Section 7(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

15 636(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(32) INCREASED VETERAN PARTICIPATION

17 PROGRAM.— 

18 ‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph— 

19 ‘‘(i) the term ‘cost’ has the meaning 

20 given that term in section 502 of the Fed21 eral Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 

22 661a); 

23 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘pilot program’ means 

24 the pilot program established under sub25 paragraph (B); and 

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1 ‘‘(iii) the term ‘veteran participation 

2 loan’ means a loan made under this sub3 section to a small business concern owned 

4 and controlled by veterans of the Armed 

5 Forces or members of the reserve compo6 nents of the Armed Forces. 

7 ‘‘(B) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Adminis8 trator shall establish and carry out a pilot pro9 gram under which the Administrator shall re10 duce the fees for veteran participation loans. 

11 ‘‘(C) DURATION.—The pilot program shall 

12 terminate at the end of the second full fiscal 

13 year after the date that the Administrator es14 tablishes the pilot program. 

15 ‘‘(D) MAXIMUM PARTICIPATION.—A vet16 eran participation loan shall include the max17 imum participation levels by the Administrator 

18 permitted for loans made under this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(E) FEES.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The fee on a vet21 eran participation loan shall be equal to 50 

22 percent of the fee otherwise applicable to 

23 that loan under paragraph (18). 

24 ‘‘(ii) WAIVER.—The Administrator 

25 may waive clause (i) for a fiscal year if— 

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1 ‘‘(I) for the fiscal year before 

2 that fiscal year, the annual estimated 

3 rate of default of veteran participation 

4 loans exceeds that of loans made 

5 under this subsection that are not vet6 eran participation loans; 

7 ‘‘(II) the cost to the Administra8 tion of making loans under this sub9 section is greater than zero and such 

10 cost is directly attributable to the cost 

11 of making veteran participation loans; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(III) no additional sources of 

14 revenue authority are available to re15 duce the cost of making loans under 

16 this subsection to zero. 

17 ‘‘(iii) EFFECT OF WAIVER.—If the 

18 Administrator waives the reduction of fees 

19 under clause (ii), the Administrator— 

20 ‘‘(I) shall not assess or collect 

21 fees in an amount greater than nec22 essary to ensure that the cost of the 

23 program under this subsection is not 

24 greater than zero; and 

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1 ‘‘(II) shall reinstate the fee re2 ductions under clause (i) when the 

3 conditions in clause (ii) no longer 

4 apply. 

5 ‘‘(iv) NO INCREASE OF FEES.—The 

6 Administrator shall not increase the fees 

7 under paragraph (18) on loans made under 

8 this subsection that are not veteran par9 ticipation loans as a direct result of the 

10 pilot program. 

11 ‘‘(F) GAO REPORT.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 

13 year after the date that the pilot program 

14 terminates, the Comptroller General of the 

15 United States shall submit to the Com16 mittee on Small Business of the House of 

17 Representatives and the Committee on 

18 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of 

19 the Senate a report on the pilot program. 

20 ‘‘(ii) CONTENTS.—The report sub21 mitted under clause (i) shall include— 

22 ‘‘(I) the number of veteran par23 ticipation loans for which fees were 

24 reduced under the pilot program; 

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1 ‘‘(II) a description of the impact 

2 of the pilot program on the program 

3 under this subsection; 

4 ‘‘(III) an evaluation of the effi5 cacy and potential fraud and abuse of 

6 the pilot program; and 

7 ‘‘(IV) recommendations for im8 proving the pilot program.’’. 

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