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[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 72 (Wednesday, May 3, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E940-E941]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

   ESTABLISHMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION REGIONAL OFFICE ON 
                      UNITED STATES-MEXICO BORDER

                                 ______

                         HON. RONALD D. COLEMAN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 3, 1995
  Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a bill which 
would establish a Small Business Administration regional office for the 
United States-Mexico border region. The United States-Mexico border 
region faces unique economic and small-business circumstances which 
would best be addressed by devoting the efforts of a single office to 
the entire region. This measure is important now because of the recent 
economic events in Mexico which have severely affected businesses along 
the United States-Mexico border.
  The SBA can and does help many border businesses, but many times 
their administrative structure does not allow for the special needs of 
our region. For too long, border SBA district offices, branch offices, 
and point-of-duty stations have had to report to regional offices in 
faraway cities. This causes the special needs of the region to be 
overlooked. My own SBA district office in El Paso reports to the 
regional office in Dallas which is over 600 miles away.
  Apart from the distance question there is also the matter of SBA 
sensitivity to border business issues. Border cities' economic ties 
with Mexico give our business environment a special quality. The recent 
Mexican peso devaluation is a good example. In the retail industry, 
Texas border communities that cater to Mexican shoppers were the first 
to feel the effects of the peso devaluation.
  Texas cities such as Laredo, McAllen, and El Paso all have shopping 
districts that rely heavily on sales to Mexican nationals. For example, 
the Laredo Chamber of Commerce estimates that retail sales in the 
downtown area dropped 60 to 80 percent in the last week of December, 
1994, and the month of January. The McAllen Chamber of Commerce 
estimates that retail sales dropped about 20 percent by mid-January. In 
El Paso, which I represent, the Economic Development Council reports 
that downtown retail sales fell 70 to 75 percent after the devaluation. 
This has quite an impact, Mr. Speaker, because the retail sector 
comprises 25 percent of the El Paso economy.
  These are the kinds of factors that make border economies unique and 
would best be served by a border regional SBA office. We need SBA 
management structure to reflect an understanding of United States/
Mexico border needs. This bill would address that.
  The establishment of a border regional SBA office is long overdue and 
I urge my colleagues to support it.

                                 H.R.--

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

     SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 
                   REGIONAL OFFICE ON U.S.-MEXICO BORDER.

       (a) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Small 
     Business Administration shall establish a regional office of 
     the Small Business Administration in a community in the 
     United States located--
       (1) not more than 10 miles from the border between the 
     United States and Mexico; and
       (2) as close as practicable to the point that is halfway 
     between San Diego, California, and Brownsville, Texas.
       (b) Regional Administrator.--The head of the office 
     established under this section shall be the Regional 
     Administrator of the Small Business Administration for the 
     region of the United States located generally along the 
     border between the United States and Mexico.
       (c) Functions.--The Administrator of the Small Business 
     Administration shall delegate to the Regional Administrator 
     referred 
     [[Page E941]] to in subsection (b) the functions of the 
     Administrator relating to administering activities conducted 
     by the Small Business Administration in the region of the 
     United States located generally along the border between the 
     United States and Mexico.
     

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