H 5588 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE May 25, 1995

The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

H. RES. 157

Resolved, That the following named Members be, and they are hereby, elected to the

following standing committees of the House

of Representatives:

Committee on Government Reform and

Oversight: Mr. HASTERT of Illinois, to rank

following Mr. BURTON of Indiana.

Committee on Resources: Mr. ENSIGN of

Nevada.

Committee on Small Business: Mr.

LATOURETTE of Ohio.

Committee on Commerce: Mr. DEAL of

Georgia, to rank following Mr. COX of California.

The resolution was agreed to.

A motion to reconsider was laid on

the table.

AUTHORIZING THE SPEAKER AND

THE MINORITY LEADER TO ACfCEPT RESIGNATIONS AND TO

MAKE APPOINTMENTS AUTHORIZED BY LAW OR BY THE HOUSE,

NOTWITHSTANDING ADJOURNMENT

Mr. ARMEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask

unanimous consent that notwithstanding any adjournment of the House until

Tuesday, June 6, 1995, the Speaker, and

the minority leader be authorized to

accept resignations and to make appointments authorized by law or by the

House.

The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr.

SHAYS). Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Texas?

There was no objection.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7, 1995

HOUR OF MEETING ON

fMr. ARMEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask

unanimous consent that when the

House adjourns on Tuesday, June 6,

1995, it adjourn to meet at noon on

Wednesday, June 7, 1995.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there

objection to the request of the gentleman from Texas?

DISPENSING WITH CALENDAR

There was no objection.

WEDNESDAY BUSINESS ON

fWEDNESDAY, JUNE 7, 1995

Mr. ARMEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask

unanimous consent that the business

in order under the Calendar Wednesday

rule be dispensed with on Wednesday,

June 7, 1995.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there

objection to the request of the gentleman from Texas?

SECOND ANNUAL REPORT ON THE

There was no objection.

STATE OF SMALL BUSINESS—

fMESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

OF THE UNITED STATES

The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following message

from the President of the United

States; which was read and, together

with the accompanying papers, without

objection, referred to the Committee

on Small Business.

To the Congress of the United States:

I am pleased to forward my second

annual report on the state of small

business, and to report that small businesses are doing exceptionally well.

Business starts and incorporations

were up in 1993, the year covered in

this report. Failures and bankruptcies

were down. Six times as many jobs

were created as in the previous year,

primarily in industries historically

dominated by small businesses.

Small businesses are a critical part

of our economy. They employ almost 60

percent of the work force, contribute 54

percent of sales, account for roughly 40

percent of gross domestic product, and

are responsible for 50 percent of private

sector output. More than 600,000 new

firms have been created annually over

the past decade, and over much of this

period, small firms generated many of

the Nation’s new jobs. As this report

documents, entrepreneurial small businesses are also strong innovators, producing twice as many significant innovations as their larger counterparts.

In short, a great deal of our Nation’s

economic activity comes from the

record number of entrepreneurs living

the American Dream. Our job in Government is to make sure that conditions are right for that dynamic activity to continue and to grow.

And we are taking important steps.

Maintaining a strong economy while

continuing to lower the Federal budget

deficit may be the most important step

we in Government can take. A lower

deficit means that more savings can go

into new plant and equipment and that

interest rates will be lower. It means

that more small businesses can get the

financing they need to get started.

We are finally bringing the Federal

deficit under control. In 1992 the deficit

was $290 billion. By 1994, the deficit was

$203 billion; we project that it will fall

to $193 billion in 1995.

Deficit reduction matters. We have

been enjoying the lowest combined rate

of unemployment and inflation in 25

years. Gross domestic product has increased, as have housing starts. New

business incorporations continue to

climb. We want to continue bringing

the deficit down in a way that protects

our economic recovery, pays attention

to the needs of people, and empowers

small business men and women.

CAPITAL FORMATION

One area on which we have focused

attention is increasing the availability

of capital to new and small enterprises,

especially the dynamic firms that keep

us competitive and contribute so much

to economic growth.

Bank regulatory policies are being

revised to encourage lending to small

firms. Included in the Credit Availability Program that we introduced in 1993

are revised banking regulatory policies

concerning some small business loans

and permission for financial institutions to create ‘‘character loans.’’

New legislation supported by my Administration and enacted in September

1994, the Reigle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act

of 1994, establishes a Community Development Financial Institutions Fund

for community development banks,

amends banking and securities laws to

encourage the creation of a secondary

market for small business loans, and

reduces the regulatory burden for financial institutions by changing or

eliminating 50 banking regulations.

Under the Small Business Administration Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 1994, the Small Business

Administration (SBA) is authorized to

increase the number of guaranteed

small business loans for the next 3

years. The budget proposed for the SBA

will encourage private funds to be directed to the small businesses that

most need access to capital. While continuing cost-cutting efforts, the plan

proposes to fund new loan and venture

capital authority for SBA’s credit and

investment programs. Changes in the

SBA’s 7(a) guaranteed loan program

will increase the amount of private sector lending leveraged for every dollar

of taxpayer funds invested in the program.

Through the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program, a

group of new venture capital firms are

expected to make available several billion dollars in equity financing for

startups and growing firms. The SBIC

program will continue to grow as regulations promulgated in the past year

facilitate financing with a newly created participating equity security instrument.

And the Securities and Exchange

Commission’s simplified filing and registration requirements for small firm

securities have helped encourage new

entries by small firms into capital

markets.

We are recommending other changes

that will help make more capital available to small firms. In reauthorizing

Superfund, my Administration seeks to

limit lender liability for Superfund remediation costs, which have had an adverse effect on lending to small businesses. Interagency teams have been

examining additional cost-effective

ways to expand the availability of

small business financing, such as new

options for expanding equity investments in small firms and improvements to existing microlending efforts.

We’ve also recognized that we can

help small business people increase

their available capital through tax reductions and incentives. We increased

by 75 percent, from $10,000 to $17,500,

the amount a small business can deduct as expenses for equipment purchases. Tax incentives in the 1993

Budget Reconciliation Act are having

their effect, encouraging long-term investment in small firms. And the

empowerment zone program offers significant tax incentives—a 20 percent

wage credit, $20,000 in expensing, and