I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5408 

To provide emergency relief to small businesses affected by significant increases in the prices of electricity, heating oil, natural gas, propane, 

and kerosene, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 19, 2004 

Mr. LARSON of Connecticut introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Small Business, and in addition to the Committee 

on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide emergency relief to small businesses affected by 

significant increases in the prices of electricity, heating 

oil, natural gas, propane, and kerosene, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Small Business and 

5 Farm Energy Emergency Relief Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds that— 
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1 (1) a significant number of small businesses in 

2 the United States, non-farm as well as agricultural 

3 producers, use heating oil, natural gas, propane, ker4 osene, or electricity to heat their facilities and for 

5 other purposes; 

6 (2) a significant number of small businesses in 

7 the United States sell, distribute, market, or other8 wise engage in commerce directly related to heating 

9 oil, natural gas, propane, and kerosene; and 

10 (3) sharp and significant increases in the price 

11 of heating oil, natural gas, propane, or kerosene— 

12 (A) disproportionately harm small busi13 nesses dependent on those fuels or that use, 

14 sell, or distribute those fuels in the ordinary 

15 course of their business, and can cause them 

16 substantial economic injury; 

17 (B) can negatively affect the national econ18 omy and regional economies; 

19 (C) have occurred in the winters of 1983– 

20 1984, 1988–1989, 1996–1997, and 1999–2000; 

21 and 

22 (D) can be caused by a host of factors, in23 cluding global or regional supply difficulties, 

24 weather conditions, insufficient inventories, re25 finery capacity, transportation, and competitive 
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1 structures in the markets, causes that are often 

2 unforeseeable to those who own and operate 

3 small businesses. 

4 SEC. 3. SMALL BUSINESS ENERGY EMERGENCY DISASTER 

5 LOAN PROGRAM. 

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

7 636(b)) is amended by inserting after paragraph (3) the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(4)(A) In this paragraph— 

10 ‘‘(i) the term ‘heating fuel’ means heating 

11 oil, natural gas, propane, or kerosene; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘sharp and significant in13 crease’ shall have the meaning given that term 

14 by the Administrator, in consultation with the 

15 Secretary of Energy. 

16 ‘‘(B) The Administration may make such loans, 

17 either directly or in cooperation with banks or other 

18 lending institutions through agreements to partici19 pate on an immediate or deferred basis, to assist a 

20 small business concern that has suffered or that is 

21 likely to suffer substantial economic injury as the re22 sult of a sharp and significant increase in the price 

23 of heating fuel or electricity. 
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1 ‘‘(C) Any loan or guarantee extended pursuant 

2 to this paragraph shall be made at the same interest 

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

4 ‘‘(D) No loan may be made under this para5 graph, either directly or in cooperation with banks 

6 or other lending institutions through agreements to 

7 participate on an immediate or deferred basis, if the 

8 total amount outstanding and committed to the bor9 rower under this subsection would exceed 

10 $1,500,000, unless such applicant constitutes a 

11 major source of employment in its surrounding area, 

12 as determined by the Administration, in which case 

13 the Administration, in its discretion, may waive the 

14 $1,500,000 limitation. 

15 ‘‘(E) For purposes of assistance under this 

16 paragraph— 

17 ‘‘(i) in lieu of the requirement of the 

18 declaration of a disaster area, a declaration 

19 that an area is affected by a sharp and 

20 significant increase in the price of heating 

21 fuel or electricity shall be required and 

22 shall be made by the President or the Ad23 ministrator; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) if no declaration has been made 

25 pursuant to clause (i), the Governor of a 
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1 State in which a sharp and significant in2 crease in the price of heating fuel or elec3 tricity has occurred may certify to the Ad4 ministration that small business concerns 

5 have suffered economic injury as a result 

6 of such increase and are in need of finan7 cial assistance which is not available on 

8 reasonable terms in that State, and upon 

9 receipt of such certification, the Adminis10 tration may make such loans as would 

11 have been available under this paragraph if 

12 a declaration under clause (i) had been 

13 issued. 

14 ‘‘(F) Notwithstanding any other provision of 

15 law, loans made under this paragraph may be used 

16 by a small business concern described in subpara17 graph (B) to convert from the use of heating fuel or 

18 electricity to a renewable or alternative energy 

19 source, including agriculture and urban waste, geo20 thermal energy, cogeneration, solar energy, wind en21 ergy, and fuel cells.’’. 

22 SEC. 4. AGRICULTURAL PRODUCER EMERGENCY LOANS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 321(a) of the Consoli24 dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

25 1961(a)) is amended— 
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1 (1) in the first sentence— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘operations have’’ and in3 serting ‘‘operations (i) have’’; and 

4 (B) by inserting before ‘‘: Provided,’’ the 

5 following: ‘‘, or (ii)(I) are owned or operated by 

6 such an applicant that is also a small business 

7 concern (as defined in section 3 of the Small 

8 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)), and (II) have 

9 suffered or are likely to suffer substantial eco10 nomic injury on or after November 1, 2004, as 

11 the result of a sharp and significant increase in 

12 energy costs or input costs from energy sources 

13 occurring on or after November 1, 2004, in 

14 connection with an energy emergency declared 

15 by the President or the Secretary’’; 

16 (2) in the third sentence, by inserting before 

17 the period at the end the following: ‘‘or by an energy 

18 emergency declared by the President or the Sec19 retary’’; and 

20 (3) in the fourth sentence— 

21 (A) by inserting ‘‘or energy emergency’’ 

22 after ‘‘natural disaster’’ each place it appears; 

23 and 

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

25 ‘‘emergency designation’’. 
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1 (b) FUNDING.—Funds available on the date of enact2 ment of this Act for emergency loans under subtitle C of 

3 the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 

4 U.S.C. 1961 et seq.) made to meet the needs resulting 

5 from natural disasters shall be available to carry out the 

6 amendments made by subsection (a). 

7 SEC. 5. GUIDELINES. 

8 Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 

9 of this Act, the Administrator of the Small Business Ad10 ministration and the Secretary of Agriculture shall each 

11 issue such guidelines as the Administrator and the Sec12 retary, as applicable, determines to be necessary to carry 

13 out this Act and the amendments made by this Act. 

14 SEC. 6. REPORTS. 

15 (a) SMALL BUSINESS.—Not later than 18 months 

16 after the date of final publication by the Administrator 

17 of the Small Business Administration of the guidelines 

18 issued under section 5, the Administrator shall submit to 

19 the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

20 of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of 

21 the House of Representatives, a report on the effectiveness 

22 of the program established under section 7(b)(4) of the 

23 Small Business Act, as added by this Act, including— 
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1 (1) the number of small businesses that applied 

2 to participate in the program and the number of 

3 those that received loans under the program; 

4 (2) the dollar value of those loans; 

5 (3) the States in which the small business con6 cerns that participated in the program are located; 

7 (4) the type of heating fuel or energy that 

8 caused the sharp and significant increase in the cost 

9 for the participating small business concerns; and 

10 (5) recommendations for improvements to the 

11 program, if any. 

12 (b) AGRICULTURE.—Not later than 18 months after 

13 the date of final publication by the Secretary of Agri14 culture of the guidelines issued under section 5, the Sec15 retary shall submit to the Committees on Small Business 

16 and Entrepreneurship and Agriculture, Nutrition, and 

17 Forestry of the Senate and the Committees on Small Busi18 ness and Agriculture of the House of Representatives, a 

19 report on the effectiveness of loans made available as a 

20 result of the amendments made by section 4, together with 

21 recommendations for improvements to the loans, if any. 

22 SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

23 The amendments made by this Act shall apply with 

24 respect to economic injuries suffered or likely to be suf-
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1 fered as the result of sharp and significant increases in 

2 energy prices which occur on or after November 1, 2004. 

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