110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1332
AN ACT 
To improve the access to capital programs of the Small 
Business Administration, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Small Business Lending Improvements Act of 2007’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
TITLE I—7(a) PROGRAM 
Sec. 101. Authority for fee contributions. 
Sec. 102. Rural Lending Outreach Program. 
Sec. 103. Community Express program made permanent. 
Sec. 104. Medical Professionals in Designated Shortage Areas Program. 
Sec. 105. Increased Veteran Participation Program. 
Sec. 106. Alternative size standard. 
Sec. 107. Support to regional offices. 
TITLE II—CERTIFIED DEVELOPMENT COMPANY ECONOMIC 
DEVELOPMENT LOAN PROGRAM 
Sec. 201. Certified Development Company Economic Development Loan Pro-
gram. 
Sec. 202. Definitions. 
Sec. 203. Eligibility of development companies to be designated as certified de-
velopment companies. 
Sec. 204. Definition of rural areas. 
Sec. 205. Businesses in low-income areas. 
Sec. 206. Combinations of certain goals. 
Sec. 207. Refinancing. 
Sec. 208. Additional equity injections. 
Sec. 209. Loan liquidations. 
Sec. 210. Closing costs. 
Sec. 211. Maximum Certified Development Company and 7(a) loan eligibility. 
Sec. 212. Eligibility for energy efficiency projects. 
Sec. 213. Loans for plant projects used for energy-efficient purposes. 
Sec. 214. Extension of period during which loss reserves of premier certified 
lenders determined on the basis of outstanding balance of de-
bentures. 
Sec. 215. Extension of alternative loss reserve pilot program for certain premier 
certified lenders.
TITLE I—7(a) PROGRAM 
SEC. 101. AUTHORITY FOR FEE CONTRIBUTIONS. 
Section 7(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
636(a)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (18)(A) by striking ‘‘shall col-
lect’’ and inserting ‘‘shall assess and collect’’; 
(2) in paragraph (18) by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(C) OFFSET.—The Administrator may, 
as provided in paragraph (32), offset fees as-
sessed and collected under subparagraph (A).’’; 
(3) in paragraph (23) by striking subparagraph 
(C) and adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(C) OFFSET.—The Administrator may, 
as provided in paragraph (32), offset fees as-
sessed and collected under subparagraph (A).’’; 
and 
(4) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(32) FEE CONTRIBUTIONS.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—To the extent that 
amounts are made available to the Adminis-
trator for the purpose of fee contributions, the 
Administrator shall—
‘‘(i) first consider contributing to fees 
paid by small business borrowers under 
clauses (i) through (iii) of paragraph 
(18)(A), to the maximum extent possible; 
and
‘‘(ii) then consider contributing to fees 
paid by small business lenders under para-
graph (23)(A). 
‘‘(B) 
QUARTERLY
ADJUSTMENT.—Each 
fee contribution under subparagraph (A) shall 
be effective for one fiscal quarter and shall be 
adjusted as necessary for each fiscal quarter 
thereafter to ensure that the amounts under 
subparagraph (A) are fully used. The fee con-
tribution for a fiscal quarter shall be based on 
the loans that the Administrator projects will be 
made during that fiscal quarter, given the pro-
gram level authorized by law for that fiscal year 
and any other factors that the Administrator 
considers appropriate.’’. 
SEC. 102. RURAL LENDING OUTREACH PROGRAM. 
Section 7(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
636(a)) is amended—
(1) by striking paragraph (25)(C); and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(33) RURAL LENDING OUTREACH PROGRAM.—
The Administrator shall carry out a rural lending 
outreach program to provide up to an 85 percent 
guaranty for loans of $250,000 or less. The program 
shall be carried out only through lenders located in
rural areas (as ‘rural’ is defined in section 501(f) of 
the Small Business Investment Act of 1958) or, in 
the case of a small business concern located in a 
rural area that does not have a lender located within 
30 miles of the principal place of business, through 
any lender that is enrolled in, and administers, the 
7(a) loan program that the small business concern 
chooses. For a loan made through the program, the 
following shall apply: 
‘‘(A) The Administrator shall approve or 
disapprove the loan within 36 hours. 
‘‘(B) The program shall use abbreviated 
application and documentation requirements. 
‘‘(C) Minimum credit standards, as the 
Administrator considers necessary to limit the 
rate of default on loans made under the pro-
gram, shall apply.’’. 
SEC. 103. COMMUNITY EXPRESS PROGRAM MADE PERMA-
NENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7(a) of the Small Busi-
ness Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(34) COMMUNITY
EXPRESS
PROGRAM.—The 
Administrator shall carry out a Community Express 
Program for loans of $250,000 or less. For a loan
made under this paragraph, the following shall 
apply: 
‘‘(A) The loan shall be made to a business 
concern—
‘‘(i) the majority ownership interest of 
which is directly held by individuals who 
are women, members of qualified Indian 
tribes, socially or economically disadvan-
taged individuals (as defined by the Ad-
ministrator), or veterans of the Armed 
Forces or members of the reserve compo-
nents of the Armed Forces; or 
‘‘(ii) that is located in a low- or mod-
erate-income area, as defined by the Ad-
ministrator. 
‘‘(B) The loan shall comply with the collat-
eral policy of the Administration, except that, if 
the amount of the loan is less than or equal to 
$25,000, the Administration shall not require 
the lender to take collateral. 
‘‘(C) The loan shall include terms requir-
ing the lender to ensure that technical assist-
ance is provided to the borrower, through the 
lender or a third-party provider.