of a period of military conflict (as defined in section
7(n)(1)).’’.
(b) ENHANCED PUBLICITY DURING OPERATION AL-
LIED FORCE.—For the duration of Operation Allied Force
and for 120 days thereafter, the Administration shall en-
hance its publicity of the availability of assistance provided
pursuant to the amendment made by this section, including
information regarding the appropriate local office at which
affected small businesses may seek such assistance.
(c) GUIDELINES.—Not later than 30 days after the
date of enactment of this section, the Administrator of the
Small Business Administration shall issue such guidelines
as the Administrator determines to be necessary to carry
out this section and the amendment made by this section.
TITLE IV—FINANCIAL
ASSISTANCE
SEC. 401. GENERAL BUSINESS LOAN PROGRAM.
(a) DEFINITION OF HANDICAPPED INDIVIDUAL.—Sec-
tion 3(f) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(f)) is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘(f) For purposes of section 7 of this Act, the term
‘handicapped individual’ means an individual—
‘‘(1) who has a physical, mental, or emotional
impairment, defect, ailment, disease, or disability of
a permanent nature which in any way limits the se-
lection of any type of employment for which the per-
son would otherwise be qualified or qualifiable; or
‘‘(2) who is a service-disabled veteran.’’.
(b) AUTHORIZATION
TO
MAKE
LOANS.—Section
7(a)(10) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)(10))
is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘guaranteed’’ after ‘‘provide’’;
and
(2) by inserting, ‘‘, including service-disabled
veterans,’’ after ‘‘handicapped individual’’.
SEC. 402. ASSISTANCE TO ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY RESERV-
ISTS.
(a) REPAYMENT DEFERRAL FOR ACTIVE DUTY RE-
SERVISTS.—Section 7 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
636) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(n) REPAYMENT DEFERRED FOR ACTIVE DUTY RE-
SERVISTS.—
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection:
‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE RESERVIST.—The term ‘eli-
gible reservist’ means a member of a reserve com-
ponent of the Armed Forces ordered to active
duty during a period of military conflict.
‘‘(B) ESSENTIAL EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘es-
sential employee’ means an individual who is
employed by a small business concern and whose
managerial or technical expertise is critical to
the successful day-to-day operations of that small
business concern.
‘‘(C) PERIOD OF MILITARY CONFLICT.—The
term ‘period of military conflict’ means—
‘‘(i) a period of war declared by the
Congress;
‘‘(ii) a period of national emergency
declared by the Congress or by the Presi-
dent; or
‘‘(iii) a period of a contingency oper-
ation, as defined in section 101(a) of title
10, United States Code.
‘‘(D) QUALIFIED
BORROWER.—The term
‘qualified borrower’ means—
‘‘(i) an individual who is an eligible
reservist and who received a direct loan
under subsection (a) or (b) before being or-
dered to active duty; or
‘‘(ii) a small business concern that re-
ceived a direct loan under subsection (a) or
(b) before an eligible reservist, who is an es-
sential employee, was ordered to active
duty.
‘‘(2) DEFERRAL OF DIRECT LOANS.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Administration
shall, upon written request, defer repayment of
principal and interest due on a direct loan made
under subsection (a) or (b), if such loan was in-
curred by a qualified borrower.
‘‘(B) PERIOD OF DEFERRAL.—The period of
deferral for repayment under this paragraph
shall begin on the date on which the eligible re-
servist is ordered to active duty and shall termi-
nate on the date that is 180 days after the date
such eligible reservist is discharged or released
from active duty.
‘‘(C) INTEREST RATE REDUCTION DURING
DEFERRAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, during the period of deferral de-
scribed in subparagraph (B), the Administration
may, in its discretion, reduce the interest rate on
any loan qualifying for a deferral under this
paragraph.
‘‘(3) DEFERRAL
OF
LOAN
GUARANTEES
AND
OTHER FINANCINGS.—The Administration shall—
‘‘(A) encourage intermediaries participating
in the program under subsection (m) to defer re-
payment of a loan made with proceeds made
available under that subsection, if such loan was
incurred by a small business concern that is eli-
gible to apply for assistance under subsection
(b)(3); and
‘‘(B) not later than 30 days after the date
of enactment of this subsection, establish guide-
lines to—
‘‘(i) encourage lenders and other inter-
mediaries to defer repayment of, or provide
other relief relating to, loan guarantees
under subsection (a) and financings under
section 504 of the Small Business Invest-
ment Act of 1958 that were incurred by
small business concerns that are eligible to
apply for assistance under subsection (b)(3),
and loan guarantees provided under sub-
section (m) if the intermediary provides re-
lief to a small business concern under this
paragraph; and
‘‘(ii) implement a program to provide
for the deferral of repayment or other relief
to any intermediary providing relief to a
small business borrower under this para-
graph.’’.
(b) DISASTER LOAN ASSISTANCE FOR MILITARY RE-
SERVISTS’ SMALL BUSINESSES.—Section 7(b) of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) is amended by inserting
after the undesignated paragraph that begins with ‘‘Pro-
vided, That no loan’’, the following:
‘‘(3)(A) In this paragraph—
‘‘(i) the term ‘essential employee’ means an
individual who is employed by a small business
concern and whose managerial or technical ex-
pertise is critical to the successful day-to-day op-
erations of that small business concern;
‘‘(ii) the term ‘period of military conflict’
has the meaning given the term in subsection
(n)(1); and
‘‘(iii) the term ‘substantial economic injury’
means an economic harm to a business concern
that results in the inability of the business
concern—
‘‘(I) to meet its obligations as they ma-
ture;
‘‘(II) to pay its ordinary and nec-
essary operating expenses; or
‘‘(III) to market, produce, or provide a
product or service ordinarily marketed, pro-
duced, or provided by the business concern.
‘‘(B) The Administration may make such dis-
aster loans (either directly or in cooperation with
banks or other lending institutions through agree-
ments to participate on an immediate or deferred
basis) to assist a small business concern that has suf-
fered or that is likely to suffer substantial economic
injury as the result of an essential employee of such
small business concern being ordered to active mili-
tary duty during a period of military conflict.
‘‘(C) A small business concern described in sub-
paragraph (B) shall be eligible to apply for assistance
under this paragraph during the period beginning on
the date on which the essential employee is ordered to
active duty and ending on the date that is 90 days
after the date on which such essential employee is dis-
charged or released from active duty.
‘‘(D) Any loan or guarantee extended pursuant
to this paragraph shall be made at the same interest
rate as economic injury loans under paragraph (2).
‘‘(E) No loan may be made under this para-
graph, either directly or in cooperation with banks or
other lending institutions through agreements to par-
ticipate on an immediate or deferred basis, if the
total amount outstanding and committed to the bor-
rower under this subsection would exceed $1,500,000,
unless such applicant constitutes a major source of
employment in its surrounding area, as determined
by the Administration, in which case the Administra-
tion, in its discretion, may waive the $1,500,000 lim-
itation.
‘‘(F) For purposes of assistance under this para-
graph, no declaration of a disaster area shall be re-
quired.’’.
(c) ENHANCED PUBLICITY DURING OPERATION AL-
LIED FORCE.—For the duration of Operation Allied Force
and for 120 days thereafter, the Administration shall en-
hance its publicity of the availability of assistance provided
pursuant to the amendments made by this section, includ-
ing information regarding the appropriate local office at
which affected small businesses may seek such assistance.
(d) GUIDELINES.—Not later than 30 days after the
date of enactment of this section, the Administrator of the
Small Business Administration shall issue such guidelines
as the Administrator determines to be necessary to carry
out this section and the amendments made by this section.
(e) EFFECTIVE DATES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), the amendments made by this section shall
take effect on the date of the enactment of this section.
(2) DISASTER LOANS.—The amendments made
by subsection (b) shall apply to economic injury suf-
fered or likely to be suffered as the result of a period
of military conflict occurring or ending on or after
March 24, 1999.
SEC. 403. MICROLOAN PROGRAM.
Section 7(m)(1)(A)(i) of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 636(m)(1)(A)(i)) is amended by inserting ‘‘veteran
(within the meaning of such term under section 3(q)),’’ after
‘‘low-income,’’.
SEC. 404. DEFENSE ECONOMIC TRANSITION LOAN PRO-
GRAM.
Section 7(a)(21)(A)(ii) of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 636(a)(21)(A)(ii)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or a
veteran’’ after ‘‘qualified individual’’.
SEC. 405. STATE DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PROGRAM.
Section 501(d)(3) of the Small Business Investment
Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 695(d)(3)) is amended—
(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (E), (F),
and (G) as subparagraphs (F), (G), and (H), respec-
tively; and
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(E) expansion of small business concerns
owned and controlled by veterans, as defined in
section 3(q) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
632(q)), especially service-disabled veterans, as
defined in such section 3(q),’’.
TITLE V—PROCUREMENT
ASSISTANCE
SEC. 501. SUBCONTRACTING.
(a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—Section 8(d)(1) of the
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(d)(1)) is amended by
inserting ‘‘small business concerns owned and controlled by
service-disabled veterans,’’ after ‘‘small business concerns,’’
the first place it appears in the first and second sentences.
(b) CONTRACT CLAUSE.—The contract clause specified
in section 8(d)(3) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
637(d)(3)) is amended as follows:
(1) Subparagraph (A) of such clause is amended
by inserting ‘‘small business concerns owned and con-
trolled by veterans,’’ after ‘‘small business concerns,’’
the first place it appears in the first and second sen-
tences.
(2) Subparagraphs (E) and (F) of such clause
are redesignated as subparagraphs (F) and (G), re-
spectively, and the following new subparagraph is in-
serted after subparagraph (D) of such clause:
‘‘(E) The term ‘small business concern owned
and controlled by veterans’ shall mean a small busi-
ness concern—
‘‘(i) which is at least 51 per centum owned
by one or more eligible veterans; or, in the case
of any publicly owned business, at least 51 per
centum of the stock of which is owned by one
or more veterans; and
‘‘(ii) whose management and daily business
operations are controlled by such veterans. The
contractor shall treat as veterans all individuals
who are veterans within the meaning of the term
under section 3(q) of the Small Business Act.’’.
(3) Subparagraph (F) of such clause, as redesig-
nated by paragraph (2) of this subsection, is amended
by inserting ‘‘small business concern owned and con-
trolled by veterans,’’ after ‘‘small business concern,’’
the first place it appears.
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 8(d) of the
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(d)) is amended by in-
serting ‘‘small business concerns owned and controlled by
veterans,’’ after ‘‘small business concerns,’’ the first place
it appears in each of paragraphs (4)(D), (4)(E), (6)(A),
(6)(C), (6)(F), and (10)(B).
SEC. 502. PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL PROCUREMENT.
(a) GOVERNMENT-WIDE PARTICIPATION GOALS.—Sec-
tion 15(g)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
644(g)(1)) is amended—
(1) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘small
business concerns owned and controlled by service dis-
abled veterans,’’ after ‘‘small business concerns,’’ the
first place it appears;
(2) by inserting after the second sentence, the fol-
lowing: ‘‘The Government-wide goal for participation
by small business concerns owned and controlled by
service-disabled veterans shall be established at not
less than 3 percent of the total value of all prime con-
tract and subcontract awards for each fiscal year.’’;
and
(3) in the second to last sentence, by inserting
‘‘small business concerns owned and controlled by
service-disabled veterans,’’ after ‘‘small business con-
cerns,’’ the first place it appears.
(b) AGENCY PARTICIPATION GOALS.—Section 15 of the
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(g)(2)) is amended—
(1) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘by small
business concerns owned and controlled by service-dis-
abled veterans,’’ after ‘‘small business concerns,’’; the
first place it appears;
(2) in the second sentence, by inserting ‘‘small
business concerns owned and controlled by service-dis-
abled veterans,’’ after ‘‘small business concerns,’’ the
first place it appears; and
(3) in the fourth sentence, by inserting ‘‘small
business concerns owned and controlled by service-dis-
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(3) small business concerns owned and con-
trolled by veterans, as defined in section 3(q) of the
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(q)), and small
business concerns owned and controlled by service-dis-
abled veterans, as defined in such section 3(q).’’.
SEC. 603. ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ADMINISTRATOR.
The Administrator of the Small Business Administra-
tion shall transmit annually to the Committees on Small
Business and Veterans Affairs of the House of Representa-
tives and the Senate a report on the needs of small business
concerns owned and controlled by veterans and small busi-
ness concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled vet-
erans, which shall include information on—
(1) the availability of Small Business Adminis-
tration programs for such small business concerns
and the degree of utilization of such programs by such
small business concerns during the preceding 12-
month period, including statistical information on
such utilization as compared to the small business
community as a whole;
(2) the percentage and dollar value of Federal
contracts awarded to such small business concerns
during the preceding 12-month period, based on the
data collected pursuant to section 604(d); and
(3) proposals to improve the access of such small
business concerns to the assistance made available by
the United States.
SEC. 604. DATA AND INFORMATION COLLECTION.
(a) INFORMATION ON FEDERAL PROCUREMENT PRAC-
TICES.—The Administrator of the Small Business Adminis-
tration shall, for each fiscal year—
(1) collect information concerning the procure-
ment practices and procedures of each department
and agency of the United States having procurement
authority;
(2) publish and disseminate such information to
procurement officers in all Federal agencies; and
(3) make such information available to any
small business concern requesting such information.
(b) IDENTIFICATION OF SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS
OWNED BY ELIGIBLE VETERANS.—Each fiscal year, the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall, in consultation with the
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and
Training and the Administrator of the Small Business Ad-
ministration, identify small business concerns owned and
controlled by veterans in the United States. The Secretary
shall inform each small business concern identified under
this paragraph that information on Federal procurement
is available from the Administrator.
(c) SELF-EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES.—The Sec-
retary of Labor, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and the
Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall
enter into a memorandum of understanding to provide for
coordination of vocational rehabilitation services, technical
and managerial assistance, and financial assistance to vet-
erans, including service-disabled veterans, seeking to employ
themselves by forming or expanding small business con-
cerns. The memorandum of understanding shall include rec-
ommendations for expanding existing programs or estab-
lishing new programs to provide such services or assistance
to such veterans.
(d) DATA COLLECTION REQUIRED.—The Federal Pro-
curement Data System described in section 6(d)(4)(A) of
the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C.
405(d)(4)(A)) shall be modified to collect data regarding the
percentage and dollar value of prime contracts and sub-
contracts awarded to small business concerns owned and
controlled by veterans and small business concerns owned
and controlled by service-disabled veterans.
TITLE VII—MISCELLANEOUS
PROVISIONS
SEC. 701. ADMINISTRATOR’S ORDER.
The Administrator of the Small Business Administra-
tion shall strengthen and reissue the Administrator’s order
regarding the third sentence of section 4(b)(1) of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 633(b)(1)), relating to non-
discrimination and special considerations for veterans, and
take all necessary steps to ensure that its provisions are
fully and vigorously implemented.
SEC. 702. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION OFFICE OF
ADVOCACY.
Section 202 of Public Law 94–305 (15 U.S.C. 634b)
is amended—
(1) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the
end;
(2) in paragraph (11), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(12) evaluate the efforts of each department and
agency of the United States, and of private industry,
to assist small business concerns owned and controlled
by veterans, as defined in section 3(q) of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(q)), and small business
concerns owned and controlled by serviced-disabled
veterans, as defined in such section 3(q), and to pro-
vide statistical information on the utilization of such
programs by such small business concerns, and to
make appropriate recommendations to the Adminis-
trator of the Small Business Administration and to
the Congress in order to promote the establishment
and growth of those small business concerns.’’.
SEC. 703. STUDY OF FIXED-ASSET SMALL BUSINESS LOANS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General shall con-
duct a study on whether there would exist any additional
risk or cost to the United States if—
(1) up to 10 percent of the loans guaranteed
under chapter 37 of title 38, United States Code, were
made for the acquisition or construction of fixed as-
sets used in a trade or business rather than for the
construction or purchase of residential buildings; and
(2) such loans for acquisition or construction of
fixed assets were for a term of not more than 10 years
and the terms regarding eligibility, loan limits, inter-
est, fees, and down payment were the same as for
other loans guaranteed under such chapter.
(b) REPORT.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after
the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General
shall transmit the report described in subsection (a)
to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs and the Com-
mittees on Small Business of the House of Represent-
atives and the Senate.
(2) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report required
by paragraph (1) shall specifically address the fol-
lowing:
(A) With respect to the change in the vet-
erans’ housing loan program contemplated under
subsection (a):
(i) The increase or decrease in admin-
istrative costs to the Department of Veterans
Affairs.
(ii) The increase or decrease in the de-
gree of exposure of the United States as the
guarantor of the loans.
(iii) The increase or decrease in the
Federal subsidy rate that would be possible.
(iv) Any increase in the interest rate
or fees charged to the borrower or lender
that would be required to maintain present
program costs.
(B) Information regarding the delinquency
rates, default rates, length of time required for
recovery after default, for fixed-asset business
loans, of a size and duration comparable to those
contemplated under subsection (a), made avail-
able in the private market or under section 503
of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958.