On June 3, the House approved, by unanimous consent, a bill (H.R. 4478) to temporarily reauthorize the Small Business Administration (SBA) and its programs through July 23, 2004. Rep. Donald Manzullo (R-IL) sponsored the measure.
In September, the Senate approved a three-year reauthorization (S. 1375) of the SBA (see The Source, 9/26/03); however, the House has not yet acted on the bill. While SBA programs and activities that receive an appropriation through the FY2004 Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies spending bill were extended upon enactment of the FY2004 Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 108-199), there are several SBA programs, such as the 504 loan program and the Small Business Investment Company program, that do not receive an appropriation and were set to expire at the end of 2003. A previous temporary extension of SBA programs will expire on June 4 (see The Source, 4/2/04).
Pointing out that this is the fourth extension of the SBA approved by Congress, Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) stated, “We need to bring the SBA reauthorization, H.R. 2802, to the floor and give small businesses the access they need to important contracting, loan, and technical assistance programs,” adding, “I hope we do not have another extension and empty promises of action.”
