WASHINGTON – Sen. John F. Kerry, Chairman of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, today cleared for debate on the Senate floor seven pieces of legislation designed to help the nation’s small-business community. The seven bills voted out of Committee are:

· The Native American Small Business Development Act. To get at the severe level of unemployment and high levels of poverty in Native American communities, S.2335 would establish a statutory program for Native Americans at the Small Business Administration and create an innovative grant program to help Native Americans open and run their own small businesses. It included a Kerry-Bond amendment that eliminated the American Indian Tribal Assistance Center Grant pilot program, incorporated a Kerry amendment to improve the Native American Development Grant Pilot Program, transferred $1 million from the Native American Small Business Development Program to the Native American Development Grant pilot program, and made technical corrections. Voted out of Committee by unanimous roll call vote.

· The Small Business Drought Relief Act. S.2734 would allow small businesses suffering from the devastating economic impact of drought conditions to apply for economic injury loans through the SBA’s disaster loan program. It included a Kerry-Bond substitute amendment that clarified that only small businesses affected by drought are eligible for SBA disaster loans, eliminating the concern that it could apply to homeowners. The amendment also preserved the governor’s role in initiating a drought declaration rather than limiting it to action by the Secretary of Agriculture and required that non-farm-related drought victims meet the requirements of all other disaster victims with regard to proving they have suffered substantial economic injury. The bill also included a Levin amendment that added the term “below average water levels in the Great Lakes” to the definition of a disaster, which makes small businesses hurt by low water levels on the Great Lakes eligible for SBA disaster loans, and an Edwards amendment that required the SBA Administrator to act on a disaster request from a governor within 30 days, which prevents the SBA from slipping into the USDA’s record of 7- and 8-month delays. Voted out of Committee by unanimous roll call vote.

· The Small Business Federal Contractor Safeguard Act. S.2466 would help ensure unnecessary contract consolidation by federal agencies does not occur, denying small businesses procurement opportunities, and close the loopholes in the current definition of a bundled contract. Voted out of Committee by unanimous roll call vote.

· The Combined 8(a) and HUBZone Priority Preference Act. S.1994 would re-establish the preference previously given to firms with an 8(a) and HUBZone certification under the original HUBZone rule, and recently eliminated by the SBA. It included a Bond-Kerry amendment that made changes to the types of benefits available to firms with both 8(a) and HUBZone certification under restricted competition, clarified the benefits to these firms for contracts under full and open competition, and included Sen. Bond’s previously filed amendment to clarify when a publicly held small business may participate in the HUBZone program. Voted out of Committee by unanimous roll call vote.

· The National Small Business Regulatory Assistance Act of 2002. S.2483 would allow small-business development centers to provide small businesses with confidential, free-of-charge regulatory compliance assistance. Voted out of Committee by an 18-1 roll call vote.

· The Small and Disadvantaged Business Ombudsman Act. S.2753 would help protect the interests of small businesses in the Federal procurement marketplace by creating a Small and Disadvantaged Business Ombudsman for Federal procurement. It included a Kerry-Bond substitute amendment that creates a Small Business Procurement Ombudsman at the Office of Advocacy instead of in the Small Business Administration, which will retain all of its original authority, except for the power to negotiate goal attainment plans. The amendment also made the goal attainment plans called for under the legislation fall under the Government Contracting and Business Development Office at the SBA, but did not change the duty of the Procurement Ombudsman’s responsibility of evaluating and reporting on these goal-attainment plans. Voted out of Committee by unanimous roll call vote.

· The Vocational and Technical Entrepreneurship Development Act. H.R.2666 would allow small business development centers to provide small business training to vocational education students so that they may acquire business skills in addition to their technical ones, and someday open their own shops. This bill was introduced by Congressman Brady of Pennsylvania and was already passed by the House of Representatives. Voted out of Committee by an 18-1 roll call vote.

Chairman Kerry is now working with Ranking Member Bond and with Senate Leadership to pass each piece of legislation as soon as possible.