|
Small Business Committee Newsletter Printer Friendly Version
Small Business Committee Notes
Friday, June 09, 2006 Printer Friendly Version
Small Business Committee Notes May 12, 2006 -- Issue 109-43 Phil Eskeland, Policy Director, House Committee on Small Business _______________________________ Chairman Manzullo Postpones Mark-Up of SBA Reauthorization Bill On Wednesday, May 17, U.S. House Small Business Committee Chairman Donald Manzullo (R-IL) postponed a committee mark-up today of his legislation to strengthen and reauthorize the programs of the U.S. Small Business Administration for another 4 years. The committee was scheduled to consider HR 5352, the Small Business Reauthorization Act of 2006, at an 11:30 a.m. mark-up on Wednesday. In a mark-up notice sent to all committee members last week, Chairman Manzullo asked that all amendments to his bill be forwarded to the committee by 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 16, to give him an opportunity to see if he could accommodate some of the amendments into the bill. As of the 5 p.m. deadline on Tuesday night, the committee had received only 3 amendments to the bill. At 9:36 p.m. last Tuesday night, the committee received 9 amendments. Another 11 amendments came in at 11:43 p.m. At 9:34 a.m. on Wednesday morning, 2 amendments came in to the committee. Another 14 amendments came in at 9:38 a.m. Eight more amendments came in at 11:25 a.m. (5 minutes before the mark-up was scheduled to begin). In addition, the committee was informed that a 200-page substitute bill would be forthcoming from the minority staff of the committee. After looking at a list of the 47 amendments, Chairman Manzullo decided to postpone the committee mark-up to give him time to meet with the sponsors to see if he can accommodate any of their amendments in a good-faith effort to form bipartisan legislation that helps America’s small businesses. For further information, please contact Phil Eskeland, Policy Director, or Barry Pineles, Chief Counsel. _______________________________ Chairman Manzullo: Blunt Bill Would Strengthen CFIUS Process, Encourage Foreign Investment in U.S. On Wednesday, May 17, U.S. House Small Business Committee Chairman Donald Manzullo (R-IL) today said legislation he sponsored with House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) and others would strengthen the process for scrutinizing foreign purchases of companies operating domestically while continuing to encourage foreign investment in the United States. Chairman Manzullo promoted the bill during a hearing today in front of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade and Technology, on which Mr. Manzullo serves. The bill would reform the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a secretive government committee that granted rapid and cursory approval to the deal that gave Dubai Ports World -- a state-owned enterprise of the United Arab Emirates -- management control over 27 terminals at six major U.S. ports earlier this year. The Dubai government has since announced it would divest itself of the U.S. port management business after House leaders announced plans to kill the deal. “This legislation would strengthen the CFIUS process to provide greater protections to our national security while continuing to encourage important foreign investment in the United States,” Chairman Manzullo said. “It’s a good bill that acknowledges greater scrutiny is necessary when foreign governments purchase companies in the United States. It also provides more transparency to the process to ensure another fiasco like the Dubai ports deal never happens again.” HR 5337, the “Reform of National Security Reviews of Foreign Direct Investments Act of 2006,” would require the Administration to more closely scrutinize deals when foreign government-owned enterprises try to purchase companies operating in the United States. The bill would require an automatic 45-day extended investigation of these deals and would prohibit the Administration from waiving the extended review. The bill would also require the secretive Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to provide more information to Congress on pending deals; it would require CFIUS to consider foreign purchases of infrastructure in the United States as a national security concern; and it would name the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security as the vice-chairman of the CFIUS committee (Secretary of Treasury would remain chair of CFIUS). For further information, please contact Rich Beutel, Special Counsel. _______________________________ Issues in Brief On Monday, May 15, House Small Business Committee Chairman Donald Manzullo (R-IL) and Senate Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee Chair Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and ranking minority member John Kerry (D-MA), sent a letter to the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, Kenneth Krieg, regarding the implementation of Section 252 of the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2006, which made a variety of changes to Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program at the Department of Defense (DoD) (see SBC Notes 109-31). The main purpose of the letter is to provide guidance to DoD regarding Congressional intent behind Section 252, which aims to improve DoD’s performance in awarding Phase III (the commercialization phase) SBIR projects and coordinating the SBIR program among the various military service agencies. For further information, please contact Nelson Crowther, General Counsel. _______________________________ Upcoming Events Tuesday, May 23 10:00AM Regulatory Reform & Oversight (RR&O) Subcommittee hearing on data security. For further information, please contact Chris Szymanski, Professional Staff. Thursday, May 25 9:45AM – Rural Enterprises, Agriculture & Technology (REA&T) Subcommittee hearing on charitable giving. For further information, please contact Piper Largent, Professional Staff. _________________________________ Past hearings/mark-ups/roundtables/meetings in 2006 February 1, 2006 – Tax, Finance & Exports (TF&E) and Rural Enterprises, Agriculture & Technology (REA&T) joint subcommittee hearing on “Transforming the Tax Code: An Examination of the President’s Tax Reform Panel Recommendations.” February 8, 2006 – Regulatory Reform & Oversight (RR&O) Subcommittee hearing on “The Internet Sales Tax: Headaches Ahead for Small Business?” March 2, 2006 – Workforce Empowerment & Government Programs (WE&GP) Subcommittee hearing on the “Oversight of the Small Business Administration’s Entrepreneurial Development Programs.” March 8, 2006 – TF&E Subcommittee hearing on the “Oversight of the Small Business Administration’s Finance Programs.” March 15, 2006 – REA&T Subcommittee hearing entitled, “The Missouri River and its Spring Rise: Science or Science Fiction?” March 15, 2006 – hearing on the Fiscal Year 2007 Budget and Reauthorization Proposals of the SBA. March 16, 2006 – RR&O Subcommittee hearing entitled, “The State of Small Business Security in a Cyber Economy.” March 30, 2006 – RR&O Subcommittee hearing on the “Procurement Assistance Programs of the SBA.” April 5, 2006 – hearing on “IRS Latest Enforcement: Is the Bulls-Eye on Small Businesses?” April 6, 2006 – RR&O Subcommittee hearing entitled “Can Small Healthcare Groups Feasibly Adopt Electronic Medical Records Technology?” April 26, 2006 – hearing on “Cutting Our Trade Deficit: Can the U.S. Muster Its Diverse Trade Promotion Operations to Make an Impact?” April 27, 2006 – WE&GP Subcommittee hearing on “Healthcare and Small Business: Proposals that will Help Lower Costs and Cover the Uninsured.” May 3, 2006 – REA&T Subcommittee hearing on “The Future of Rural Telecommunications: Is Universal Service Reform Needed?” May 3, 2006 – hearing on “What is the Proper Balance Between Investor Protection and Capital Formation for Smaller Public Companies?” May 10, 2006 – hearing on “Bridging the Equity Gap: Examining the Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs Act of 2006.” _____________________________ Small Business Website Check out the Small Business Committee website at http://www.house.gov/smbiz. The site includes regular updates on small business committee news. The site features special projects, press releases, hearings and scheduling information. _______________________________ Phil Eskeland Deputy Chief of Staff & Policy Director House Committee on Small Business Phil.Eskeland@mail.house.gov (202) 225-5821 To contact any staff member listed in the above newsletter, please use the general number for the House Small Business Committee – (202) 225-5821. Please E-mail me if you want to be removed from the mailing list or if you know of others who might be interested in receiving this publication. Mission Statement of the House Committee on Small Business "We promote the success of America’s small businesses by leveling the global economic playing field and reducing domestic burdens that impede their growth. In this spirit, we work to ensure that every branch of the U.S. government understands the critical role America’s small businesses play – both at home and abroad – including the jobs they create and the spirit of entrepreneurship they embody.”
|
