Relief for Entrepreneurs: Coordination of Objectives and Values for Effective Recovery Act of 2007

Floor Speech

RELIEF FOR ENTREPRENEURS: COORDINATION OF OBJECTIVES AND VALUES FOR EFFECTIVE RECOVERY ACT OF 2007

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Mr. JINDAL. I want to thank the chairwoman, and I want to thank Ranking Member Chabot as well for their working together with me. I especially want to thank the committee for helping me with this legislation and for this underlying bill for all they are trying to do and all they are doing to help the small businesses in Louisiana recover from the 2005 hurricanes.

As my colleagues from Louisiana have already pointed out, prior to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, there were an estimated 347,436 small businesses in Louisiana. These businesses created jobs and income for countless families all across the State. More than 65,000 of the new jobs in Louisiana in the past decade were created by small businesses, and in 2004, over 97 percent of the 96,000 Louisiana firms were small businesses. The devastation caused by the 2005 hurricanes is unprecedented, with total losses, both insured and uninsured, approaching $140 billion. According to the United States Chamber of Commerce, over 125,000 businesses were disrupted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. In Louisiana alone, over 81,000 small businesses were damaged or economically impacted, with 18,700 businesses catastrophically destroyed by the storms.

As one example, in St. Bernard Parish, one of the Louisiana parishes hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina, only 370 businesses have reopened, far below the total of 1,400 businesses in operation before Katrina. The Nation's small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and when they are devastated by storms like Katrina, Rita and Wilma, we need to do everything possible to help them rebuild and recover.

I am offering an amendment today that builds upon a provision in the underlying bill by providing Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma disaster victims with the option of receiving a 4-year deferment period to pay back their disaster loans. Section 204 of the underlying bill extends the deferment period to future disaster victims. My amendment simply applies this option to those severely affected by the 2005 hurricanes. These cash-strapped small businesses are truly in need of repayment flexibility.

My amendment allows the SBA to refinance the existing Katrina, Rita and Wilma disaster loans under identical loans, but with the added option of deferment of up to 4 years after the date on which the initial disbursement was made. This is a revised version of my original amendment that complies with all the budgetary and PAYGO rules.

By allowing small businesses that received certain small business loans to defer their repayment on those loans, we are freeing up money for these businesses to use for other purposes, such as rebuilding, expanding or continuing to hire new employees. The importance of small business as the gulf coast continues to rebuild cannot be overstated. It is critical that we help small businesses get up and running again and provide the job opportunities people so desperately need in these impacted areas.

I certainly urge my colleagues to support my amendment. Again, I want to thank the chairman and ranking member for their work on the underlying bill and their work with me on this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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