Transportation, Treasury, The Judiciary, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006
TRANSPORTATION, TREASURY, THE JUDICIARY, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2006
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Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, to my distinguished colleague from Massachusetts, are you talking about the small business reauthorization or the Katrina-focused legislation?
Mr. KERRY. This is the Katrina small business hurricane relief and reconstruction bill. What is it? It is S. 1807.
Mr. FRIST. The Senator's question, that it has passed the Senate or is being considered?
Mr. KERRY. It passed the Senate 96 to 0.
Mr. FRIST. The question to me is what, again?
Mr. KERRY. The question is whether--I know the chairman wants to make this happen--if we could try to break this out and pass it separately, pass it in the House, and get this immediate assistance into the hands of the small businesses. It would make an enormous difference, obviously.
Mr. FRIST. Obviously, we need to focus on small business. We know how important that is in terms of both the flexibility and the release of regulations. The focus on small business is part of that rebuilding and renewal in a smarter way. I would be happy to talk to the Senators who are involved to see how we could address it.
I am not going to make any commitment at this point in time, but the Senate has spoken in terms of a very significant vote on the floor. I will be happy to talk to my colleagues about how we can, in some way, accelerate that next week.
Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, if I could, will the majority leader yield for a question?
I ask the majority leader and the Senator from Massachusetts, did they know that today the report came out from the Small Business Administration, which the chairman knows, the Senator from Maine, Ms. Snowe, that 53,900 businesses have applied for help, and that only 58 businesses have received checks to date?
Let me repeat, 53,900 businesses have asked for help, and, to date, 58 in the whole region--from Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Alabama--have received help--58 businesses. So I think the Senator from Massachusetts raises a good point.
Did you know there is some urgency, Mr. Leader, about this situation?
Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Louisiana. She is right about the number that received checks. I think it was a total of 84 that received approval. But that is out of tens of thousands, as we have heard.
The problem is, if you are going to bring the communities back, you are going to have to get these small businesses up on their feet because they are the heart of that kind of recovery.
So again, I think it is a bipartisan initiative. And my hope is--I look forward to talking with the leader and seeing how we can expedite this.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, again, we are absolutely committed to addressing the concerns of both of the Senators in a bipartisan way. I will make it very clear, the legislation and the amendment the distinguished Senator from Massachusetts is talking about did pass in a bipartisan way here. We need to continue to address the problem--a very real problem--to promote small business as a big part--a big part, a huge part--of the rebuilding and renewal that we all know needs to be accelerated.
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