EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET WASHINGTON, D.C. 20503

October 10, 2000
(House)

The Administration is pleased that the Senate amendment includes language authorizing the Native American Small Business Development Center, improvements to the Microloan Program, and the extensions of the sunset for the co-sponsorship and the Small Business Development Center Drug Free Workplace Grant programs. The Administration would oppose any amendment to delete provisions that reauthorize or extend SBA programs, or that provide for improvements in the Microloan Program. The Administration would also oppose any amendment that would decrease the access of Native Americans to SBA programs afforded by the Senate amendment.

The Administration appreciates the inclusion of language in the Senate amendment that specifically authorizes the establishment of Native American Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs). Native American SBDCs would be funded with specific funds within the amount appropriated for the SBDC program and would operate with the assistance and support of the existing SBDC network. The creation of these new Native American Small Business Development Centers is a good first step, and SBA will report back on ways that Native American Small Business Development Centers can be more fully integrated into the existing Small Business Development network. The Administrator would also have the authority, if in the best interests of the program, to waive the matching funds requirements for such centers when financial circumstances warrant.

The Administration will also work with Congress to make the following changes to the bill:

• Delete language in Title I which could permit participants in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program to rely solely on Federal funding, rather than being required to develop non-Federal interest and applications for their projects, as is currently the case.

• Assure that only constitutionally eligible Federal officials are authorized to make grants and enter into cooperative agreements under the Federal and State Technology Partnership ("FAST") Program referred to in Title I, and clarify that the program will be funded only by appropriations to the Small Business Administration.

• Delete language in Title I that would inappropriately blend two programs with distinctly different missions (the SBIR program and the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) programs).

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