Congressman Cao: Small Business Minority and Women

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1 Congressman Cao: Small Business Minority and Women Votes on Related Bills (Anh Joseph Cao-AJC) H.R Small Business Jobs Act : o AJC was one of three (3) Republicans who voted for H.R when it first passed the House on June 17, o The Senate passed their version of this bill on September 16, prior to the House voting on final passage of the bill on September 23 and the President signing it into law on September 27. o AJC did not vote for the Senate version of the bill (nor did any of the LA Republican Congressmen). This was an accidental vote that he could not retract because the gavel had already been dropped when he went to correct his vote. o AJC s amendment, which was coauthored by Congresswoman Jackson-Lee, was included in the Senate version of the bill, and: Requires the Treasury Secretary to give special consideration to businesses in the Gulf region suffering losses due to the oil spill Provides funding to eligible institutions that serve small businesses in communities which have suffered negative economic effects from the BP oil spill, particularly in Gulf Coast States o The bill: Creates a $30 billion lending fund designed to spur community banks to make loans to small businesses Establishes a state small business credit initiative of $1.5 million to assist states with increasing the amount of capital made available by private lenders to small businesses Includes tax incentives, including a one-year extension of the bonus depreciation provision from the 2009 economic stimulus that allows businesses to write off half the cost of purchasing new equipment that goes into service in 2010 Creates SBA Program Investments, such as to increase SBA loan limits from $2 million to $5 million, to help start-up and existing small businesses obtain financing when they might not be eligible for business loans through normal lending channels Includes a tax exemption for 100% of the capital gains from the sales of certain small business stock held for at least five years, and it offsets the tax breaks by excluding crude tall oil from certain biofuel tax breaks

2 Provides lending incentives to increase small business lending within the first two years of the program by reducing the dividend or interest rate on the investment to as low as 1% The Senate amendment offsets the costs of the tax incentives by permitting certain retirement plans to roll pre-tax balances into a Roth account and by making crude tall oil ineligible for the biofuel producer tax credit Raises $28.2 billion in revenue for FY 2015 and $14.5 billion in revenues through FY 2020 H.R. 5982, the Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2010: o On July 30, 2010, AJC voted for H.R. 5982, which would repeal a provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (healthcare reform bill) requiring corporations to report payments of $600 or more to people engaged in a trade or business, and would eliminate tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas o Although it failed to pass through the House, AJC voted for the bill to help relieve small businesses of the onerous reporting requirements that can cripple a small company o Further, AJC believes it is important to help small businesses disproportionately impacted in the current economic downturn, in addition to recovering from the devastations of natural and manmade disaster which have plagued our District AJC voted for H.R Financial Reform bill: o AJC voted for the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act on June 30, 2010, because it reigns in excessive risk taking that led to the financial crisis and will promote long-term economic growth and stability o AJC believes this bill is a victory for hard-working American families who have seen their life savings dwindle at the hands of Wall Street. o It was a vote for Main Street, not Wall Street it provides important consumer protections to ensure taxpayer dollars are not used to bail out banks in the future and to shield consumers from another financial crisis o The bill provides savings for consumers by capping interchange fees, increases capital requirements to cushion losses and provides a mechanism to assist failing banks, reducing the impact a bank s failure will have on the economy o AJC felt that the compromises in the conference report, like small and community bank exemptions, made the bill palatable enough to support o It allocates unused TARP money to pay for the implementation of the bill instead of increasing taxes o The bill s breadth of issues addressed tackles the wide range of activities that led to the financial crisis of 2008

3 o AJC believes that the small businesses, community banks and other financial institutions that make up a majority of Orleans and Jefferson Parishes were not responsible for the 2008 crisis and now are not adversely affected with new regulations o It will open up opportunities for small banks in my district to gain market share and become more competitive in areas that were previously dominated by larger banks AJC voted for H.R. 3854, the Small Business Financing and Investment Act of 2009, which passed the House on October 29, o It would amend the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to improve programs providing access to capital under such Acts o One provision authorizes the SBA Administrator to carry out a Community Express Program of loans of up to $250,000 to small businesses of which the majority is owned by women, members of qualified Indian tribes, socially or economically disadvantaged individuals, veterans, or Armed Forces reserved members o Other provisions reforming the SBA Disaster Program: The authorization of disaster assistance grants of up to $100,000 to a small business that is located in an area affected by a major disaster, certifies its intention to reestablish the business in the same area as originally located, has applied for and was rejected for a conventional disaster assistance loan, and was in existence for at least two years before the disaster declaration A grant opportunity for small businesses determined to be economically viable but unable to meet short-term financial obligations Directs the Administrator to develop a disaster preparedness and response plan for each SBA region, and requires each plan to identify the three disasters, natural or manmade likely to occur in such region Authorizes the Administrator to make outreach grants for loan application assistance to areas affected by a disaster that are a women s business center, a small business development center, a veterans business outreach center, and a chamber of commerce Authorizes the Administrator to make loans to any homeowner whose primary residence has been adversely impacted by the installation of toxic Chinese drywall AJC voted for H.R. 2965, which passed the House on July 8, 2009, and amended the Small Business Act with respect to the Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) reauthorization

4 o Some of the oversight and evaluation provisions direct the SBA in annual reports to include information on efforts to increase outreach to small businesses owned and controlled by women and socially or economically disadvantaged individuals Community Partners and Projects AJC has worked with the following partners and projects in New Orleans East: o Lockheed Martin - Increasing tenants at the Michaud Facility o NASA - Voted for funding NASA's budget in the NASA reauthorization bill and the reinstatement of NASA projects Sent a letter to the President urging for the continuation of the NASA constellation program, which was cut in the President s NASA budget o BoldMar, Inc. - Naval Architecture and manufacturing at Michaud o Walmart - Facilitated the project in New Orleans East o Methodist Hospital - provided $1 M funding for the hospital o Advocates for local companies and subcontractors for USACE levy building jobs o Pushing for new ARMY and Navy contracts with Textron for the N.O. East facility o Working with Councilmember-at-Large Arnie Feilkow for a new themed park or sports park at the former Six Flags facility site o Partnered with GNO, Inc. for economic development in New Orleans East and in the region o Helping MQVN CDC receive federal funding for the development of the center o FEMA projects and rebuilding of facilities help retain and extend jobs o Supports multiple Private Non Profits for grant funding in New Orleans East Community Projects and Partnerships within New Orleans: o Hosted job fairs o Working with the New Orleans Business Council on multiple issues, including economic development supporting business at both the Michaud Facility and regional business development o Staff has been going to minority-owned small businesses meetings Government Contracting Government Contracting Accountability and Effectiveness with Minority- and Female- Owned Small Businesses: o Supports accountability and effectiveness in government contracting with Service-Disabled Veterans Minority-Owned Small Businesses o Advocate for minority contractors getting subcontractor work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

5 o AJC has pushed to hold FEMA accountable for the federal law that stipulates 25% of government subcontractors must be minority / women businesses Funding / Project Support Project Support via Appropriations: o AJC put in an appropriations request FY11 for the Small Business Teaming Group, whose center will focus on providing the integrating features of a large business to teams of small businesses. Small businesses will be able to fairly compete with large businesses for bundled requirements, Louisiana will benefit from the jobs created, and customers by having an innovative workforce. o AJC put in an appropriations request FY10 for Dillard University s Business Incubator for Small Business and Minority Businesses in New Orleans; the funding would go towards the rehabilitation of two vacant, public facilities in Gentilly to be developed into a business incubator in the Gentilly Commercial Corridor o AJC put in an appropriations request FY10 for St. Claude / St. Roche Revitalization, which would be used to promote economic development, small business incubation, and help heal the economic and racial divide between the six neighborhoods on either side of the St. Claude Corridor, among other things o AJC put in an appropriations request FY10 for the University of New Orleans Nims Media Center, which would provide funding for the Nims Entertainment Arts and Multi-Media Technology, a high-tech, multi-level, multi-skill, fast-track training program designed to create a new cutting-edge Louisiana industry in the areas of post-production visual and special effects and animation production that are an integral component in the production of motion pictures, animated films, and commercials