Sens. Landrieu, Kerry Introduce Legislation to Boost Broadband Internet Access for Small Business

United States Senators Mary L. Landrieu [D-La.], chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and John F. Kerry, [D-Mass., pictured] introduced legislation to better assist small-business owners in accessing broadband Internet technology.

The "Small Business Broadband and Emerging Technology Enhancement Act of 2010" [S. 3506] addresses many of the recommendations from the Federal Communications Commission’s [FCC] March 2010 report -- entitled "Connecting America: The National Broadband Plan" -- which calls for increased broadband access for rural small businesses.

"Improving access to technology for small businesses, particularly in rural areas, is an important component to economic recovery," said Sen. Landrieu. "With access to broadband Internet, a small firm that once was confined to a single town has the ability to reach a new customer base on the opposite side of the world. Louisiana is home to some of the most rural, underserved areas in the country. By assisting rural firms in upgrading their technology, I am committed to making these small businesses play an active role in jump-starting local economies.

"The FCC has done an extensive evaluation of the effects of advanced technology on small-business growth. The adoption of many of the recommendations of this report will support small businesses interested in expanding their operations. The Small Business Committee is dedicated to providing added assistance to these small businesses, and this legislation puts us on the path to doing so."

Sen. Kerry, a member of the Small Business Committee and its former chair, noted that the legislation will serve his constituents well. "Universal broadband access will empower small businesses across Massachusetts," he said. "It means greater connectivity for employees, while giving local businesses global access, allowing a shop in Western Massachusetts to make sales in Western Europe.

"Today, broadband is essential to the success of our small businesses. I commend Sen. Landrieu for championing the effort to connect them."

The legislation introduced by Sens. Landrieu and Kerry would:

* Create a Broadband and Emerging Technology Coordinator within the SBA to better coordinate agency programs that assist small businesses in adopting, making innovations in, and using, broadband and other emerging technologies;

* Amend the mission of Small Business Development Centers [SBDCs] to include assisting small businesses in accessing broadband and other emerging technologies;

* Amend the mission of the Women’s Business Centers [WBCs] to include assisting women-owned small businesses in accessing broadband and other emerging technologies;

* Allows SBA 7[a], 504, and Microloan programs to include upgrading broadband technology under eligible uses;

* Create the "Rural Small Business Technology Pilot Program" to provide excess government-owned computers each year to qualified small businesses at little or no cost; and

* Require the SBA administrator, in consultation with the administrator of General Services, to submit a report to the committee on opportunities at SBA, through deployment of technology in its district offices, to assist with the development of broadband and wireless technology for local small businesses.

In April, the Small Business Committee held a hearing to discuss efforts to increase broadband accessibility. The hearing specifically highlight the FCC National Broadband Plan, which included several Landrieu recommendations. Yos can view information from the hearing at: http://bit.ly/BroadbandHearing.

Resources
To view the complete text of the "Small Business Broadband and Emerging Technology Enhancement Act of 2010," S. 3506, please go to: http://bit.ly/SmallBizBroadband2010.

To keep apprised of national broadband-related developments and events, please visit: http://www.broadband.gov/.

To read the complete text of the FCC's National Broadband Plan, please go to: http://www.broadband.gov/plan/.

SOURCES: Federal Communications Commission, Library of Congress, U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
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Verbatim: Influencers on Sotomayor, Small-Biz Lending, Broadband, New Native American Leadership, National Cybersecurity, Net Neutrality

As often as possible, GoodBiz113 presents diverse perspectives on small business and entrepreneurship from those who help shape small-business policies and practices, as well as those who report on small-biz-related developments. Here's what some folks said last week...

"...Generally speaking, Sotomayor is also considered pretty moderate, at least when it comes to other issues businesses care about, such as limiting class action lawsuits and pre-empting state laws with federal laws, several attorneys said. She has ruled for investors and companies in many different types of cases..." -- CNNMoney.com senior writer Jennifer Liberto, comparing U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor [pictured] to outgoing Justice David Souter. [May 26, "Sotomayor: Important Business Awaits," CNNMoney.com]

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"In the current financial climate, it’s especially critical for small firms to know which banks and financial institutions have been the most likely to make small and microbusiness loans." -- SBA Office of Advocacy economist Victoria Williams, upon release of a study that ranks banks on small-business lending and provides hints about current financial trends.

According to the latest edition of the Office of Advocacy’s annual study of lending to small firms, Williams and co-author Charles Ou, a senior economist, found that the growth of small and microbusiness lending remained positive during the first half of 2008, although the expansion was slower than in the previous year. Their new report, "Small Business and Micro Business Lending in the United States for Data Years 2007-2008," gives a detailed account of small-business lending overall, plus state-by-state totals and totals for individual lenders. The full study, including expanded state-by-state tables, is available online at: http://tinyurl.com/n2okmh.

The U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy, the "small-business watchdog" of the federal government, examines the role and status of small business in the economy and independently represents the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress, and the President. It is the source for small-business statistics presented in user-friendly formats, and funds research into small-business issues. [May 26, SBA Office of Advocacy]

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"Ensuring that every American has access to broadband services is an important policy goal for the new Administration. With the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Congress and the Administration directed a number of federal agencies, including the Federal Communications Commission [FCC], to work toward this goal...

"Because small businesses are the heart of the American economy, they are critical to driving an economic recovery. However, access to modern technologies, including broadband, is critical to allow small businesses to grow. At the same time, small broadband providers will supply the competition and innovation necessary to expand advanced telecommunications services to all Americans. The Office of Advocacy will continue to play a leading role in ensuring that the needs of all small businesses are represented in the federal government throughout this process." -- Shawne McGibbon, acting chief counsel for SBA's Office of Advocacy, reporting that the FCC has launched a 13-month effort to develop a national broadband strategy to be presented to Congress by Feb. 17, 2010 [May 27, "Got Broadband? A National Broadband Strategy for Small Business," The Small Business Advocate]

* * *

“The SBA’s plan to offer floor-plan loans to America’s dealerships will help small businesses stay open in this uncertain economy... These loans will enable dealerships to maintain their inventory and save jobs. The provisions that the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee secured in the Recovery Act will also make floor-plan financing more affordable by eliminating borrower fees on the loans. This is another critical step toward increasing access to capital for America’s small businesses.” -- Sens. Mary Landrieu [D-La.] and Olympia Snowe [R-Maine], chair and ranking member, respectively, of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, commenting on the SBA's announcement that the agency will waive its floor-plan lending prohibition that is currently part of the 7[a] loan guarantee program.

The policy change will allow the SBA to guarantee up to 75 percent of floor-plan loans to dealerships to purchase cars, RVs, manufactured homes, boats and motorcycles. Floor-plan loans will be available for a minimum of $500,000 up to the $2 million allowable under the 7[a] program, and have a maximum repayment term of five years.

Floor-plan financing is a line of credit that allows dealers to borrow against their inventory, and then repay that debt as they sell their inventory or borrow against the line of credit again to add new inventory. Under the new program, the SBA will provide loan guarantees for lines of credit through its 7[a] program. These loans will be made through SBA lenders only for titled inventory. The pilot program will begin July 1 and will be available through Sept. 30, 2010, at which time the SBA will make the determination of whether or not to extend the program. [May 28, U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship]

* * *

“I am pleased to have Clara Pratte joining our team at the SBA in this vital post... Clara’s background and experience will be an asset as we strengthen our efforts at the SBA to support the growth and development of small businesses and the economic opportunities they provide for Native Americans.” -- SBA Administrator Karen G. Mills announcing the appointment of Clara Pratte as national director for the agency’s Office of Native American Affairs.

As national director, Pratte will help to ensure that American Indians, Native Alaskans and Native Hawaiians seeking to create, develop and expand small businesses have full access to the necessary tools available through the SBA’s entrepreneurial development, lending and procurement programs. [May 29, U.S. Small Business Administration]

* * *

"[The President] committed to protect the Internet from those who would sacrifice the openness and freedom of the Internet for their own parochial interests when he said he 'remained firmly committed to net neutrality'... This makes sense in an announcement on the nation’s cyber infrastructure, because having Internet traffic content neutral is what everyone -- from the small-business owners to venture capitalists Obama mentioned in his speech -- rely on daily to do their jobs.” -- Ed Black, president of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, after President Barack Obama announced that he will soon name a national cybersecurity coordinator to protect America's communications and information infrastructure, and that the government is going to start treating the nation's digital infrastructure, broadband networks and computers as strategic national assets that should be "open and free." [May 29, "Obama Committed to Network Neutrality," Broadcasting & Cable]

SOURCES: Broadcasting & Cable, CNNMoney.com, The Small Business Advocate, U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, U.S. Small Business Administration, The White House [photo]
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