• SBA Administrator Addresses Small Business Contribution to Economy
• House Bill Would Curb Frivolous Lawsuits
• FY05 SBA Funding Passes Senate Committee

SBA Administrator Addresses Small Business Contribution to Economy

		Addressing a crowd of small business representatives in Washington, D.C., Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration Hector Barreto spoke this week on how America's small business community is contributing to the nation's economic recovery. Specifically, he detailed the SBA current and future priority issues, with a special emphasis on access to health coverage and tax reform. The SBA will also focus on regulatory burden relief, energy proposals and a new minority business initiative created in coordination with the White House. Barreto’s remarks came at a luncheon at the National Press Club, where he also took questions from the assembled association and federal agency representatives. In response to several questions posed by the NASE, Barreto stressed that the SBA continued to work towards its mission of helping small businesses in the face of recent budget cuts. He said the SBA strived towards efficiency, offering more loans and more assistance despite reduced funding.
NASE Members, the self-employed and micro-businesses with fewer than 10 employees can look to local SBA district offices, Small Business Development Centers, Women Business Center and the SCORE program for one-on-one assistance, Barreto said. For more information, visit http://www.sba.gov.

House Bill Would Curb Frivolous Lawsuits

Legislation passed by the House of Representatives last week aims to curb frivolous lawsuits by enacting sanctions on those who file such claims, and limiting the location of where suits can be filed. The Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act (H.R. 4571), though, is unlikely to see action in the Senate to become law.

If both chambers did pass H.R. 4571, the bill would do the following:

• Make sanctions against attorneys or parties who file frivolous lawsuits mandatory rather than discretionary;

• Remove a "safe harbor" provision that allows plaintiffs and their attorneys to avoid sanctions for frivolous suits by withdrawing them within 21 days;

• Permit judges to order plaintiffs to reimburse reasonable litigation costs, including attorney’s fees;

• Reduce “court-friendly shopping” by requiring that plaintiffs in civil actions sue only where they live or were injured, or where the defendant's principal place of business is located.

• Mandate a 1-year suspension of a law license after a lawyer has filed 3 or more frivolous lawsuits in the same federal court.

FY05 SBA Funding Passes Senate Committee

Work continues in Congress on funding the federal government for next year, and the Senate Committee on Appropriations recently approved the spending bill that contains the funding for the U.S. Small Business Administration and related programs. The Commerce/ Justice/ State Appropriations Bill, S. 2809, now goes to the full Senate for approval. After the Senate passes the bill, differences between it and its sibling bill in the House – H.R. 4754 – will be worked out before it becomes law.

S. 2809 recommends $761,917,000 in funding for the SBA and its programs, about $50 million above the agency’s fiscal year 2004 budget. This amount includes $70 million for the SBA's flagship 7(a) guaranteed lending program, $88 for Small Business Development Centers, and $12 million for Women’s Business Centers.