News
Jul 17 2007
Coburn Blocks Passage of SBA Overhaul
Sen. Tom Coburn blocked passage Tuesday of legislation to overhaul the Small Business Administration’s troubled disaster loans.
Coburn, a Republican who represents Oklahoma, opposes the measure because the disaster loan program is “being set up in such a way as to invite abuse and misuse of tax dollars,” said his spokesman, John Hart.
Democrat John Kerry of Massachusetts, who chairs the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, asked for passage of the legislation (S 163) by voice vote, or unanimous consent. Republican Jim DeMint of South Carolina objected on Coburn’s behalf.
Kerry is talking with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., about how to proceed on the measure, said Kerry spokeswoman Kathryn Seck.
The Given Reasons
Coburn objects to provisions that would expand the program’s definition of a disaster and give the SBA administrator “vast new powers” to designate events covered by the program, Hart said.
A spokesman for Coburn said members of Congress could essentially earmark funds for constituents by pressuring the administrator to declare events in their districts as disasters.
Coburn also dislikes the role private banks would play in the revamped program, saying the measure would create an incentive for banks to make bad loans. The bill would allow banks to make loans directly to disaster victims, with the government guaranteeing 85 percent.
In addition, Coburn wants the program’s $265 million estimated cost to be fully offset, a standard he applies to all new spending measures, his spokesman said.
Drafted in response to delays in administering loans to homeowners, renters and businesses after the hurricanes that struck the Gulf Coast in 2005, the bill seeks to improve the disaster program’s ability to respond to natural disasters.
The House passed its version (HR 1361) on April 18.
Coburn, a Republican who represents Oklahoma, opposes the measure because the disaster loan program is “being set up in such a way as to invite abuse and misuse of tax dollars,” said his spokesman, John Hart.
Democrat John Kerry of Massachusetts, who chairs the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, asked for passage of the legislation (S 163) by voice vote, or unanimous consent. Republican Jim DeMint of South Carolina objected on Coburn’s behalf.
Kerry is talking with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., about how to proceed on the measure, said Kerry spokeswoman Kathryn Seck.
The Given Reasons
Coburn objects to provisions that would expand the program’s definition of a disaster and give the SBA administrator “vast new powers” to designate events covered by the program, Hart said.
A spokesman for Coburn said members of Congress could essentially earmark funds for constituents by pressuring the administrator to declare events in their districts as disasters.
Coburn also dislikes the role private banks would play in the revamped program, saying the measure would create an incentive for banks to make bad loans. The bill would allow banks to make loans directly to disaster victims, with the government guaranteeing 85 percent.
In addition, Coburn wants the program’s $265 million estimated cost to be fully offset, a standard he applies to all new spending measures, his spokesman said.
Drafted in response to delays in administering loans to homeowners, renters and businesses after the hurricanes that struck the Gulf Coast in 2005, the bill seeks to improve the disaster program’s ability to respond to natural disasters.
The House passed its version (HR 1361) on April 18.
