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• Federal Grants to State and Local Governments: A Historical Perspective on Contemporary Issues [Updated May 22, 2019]

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  From the Summary: "This report provides a historical synopsis of the evolving nature of the federal grants-in-aid system, focusing on the role Congress has played in defining the system's scope and nature. It begins with an overview of the contemporary federal grants-in-aid system and then examines its evolution over time, focusing on the internal and external factors that have influenced congressional decisions concerning the system's development. It concludes with an assessment of the scope and nature of the contemporary federal grants-in-aid system and raises several issues for congressional consideration, including possible ways to augment congressional capacity to provide effective oversight of this system."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Dilger, Robert Jay, 1954-; Cecire, Michael H.

  2019-05-22
• SBA Veterans Assistance Programs: An Analysis of Contemporary Issues [Updated July 10, 2019]

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  From the Summary: "This report opens with an examination of the economic circumstances of veteran-owned businesses drawn from the Bureau of the Census's 2012 Survey of Business Owners (SBO). It then provides a brief overview of veterans' employment experiences, comparing unemployment and labor force participation rates for veterans, veterans who have left the military since September 2001, and nonveterans. The report also describes employment assistance programs offered by several federal agencies to assist veterans in their transition from the military to the civilian labor force and examines, in greater detail, the SBA's [Small Business Association] veteran business development programs, the SBA's efforts to assist veterans' access to capital, and the SBA's veteran contracting programs. It also discusses the SBA's Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and P.L. 114-38, the Veterans Entrepreneurship Act of 2015, which authorized and made permanent, under specified circumstances, the SBA's recent practice of waiving the SBAExpress loan program's one time, up-front loan guarantee fee for veterans (and their spouse)."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Dilger, Robert Jay, 1954-; Lowry, Sean

  2019-07-10
• SBA Veterans Assistance Programs: An Analysis of Contemporary Issues [October 10, 2018]

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  "Several federal agencies, including the Small Business Administration (SBA), provide training and other assistance to veterans seeking civilian employment. For example, the Department of Defense(DOD), in cooperation with the SBA, Department of Labor, Department of Veterans Affairs, and several other federal agencies, operates the Transition Goals Plans Success program (Transition GPS),which provides employment information and entrepreneurship training to exiting military service members to assist them in transitioning from the military to the civilian labor force.In recent years, the unemployment rate among veterans as a whole has generally been similar to or lower than the unemployment rate for nonveterans 18 years and older. However, veterans who have left the military since September 2001 have experienced higher unemployment than other veterans and, in some years, higher unemployment than nonveterans. As a result, Congress has focused much of its attention on finding ways to assist veterans who have left the military since September 2001."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Dilger, Robert Jay, 1954-; Lowry, Sean

  2018-10-10
• SBA Veterans Assistance Programs: An Analysis of Contemporary Issues [January 10, 2019]

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  "This report examines the economic circumstances of veteran-owned businesses drawn from the Bureau of the Census's 2012 Survey of Business Owners (SBO). It also provides a brief overview of veterans' employment experiences, comparing unemployment and labor force participation rates for veterans, veterans who have left the military since September 2001, and nonveterans. The report also describes employment assistance programs offered by several federal agencies to assist veterans transitioning from the military to the civilian labor force and examines, in greater detail, the SBA's [U.S. Small Business Administration] veteran business development programs, the SBA's efforts to enhance veterans' access to capital, and the SBA's veteran contracting programs."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Dilger, Robert Jay, 1954-; Lowry, Sean

  2019-01-10
• Juneteenth: Fact Sheet [Updated June 18, 2019]

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  From the Introduction: "Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. It is also known as Emancipation Day, Juneteenth Independence Day, and Black Independence Day. On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, TX, and announced the end of the Civil War and the end of slavery. Although the Emancipation Proclamation came 2½ years earlier on January 1, 1863, many slave owners continued to hold their slaves captive after the announcement, so Juneteenth became a symbolic date representing African American freedom. This fact sheet assists congressional offices with work related to Juneteenth. It contains sample speeches and remarks from the 'Congressional Record,' presidential proclamations and remarks, and selected historical and cultural resources."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Higgins, Molly

  2019-06-18
• Small Business Administration 7(a) Loan Guaranty Program [June 26, 2014]

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  "This report discusses the rationale provided for the 7(a) program; the program's borrower and lender eligibility standards and program requirements; and program statistics, including loan volume, loss rates, use of proceeds, borrower satisfaction, and borrower demographics. It examines issues raised concerning the SBA [Small Business Administration]'s administration of the 7(a) program, including the oversight of 7(a) lenders and the program's lack of outcome-based performance measures. It examines congressional action taken during the 111th Congress to enhance small businesses' access to capital, including providing more than $1.1 billion to temporarily subsidize the 7(a) and 504/CDC [504/Certified Development Company] loan guaranty programs' fees and to temporarily increase the 7(a) program's maximum loan guaranty percentage to 90% (funding was exhausted on January 3, 2011); increasing the 7(a) program's gross loan limit from $2 million to $5 million; and establishing an alternative size standard for the 7(a) and 504/CDC loan programs. This report also examines legislation introduced during the 112th Congress to continue the fee waivers and increase the 7(a) program's SBAExpress and recently discontinued Patriot Express programs' maximum loan amounts. It also discusses the Obama Administration's decision to waive the upfront loan guaranty fee and ongoing servicing fee for 7(a) loans of $150,000 or less approved in FY2014. The SBA is also waiving the upfront, one-time loan guaranty fee for all veteran loans under the SBAExpress program (up to $350,000) from January 1, 2014, through the end of FY [Fiscal Year] 2014 (called the Veterans Advantage Program). The Administration has also announced that it plans to continue these fee waivers and to waive 50% of the upfront loan guaranty fee on all non-SBAExpress loans to veterans exceeding $150,000 in FY2015."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Dilger, Robert Jay, 1954-

  2014-06-26
• Small Business Administration 7(a) Loan Guaranty Program [March 31, 2014]

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  "This report discusses the rationale provided for the 7(a) program; the program's borrower and lender eligibility standards and program requirements; and program statistics, including loan volume, loss rates, use of proceeds, borrower satisfaction, and borrower demographics. It examines issues raised concerning the [Small Business Administration] SBA's administration of the 7(a) program, including the oversight of 7(a) lenders and the program's lack of outcome-based performance measures. It examines congressional action taken during the 111th Congress to enhance small businesses' access to capital, including providing more than $1.1 billion to temporarily subsidize the 7(a) and 504/CDC [504/Certified Development Company] loan guaranty programs' fees and to temporarily increase the 7(a) program's maximum loan guaranty percentage to 90% (funding was exhausted on January 3, 2011); increasing the 7(a) program's gross loan limit from $2 million to $5 million; and establishing an alternative size standard for the 7(a) and 504/CDC loan programs. This report also examines legislation introduced during the 112th Congress to continue the fee waivers and increase the 7(a) program's SBAExpress and recently discontinued Patriot Express programs' maximum loan amounts. It also discusses the Obama Administration's decision to waive the upfront loan guaranty fee and ongoing servicing fee for 7(a) loans of $150,000 or less approved in FY2014. The SBA is also waiving the upfront, one-time loan guaranty fee for all veteran loans under the SBAExpress program (up to $350,000) from January 1, 2014, through the end of FY2014 (called the Veterans Advantage Program)."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Dilger, Robert Jay, 1954-

  2014-03-31
• Small Business Management and Technical Assistance Training Programs [May 7, 2014]

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  "The Small Business Administration (SBA) has provided technical and managerial assistance 'to small-business concerns, by advising and counseling on matters in connection with government procurement and on policies, principles and practices of good management' since it began operations in 1953. Initially, the SBA provided its own small business management and technical assistance training programs. Over time, the SBA has relied increasingly on third parties to provide that training. Congressional interest in the SBA's management and technical assistance training programs has increased in recent years, primarily because these programs are viewed as a means to assist small businesses create and retain jobs. The SBA will spend $185.915 million on these programs in FY2014."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Dilger, Robert Jay, 1954-

  2014-05-07
• Small Business Management and Technical Assistance Training Programs [March 24, 2014]

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  "The Small Business Administration (SBA) has provided technical and managerial assistance 'to small-business concerns, by advising and counseling on matters in connection with government procurement and on policies, principles and practices of good management' since it began operations in 1953. Initially, the SBA provided its own small business management and technical assistance training programs. Over time, the SBA has relied increasingly on third parties to provide that training. […] This report examines the historical development of federal small business management and technical assistance training programs; describes their current structures, operations, and budgets; and assesses their administration and oversight and the measures used to determine their effectiveness. It also discusses several bills introduced during the 111th and 112th Congresses that would have authorized changes to the SBA's management and technical assistance training programs in an effort to improve their performance and oversight. These include S. 3442, the SUCCESS Act of 2012, and S. 3572, the Restoring Tax and Regulatory Certainty to Small Businesses Act of 2012. In addition, during the 113th Congress, S. 415, the Small Business Disaster Reform Act of 2013, and its companion bill in the House, H.R. 1974, would authorize SBDCs [small business development centers] to provide assistance to small businesses outside of the state in which they are located, without regard to geographic proximity, if the small business is located in a presidentially declared major disaster area."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Dilger, Robert Jay, 1954-

  2014-03-24
• Small Business Lending Fund [October 16, 2014]

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  "Congressional interest in small business access to capital has increased in recent years because of concerns that small businesses might be prevented from accessing sufficient capital to enable them to assist in the economic recovery. Some, including President Obama, have argued that the federal government should provide additional resources to assist small businesses in acquiring capital necessary to start, continue, or expand operations and create jobs. Others worry about the long-term adverse economic effects of spending programs that increase the federal deficit. They advocate business tax reduction, reform of financial credit market regulation, and federal fiscal restraint as the best means to assist small businesses and create jobs. […] This report focuses on the SBLF [Small Business Lending Fund]. It opens with a discussion of the supply and demand for small business loans. The SBLF's advocates argued that the SBLF was needed to enhance the supply of small business loans. The report then examines other arguments that were presented both for and against the program. Advocates argued that the SBLF would increase lending to small businesses and, in turn, create jobs. Opponents argued that the SBLF could lose money, lacked sufficient oversight provisions, did not require lenders to increase their lending to small businesses, could serve as a vehicle for TARP [Troubled Asset Relief Program] recipients to effectively refinance their TARP loans on more favorable terms with little or any resulting benefit for small businesses, and could encourage a failing lender to make even riskier loans to avoid higher dividend payments."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Dilger, Robert Jay, 1954-

  2014-10-16
• Small Business Administration: A Primer on Programs and Funding [October 9, 2014]

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  "The Small Business Administration (SBA) administers several types of programs to support small businesses, including loan guaranty and venture capital programs to enhance small business access to capital; contracting programs to increase small business opportunities in federal contracting; direct loan programs for businesses, homeowners, and renters to assist their recovery from natural disasters; and small business management and technical assistance training programs to assist business formation and expansion. Congressional interest in the SBA's loan, venture capital, training, and contracting programs has increased in recent years, primarily because small businesses are viewed as a means to stimulate economic activity, create jobs, and assist in the national economic recovery. Many Members of Congress also regularly receive constituent inquiries about the SBA's programs. This report provides an overview of the SBA's business loan guaranty programs (including the 7(a) loan guaranty program, the 504/Certified Development Company (CDC) program, International Trade and Export Promotion Loan programs, and the Microloan program); venture capital programs (including the Small Business Investment Company program and the New Markets Venture Capital program); entrepreneurial development programs (including Small Business Development Centers, Women's Business Centers, and SCORE); government contracting and business development programs (including the 8(a) Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership Development Program, the Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones) program, the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program, and the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contract program); and capital access programs (including the Surety Bond Guarantee Program). The report also discusses programmatic changes resulting from the enactment of P.L. 111-5, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, P.L. 111-240, the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, P.L. 112-239, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, and P.L. 113-76, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014,. In addition, it provides an overview of the SBA's budget and references other CRS reports that examine these programs in greater detail."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Dilger, Robert Jay, 1954-; Lowry, Sean

  2014-10-09
• Small Business: Access to Capital and Job Creation [August 6, 2014]

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  "This report addresses a core issue facing the 113th Congress: What, if any, additional action should the federal government take to enhance small business access to capital? After discussing the role of small business in job creation and retention, this report provides an assessment of the supply and demand for small business loans and recently enacted laws designed to enhance small business access to capital by either increasing the supply of small business loans or the demand for small business loans, or both. It also examines recent actions concerning the SBA's [Small Business Administration] budget and concludes with a brief overview of three legislative options available to address small business access to capital issues during the 113th Congress: wait-and-see, enact additional programs, or reduce and consolidate existing programs."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Dilger, Robert Jay, 1954-

  2014-08-06
• Small Business Administration Microloan Program [September 4, 2014]

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  From the report summary: "This report opens with a discussion of the rationale provided for having a Microloan program, describes the program's eligibility standards and operating requirements for lenders and borrowers, and examines the arguments presented by the program's critics and by its advocates. The report then discusses P.L. 111-240, the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, which increased the Microloan program's loan limit for borrowers from $35,000 to $50,000, and the aggregate loan limit for intermediaries after their first year of participation in the program from $3.5 million to $5 million. The act also authorized the SBA to waive, in whole or in part through FY2012, the non-federal share requirement for loans to the Microloan program's intermediaries and for grants made to Microloan intermediaries for small business marketing, management, and technical assistance for up to a fiscal year."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Dilger, Robert Jay, 1954-

  2014-09-04
• S.Rept. 113-203: Magnitsky Global Human Rights Accountability Act, Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, Second Session, June 26, 2014

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  This is the June 26, 2014 report titled, "Magnitsky Global Human Rights Accountability Act," submitted by Robert Menendez to the Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate. From the opening statement of the report: "The Committee on Foreign Relations, to which was referred the bill S. 1933, to impose sanctions with respect to foreign persons responsible for gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, and for other purposes, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass." This report is to accompany Senate Bill 1993 which can be accessed at the following url: https://www.hsdl.org/?abstract&did=755879.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2014-06-26
• Social Security: Cost-of-Living Adjustments [October 29, 2014]

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  "To compensate for the effects of inflation, Social Security recipients usually receive an annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Benefits will be increased by 1.7% in 2015, following an increase of 1.5% in 2014. Social Security COLAs are based on changes in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), updated monthly by the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The COLA equals the growth, if any, in the index from the highest third calendar quarter average CPI-W recorded (most often, from the previous year) to the average CPI-W for the third calendar quarter of the current year. The COLA becomes effective in December of the current year and is payable in January of the following year. (Social Security payments always reflect the benefits due for the preceding month.) […] Because a COLA of 1.7% will be paid to Social Security beneficiaries in 2015, identical percentage increases in Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and railroad retirement 'tier 1' benefits will be paid, and other changes in the Social Security program will be triggered. Although COLAs under the federal Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the federal military retirement program are not triggered directly by the Social Security COLA, these programs use the same measuring period and formula for computing their COLAs. As a result, their recipients similarly will receive a 1.7% COLA in January 2015."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Sidor, Gary

  2014-10-29
• Unfunded Mandates Reform Act: History, Impact, and Issues [January 5, 2018]

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  "The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) culminated years of effort by state and local government officials and business interests to control, if not eliminate, the imposition of unfunded intergovernmental and private-sector federal mandates. Advocates argued the statute was needed to forestall federal legislation and regulations that imposed obligations on state and local governments or businesses that resulted in higher costs and inefficiencies. Opponents argued that federal mandates may be necessary to achieve national objectives in areas where voluntary action by state and local governments and business failed to achieve desired results. [...] This report examines debates over what constitutes an unfunded federal mandate and UMRA's implementation. It focuses on UMRA's requirement that CBO [Congressional Budget Office] issue written cost estimate statements for federal mandates in legislation, its procedures for raising points of order in the House and Senate concerning unfunded federal mandates in legislation, and its requirement that federal agencies prepare written cost estimate statements for federal mandates in rules. It also assesses UMRA's impact on federal mandates and arguments concerning UMRA's future, focusing on UMRA's definitions, exclusions, and exceptions that currently exempt many federal actions with potentially significant financial impacts on nonfederal entities."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Dilger, Robert Jay, 1954-

  2018-01-05
• Unfunded Mandates Reform Act: History, Impact, and Issues [August 10, 2018]

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  "The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) culminated years of effort by state and local government officials and business interests to control, if not eliminate, the imposition of unfunded intergovernmental and private-sector federal mandates. Advocates argued the statute was needed to forestall federal legislation and regulations that imposed obligations on state and local governments or businesses that resulted in higher costs and inefficiencies. Opponents argued that federal mandates may be necessary to achieve national objectives in areas where voluntary action by state and local governments and business failed to achieve desired results."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Dilger, Robert Jay, 1954-

  2018-08-10
• Unfunded Mandates Reform Act: History, Impact, and Issues [April 17, 2018]

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  "The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) culminated years of effort by state and local government officials and business interests to control, if not eliminate, the imposition of unfunded intergovernmental and private-sector federal mandates. Advocates argued the statute was needed to forestall federal legislation and regulations that imposed obligations on state and local governments or businesses that resulted in higher costs and inefficiencies. Opponents argued that federal mandates may be necessary to achieve national objectives in areas where voluntary action by state and local governments and business failed to achieve desired results."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Dilger, Robert Jay, 1954-

  2018-04-17
• Unfunded Mandates Reform Act: History, Impact, and Issues [February 2, 2018]

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  "This report examines debates over what constitutes an unfunded federal mandate and UMRA's [Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995} implementation. It focuses on UMRA's requirement that CBO [Congressional Budget Office] issue written cost estimate statements for federal mandates in legislation, its procedures for raising points of order in the House and Senate concerning unfunded federal mandates in legislation, and its requirement that federal agencies prepare written cost estimate statements for federal mandates in rules. It also assesses UMRA's impact on federal mandates and arguments concerning UMRA's future, focusing on UMRA's definitions, exclusions, and exceptions that currently exempt many federal actions with potentially significant financial impacts on nonfederal entities."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Dilger, Robert Jay, 1954-

  2018-02-02
• SBA Veterans Assistance Programs: An Analysis of Contemporary Issues [April 27, 2018]

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  "Several federal agencies, including the Small Business Administration (SBA), provide training and other assistance to veterans seeking civilian employment. For example, the Department of Defense (DOD), in cooperation with the SBA, Department of Labor, Department of Veterans Affairs, and several other federal agencies, operates the Transition Goals Plans Success program (Transition GPS), which provides employment information and entrepreneurship training to exiting military service members to assist them in transitioning from the military to the civilian labor force. [...] This report opens with an examination of the economic circumstances of veteran-owned businesses drawn from the Bureau of the Census's 2012 Survey of Business Owners (SBO). It then provides a brief overview of veterans' employment experiences, comparing unemployment and labor force participation rates for veterans, veterans who have left the military since September 2001, and nonveterans. The report also describes the employment assistance programs offered by several federal agencies to assist veterans in their transition from the military to the civilian labor force and examines, in greater detail, the SBA's veteran business development programs, the SBA's efforts to assist veterans' access to capital, and the SBA's veteran contracting programs. It also discusses the SBA's Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and P.L. 114-38, the Veterans Entrepreneurship Act of 2015 [...]."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Dilger, Robert Jay, 1954-; Lowry, Sean

  2018-04-27
• Small Business Administration and Job Creation [February 2, 2018]

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  "The Small Business Administration (SBA) administers several programs to support small businesses, including loan guaranty programs, disaster loan programs, management and technical assistance training programs, and federal contracting programs. Congressional interest in these programs has increased in recent years, primarily because they are viewed as a means to stimulate economic activity and create jobs."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Dilger, Robert Jay, 1954-

  2018-02-02
• Department of Health and Human Services: FY2019 Budget Request [March 22, 2018]

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  "This report provides information about the FY2019 budget request for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The report begins by reviewing the department's mission and structure. Next, the report offers a brief explanation of the conventions used for the FY2018 estimates and FY2019 request levels in the budget documents released by the HHS and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The report also discusses the concept of the HHS budget as a whole, in comparison to how funding is provided to HHS through the annual appropriations process. The report concludes with a breakdown of the HHS request by agency, along with additional HHS resources that provide further information on the request. A table of CRS key policy staff is included at the end of the report."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Lynch, Karen E.; Tollestrup, Jessica

  2018-03-22
• Federal Spending on Benefits and Services for People with Low Income: In Brief [February 6, 2018]

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  "The Congressional Research Service (CRS) regularly receives requests about spending on programs that target low-income individuals and families for benefits and services. CRS has produced a series of reports that identify these programs and provides their spending amounts and recent spending trends. The most recent of this series is CRS Report R44574, Federal Benefits and Services for People with Low Income: Overview of Spending Trends, FY2008-FY2015. This In Brief report provides an interim update of the federal spending information in R44574 by extending it to include FY2016, the most recent year for which the federal spending data were available as of January 2018. In FY2016, the federal government spent $877.5 billion on benefits and services for people with low income. This was a 3.5% increase from the prior fiscal year. The increase was faster than both the rate of inflation over the year (1.2%) and the rate of economic growth (2.8%)."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Falk, Gene; Lynch, Karen E.; Tollestrup, Jessica

  2018-02-06
• Juneteenth: Fact Sheet [May 30, 2018]

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  "Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. It is also known as Emancipation Day, Juneteenth Independence Day, and Black Independence Day. On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, TX, and announced the end of the Civil War and the end of slavery. Although the Emancipation Proclamation came 2½ years earlier on January 1, 1863, and many slave owners continued to hold their slaves captive after the announcement, Juneteenth became a symbolic date representing African American freedom. This fact sheet assists congressional offices with work related to Juneteenth. It contains sample speeches and remarks from the Congressional Record, presidential proclamations and remarks, and selected historical and cultural resources."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Higgins, Molly

  2018-05-30
• Unfunded Mandates Reform Act: History, Impact, and Issues [November 17, 2014]

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  "The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) culminated years of effort by state and local government officials and business interests to control, if not eliminate, the imposition of unfunded intergovernmental and private-sector federal mandates. Advocates argued the statute was needed to forestall federal legislation and regulations that imposed obligations on state and local governments or businesses that resulted in higher costs and inefficiencies. Opponents argued that federal mandates may be necessary to achieve national objectives in areas where voluntary action by state and local governments and business failed to achieve desired results. UMRA provides a framework for the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to estimate the direct costs of mandates in legislative proposals to state and local governments and to the private sector, and for issuing agencies to estimate the direct costs of mandates in proposed regulations to regulated entities. […] This report examines debates over what constitutes an unfunded federal mandate and UMRA's implementation. It focuses on UMRA's requirement that CBO issue written cost estimate statements for federal mandates in legislation, its procedures for raising points of order in the House and Senate concerning unfunded federal mandates in legislation, and its requirement that federal agencies prepare written cost estimate statements for federal mandates in rules. It also assesses UMRA's impact on federal mandates and arguments concerning UMRA's future, focusing on UMRA's definitions, exclusions, and exceptions that currently exempt many federal actions with potentially significant financial impacts on nonfederal entities."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Beth, Richard S.; Dilger, Robert Jay, 1954-

  2014-11-17
• Unfunded Mandates Reform Act: History, Impact, and Issues [July 9, 2015]

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  "The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) culminated years of effort by state and local government officials and business interests to control, if not eliminate, the imposition of unfunded intergovernmental and private-sector federal mandates. Advocates argued the statute was needed to forestall federal legislation and regulations that imposed obligations on state and local governments or businesses that resulted in higher costs and inefficiencies. Opponents argued that federal mandates may be necessary to achieve national objectives in areas where voluntary action by state and local governments and business failed to achieve desired results. […] This report examines debates over what constitutes an unfunded federal mandate and UMRA's implementation. It focuses on UMRA's requirement that CBO issue written cost estimate statements for federal mandates in legislation, its procedures for raising points of order in the House and Senate concerning unfunded federal mandates in legislation, and its requirement that federal agencies prepare written cost estimate statements for federal mandates in rules. It also assesses UMRA's impact on federal mandates and arguments concerning UMRA's future, focusing on UMRA's definitions, exclusions, and exceptions that currently exempt many federal actions with potentially significant financial impacts on nonfederal entities."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Dilger, Robert Jay, 1954-; Beth, Richard S.

  2015-07-09
• Unfunded Mandates Reform Act: History, Impact, and Issues [April 2, 2015]

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  "The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) culminated years of effort by state and local government officials and business interests to control, if not eliminate, the imposition of unfunded intergovernmental and private-sector federal mandates. Advocates argued the statute was needed to forestall federal legislation and regulations that imposed obligations on state and local governments or businesses that resulted in higher costs and inefficiencies. Opponents argued that federal mandates may be necessary to achieve national objectives in areas where voluntary action by state and local governments and business failed to achieve desired results. UMRA provides a framework for the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to estimate the direct costs of mandates in legislative proposals to state and local governments and to the private sector, and for issuing agencies to estimate the direct costs of mandates in proposed regulations to regulated entities. Aside from these informational requirements, UMRA controls the imposition of mandates only through a procedural mechanism allowing Congress to decline to consider unfunded intergovernmental mandates in proposed legislation if they are estimated to cost more than specified threshold amounts. UMRA applies to any provision in legislation, statute, or regulation that would impose an enforceable duty upon state and local governments or the private sector. It does not apply to conditions of federal assistance; duties stemming from participation in voluntary federal programs; rules issued by independent regulatory agencies; rules issued without a general notice of proposed rulemaking; and rules and legislative provisions that cover individual constitutional rights, discrimination, emergency assistance, grant accounting and auditing procedures, national security, treaty obligations, and certain elements of Social Security."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Dilger, Robert Jay, 1954-; Beth, Richard S.

  2015-04-02
• Small Business Management and Technical Assistance Training Programs [February 24, 2015]

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  "The Small Business Administration (SBA) has provided technical and managerial assistance to small businesses since it began operations in 1953. Initially, the SBA provided its own small business management and technical assistance training programs. Over time, the SBA has relied increasingly on third parties to provide that training. Congressional interest in the SBA's management and technical assistance training programs has increased in recent years, primarily because these programs are viewed as a means to assist small businesses create and retain jobs. The SBA will spend $198.6 million on these programs in FY2015. These programs fund about '14,000 resource partners,' including 63 lead small business development centers (SBDCs) and more than 900 SBDC local outreach locations, 106 women's business centers (WBCs), and 320 chapters of the mentoring program, SCORE [Service Corps of Retired Executives]. The SBA reports that more than 1 million aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners receive training from an SBA-supported resource partner each year. The SBA argues that these programs contribute 'to the long-term success of these businesses and their ability to grow and create jobs.' The Department of Commerce also provides management and technical assistance training for small businesses. For example, its Minority Business Development Agency provides training to minority business owners to assist them in obtaining contracts and financial awards."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Dilger, Robert Jay, 1954-

  2015-02-24
• Small Business Administration HUBZone Program [July 1, 2015]

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  "The Small Business Administration (SBA) administers several programs to support small businesses, including the Historically Underutilized Business Zone Empowerment Contracting (HUBZone) program. The HUBZone program is a small business federal contracting assistance program 'whose primary objective is job creation and increasing capital investment in distressed communities.' It provides participating small businesses located in areas with low income, high poverty rates, or high unemployment rates with contracting opportunities in the form of set- asides, sole-source awards, and price-evaluation preferences. Firms must be certified by the SBA to participate in the HUBZone program. On July 1, 2015, there were 5,181 certified HUBZone small businesses. […] Congressional interest in the HUBZone program has increased in recent years, primarily due to U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports of fraud in the program. Some Members have called for the program's termination. Others have recommended that the SBA continue its efforts to improve its administration of the program, especially its efforts to prevent fraud. This report examines arguments both for and against targeting assistance to geographic areas with specified characteristics, such as low income, high poverty, or high unemployment, as opposed to providing assistance to people or businesses with specified characteristics. It then assesses the arguments both for and against the continuation of the HUBZone program. The report also discusses the HUBZone program's structure and operation, focusing on the definition of HUBZone areas and HUBZone small businesses and the program's performance relative to federal contracting goals. It includes an analysis of the SBA's administration of the program and the SBA's performance measures. In addition, this report examines P.L. 111-240, the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, which removed certain language from the Small Business Act that had prompted federal courts and GAO to find that HUBZone set-asides have 'precedence' over other small business set-asides."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Dilger, Robert Jay, 1954-

  2015-07-01
• Small Business Administration: A Primer on Programs and Funding [June 29, 2015]

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  "The Small Business Administration (SBA) administers several types of programs to support small businesses, including loan guaranty and venture capital programs to enhance small business access to capital; contracting programs to increase small business opportunities in federal contracting; direct loan programs for businesses, homeowners, and renters to assist their recovery from natural disasters; and small business management and technical assistance training programs to assist business formation and expansion. Congressional interest in the SBA's loan, venture capital, training, and contracting programs has increased in recent years, primarily because small businesses are viewed as a means to stimulate economic activity, create jobs, and assist in the national economic recovery. Many Members of Congress also regularly receive constituent inquiries about the SBA's programs. This report provides an overview of the SBA's business loan guaranty programs […]. The report also discusses programmatic changes resulting from the enactment of P.L. 111-5, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2 009, P.L. 111-240, the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, P.L. 112-239, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, and P.L. 113- 235, the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015. In addition, it provides an overview of the SBA's budget and references other CRS reports that examine these programs in greater detail."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Dilger, Robert Jay, 1954-; Lowry, Sean

  2015-06-29