Today In Washington – May 8, 2018

Today In Washington
May 8, 2018
Source: Jennifer White – Director, Government Relations

Congressional Review Act (CRA) Targets Obama Era Rules— GOP lawmakers relied on the CRA to overturn 14 Obama-era regulations in the early months of the Trump Administration. Now they’re attempting to use the same authority to remove other rules finalized by the Obama Administration. Today, the House is on track to pass legislation repealing a 2013 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau guidance meant to discourage discriminatory auto-lending practices.

The vote would mark the first use of the two-decade-old Congressional Review Act to repeal agency guidance and could set a precedent for lawmakers to go after rule interpretations from past administrations.

House will Vote on Nine Small Business Bills Today – The full House will vote on nine small business bills under suspension of the rules— a procedure used to quickly pass non-controversial bills today.

1) SMALL BUSINESS CYBER TRAINING: H.R. 3170 – The Small Business Administration would offer cybersecurity and related planning assistance. The bill would require the SBA to train Small Business Development Center employees in counseling small businesses on cybersecurity questions.
The House Small Business Committee approved the measure by voice vote on March 14.

2) SMALL BUSINESS CYBERSECURITY INFO: H.R. 4668 – A central unit and regional cybersecurity assistance units would be created to encourage small businesses to share cyberthreat information with the federal government. Small businesses would also be provided liability protections under the 2015 Cyberthreat Information Sharing Act. The House Small Business Committee amended and approved the bill by voice vote on March 14.

3) FEDERAL CONTRACT CHANGE ORDERS: H.R. 4754 – Small business contractors and subcontractors seeking bids for federal construction projects would receive improved information from agencies including performance data and policies on change orders.

4) SMALL BUSINESS SCORE PROGRAM: H.R. 1700 – The SBA’s SCORE program would be reauthorized and directed to develop oversight measures. The bill would authorize $10.5 million for both FY2019 and FY2020.

5) WOMEN’S BUSINESS OFFICE: H.R. 1680 – The Office of Women’s Business Ownership’s responsibilities would be modified and it would be authorized to make larger grants to women’s business centers.

6) SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS: H.R. 1702 – The SBA’s Small Business Development Center grant program would be modified and given new reporting requirements.

7) SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT COMPANIES: H.R. 4111 – The creation of new Small Business Investment Companies in underserved states would be promoted under this bill.

8) EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP OF COMPANIES: H.R. 5236 – Employee cooperatives would become eligible for loans backed by the Small Business Administration. The bill would also allow loans to be made to a small business to facilitate employees’ purchase of the firm. The measure also would require additional agency outreach to promote employee purchase of companies.
The House Small Business Committee approved the measure by voice vote on March 14.

9) SMALL BUSINESS LENDING OVERSIGHT: H.R. 4743 – The Small Business Administration’s Office of Credit Risk Management would be codified and given new oversight responsibilities for the 7(a) program. The House Small Business Committee approved the bill by voice vote on March 14.

Hearings:
• TODAY @ 10 AM: House Ways and Means Committee, Subcommittee on Human Resources, Jobs and Opportunity: Legislative Options to Address the Jobs Gap, 1100 Longworth House Office Building.
• TODAY @ 11 AM: House Small Business Committee, Subcommittee Travel and Tourism: A Small Business Angle, 2360 Rayburn House Office Building
• May 9 @ 10 AM: House Committee on Armed Services Markup: H.R. 5515 – National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, 2118 Rayburn House Office Building.
• May 9 @ 11 AM: House Small Business Committee, Ready, Willing, and Able to Work: How Small Businesses Empower People with Developmental Disabilities, 2360 Rayburn House Office Building.

Legislation:
H.R. 5644 (Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-OH): To establish the Veterans Economic Opportunity and Transition Administration