To amend the Small Business Act to provide loans to eligible small business concerns for energy costs.

June 26, 2001

Mr. CALVERT (for himself, Mr. LEWIS of California, Mr BALDACCI, Mr. ROHRABACHER, and Mrs. BONO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business

To amend the Small Business Act to provide loans to eligible small business concerns for energy costs.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. LOANS TO ELIGIBLE SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS FOR ENERGY COSTS.

Section 7(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

`(31) LOANS TO ELIGIBLE SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS FOR ENERGY COSTS-

`(A) IN GENERAL- The Administration may make loans under this subsection to assist an eligible small business concern in financing the energy costs incurred, or to be incurred (based on estimates), by the concern during the period beginning on January 1, 2001, and ending on August 30, 2002.

`(B) MAXIMUM AMOUNT- The Administration shall not make a loan under this paragraph to an eligible small business concern in an amount that exceeds 5 times the total energy costs incurred by the concern during the period beginning on May 1, 1999, and ending on December 31, 2000.

`(C) MAXIMUM TERM- The Administration shall not make a loan under this paragraph with a term, including renewals and extensions thereon, in excess of 10 years.

`(D) ELIGIBLE SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN- For the purposes of this paragraph, the term `eligible small business concern' means a small business concern located in a State designated, for the purposes of this paragraph, by the Secretary of Energy as a State in which the wholesale cost of energy has increased 150 percent or more during the period beginning on January 1, 2000, and ending on August 30, 2002, or during any part of such period.

`(E) ENERGY COSTS- For the purposes of this paragraph, the term `energy costs' includes the cost of electricity and natural gas, but excludes costs associated with transportation.'.

END