Remarks on Signing Into Law the Small Business Administration Authorization Bill

THE PRESIDENT. I'm very pleased to be here with this group of distinguished Members of the House and Senate and also interested Americans who want to see a strong small business community in our country and recognize it as a bulwark of our free enterprise system and also the economic progress that we expect to have now and in the future.

The small business development act of 1980 has been finally passed as a result of a year, almost 2 years of negotiations and consultation. I think it makes a major step toward resolving some of the problems that have existed in the past.

It restructures the aid program for farms and for small businesses who suffer disasters, and it concentrates primarily the responsibility for this action in the Farm Home Administration for farmers. In addition, the legislation will reduce delays in the approval of assistance for farmers and for small business people when they suffer a disaster and, in addition to that, will simplify the paperwork in the application forms for small business loans.

There is a provision here which would authorize the Small Business Administration to guarantee the financing of business enterprises through the issuing of bonds by local and State governments.

And finally, I'd like to say that this legislation is completely in accordance with the recommendations made by the White House Conference on Small Business that convened early this year through the leadership of those who are assembled here behind me.

It's with a great deal of pleasure now that I sign Senate bill 2698, the small business development act of 1980, with my thanks to the Members of Congress and all who are responsible for this major step forward in strengthening agriculture and small business in our great country.

[At this point, the President signed the bill.]

A lot of people are responsible for this progress, but I'd like to call on two who have been most instrumental in it; representing the House and the Senate, Gaylord Nelson and then Congressman Neal Smith. Gaylord, would you say just a word?

SENATOR NELSON. Well, Mr. President, this culminates, as you said, 2 years of efforts. We passed this measure five time in the United States Senate. We finally negotiated the appropriate compromises with the House and with your representatives.

It does contain four recommendations of the White House Conference, which you called—the most important conference involving independent enterprise in this country, I think, in history. I think it's a great accomplishment. And the Small Business Development Centers will be a very useful consulting, advising instrumentality for small businesses all around the country. My State now has outlets on 11 campuses; it's working very well.

I want to congratulate you and your staff and all those who participated in making this a success.

THE PRESIDENT. Thank you. I might point out that Gaylord Nelson and Neal Smith are two very tough negotiators- [laughter] —and also, I might say, successful ones.

Neal, would you say a word, please?

REPRESENTATIVE SMITH. Well, thank you, Mr. President.

I want to say, first of all, as you have indicated, it's a very extensive and comprehensive bill. It could have been broken into about 40 bills; perhaps that's the reason it took so long. It also covers more than $30 billion in loans and guarantee.

But more important than that, I think, is something that you said. You indicated that it is an indication that we're going to have a partnership between government and small business. And in a number of ways, this can be done. We have a number of other bills out of committee that we hope will be down here before we adjourn this year, the innovation bill, access to justice, attorneys' fees bill, a couple of other bills. And we just hope that this hour in the Cabinet Room will lead to a day in the sun for small business.

THE PRESIDENT. Well, thank you very much. Dee, would you like to say a word?

SENATOR HUDDLESTON. Well, Mr. President, I've been very pleased to have been part of this process. And it has been a long process, and I think we've accomplished a great deal. I was particularly interested in the aspects of the bill dealing with disaster loans, and I think we've made a substantial improvement there both for the farmers and for the small business people in the country. And I appreciate the work that Congressman Neal Smith and our chairman on the Senate side, Gaylord Nelson, put into this effort, and also your staff. We've had a number of meetings negotiating out the final details of the bill, and I think we have a product that we can all be proud of.

THE PRESIDENT. I would like to say that the House and Senate are both in session now. It would not be well to pass this opportunity to point out that Tom Foley and Senator Talmadge, representing the agriculture committees as chairmen in both Houses, played a crucial role in this legislation, as did Sam Nunn and others. On occasion I would ask them to come down to the Cabinet Room or the White House Oval Office to meet with me to try to iron out differences that did exist and the perspectives from small businesses, from agriculture, from the departments involved. And their help, along with Neal Smith, Gaylord Nelson, and Dee Huddleston and others, has been crucial.

And again, let me thank all of those who are not in the Congress or in the administration who, through their own leadership and intense interest, made this final product possible. Now the Small Business Administration can take over and do its job, and the Farm Home Administration will do the same.

Thank you all very much for making this a good day.