Mr. Perez, for himself, submits

A BILL

To amend the Small Business Act to improve loans for members of the Guard and Reserve, and for other purposes.


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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Patriot Loan Act of 2006'.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act--

(1) the term `activated' means receiving an order placing a member of the Guard and Reserve on active duty;

(2) the term `active duty' has the meaning given the term in section 101 of title 10, United States Code;

(3) the term `Administrator' means the Administrator of the Small Business Administration;

(4) the term `member of the Guard or Reserve' means a member of a reserve component of the armed forces, as defined in section 10101 of title 10, United States Code;

(5) the term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Defense;

(6) the term `small business concern' has the same meaning as in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632); and

(7) the term `veteran' has the same meaning as in section 101(2) of title 38, United States Code.

SEC. 3. GUARD AND RESERVE LOANS.

(a) In General- Section 7(b)(3) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(3)) is amended--

(1) in subparagraph (E), by striking `$1,500,000' each place such term appears and inserting `$2,000,000'; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

`(G) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a loan not greater than $25,000 may be made under this paragraph without collateral.

`(H) The Administrator shall give priority to any application for a loan under this paragraph and shall process and make a determination regarding such applications prior to processing or making a determination on other loan applications under this subsection, on a rolling basis.'.

(b) Loan Information-

(1) IN GENERAL- The Administrator and the Secretary shall develop a joint website and printed materials providing information regarding the program under section 7(b)(3) of the Small Business Act.

(2) MARKETING- The Administrator is authorized--

(A) to advertise and promote the program under section 7(b)(3) of the Small Business Act jointly with the Secretary and veteran's service organizations; and

(B) to advertise and promote participation by lenders in such program jointly with trade associations for banks or other lending institutions.

SEC. 4. STUDY.

(a) In General- The Administrator and the Secretary shall jointly conduct a study of the feasibility of--

(1) creating a business mobilization and interruption insurance program for members of the Guard or Reserve who own or operate small business concerns;

(2) creating an insurance program to repay debts to the Administrator in the event of the death or significant injury of a member of the Guard or Reserve who is activated; and

(3) increasing the utilization of credit unions affiliated with the Department of Defense in programs administered by the Administrator.

(b) Report- Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator and the Secretary shall submit a joint report to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives regarding the study conducted under subsection (a).

Co-sponsor