[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1729]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EARMARK DECLARATION
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HON. C.W. BILL YOUNG
of florida
in the house of representatives
Monday, July 13, 2009
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the House Republican
Standards on Congressional appropriations initiatives, I am submitting
the following information regarding projects that were included at my
request in H.R. 3170, the Fiscal Year 2010 Financial Services
Appropriations Bill:
Pinellas County Business Assistance Partnership Network
Account: Small Business Administration
Legal name and address of requesting entity: Pinellas County Board of
County Commissioners, 315 Court Street, Clearwater, FL 33756
Description of request: $262,000 is included in the bill for Pinellas
County to support the Business Assistance Partnership Network, an
innovative partnership program to grow small businesses and
entrepreneurs in Pinellas County. The Pinellas County Economic
Development office has implemented and seeks to expand, a tri-
partnership with many of the county's municipalities, chambers of
commerce, and libraries that provides free business planning, financial
resources, and technical assistance services on issues ranging from
start-ups and major expansions to permitting and zoning information and
workforce development. Business development services include, but are
not limited to: financing assistance with SBA loans, micro loans and
conventional loans; commercial and real estate financing programs;
reference library featuring a full-range of business publications;
computer workstations and maintenance and enhancement of website
portal; assistance with contacts, business agreements and business/
marketing plans; qualification assistance for industrial revenue bonds;
training classes for business start-up, entrepreneurial assessment,
business financing, tax regulations, bookkeeping/accounting methods,
marketing, and procurement opportunities; business counseling services,
education training courses, customized business start-up guides,
marketing plans and business plans, international export assistance,
government contracts and certification assistance. The Business
Assistance Partnership Network has a proven record of success. Since
its inception in 1998, over 10,000 businesses have participated in face
to face interviews and provided more than 35,000 business and technical
solutions for local entrepreneurs. In the last three years, the program
has secured more than $2,300,000 in business loans to create or retain
more than 300 jobs. It is anticipated that a continuation of the
program would sustain 10 positions and potentially create/sustain 125-
200 jobs annually. The Business Assistance Partnership Network provides
services essential to small business entrepreneurs hurt by current
economic conditions and will help secure public sector jobs. Partner
organizations include: Clearwater Regional Chamber of Commerce; Largo
Mid-Pinellas Chamber of Commerce; Upper Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce;
Palm Harbor Chamber of Commerce; Pinellas Park/Gateway Chamber of
Commerce; Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce; Seminole Chamber of
Commerce; St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce; Hispanic Business
Initiative Fund; Tarpon Springs Chamber of Commerce; Florida High Tech
Corridor; STAR TECH; Tampa Bay Technology Forum; and regional local
governments. No previous federal funding has been requested for this
project.
Southwest Florida Partnership for Developing Business Infrastructure
in Software Engineering
Account: Small Business Administration
Legal name and address of requesting entity: Florida Gulf Coast
University, 10501 Florida Gulf Coast University Boulevard South, Fort
Myers, FL 33965
Description of request: $261,000 is included in the bill for Florida
Gulf Coast University to establish a partnership with five other
Florida state universities through its departments of Computer Science
and Computer Information Systems, and local industrial companies active
in software service industries, to spur innovation activities in a
broad area of Information Technology. The primary objective of the
proposed activities will include the interaction with small businesses
whose primary line of business is software development, to foster
commercialization of selected innovative software technologies
developed jointly by FGCU and its industrial partners. Initial
commitments have been obtained from a number of local companies in the
following sectors: e-commerce, transportation, hospitality management,
health care, financial services, and technology. Their participation
has been documented recently by establishing two important initiatives:
(1) Software Technologies Distinguished Lecture Series, conducted for
the past two years (http://lectureseries.fgcu.edu), and (2) Southwest
Florida Regional Technology Partnership (http://www.swfrtp.org/). Two
supportive activities to achieve this major objective will be also
conducted: (1) establishing the infrastructure for software innovation
at FGCU by expanding a software engineering educational and training
program and a software engineering lab; (2) systematically educating
the workforce in innovative software technologies to help strengthen
the local job market. The project will have economic and societal
impact by establishing the innovation infrastructure in the region,
producing graduates in software engineering specialization to feed the
local industries, and, in the long run, by helping move to the
knowledge-based economy. The project will boost software innovations
originating in the region and thus change the structure of workforce
and employment base by increasing the number of knowledge-based jobs
and generating different employment patterns. No previous federal
funding was requested for this project.
Turnaround Business Assistance Program
Account: Small Business Administration
Legal name and address of requesting entity: University of West
Florida, 11000 University Parkway, Pensacola, FL 32514
Description of request: $262,000 is included in the bill for the
University of West Florida, in partnership with four other Florida
universities, for its Turnaround Business Assistance Program which will
become a statewide intensive technical assistance program for the
statewide business community to halt the accelerated number of business
failures and closures and enhance the survivability rate of small
businesses. The program will use an innovative approach to assist these
second stage businesses through the creation of an on-line turnaround
tips training portal that includes emails, video clips and a blog to
share effective tips on turnaround strategies; a comprehensive
``intensive care'' treatment package that includes use of an assessment
tool to identify critical issues in marketing, finance, technology and
management practices; and specialized training workshops on turnaround
strategies. Reportable metrics will include items such as in-business
status, employee retention/ growth, change in sales, and workshop
attendance. The program will operate through the Florida Small Business
Development Center Network's infrastructure of 33 centers located from
Key West to Pensacola as well as utilize the outreach capacity of two
mobile assistance centers to deliver and promote its services. This
program will be implemented and administered by the highly successful
Florida Small Business Development Center Network, designated through
Florida statutes as the state's principal small business assistance
program. The Florida SBDC program has shown a positive revenue impact
on the state's budget and has directly assisted in the creation of more
than 280,000 jobs and started more than 5,500 new businesses. No
previous funding was requested for this project.
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