Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) recently introduced the Patriotic Loan Act of 2006 (S. 3122), which they say would expand Small Business Administration programs aimed at Guard and Reserve personnel. It would increase the maximum loan amount from $1.5 million to $2 million under the Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. It would also increase the ceiling for no-collateral loans to $25,000 and give reserve small business owners priority loan processing. Snowe maintains that self-employed Guard and Reserve personnel “carry a disproportionate and unfair burden in fulfilling their [military] duty.” The enhancements provided by this bill, says Craig, would “ease the burden” of these reservists and “hopefully give them one less thing to worry about.”
Members of the House Armed Services Committee say the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile program has been set back three months due to the ongoing government shutdown. The comment is noteworthy because the JATM's status has been kept tightly under wraps.
