Senator Kerry has always been a champion for Veterans' causes, so when he and Senator Snowe introduced the Military Reservist and Veteran Small Business Reauthorization and Opportunity Act (S. 1784) last year, it was in keeping with this tradition.
The bipartisan bill was designed to increase loans and business training resources to veterans and help reservists to keep their businesses going during a possible deployment.

“Massachusetts’ 477,000 veterans, including the more than 28,000 who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, will now have access to real opportunities to start and grow their businesses. Our veterans who put their lives on the line for our national security deserve economic opportunity when they come home, and this bipartisan achievement is one small way we can repay them for their hard work and sacrifice.”

The bill was actually signed into law by Bush earlier this month, which should be a good thing, right? Wrong! And the following exchange between Senator Kerry and Small Business Administration chief Steven Preston shows why:

KERRY: The bottom line is, we’d like to know how much money, if in fact it’s an issue of not having money, we want to know how much it is, because that’s a priority program for the Committee and it’s kind of an unfortunate charade if veterans are being told that Congress passed a bill to help them get into the business, and then they try to do it and we say there is no money. We did not intend for that. We thought that was contained within the fees. The current fees were supposed to be able to pay for that.

PRESTON: Well, my colleague just gave me the number we have in the veteran’s piece. Assuming a billion dollar program, the cost would be about $42 million. And I think last year we had just over $900 million in veteran’s loans, so that should be a good indicator.

…

KERRY: Is the veteran’s component contained within your budget request now?

PRESTON: No, it’s not.

KERRY: Is there a reason why not? Would that not be a major priority for this administration?

PRESTON: Well the veteran’s bill was just passed, so it’s not something we would have been able to reflect in our budget, and I know we’ve been having conversations…

KERRY: How will we get at it now? Will they ask for it in the supplemental? Will they agree to raise this amount?

PRESTON: What we would need to do is work with you in the appropriations process…

KERRY: Will the administration support funding for that?

PRESTON: I don’t know at this point, I would need to work with my colleagues in the administration and bring back an answer for you.

KERRY: So you don’t know at this point whether or not you’re willing to fund the veteran’s program that was signed into law by the President? Sign it into law and not fund it?

PRESTON: I don’t have an answer for you on specifically subsidizing the veteran’s 7(a) program.

KERRY: Can you get that for us?

PRESTON: Yeah.

KERRY: How long will it take to get that?

PRESTON: I don’t know, but we’ll be in touch with your staff right after this hearing.

KERRY: Thank you.

There you have it. Once again, the Bush administration showed its true colors. "Sure, let's sign a bill into law to make us look good (can we say No Child Left Behind? I thought we can), but then let's just ignore it from here on out and especially let's not waste any of the intended funds on it!"

It really should come as no surprise that, yet again, an important program goes unfunded, and as usual it's one of the expendable groups taking the hit. The boondoggle in Iraq is costing the government 400 Million Dollars a day. That leaves precious little cash for worthier causes, even if they are bills that have been signed into law.