113 STAT. 244 PUBLIC LAW 106-50—AUG. 17, 1999 for which the person would otherwise be qualified or qualifiable; or "(2) who is a service-disabled veteran.". (b) AUTHORIZATION TO MAKE LOANS.—Section 7(a)(10) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)(10)) is amended— (1) by inserting "guaranteed" after "provide"; and (2) by inserting ", including service-disabled veterans," after "handicapped individual". SEC. 402. ASSISTANCE TO ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY RESERVISTS. (a) REPAYMENT DEFERRAL FOR ACTIVE DUTY RESERVISTS. — Section 7 of the Smsdl Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636) is amended by adding at the end the following: " (n) REPAYMENT DEFERRED FOR ACTIVE DUTY RESERVISTS.— "(1) DEFINITIONS.— In this subsection: "(A) ELIGIBLE RESERVIST.— The term 'eligible reservist' means a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces ordered to active duty during a period of military conflict. "(B) ESSENTIAL EMPLOYEE.—The term 'essential employee' means an individual who is employed by a small business concern and whose managerial or technical expertise is critical to the successful day-to-day operations of that smadl business concern. "(C) PERIOD OF MILITARY CONFLICT.— The term 'period of military conflict' means— "(i) a period of war declared by the Congress; "(ii) a period of national emergency declared by the Congress or by the President; or "(iii) a period of a contingency operation, as defined in section 101(a) of title 10, United States Code. "(D) QUALIFIED BORROWER. —The term 'qualified borrower' means— "(i) an individual who is an eligible reservist and who received a direct loan under subsection (a) or (b) before being ordered to active duty; or "(ii) a small business concern that received a direct loan under subsection (a) or (b) before an eligible reservist, who is an essential employee, was ordered to active duty. " (2) DEFERRAL OF DIRECT LOANS.— "(A) IN GENERAL.— The Administration shall, upon written request, defer repayment of principal and interest due on a direct loan made under subsection (a) or (b), if such loan was incurred by a qualified borrower. "(B) PERIOD OF DEFERRAL.— The period of deferral for repayment under this paragraph sh^l begin on the date on which the eligible reservist is ordered to active duty and shall terminate on the date that is 180 days after the date such eligible reservist is discharged or released from active duty. "(C) INTEREST RATE REDUCTION DURING DEFERRAL.— Notwithstanding any other provision of law, during the period of deferred described in subparagraph (B), the Administration may, in its discretion, reduce the interest rate on any loan qualifying for a deferral under this pgu-a- graph.
�
