Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 120.djvu/3308

 PUBLIC LAW 109–438—DEC. 20, 2006

120 STAT. 3277

any good or service relating to the development or promotion of any railway connection or railway-related connection that does not traverse or connect with Armenia and does traverse or connect Baku, Azerbaijan, Tbilisi, Georgia, and Kars, Turkey.’’. SEC. 12. PROCESS FOR NOTIFYING APPLICANTS OF APPLICATION STATUS; IMPLEMENTATION OF EX-IM ONLINE.

Section 2 of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C. 635) is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘(g) PROCESS FOR NOTIFYING APPLICANTS OF APPLICATION STATUS.—The Bank shall establish and adhere to a clearly defined process for— ‘‘(1) acknowledging receipt of applications; ‘‘(2) informing applicants that their applications are complete or, if incomplete or containing a minor defect, of the additional material or changes that, if supplied or made, would make the application eligible for consideration; and ‘‘(3) keeping applicants informed of the status of their applications, including a clear and timely notification of approval or disapproval, and, in the case of disapproval, the reason for disapproval, as appropriate. ‘‘(h) RESPONSE TO APPLICATION FOR FINANCING; IMPLEMENTATION OF ONLINE LOAN REQUEST AND TRACKING PROCESS.— ‘‘(1) RESPONSE TO APPLICATIONS.—Within 5 days after the Bank receives an application for financing, the Bank shall notify the applicant that the application has been received, and shall include in the notice— ‘‘(A) a request for such additional information as may be necessary to make the application complete; ‘‘(B) the name of a Bank employee who may be contacted with questions relating to the application; and ‘‘(C) a unique identification number which may be used to review the status of the application at a website established by the Bank. ‘‘(2) WEBSITE.—Not later than September 1, 2007, the Bank shall exercise the authority granted by subparagraphs (E)(x) and (J) of subsection (b)(1) to establish, and thereafter to maintain, a website through which— ‘‘(A) Bank products may be applied for; and ‘‘(B) information may be obtained with respect to— ‘‘(i) the status of any such application; ‘‘(ii) the Small Business Division of the Bank; and ‘‘(iii) incentives, preferences, targets, and goals relating to small business concerns (as defined in section 3(a) of the Small Business Act), including small business concerns exporting to Africa.’’.

Deadlines.

SEC. 13. COMPETITIVENESS INITIATIVES.

(a)

EXPANSION OF SCOPE OF ANNUAL COMPETITIVENESS REPORT.—The Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C. 635 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 8 the following: ‘‘SEC. 8A. ANNUAL COMPETITIVENESS REPORT.

12 USC 635g–1.

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than June 30 of each year, the Bank shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that includes the following:

VerDate 14-DEC-2004

12:05 Jul 13, 2007

Jkt 059194

PO 00003

Frm 00080

Fmt 6580

Sfmt 6581

E:\PUBLAW\PUBL003.109

APPS06

PsN: PUBL003

�