Does this budget have support for the development of small business clusters?

it is just infuriating to me that they are cutting off credit to small businesses that, in many cases or in most cases, are paying on time.

I look forward to working with you to give small businesses the support and assistance they need to emerge from this recession strong and nimble.

Senator Collins has been working with this group for some time.

How is the SBA going to ensure, when you have over 5,000 lenders and 270 certified development companies that are making loans, how are you going to ensure the integrity of that process when your nondisaster staff is shrinking?

The Fed frankly has its hands full.

I think there's widespread consensus that we do need to have a systemic risk monitor.

What is the status of efforts to establish an economic stimulus lending program, a secondary market guarantee authority for pools of SBA 504 program first-lien mortgages, and SBA secondary market lending authority to make loans to…

Ordinary Americans need to know that, if they are wealthy and have a lot of assets... they are not going to get a free pass.

The CBO analysis also shows that the Obama budget will produce a deficit level averaging 5.3 percent of GDP across the 10-year budget window.

I think it's a brilliant idea and needs to be done.

The IRS is in the midst of a significant hiring initiative for enforcement staff as a result of its fiscal year 2009 budget.

I think that the whole issue of leveraging preparers is going to be part of our tax gap strategy.

I know personally how valuable those centers can be in providing advice and guidance, which can be at least as important--well, maybe not as important, but almost as important as money to a new business or a business that is thinking of…

We want to have a level playing field, more conservatively set, more evenly enforced across the U.S. financial system.

I introduced a bill in March to create a council of regulators to act as a systemic risk monitor.

Are you looking, as part of your reforms, on combining the OTS with the OCC? That's what my bill does. And needless to say, I think it's a brilliant idea and needs to be done.

As we all know, small businesses are the backbone of our economy.