Political Quotes

“I thank the gentlewoman from New York for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5236, the Main Street Employment Act of 2018, that will help employee-owned companies. Employee ownership is an important part of helping workers build wealth. In addition to the income gap in this country, we also have a wealth gap. When a company does well, everybody should do well, not just the investors. This bill helps promote employee-owned businesses by making changes to the Small Business Administration's loan program that helps employee-owned businesses access capital. It is currently a barrier in the rules that actually gives a disadvantage to employee-owned businesses, when, as a society, as a Nation, we should be encouraging employee ownership. The SBA Loan Guarantee Program is often the only financing that many small businesses can get early on to get off the ground. This bill would open up SBA lending for cooperatives, which we often call co-ops, and also strengthens the lending program for ESOPs, which is another form of employee-owned company. There is a very successful ESOP in the district I am honored to represent called New Belgium Brewery that makes among the best beer in the world.…”