Bill Nelson: “I ask the question to underscore what the Senator from Louisiana has just said, which is that small business, which is…”

“I ask the question to underscore what the Senator from Louisiana has just said, which is that small business, which is the mainstay of the economic engine in so many of our States-- certainly, that is true with Florida, as a matter of fact--the technological ingenuity of America often comes out of small business firms. How many times have we heard in our townhall meetings or in meetings with elected officials back in our States, the people who are being starved to death are the small businesses, because the banks won't lend? The big banks don't give them a break, and they are going out of business. They could have hired or doubled their employment. The community bankers want to lend, but they feel that the regulators have clamped down on them and this program--if it can multiply to $300 billion of lending for small business over the next 10 years, at a minimum, isn't that the kind of jumpstart we need to provide jobs and get this economy moving again?”