John Kerry: “as the Senate and the House prepare to bring the 107th session to a close, we leave some important small business…”

“as the Senate and the House prepare to bring the 107th session to a close, we leave some important small business legislation unfinished. Regrettably, that includes passage of the Small Business Drought Relief Act because of serial holds from Republicans since August 1-3 and a half months. This emergency legislation passed our committee with unanimous support, and yet Senators with no jurisdiction in small business, instigated by an administration that claims to support small business, obstructed passage. The committee reached out to those Senate members and their staffs time and again, and there was no cooperation. Sixteen Governors-- Governor Hodges of South Carolina, Governor Easley of North Carolina, Governor Barnes of Georgia, Governor Foster of Louisiana, Governor Musgrove of Mississippi, Governor Perry of Texas, Governor Wise of West Virginia, Governor Patton of Kentucky, Governor Glendening of Maryland, Governor Holden of Missouri, Governor Keating of Oklahoma, Governor Sundquist of Tennessee, Governor Warner of Virginia, Governor Siegel man of Alabama, Governor Huckabee of Arkansas, and Governor Guinn of Nevada--reached out to the Congress asking for us to pass this bill, and they got no cooperation.”