John Kerry: “This is a letter from the Southern Governors' Association, with 15 southern Governors signing and asking us to pass this…”

“This is a letter from the Southern Governors' Association, with 15 southern Governors signing and asking us to pass this assistance. They have sent letters to Members of Congress asking them to support and pass the bill. Finally, we are not talking about grants. We are talking about loans. These are going to be repaid. The default record of the SBA over the last 10 years is really quite extraordinary on the positive side of the ledger. The question is whether we are going to look to small businesses that are equally hard working as anyone else in the country, who, like farmers, are suffering the economic consequences of a drought that is beyond their control. I thank Senator Bond for working with me to try to address this problem. I thank Senator Hollings, particularly, the chairman of the Commerce Committee, for introducing the bill with me. I am particularly grateful to the small business owners who have brought this issue to our attention and who hope we can break out of any partisan resistance within the Senate in order to do what is right. I hope my colleagues will permit us to proceed forward on this legislation.”