John Kerry: “today I join with Senator Snowe, the chair of our committee, and our colleagues, Senators Landrieu and Vitter, to…”

“today I join with Senator Snowe, the chair of our committee, and our colleagues, Senators Landrieu and Vitter, to introduce a bill to help small businesses that have been damaged, physically and economically, by one or both of the hurricanes that have destroyed the gulf region over the past four or five weeks. Our colleagues should feel very comfortable voting for this bill. The need is undeniable, based not only on what we see on television every day and read in the papers but also based on the testimony of small businesses and governors at hearings held in the Senate, in our committee last week, and this week before the Finance Committee. Further, 96 Senators voted for very similar legislation 2 weeks ago. This bill is very similar to the amendment (S.A. 1695) that Senator Landrieu and I offered to the fiscal year 2006 appropriations bill for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and Science, and that passed the Senate by a vote of 96 to 0 on September 15 as part of the compromise amendment (S.A. 1717) that I put forth with Senators Snowe, Landrieu, and Vitter. We offered those amendments to the appropriations bill because relief for small businesses had not been provided for in the two emergency supplementals. Two bills, worth some $63 billion, and nothing designated for small businesses.…”