John Kerry: “obviously somewhere in the next few days-- we don't know when yet--we are going to be wrapping up our business here, and…”

“obviously somewhere in the next few days-- we don't know when yet--we are going to be wrapping up our business here, and that will mark the end of the first session of the 109th Congress. Before we leave, Members on both sides of the aisle are very concerned that we will not have provided the assistance to the small businesses in the Gulf States region that they desperately need in order to recover from the effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The effect is that literally hundreds of thousands of small businesses are in desperate need of assistance throughout that region. Without the jobs those small businesses provide, the economy of the gulf coast is going to have a much harder time coming back. Since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the gulf coast, regrettably-- this has been commented on again by Senators on both sides of the aisle; it is not a partisan issue--there has been a stunningly slow response by the Administration to provide relief to small businesses. The administration has now sent up three pieces of emergency legislation--three supplemental emergency spending bills worth more than $62 billion--and yet we have not adopted any direct relief for small businesses. The latest supplemental request asks for $471 million in additional funding for SBA disaster loans and the SBA Inspector General. But, frankly, giving more money to the disaster loan program doesn't address small business needs.…”