Political Quotes

“The credit provisions are critically important. We make permanent the SBA guarantee programs--90 percent guarantees, the cost reductions, the 7(a) limits from $2 million to $5 million, the 504 limits from $1.5 million to $5.5 million, the microloans. We boost lending, by that alone, in the first year by $5 billion. Then, as our chairman has talked about, the State programs are funded as well as the community bank programs. I want to mention one additional point, if I might. I am disappointed the surety bond extension is not in this bill. I will work with the chairman of the Small Business Committee and the Finance Committee to make sure we find a way to include that in the American Recovery Act. We increase that from $2 million to $5 million. It deals with small construction companies. It is very important because for State and Federal contract projects over $100,000, you need to have a surety bond. If you are a small business owner, what you need to pledge in order to get that surety bond can deny you credit in the market. We have to extend that to the $5 million that was included in the Recovery Act, and I feel confident, after talking to the chairman, that we will find a way to get that done. The bottom line is this is a critically important, well-balanced bill that will help small businesses. This is our opportunity to vote for it. In half an hour, we will have a chance to decide whose side we are on.”