Political Quotes

“I appreciate the gentlelady from Illinois (Ms. Bean) for yielding. I want to first thank the chair of the Small Business Committee, Congresswoman Velazquez, for the work that she has done on this bill and for others who have worked on this bill. As I'm sure has been said many times on this floor but bears repeating, small businesses are the job-creating engine of our economy. They employ more than half of all employees in the private sector, and they've created 64 percent of net new jobs over the past 15 years. So ensuring that small businesses have the resources they need to keep innovating, growing and creating jobs is essential if we're going to sustain the economic recovery. And small businesses have been at the heart of Democrats' recovery strategy ever since this Congress convened in the midst of the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, indeed, the deepest recession we've seen in three-quarters of a century. The Recovery Act, which cut taxes for 98 percent of Americans and is responsible for some 2 million jobs, gave small businesses tax credits for hiring many unemployed workers and helped them make the capital investments that are essential to their growth. Since the Recovery Act, we've expanded Small Business Administration lending, created further tax credits for hiring unemployed workers, and offered immediate and long-term tax credits to help small businesses afford employee health care.…”