Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise to speak of an amendment, cosponsored by Senators Grassley, Enzi, Isakson, and Collins, which has proven small business job creating power. It should come as no surprise to anyone that it remains difficult for small businesses to access credit. We have all heard the justifiable frustration and outrage expressed by entrepreneurs nationwide in response to the albatross of tight credit which has a chokehold on our economy. And frankly, who could blame them, when just this past April, the Federal Reserve's Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey found the percentage of banks easing credit terms for small businesses was just a meager 1.9 percent--after it was an astonishing zero percent in both the past January and October surveys! Is this any way to jumpstart an anemic economy? As ranking member of the Senate Small Business Committee I, along with Chair Landrieu, have vigorously championed measures to ease credit and increase small business lending. Together, we fought to include in the Recovery Act key provisions to increase the maximum government guarantee on Small Business Administration, SBA, loans to 90 percent and to appropriate $375 million to reduce fees for SBA 7(a) and 504 borrowers. This program proved to be so popular and viable that its funds were expended first in November 2009, then in February 2010, and again in March 2010, following short term extensions.…”