On the recordNovember 17, 2011
the amendment I offered, No. 1197, will help small businesses. Small businesses often serve as subcontractors, or suppliers, to large corporations that have a primary government contract. My amendment would help guarantee that small businesses get paid by these large corporations in a timely way. More specifically, my amendment would require the Office of Management and Budget to issue regulations in the next year to do this. This amendment sounds simple. There is a reason for that. It is. It is something we can do here today that will offer real and significant help to small businesses. It is going to offer predictability and certainty to them. Anyone who owns a small business will tell you that they can't hire more people or plan for the future if they don't know when their next paycheck is coming. Getting their money more predictably and quickly will enable them to make the investments they need to grow, thrive, and hire more people. The administration has recognized that small businesses are the engine that drives our economy. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, small businesses create an overwhelming majority of all new jobs. Small businesses are also responsible for producing half of the private sector GDP. Given this, it makes sense to me that we need to figure out how to make sure small businesses are getting paid on time.…
