Max Baucus: “the Book of Ecclesiastes teaches: ``The end of a matter is better than its beginning.'' In other words, getting…”

“the Book of Ecclesiastes teaches: ``The end of a matter is better than its beginning.'' In other words, getting something done is better than starting something new. That is what a lot of folks are telling us these days. They are telling us to get some things done. They are telling us to do something to create jobs. They are telling us to enact legislation such as the small business jobs bill before us today. In America, the private sector creates the vast majority of jobs, and in the private sector, small businesses are the principal engine of job creation. Over the past 15 years, small businesses generated two-thirds of new jobs. That is about 12 million new jobs. That is even more true in my home State of Montana. In Montana, we have the largest share of workers employed by small businesses of any State in the Nation. Nearly 4 out of 5 employees in Montana work in businesses with fewer than 10 workers, and 3 out of 5 employees in Montana work in businesses with fewer than 5 workers. The great recession has hit small businesses hard. Over the course of the recession, small firms have incurred two-thirds of the net job losses. We need to focus on small businesses as we seek to create jobs. When we help small businesses, we help get Americans back to work, and that is exactly what this small business jobs bill would do. This bill would help small businesses get capital. This bill would make it easier for small businesses to invest.”