David Price: “it is ironic, or perhaps hypocritical is the right word, to be passing a Small Business Bill of Rights when in fact our…”

“it is ironic, or perhaps hypocritical is the right word, to be passing a Small Business Bill of Rights when in fact our Republican friends are gutting the very programs that support small businesses in this country. We will very likely pass this so-called bill of rights, but the danger is that in this Congress, this will become a smoke screen for inaction or worse. The Bush administration can find a trillion here and a billion there for tax cuts of questionable benefit to the economy, but they cannot find the funds necessary to help our small businesses that have time and time again proven their power to create jobs and spur economic growth. The Small Business Administration budget proposed by President Bush would provide the SBA with just over half the funds they had during the final year of the Clinton administration. That is like taking money right out of the hands of our small business owners. One out of every three small business loans in this country has been provided by 7(a). Last year the Bush administration eliminated funding to subsidize this critical program, and for the life of me I cannot figure out why. The return on this government investment is staggering. In 2004, 7(a) loans returned an estimated $12 billion on an $80 million investment. That is a more than a 100-fold return to the economy. It does not take a genius to realize that is good business and it is good common sense.…”