Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Oklahoma, and I thank Senator Udall from Colorado for his words. Each day in towns and cities across my State of Ohio, small business owners and manufacturers will walk into a bank and apply for a loan to expand their business. They have workers, they have the capacity to grow, and they have orders for sales. They want to hire more workers. Too often, though, a creditworthy bakery shop owner, an auto supply manufacturer, or a clean energy entrepreneur will be turned away, snuffing out their dream and our economic recovery. The strength of our economy depends on the strength of our small businesses. We know that about half of all employees in my State of Ohio and in most places across the country work in small businesses. We know that about two-thirds of jobs created in this country come from small business. Whether it is to create these jobs or supply services to other businesses or export products to new markets, small businesses, of course, rely on access to credit. Yet bank lending dropped by $578 billion last year--the largest decline since the 1940s. That means 60 percent of small businesses in America reported they didn't have the credit they needed to meet their business needs. It is unacceptable that the same banks taxpayers helped save when the economy faltered are refusing to lend to responsible small businesses with good credit histories and good business plans.…”