Political Quotes

“Two weeks ago, on July 13, this Chamber overwhelmingly passed H.R. 2499. This legislation provides greater assistance to our veteran entrepreneurs by making Small Business Administration, SBA, loans more affordable for veterans. It permanently waives the up-front fee charged by the SBA to borrowers through the agency's 7(a) Express loan program without imposing any additional costs on taxpayers. As my colleagues are aware, the SBA's 7(a) loan guarantee program is vital for small businesses to get the capital needed for growth of the American economy. As the economic outlook begins to brighten, more small businesses than ever before are taking advantage of this program. Despite a significant increase in demand over the past several months, Congress was not notified until June 25 that the program was dangerously close to its authorized lending authority of $18.75 billion and might surpass it prior to the end of the fiscal year. Such eleventh hour notification makes it difficult for Congress to act. Yet, Congress is acting swiftly to help America's small businesses, businesses that no longer could get SBA-guaranteed loans as of noon on July 23, when the SBA reached its authorized limit. I want to thank my counterparts in the other body for working quickly to resolve this matter and offering an amendment to H.R. 2499, the veterans bill.…”