Political Quotes

“I thank the chairwoman, Ms. Velazquez, for her assistance in putting together the Small Business Investment Expansion Act. I appreciate the opportunity I have had to work with Mr. Chabot and Mr. Graves, to work with both of them to produce a bipartisan bill that will benefit small businesses across this country. Their input was invaluable, and I thank each of them for their leadership. I represent a district that extends north of Pittsburgh which is home to world-class universities. Western Pennsylvania has thousands of small business innovators who are doing cutting-edge research and development in the life sciences. Western Pennsylvania's entrepreneurs have created numerous success stories; however, many of these companies did not become success stories overnight. Each of them had their challenges. Unfortunately, thousands of small businesses are formed each year that are unable to take that next step and overcome the capital expenses necessary to keep their businesses afloat during the early going. Part of the problem resides within the Small Business Administration's investment programs. The current Small Business Investment Act was written in 1958 and simply did not envision the type of capital environment that exists today in the 21st century. This antiquated law has led to inefficiencies in the SBA that contribute to an annual shortfall of $60 billion in unmet capital needs for American small businesses.”