Political Quotes

“I do appreciate the effort that is being made by the Senator from Louisiana to assist small businesses around this country. Frankly, there are many provisions in this bill I think people on both sides agree with. I have, as a member of the Small Business Committee, a number of these provisions that I have supported in the past. I think many of my colleagues probably have as well. So to suggest for a minute that the Republicans are somehow standing in the way of passing this small business bill is just wrong. There is clearly a lot of Republican support for many of the provisions that are included in this bill. In fact, I will mention the increased loan size and guarantees for SBA (7)(A) and 504 loans; temporary fee reductions for (7)(A) and 504 loans, updates to SBA's outdated size standards, and much needed tax relief through measures such as bonus depreciation, section 179 expensing, and allowing business credits against the alternative minimum tax, those are all things that there will probably be large bipartisan support for in the Senate. The issue we are having a debate about now is whether the Senator from Louisiana should be able to amend the underlying bill with a provision that would create a small business lending fund. The point has been made by the Senator from Louisiana that somehow it is just Republicans who are opposed. The fact is, there were objections to that provision on both sides. That is the reason it is not in the base bill.…”