On the recordJuly 28, 2010
I appreciate the opportunity to join my colleague and friend, the chair of the Small Business Committee, the Senator from Louisiana, in support of this very important piece of legislation. Let me first of all say: In her inimitable style, she has been relentless on this issue. On this issue, Senator Landrieu has truly been a leader. It is an issue of paramount importance. I wish to answer the question of the Senator, but I wish to first of all preface it by saying what I hear in Virginia--and I know what the Senator hears in Louisiana, with all the other challenges Louisiana has--is our constituents want us to focus on jobs. On any historic basis coming out of recession, 65 to 70 percent of all the new jobs created come from small businesses. And while we can point to certain positive signs in our economy right now--the Dow at 10,500 from a low of 6,500, 15, 16 months ago; corporate balance sheets, large Fortune 500 companies with more money on their balance sheets than at any point in recent history--good news.
