Jay Rockefeller: “I am proud to have joined last week with the Chairman and Ranking Republican Member of the Senate Small Business and…”

“I am proud to have joined last week with the Chairman and Ranking Republican Member of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, as well as a bipartisan group of my colleagues to cosponsor S. 1499, the American Small Business Emergency Relief and Recovery Act of 2001. It is no exaggeration to say that small businesses have always solidified the economic foundation of our country. While the Fortune 500 companies make the news, small businesses create most of the jobs and are responsible for much of the economy's growth. When terrorists attacked our country on September 11, there were many unforeseen and unfortunate side-effects. Our economy, which was going through a tough period anyway, suffered a significant blow that day and in the days that followed, and we can only hope that the recovery is rapid and steady. Unfortunately, the adverse effects of the September 11 attacks on many our Nation's 25 million small businesses may turn out to be even more profound than those sustained by the economy as a whole. The bipartisan proposal that my colleagues and I have introduced will provide a measure of the critical financial relief necessary to help small businesses recover from the financial losses and other damages incurred in the days and weeks following the attacks.”