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“NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS WEEK” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Commerce was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H3842-H3843 on May 26, 2010.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS WEEK
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Bean) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Ms. BEAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to recognize National Small Business Week. This year marks the 47th annual Small Business Week, during which we honor the immense contributions of entrepreneurs, their companies, and their workforce to our country.
Our Nation's economic rebirth relies on the ability of our community businesses to innovate, develop, and market solutions that deliver measurable value to their clients. Their growth and success creates up to 80 percent of new jobs in our Nation, including 25,000 already this month.
As a former business owner, I recognize today's many challenges, including getting access to capital, lowering energy costs, funding R&D, workforce training, and improving efficiencies.
When I host Small Business Federal Resource Seminars in my district, I encourage community businesses to connect with Federal agencies whose resources and programs could be useful to their operations, including--
I have the SBA come out and share information with our businesses about 504 and 7(a) and Express loan programs. We also talk about small business development tools from the SBDCs.
The IRS is available to provide information about small business tax incentives, which include 179 expense provisions and bonus depreciation, the NOL carryback that has already refunded $2.6 billion to small businesses that had been in the stimulus, so that as they had been profitable in previous years, they can get those dollars back at a time they need to cover payroll and operating expenses. There are also tax credits for health care, which the IRS elaborates on as well.
The Commerce Department talks about export programs, and the Department of Energy talks about Webinars and grants, tools, and incentives for energy development and energy efficiencies.
Small firms are the engine of our U.S. innovation and competitiveness, producing 13 times more patents for employees than those in larger firms. And they support our communities. In addition to goods, jobs, and services, small firms invest in local real estate. Their suppliers grow as they grow, and they contribute to charities and provide leadership and mentoring services to their neighbors.
To help small firms weather the recession and access the capital that is critical to their growth, Congress and the SBA have stepped up. The Recovery Act included $288 billion worth of tax cuts, not just to 95 percent of working Americans, our consumers, but business incentives as well, including bonus depreciation, 179 expensing, the NOL carryback, and capital gains exclusions for small business stock. The first-time home buyer tax credit helped bring 700,000 new buyers back into the market.
This broad-based stimulus went further with infrastructure investment in roads, bridges, energy, and water projects, and included investments in education, smart grid technology, and health IT.
We have seen a positive return. GDP growth has gone from negative 6 to positive 6 since the stimulus, and U.S. manufacturing is now growing at its fastest pace since 2006. While these signs of recovery are encouraging, more needs to be done.
Creditworthy businesses need to have access to working capital, and many need to restructure their debt in the months and years ahead. When businesses can't access financing, they delay contracts, hiring, equipment purchases, and other expansions.
The Recovery Act provided higher guarantees and reduced fees on SBA 7(a) and 504 loans. Since its passage SBA has driven over $27 billion in small business loans into the hands of our community businesses, yet many are still struggling to access affordable capital. Banks are operating under tightened lending standards and have greater risk aversion and greater exposure to the instability of the commercial real estate market.
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Their strained balance sheets make it difficult to continue extending credit, where appropriate, to small businesses.
The experience of the Recovery Act has shown that the SBA guarantee can make a difference for an entrepreneur in need of capital. When it comes to Congress' approach to fostering recovery, every week must be Small Business Week.
My colleagues and I will continue to address the capital access gap with measures we move forward in the weeks ahead. Congresswoman Dahlkemper and I have a bipartisan measure to increase the maximum loan size and guarantee on the SBA express loan, a critical tool that provides working capital so firms can restock inventory and make new hires.
Today I introduced the Small Business Asset Investment and Modernization Act, which will enhance the SBA 504 loan program for commercial real estate, buildings, and heavy equipment.
Businesses are facing a collateral program as their loans mature and their equity is down in value. Many small business owners obtained loans during the bubble, getting loans at inflated appraised values on their property or with balloon payment structures. Banks are reluctant to restructure debt, particularly if the borrower is equity challenged or if the bank is capital challenged.
My bill will temporarily enable business owners to refinance their commercial real estate debt through the 504 program, addressing an acute near-term need in that sector. Over the next few weeks, I look forward to advancing these and other initiatives to help our growing businesses get the capital they need.
I urge my colleagues to join us in moving forward on further programs to support the work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit of our small businesses, the cornerstone of our economy.
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