House Passes Small Business Bill

The House has passed of the Small Business Lending Fund and Small Business Credit Initiative. This must be significant legislation as a number of press releases have come in about it. Let's hear from:

Pres. Obama:

I thank the House of Representatives for passing legislation that includes two of our key initiatives to help America’s small businesses and entrepreneurs create jobs and promote recovery. Our nation's small businesses are the backbone of the American economy and the main drivers of private job creation, and today’s approval of our Small Business Lending Fund and State Small Business Credit Initiative marks a new and significant step toward getting small businesses the financing they need to start up, expand, and hire more workers.

The Small Business Lending Fund would provide our nation’s community banks with capital and incentives to ensure that small businesses on Main Street can get the loans they have too often struggled to access since the onset of the financial crisis. The State Small Business Credit Initiative would help ensure that innovative state partnerships – today constrained by budget cuts – can better meet the credit needs of small businesses and manufacturers. I am also pleased that this legislation is moving forward as part of a larger package of small business jobs proposals that will include the elimination of capital gains taxes on key small business investments.

I want to recognize Chairman Barney Frank for his management of this bill as well as Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Chairman Sandy Levin, and Chairwoman Nydia Velázquez for their efforts on behalf of America’s small businesses. And I want to urge the Senate to act quickly to pass these initiatives into law.

Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz

U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz voted for legislation this week that will boost lending for small businesses and provide targeted tax relief so they can expand their businesses and hire new workers. The Small Business Lending Fund, Jobs Creation and Tax Relief Package passed by the House this week is comprised of two bills designed to help small businesses continue to weather the current economic climate.

“Providing American innovators and entrepreneurs with the resources they need to expand their businesses will help rebuild our local economies,” Schwartz said. “Small businesses are the largest job creators in the country and fostering a growth environment for these employers is vital to our economic recovery. This package of bills will boost lending, provide needed tax relief and incentives to grow small businesses and help build a stronger foundation for the American economy.”

The Small Business Lending Fund Act will create three separate programs designed to increase lending to small businesses and create jobs:

· Create a small business loan fund designed to boost lending to small businesses looking to hire and expand their operation by providing additional capital to community banks;

· Provide $2 billion in funding for new or existing state lending programs that will quickly increase small business lending and create jobs;

· Establish at the Small Business Administration a program to provide equity financing support to early-stage and high growth small businesses.

The Small Business Jobs Tax Relief Act will provide important tax relief targeted to small businesses to provide incentives to expand their businesses and create jobs.

On June 22nd, Schwartz will host a Small Business Resource Seminar with representatives from the Small Business Administration, the U.S. Commercial Service, the IRS and several other local Pennsylvania agencies. The seminar, which will be held in Lansdale, PA, will provide local small businesses with the tools and resources they need to expand and hire more workers as we continue to spur economic growth across the country.

Congressman Patrick Murphy:

Today, Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-PA) voted to spur job creation on Main Street by expanding much needed lending to small businesses to help them grow, hire new workers, and fuel our economy. The Small Business Jobs and Credit Act (H.R. 5297) will help small businesses access the capital they need to create jobs by encouraging new lending by financial institutions.

“I’ll continue doing everything I can to support our small businesses through increased lending and tax cuts, both of which help create jobs and get our economy back on track,” said Murphy.

“Patrick Murphy understands that small businesses are the engine of our economy and of job growth, and he’s fighting to make sure we’ve got access to capital so we can all keep our doors open and hire more workers,” said Carol Mignoni Ferguson, who, along with her family, owns Mignoni Jewelry in Bristol.

The Small Business Jobs and Credit Act (H.R. 5297) establishes the Small Business Lending Fund to expand lending to small businesses looking to create jobs and make new investments. The bill also forms the State Small Business Credit Initiative that provides funding for new or existing state lending programs and the Small Business Early State Investment program designed to help promising small business start-ups through public-private partnerships.

The bill was endorsed by a range of business groups including: National Small Business Association, Small Business Majority, National Association of Realtors, Conference of State Bank Supervisors, Independent Community Bankers of America, American Bankers Association, Biotechnology Industry Organization and National Bankers Association.

On Tuesday, Rep. Murphy voted to pass the Small Business Jobs Tax Relief Act of 2010 (H.R. 5486), which cuts taxes for small business owners and assists entrepreneurs in managing start-up costs associated with creating new small businesses. Rep. Murphy has championed small business tax cuts for the approximately 60,000 small businesses in Bucks, recognizing that small businesses in the 8th District and across the country are the drivers of economic growth and job creation as our economy continues to recover. Two of the most important provisions in the legislation increase the deduction for start-up expenditures and eliminate the tax on small business capital gains, which will encourage investment.

Rep. Murphy has championed a number of additional pro-small business efforts to help companies survive the financial downturn, expand and hire new workers. He voted to eliminate fees on Small Business Administration loans and to establish new loan programs to help struggling entrepreneurs. He also voted to pass tax credits to help local green energy companies like AE Polysilicon and Gamesa make crucial investments in clean technology to create high-paying, green jobs here at home.

Congressman Joe Sestak (excerpt):

U.S. Senate candidate Congressman Joe Sestak, Vice Chairman of the House Small Business Committee, praised today's passage of legislation to increase small business lending and promote job creation, including provisions he originally submitted in separate legislation and has advocated for in his Plan for Pennsylvania Families.

"More than 70 percent of all Pennsylvania jobs are created by small businesses and it has taken too long for many in Washington, DC to focus on them as the key to our economic recovery. We must remain focused on the fact that working families -- especially those that own or work in a small business -- will drive our recovery, more than big business and Wall Street," said Joe "This legislation takes an important step in the right direction by freeing up credit and providing tax breaks to generate job growth across all sectors of the economy without adding to the debt."

The Small Business Lending Fund Act of 2010 (H.R. 5297) that passed today directs existing funds from the Treasury Department exclusively to community banks for the purpose of lending to small business and, coupled with passage of the Small Business Jobs Tax Relief Act earlier this week (H.R. 5486), provides tax credits to small businesses to create jobs and spur economic growth. Importantly, these two bills will be sent to the Senate as one, deficit-neutral package for consideration and eventual enactment.

"Still, more needs to be done," said Joe. "Small businesses have had an exceptionally difficult time obtaining credit since the economic crisis began, resulting in lower than normal job creation and decreased entrepreneurship. I will continue to advocate for a tax credit for every new small business hire as well as an expansion of Small Business Administration lending. This will create millions of new jobs and help boost our GDP, resulting in increased revenues that we can put toward paying down the national debt.

"These efforts must be combined with an end to giveaways to large corporations that hurt working families, such as tax breaks for sending jobs overseas, special benefits that let hedge fund managers pay a lower tax rate than their secretaries, and huge tax cuts for big oil."