(Washington,
D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Secretary of Commerce Gary
Locke, and President Barack Obama joined with Washington state small business
owners at Grand Central Bakery in Seattle to discuss helping small businesses
create jobs and grow the economy.
“I
am so glad that President Obama got to speak with Washington state small
business owners about what we can do to help them create jobs and grow the
economy,”
said Senator Patty Murray. “I told them that I am going to keep
fighting for a small business lending bill that would allow businesses across
Washington state to expand and add jobs. And I truly hope that the Republicans
who oppose this bill will put the needs of small business owners ahead of
partisan politics.”
In July, Senator
Murray spoke
on the Senate floor to strongly urge her colleagues to support the Small
Business Lending Fund and State Small Business Credit Initiative, but it was
blocked by Senate Republicans. This bill is expected to be brought to the
floor again when the Senate returns to session. The legislation would
create the Small Business Lending Fund, which sets aside $30 billion dollars to
help local community banks get the capital they need to lend money to small
businesses. It would also help support small business initiatives run by
states across the country that are struggling due to local budget cutbacks.
Murray has been a long-time advocate for a $30 billion fund to help
community banks lend to small businesses. Last year she introduced
similar legislation, and she talked directly
to Secretary Geithner and President Obama about making this happen.
Background
on small business owners at today’s event:
Gillian
Allen-White
joined Grand Central Bakery in 1997 after having worked in banking and for a
small high-tech start-up. She is currently a co-owner and the general
manager of Grand Central’s Seattle operations. Grand Central is a locally
owned artisan bakery that opened in Seattle in 1989 and has grown to include a
Seattle based wholesale facility and eight cafés with over 250 employees in
Seattle and Portland. In Seattle, Grand Central will be opening its ninth
café on Friday and over the next two months plans to hire five additional
employees across the three Seattle locations. Gillian is optimistic about
the bakery’s future potential for growth and continues to look for expansion
opportunities in the greater Seattle area.
Tiffany
Turner
and her husband, Brady, opened the Inn at Discovery Coast in 2004 in their
native Long Beach, with a loan from a local community bank. Out of the
same office Tiffany and Brady manage the 12-room Inn and eight bungalows
nearby. There are currently four full-time employees and during the peak
season there are up to seven additional part-time employees. Since
its opening the business has thrived, even expanding during the recent economic
downturn. In 2009 they approached their bank about a loan in order to
expand but were turned down. However, just recently, Tiffany and
Brady were approved for a loan that will enable them to expand operations and
hire up to 20 additional full-time and part-time employees over the coming
year. Tiffany and her husband have been ready to expand and hire more
employees, and can finally do so thanks to an economic climate where community
banks are lending to small businesses again.
Joe
Fugere
is the founder of Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria in Seattle, which was just
named independent pizzeria of the year . The first Tutta Bella opened in
2004 and has since grown to four locations, employing 180 employees. Joe
funded his first restaurant personally and later opened two additional
locations funded by loans from a large commercial bank. In December
of 2008 Joe approached his bank, a large regional commercial bank, to discuss
the funding of an additional location, but was turned down. He then
approached other large regional and national commercial lending institutions;
but was again turned down due to the uncertain economic climate.
Having been rejected by larger banks, Joe approached a community bank and
within a few weeks the loan was approved. In mid-2009 Tutta Bella’s
fourth location opened and currently employs 50 people. Recently, a SBA
loan under the Recovery Act has helped him improve the company’s cash
flow. Joe is proof that community banks can be the engine for getting
much needed loans to small businesses, so small businesses can grow, create
jobs, and build the economy.
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