(Washington,
D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) spoke on the Senate floor to
strongly urge her colleagues to put politics aside and support the Small
Business Lending Bill currently being considered on the Senate floor. After
being blocked by Senate Republicans in July, this bill cleared a key hurdle
yesterday and a final vote on the bill is expected later today or tomorrow.
Murray
told her colleague the stories of small business owners she met with in
Washington state over the last few weeks. She spoke about
the ways that this bill will help small businesses in Washington state expand
and create jobs. 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.
Key
excerpts from Senator Murray’s speech:
“I
spent the last month crisscrossing Washington state and talking to families and
small business owners about ways to create jobs and grow the economy. And
what I heard again and again—from so many of these small business owners—is
that one of the major factors preventing them from growing is their inability
to access credit.”
“Small
businesses like the ones I visited in Washington state can be the engine that
drives our economic recovery. But that engine needs fuel in the form of credit
to run—and that fuel simply isn’t flowing right now.”
“Too
many of my Republican colleagues are afraid that a victory for small businesses
is a victory for the Democratic Party—and they simply don’t want to allow that
to happen this close to an election. Well I think that’s a shame. Because
I believe the challenges our small business owners face today transcend
partisan politics…And a win for small business isn’t a win for any one
political party— it’s a win for our economy, our workers, and our country.”
The
full text of Senator Murray’s speech follows:
“Mr.
President, over the past few months I have been pushing hard for legislation
that would help small business owners in my home state of Washington access the
capital they need to expand and create jobs. And I stand here today to
urge my colleagues to put politics aside and finally allow this critical
legislation to pass.
“Mr.
President, I spent the last month crisscrossing Washington state and talking to
families and small business owners about ways to create jobs and grow the
economy. And what I heard again and again—from so many of these small
business owners—is that one of the major factors preventing them from growing
is their inability to access credit.
“Banks
just weren’t lending them money—even to the small businesses that were doing
better than they’ve ever done before!
“I
recently spoke with a small business owner named Alton McDonald, who owns a
grocery store in Tacoma. He told me he wants to hire new employees—his business
is primed to grow—but when he went to the bank to get a loan, he was turned
down.
“I
also spoke with a small business owner named Peter Aaron, who owns the Elliott
Bay Bookstore in Seattle that has been a local institution for decades.
He is doing his best to keep his head above water in this tough economy, but he
told me that finding a lender to lend him the money he needs to stay in
business is an ongoing challenge. And right now he is really struggling to get
the financing he needs to put books on the shelves for the holiday season.
“I
also had the opportunity to speak with Timothy Robinson, who owns a small
manufacturing company in Snohomish County. His small business currently
employs 14 people—and is doing well—but he told me that despite his best
efforts he simply can’t get access to the credit he needs to expand. If he could
get a bank to give him a loan, Timothy told me that he could add 30 people
right away. 30 new jobs, right in Snohomish County.
“Mr.
President, what I heard from these small business owners and dozens more over
the last few weeks was clear: if small businesses were given greater access to
credit, they would be able to expand their operations and add new jobs.
“It’s
as simple as that.
“Small
businesses like the ones I visited in Washington state can be the engine that
drives our economic recovery. But that engine needs fuel in the form of credit
to run—and that fuel simply isn’t flowing right now.
“Mr.
President, in communities across my home state of Washington it has been
community banks that have taken the lead in providing that fuel for small
business growth.
“They
understand the communities they work in—and they work closely with local small
business owners to make sure their needs are met.
“But Mr. President, the sad fact is that for far too long our community banks have
been ignored in our economic recovery.
“Since
this recession began we have seen banks fail one after another, lending dry up
to our small businesses, and job growth suffer.
“While
Wall Street institutions like AIG and Goldman Sachs were deemed “too big to
fail,” the collapse of our community banks has apparently been “too small to
notice.”
“That’s
why last year I introduced The Main Street Lending Restoration Act, which would
direct 30 billion dollars to help jumpstart small business lending.
“It’s
why I spoke to Secretary Geithner about this directly. It’s why I have been
pushing my colleagues hard to make small business lending a
priority. And it’s why when President Obama came to Seattle last
month, I introduced him to local small business owners and we specifically
talked about this issue.
“Because
I feel very strongly that we need to focus more on community banks if we are
really going to make progress and bring true recovery to Main Street
businesses.
“So
that’s why I am so proud to stand here today to support this Small Business
Lending legislation.
“This
bill takes the most powerful idea from my Main Street Lending Restoration
Act. It sets aside $30 billion to help our local community banks—those
under $10 billion in assets – to help them get the capital they need to begin
lending money to small businesses again.
“It
would reward the banks that are helping our small businesses grow by reducing
interest rates on capital they receive under the program.
“It
would help support small business initiatives administered by states across the
country that are struggling due to budget cutbacks. And does it all while
saving taxpayers an estimated $1 billion.
“Mr.
President, when I met with small business owners across Washington state I
spent a lot of time discussing this bill with them.
“I
talked about how it would help them create jobs and grow their businesses— and
every single small business owner I spoke to thought this was a great idea.
“But
many of them had a question for me—a question I wish I had a better answer to.
“Their
question was: who would oppose a bill like this?
“Who
would oppose a bill that seems like such a common sense solution to a pressing
problem?
“A
bill that would create jobs, help small businesses grow, and boost our economy
at a time when this is desperately needed -why would anyone stand up and say no
to this?
“Well Mr. President, unfortunately, I suspect that it comes down to old-fashioned
political games.
“Too
many of my Republican colleagues are afraid that a victory for small businesses
is a victory for the Democratic Party—and they simply don’t want to allow that
to happen this close to an election.
“Well
I think that’s a shame.
“Because
I believe the challenges our small business owners face today transcend
partisan politics. And the truth is that this is a non-partisan bill.
It’s a bill that puts credit back into the hands of our small business owners.
A bill that puts people back to work.
“And Mr. President, a win for small business isn’t a win for any one political party—
it’s a win for our economy, our workers, and our country.
“So
I urge all my colleagues to put aside partisan politics, listen to the voices
of their constituents and small business owners, and support this critical
legislation.
“Thank
you. I yield the floor.”
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