Durbin Meets with Steven Preston of Downers Grove, IL--President's Nominee to Head Small Business Administration

DURBIN MEETS WITH STEVEN PRESTON OF DOWNERS GROVE, IL--PRESIDENT'S NOMINEE TO HEAD SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Steven Preston, former Executive Vice President of Service Master, in Downers Grove, IL, and the President's nominee to be the new chief of the Small Business Administration (SBA). Durbin requested today's meeting with Mr. Preston to discuss how SBA can further improve the processing of disaster recovery loan requests, legislation to make health insurance more affordable for Illinois' small businesses, as well as other business reforms beneficial to small businesses in Illinois.

"Steven Preston graduated from Northwestern University, went on to earn his MBA at University of Chicago, and served as both chief financial officer and executive vice president of a successful business in Downers Grove," said Durbin. "He understands business and he understands Illinois, and I am hopeful he will bring that understanding to his work at the Small Business Administration."

During their meeting, Durbin discussed improving coordination between SBA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and federal and state bureaucracy. "Two years ago, the response to the tornado in Utica left residents feeling stranded," said Durbin. "We need to improve upon the process so that Illinois families can rest assured that they will be taken care of. We are beginning to see the positive results of recent changes to SBA's disaster recovery loan process. After this year's tornado in my hometown of Springfield, businesses received the help they needed quickly and efficiently. I wanted to make it clear to Mr. Preston that I stand ready to work with him improve the system to ensure that Illinois businesses will have the resources they need when faced with future disasters."

Durbin also talked with Preston about legislation to help small businesses afford health insurance. Durbin's bill, The Small Employers Health Benefits Program (SEHBP), would allow small businesses across America to band together for lower health care prices by pooling their purchasing power and spreading their risk over a large number of participants. Employers would qualify for an annual tax credit to partially offset contributions on behalf of low-income employees.

"There are 1.8 million people in Illinois with no health insurance and thousands more who are under-insured," said Durbin. "Contrary to popular belief, most of the people in Illinois who don't have insurance are not out of work -- in fact, they work full time in small businesses that cannot afford health insurance for their workers. Small business owners in Illinois and across America are trying to do their part to help provide their employees with health insurance, but they are struggling with annual double-digit premium increases. This bill helps solve that problem and I would hope the SBA would lend its support in getting it signed into law."

http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=255180&&