Providing for Consideration of H.R. 2352, Job Creation Through Entrepreneurship Act of 2009

Floor Speech

PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 2352, JOB CREATION THROUGH ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACT OF 2009 -- (House of Representatives - May 20, 2009)

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Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 457 provides for consideration of H.R. 2352, the Job Creation Through Entrepreneurship Act of 2009, under a structured rule. The rule provides 1 hour of general debate controlled by the Committee on Small Business.

The rule makes in order nine amendments which are listed in the Rules Committee report accompanying the resolution. Each amendment is debatable for 10 minutes, except the manager's amendment which is debatable for 20 minutes.

The rule also provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Resolution 457 and the underlying bill, the Job Creation Through Entrepreneurship Act of 2009. I'd like to thank Chairwoman Velázquez, as well as my friend from North Carolina (Mr. Shuler) and my colleagues on the Small Business Committee for their strong leadership in bringing this legislation to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, this bill represents a giant step forward in ensuring a bright future for all Americans who are struggling to establish or grow their own businesses. It will bring hope to our veterans as they return home and encouragement to billions of Americans who haven't always had equal access to the necessary tools to start a business.

Fittingly, this legislation is on the floor of the House of Representatives during National Small Business Week. It capitalizes on untapped resources in the business community by expanding access to business counseling, training and networking to small business owners everywhere, including underserved populations such as women, veterans and Native Americans to help ensure all of our prosperity.

This legislation will help women gain access to jobs by requiring the women's business centers to describe their job placement strategies for the area in their annual plans. Too often women are denied access to jobs in high-paying, high-growth sectors. Promoting gender equity is critical for ensuring that all workers benefit from the job creation that our economic recovery plan spurs, as well as our other policies.

This bipartisan bill, which was voice voted out of the Small Business Committee, represents what we can accomplish when Republicans and Democrats work together. While there are many ideological and political differences on how to address the economic crisis, this bill is a product of consensus.

There's nothing more American than small business. This bill is a combination of seven bills approved in subcommittee, five of which were authored by my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, and I'm especially pleased to report that my friends on both sides of the aisle support this important effort.

According to the Small Business Administration, small firms represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms, employing half of all private sector employees. As the unemployment rate climbs, these small businesses have managed to create 60 to 80 percent of the new jobs that were created annually over the last decade. It's our responsibility to create an environment where small business can thrive and continue to produce half of our non-farm GDP.

This bill will spur job creation and economic growth by expanding resources and providing technical assistance to small businesses. Small business is the engine that drives our economy, especially during tough economic times.

Unemployment continues to rise, currently at 8.6 percent nationally and 7.9 percent in my home State of Colorado. People often turn to starting their own small businesses when they become unemployed. These businesses are frequently the sole source of income for many American families. This legislation will help these entrepreneurs gain the skill required to sustain and grow their businesses and succeed.

A recent report released by the Small Business Administration reveals that the economic recession continued to deepen in the first quarter of 2009. Real GDP fell by 6.1 percent. Small business owners, consumers and the public at large remain pessimistic. Poor sales and access to credit have crippled many American businesses. With this legislation we can help reverse this negative trend and give entrepreneurs the tools they need to succeed and embrace growth opportunity for all Americans in the future.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I believe my good friend on the other side of the aisle said that this was a closed rule. This is actually a structured rule that allows for nine amendments that have been made in order. A number of others have been withdrawn and incorporated into the manager's amendment.

She also mentioned that she wished that there was more opportunity to amend this bill. I would just remind my colleagues that there were only three amendments that were offered from the other side of the aisle. Certainly, we would have encouraged and liked more. Of those three, two were nongermane and one, according to the Parliamentarian, of those was a violation of PAYGO. The other will, in fact, be ruled in order.

Certainly, we always appreciate suggestions from all perspectives about how to improve these bills, and hopefully we will have many more ideas that are offered on legislation going forward.

This bill expands support for veterans who are working to establish their own businesses, particularly at this time of war for our country and as we phase out of our involvement in Iraq and many men and women return home to an economy that is difficult to find a job in.

Our men and women in uniform who have made immeasurable sacrifices should have the opportunity and assistance they need to start a business. Our troops need to know that when they return from harm's way, there is a network of job support and business resources waiting for them when they come home.

By directing the administrator of the Small Business Administration to establish a Veterans Business Centers program, this bill will provide entrepreneurial training and counseling to veterans. This training will empower veterans who participate in the program to achieve access to capital and start their own businesses, helping to rebuild our economy.

The SBA will provide small business grants through these Veterans Business Centers which alleviates a major hurdle to many new businesses, access to capital. This bill puts specific emphasis on service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. We owe a special duty to our wounded warriors, especially those whose reentry into the work force could otherwise be difficult.

This legislation presents an opportunity to fund efficient growth in a sector that reaches everyday Americans. Every dollar invested in these incentives and initiatives returns $2.87 to the economy, and in 2008 alone, the SBA's entrepreneurial development program helped generate 73,000 new jobs and infused $7.2 billion into the economy. Let me repeat that: 73,000 new jobs at a time when we're hemorrhaging 32,000 jobs a month and we all dread the release of the next unemployment report.

Job creation is vital to our economic recovery. It's during these tough economic times that more and more Americans are starting small businesses. In fact, the majority of Americans' first job is at a small business. As our economy bounces back, Americans returning to work will find that it is a small business community in which they will find their next opportunities.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. POLIS. You know, I feel that the five members from the other side of the aisle and the two from our side of the aisle whose bills went into the bill would not like their efforts characterized as merely ``lip service to small business.'' This bill provides tangible tools to the Small Business Administration in helping entrepreneurs start small businesses.

With regard to taxation issues, we have a Ways and Means Committee. We have a process for discussing those bills. It was the ruling of the Parliamentarian that it was not germane to this bill, in fact, quite to the contrary of what my friends on the other side of the aisle said. I recall a comment from a member on the Rules Committee that this was an important issue, one that was worthy of discussion, but of course, again, it was not germane to this particular bill that's before us today. I'm confident that this is a discussion we'll continue to have with regard to the inheritance tax and with taxation in general, but this is simply not germane to the matter of this bill.

Let me put a human face on what the Small Business Administration does and how they help people. I had the opportunity to speak yesterday to the head of the Boulder Small Business Development Center in my district of Colorado. She told me this story of a young woman who had just graduated from college. She had broken her arm, and she had a cast for her arm. She decorated her cast with cast tattoos, and her friends all commented, I want some of those. Those look terrific. The word spread about these cast tattoos.

This young woman approached the SBA and was given the know-how she needed to be able to start a business based on those cast tattoos. Well, she has created two jobs today directly, not to mention the indirect jobs she has created through the manufacturing process. She now sells those cast tattoos in several States and continues to grow her business amidst this time of general economic uncertainty.

H.R. 2352 is the opportunity to fund efficient growth in a sector that reaches every American on Main Street. It helps us reach entrepreneurs who previously didn't have access to capital, access to information, and it provides new multilingual, online distance training and access to specialists who can help with financial literacy. By combining some of the best ideas from both sides of the aisle, in a bipartisan way, we can help move American small business forward, which will help this country recover from the recession that we're in.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. POLIS. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There are many things that this bill is not, and I fail to find those solid grounds for opposition. This bill is not a cure for cancer. This bill is not a cut in capital gains. This bill is not about abolishing the inheritance tax. There are many things that many of us would like to do that are not in this particular bill. Rather, let us discuss the merits of this bill in helping our veterans, in helping the handicapped, and in helping the unemployed to create small businesses, to create value, and to create jobs in the economy.

I would like to yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Ms. Giffords).

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Mr. POLIS. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Again, there are many things that our country can do for small business. When we talk about taxes, of course predictability in the inheritance tax rate would be a good thing, and I hope we work towards that end.

We talk about the corporate income tax rate. There's evidence that we might be higher than many other countries in the world and, for that reason, many companies may be locating offshore. Maybe we need to reduce that.

These are all very, very important discussions. We need to look at the revenue impact, we need to look at the benefit, we need to look at how it affects American business. Business needs to be a part of that.

That's wonderful that my good friend on the other side of the aisle cited the interest in the inheritance tax issue for many affiliations and small businesses. That's a very important discussion to have. But none of that should stand in the way of the important work of the Small Business Administration in giving entrepreneurs the tools that they need to succeed. They're in these very difficult economic times.

Yesterday, I had the chance to talk to Sharon King at the Boulder Small Business Development Center in my district. They offer a number of programs that would benefit tremendously from this legislation. They feel that the ability of the SBA to help small businesses has atrophied considerably under the Bush administration.

This bill will help restore their ability to help give Americans the tools they need to start their businesses at a time when demand is higher than ever.

Not only do existing small businesses need help in accessing credit, which is becoming ever more difficult, but more and more Americans are unemployed, which gives them the opportunity to maybe start their own business, to start their own ability to earn money because they lack another job.

I'd like to reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. POLIS. I yield myself such time as I may consume. If we're talking about things we can do to help small businesses that are not in this bill, let me add a number of others that we have already accomplished.

I'd like to remind my colleagues on the other side of the aisle every single Republican Member voted against the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which included $15 billion of tax cuts for American small businesses, including increasing section 179 expensing limits to let small business owners fully depreciate capital purchases for items likes trucks, computers, and other equipment in the same year it was purchased.

We also extended the carryback period for net operating losses, helping many small businesses in America use their losses from years past, from 2 years to 5 years. We also delayed the 3 percent withholding tax on payments to government contractors.

We also provided relief for the alternative minimum tax, which hit tens of thousands of American small business owners. We also established tax credits for small businesses that hired recently discharged veterans and out-of-work youth.

In addition to those tax cuts, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act also generated $21 billion in new lending and investment for small businesses; provided direct interest-free loans of $35,000; and makes loans less expensive for small business borrowers by eliminating fees that were normally built into SBA-backed loans.

In the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, we increased to 90 percent the amount of an SBA-backed loan that the government guarantees, making it easier for small businesses to get loans from local banks. We also unclogged the market for SBA-backed loans to help gain access to credit, to our markets.

In every area of our country, small businesses continue to encounter the same difficulties. They're having difficulty borrowing money and face significant difficulty raising capital from equity and other sources. Until these problems are addressed, our economic recovery will be slowed.

Fortunately, with this bill and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Congress and the President can continue to make important strides to remove these barriers to small business growth and help small business succeed in leading this recovery.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. POLIS. In talking to the Boulder Small Business Development Center yesterday in my district in Colorado, they told me about the seminars that they have in gaining access to contract decision-makers, consulting, the seminars they do to help train minority-owned businesses. Our local center also offers scaling up, which teaches entrepreneurs how to gain access to capital and grants. Finally, they're working on a turnaround program for downtown Boulder businesses, helping retailers and restaurants. Like many communities across our country, our vacancy rate has increased, and many retail businesses are having trouble in this recessionary environment. Without the resources that are made available by this bill, the Boulder Small Business Development Center, along with many other centers around the country, will be forced to cut programs and training. The 21st century will demand innovative small businesses stay up to date on groundbreaking technologies.

H.R. 2352 includes a green entrepreneurial development program to provide education classes and instruction in starting a business in the fields of energy efficiency and green or clean tech. This, at its core, is a training program that's important for the future of America. With the right training and access to the right resources, the sky is the limit for America's entrepreneurs.

So much of our work so far in this Congress has moved us in the direction of creating more jobs, passing the budget, work on health care, clean energy, education, the Recovery Act, the green schools bills, the Water Quality Investment Act. This important bill for the Small Business Administration is another step on the road to recovery.

I urge a ``yes'' vote on the previous question and on the rule.

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