American Recovery And Reinvestment Act Of 2009

Statement

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Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Ms. Velázquez asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. I rise in support of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which will help restore stability to our weakened economy and drive growth within the small business community.

Mr. Chairman, in a recent hearing my committee met an entrepreneur, Thomas Rankin, whose 83-year-old family business, Ramer Lumber, had managed to weather the great Depression but wasn't able to survive the current downturn. This past November, his business closed its door for good.

All across the country, countless small business firms are facing the same fate. Recovery efforts enacted last fall have not trickled down to Main Street. From Mom and Pop restaurants to technology startups, small firms of every kind are suffering. What we need now are solutions that work for entrepreneurs. After all, they are the ones that are promoting growth and they are the ones with a proven track record of creating jobs.

But, unfortunately, a combination of restrictive lending and tightening credit has stunted small business growth, preventing entrepreneurs from playing their historic role of economic catalyst.

The Recovery and Reinvestment Act will help turn the tide. To begin with, $30 billion in targeted tax measures would allow struggling startups to stay afloat. For example, the bill will repeal the burdensome 3 percent withholding requirement for government contractors and allow for enhanced expensing for small businesses' purchases. For cash-strapped entrepreneurs, these initiatives could make the difference between meeting payroll and making layoffs.

The Recovery and Reinvestment Act also promises to thaw frozen small business lending and increase guaranties for new loans. At the same time, it will reopen the secondary market which has ground to a halt. Taken all together, these initiatives will put $13 billion into the hands of small businesses immediately, allowing entrepreneurs to do what they do best, create jobs. Small business lending provisions within the Recovery and Reinvestment Act will keep and create over 400,000 jobs. And at the end of the day, that is what small businesses do best, create jobs.

With unemployment at a 16-year high, let's not kid ourselves. There can be no recovery without job creation. That is why it is so critical that entrepreneurs have the resources they need to not just survive the downturn but to emerge from it stronger and ready to bring our economy back on track.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

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