Small Business Jobs Tax Relief Act of 2010

Floor Speech

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Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, for every American seeking a job, and every small business trying to expand so they can hire them, I rise in strong support of the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010 and the Small Business Jobs Tax Relief Act of 2010. These two pro-growth initiatives illustrate very clearly that jobs continue to be job one in the 111th Congress.

Small businesses are the engines of our economy, and timely, affordable credit is very often the fuel that helps them grow. Since 45 percent of small businesses currently report inadequate credit to support their needs, the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act establishes a new $30 billion fund for community banks, which will leverage up to $300 billion in new private sector lending to small businesses. Importantly, this new lending facility includes performance-based incentives to encourage near term lending by reducing borrowing costs to participating banks that increase their lending over 2009 levels and increasing borrowing costs when lending activity is reduced. The result will be a timely infusion of fresh credit to cash-strapped small businesses looking to create jobs in our growing economy.

To make it easier for entrepreneurs to attract capital and launch new companies, today's legislation also provides a zero capital gains rate on equity investments in qualifying small businesses made between March 15, 2010 and the end of the year--and it quadruples from $5,000 to $20,000 the deduction small businesses can take for start-up expenditures in their first year of operation.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation is broadly supported by the National Small Business Association, the Small Business Majority, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, the Independent Community Bankers of America, the American Bankers Association and the National Bankers Association. It is fully paid for and deserves my colleagues' support.

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