Small Business Lending

Floor Speech

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Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, the chair of the Small Business Committee, Senator Landrieu, does such a fabulous job standing up for small business. She is making sure in this battle that someone is standing up for individual business owners all across America who have had a horrible time getting access to capital. I thank her for her leadership, for making sure the voice of Americans, who have been talking to their Senators for months and months and months about the problem with access to capital, are heard.

I thank Senators MERKLEY and BOXER for originally sponsoring this legislation and this amendment to improve access to capital for small businesses. They both have been listening to their constituents in California and Oregon and know how critically important it is to pass this legislation.

I ask my colleagues who haven't made up their minds about this proposal to check with their offices in their States to find out if they have heard from small businesses expressing their frustration about the lack of access to capital. If they actually listen to what people are saying in their States, they will find story after story of people who are frustrated, angry, and questioning how it is that Wall Street could get a bailout that was without any specifics about when the Treasury was going to get paid back, yet Main Street is being denied access to capital right and left.

I know my colleague has traveled his State. I know the chairman of the committee has traveled her State. I know my colleague from California has been all over her State. We have heard about more and more companies. I had a Washington company in Vancouver that basically, when the Bank of Clark County was taken over by the FDIC--and even though the bank that took them over was getting TARP funds, this business had its performing lines of credit cut right out from under them. That just happened overnight. Another business in the same area immediately had their line of credit cut. Another company, Vancouver Iron and Steel, had never missed a payment on its loans, but it lost its line of credit. Another high-tech company that had international contracts was doing everything. Their line of credit was pulled right out from under them. They are still having challenges. Another company in Richland, WA, that was a biofuels company and had fuel cell technology had their lines of credit reduced. This made them stop taking advantage of increasing their payroll and their access and the demand for new alternative energy technology. I had another small business in the Spokane Valley that had been wanting to hire additional staff and to get a new business location so she could improve things. Obviously, she had an existing business. She was not given access to credit. Another enterprise back in the Tri-Cities was forced to withdraw their funding, and a project is on hold until they get another line of credit.

These are all businesses that are operating, that had relationships with their banks, had performing lines of credit, and have had that credit cut right out from under them.

I ask my colleagues, when are we going to stand up for small businesses that have had trouble getting access to capital, that have been penalized? I don't think any of these community banks about which we have been talking were doing derivatives. I don't think they were doing the incredible types of activity that got us and our economy into this mess. What they want to know is, if they didn't cause this mess, how is it that when it came to the big banks, everybody said: Yes, here is the opportunity for you; here are the keys to the Treasury; here is all the money, but now, when it comes to making sure community banks are loaning to small businesses, people are saying: No, Main Street doesn't have the same priority as Wall Street.

I hope America is listening tonight. I have never asked, but I hope Americans will call their Senators tomorrow and make them understand that they have been put in a precarious position. They have struggled through this economic crisis without access to capital, without help and support, without the bailout Wall Street was given. They want to know, are their Senators going to stand up for them and help them with a program, as my colleague from Oregon said, that basically is paid for and is budget neutral. In fact, the terms of these agreements will generate $1.1 billion and help us reduce the deficit. Small business is asking for an effective lending program through the community banks. That is all they are asking for. We gave Wall Street a bailout without any terms and conditions on repayment. Main Street wants to know if their Senators are going to stand up for them and get an access to capital program small businesses can take advantage of.

The chairman knows these numbers well, but 75 percent of new job growth in America comes from small businesses. But they are not going to be able to grow and expand and innovate if they don't have access to capital. Right now, they are not getting access to capital because of the new requirements that were put on after this financial crisis that they were asked to adhere to. We didn't ask Wall Street to adhere to that; we basically said: Here is your bailout.

Please, call your Senators. Make sure they hear your individual story about your business, how you didn't get access to capital, why it is important to get this program. If Americans call their Senators and discuss this program with them, we will get the votes we need to secure this legislation and empower Americans who are really going to restore the economy.

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Ms. CANTWELL. I am sure some people will give us the details about what they believe the terms of the deal for Wall Street were. But it is safe to say there was no specific date that Wall Street had to pay back the money. No one ever asked them if they would be viable with or without the money. They were--in the blink of an eye, in some cases--given access to Treasury funds.

This is a program that has been done in a transparent process, with the input of lots of Members, input from both bodies, discussed by the Treasury Secretary in many public forums. It was in the President's State of the Union Address as a priority to get access to capital, the requirements and specificity of banks that want to apply. This isn't picking winners and losers
such as what was done in the haste of October, 2 years ago. This is about a bill that is an open process for banks that want to participate. These are the terms the Federal Government is setting up for participation, a very open and transparent process. The main difference is one was a bailout, and this is a lending program. I want to know why my colleagues don't support it, if they don't, because I think America supports making sure there is access to capital. They want to know why is it that the CEO of an AIG or another company can get access to all the capital they need from the Federal Government, but when it comes to a small business, they can't go to their community banks and get access to capital at this critical moment.

I hope we can resolve this issue and move forward. I hope Americans will call and speak up about this. Maybe there are some States that have not been rocked as hard. Maybe there are States that were not in the same situation as some of the ones we have heard from tonight. But it is safe to say that Americans have been squeezed by what has happened by this implosion of the economy. They know that their ingenuity can help restore the economy, that they need access to capital.

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