Small Business Lending Fund Act of 2010--Resumed

Floor Speech

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Mrs. MURRAY. I wish to thank Senator Cantwell, Senator Landrieu, and all of those on our side who have been working so hard on this issue for so long.

As all of us know, small businesses are not only at the heart of our communities, they are at the heart of our economic recovery. They provide secure, stable jobs. They drive the innovation that provides economic growth and expands opportunity for all. They are the foundation on which we build our economy.

But we also know that this economic downturn has hit our Nation's small businesses particularly hard. Lines of credit have been cut off, businesses that were expanding and hiring suddenly slammed on the brakes, employees have been let go, and inventive and original ideas have been put on hold.

In communities throughout our country, our small businesses have been left to fend for themselves.

A large part of why this has happened can be explained by looking at the health of our community banks, which provide the capital that drives business growth and job creation.

The fact is, help has come much too slow for our community banks. Because of that, we have seen these banks fail one after another, lending has dried up small businesses, and job growth has suffered.

While Wall Street institutions such as AIG and Goldman Sachs were deemed too big to fail, the collapse of our community banks has apparently been too small to notice. In communities across my State and across the country, the loss of their hometown banks has certainly been noticed. In my State of Washington, just in the past year, there have been 10 community banks that have failed. Believe me, their communities have felt the loss of these banks.

Earlier this year, the FDIC closed American Marine Bank, a small bank that serves small communities in my State, including Bainbridge Island. It was a bank that had served small businesses and families in the community since 1948. It was the first bank that allowed the people who lived there to do their banking without having to take a ferry ride all the way to Seattle.

Over the years, American Marine provided the capital that allowed Bainbridge Island and other areas of our Olympic Peninsula to grow into self-sustaining economies, to grow from very sparse farm areas into suburbs that included thriving small businesses and family-wage jobs.

An article that ran in the hometown Kitsap Sun newspaper after the collapse captured what the bank's failure meant for local businesses and families.

In the article, Larry Nakata, president of a local grocery chain, said American Marine had been his bank since the day his store opened and noted that over the past 52 years he has gotten repeated loans from American Marine over time to build new stores, expand, and hire new workers. In that same article, Mary Hall, a local business owner, talked about how a former CEO of American Marine believed in her enough to give her a loan to start up her paint company back in 1984, which still serves the community today.

Jeff Brian, a movie theater owner there, talked about how American Marine provided the loans he needed to buy new land and open new theaters. He said:

They were there for us from the very, very beginning.

Madam President, it is not just that community banks are failing, it is that they simply don't have the capital to lend to even very successful small businesses in their communities.

This is something I have heard repeatedly talking to small business owners in every community of my State.

In Vancouver, WA, I heard from Tiffany Turner, who, with her husband, owns a growing inn. She told me they have grown close to 10 percent, despite the economic recession. But they have now been told by their bank that ``we are not lending in your sector.''

In Seattle, I heard from Dani Cone, the owner of a local coffee company, whose credit ran dry and has been forced to borrow money from family members to keep her business afloat.

I heard from a bookstore owner who had taken out $60,000 on her own personal credit card to keep her business afloat.

I heard from a husband and wife who opened a local restaurant about how they finally had to close up shop for good.

I heard from people who were driven by their passions, who wanted to grow their business and wanted to hire but have been stymied by the lack of credit flowing from their banks.

Obviously, at a time when we are now relying on our small businesses to drive job growth, this is unacceptable. Right now we ought to be doing everything we can to make sure small business owners have the credit they need to grow and hire.

That is, in fact, why last year I introduced the Main Street Lending Restoration Act, which would direct $30 billion in unused TARP funding which was supposed to go to Wall Street, back to our community banks that are under $10 billion, so they can unlock the vaults and start to lend to small businesses in their communities again.

It is exactly why I spoke to Secretary Geithner and President Obama about this directly--and why I have been pushing so hard to make small business lending a priority.

I have felt strongly that we have to be more focused on community banks if we are going to make progress and bring true recovery to Main Street businesses again. It is why I am so proud to stand here today and support this amendment that will create the small business lending fund and State small business credit initiative.

The small business lending fund takes a most powerful idea from my Main Street Lending Restoration Act and sets aside $30 billion to help our community banks--those with under $10 billion in assets--to help them get the capital they need to begin lending money to our small businesses again.

It would reward the banks that are helping our small businesses grow by reducing interest rates on capital they receive under this program.

It would help support small business initiatives run by States across the country that are struggling now due to local budget cutbacks.

My State of Washington is one of the most trade-dependent States in the Nation. So I am very glad this amendment also includes the Export Promotion Act, which would provide support and resources to small businesses that are trying to ramp up their exports.

Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy, and this amendment will help them get back on their feet, expand, and, importantly, add jobs to our communities.

I grew up working in a small business. My dad was the manager of a five-and-dime store in Bothell, WA. As a kid, I did everything from sweeping the floor, to working the till, to taking out the trash. I remember how our little businesses and those around us on Main Street were the cornerstones of our community and how, in fact, they were actually the cornerstone of our local economy.

My experience is certainly not unique. For many decades, the defining strength of our financial system has been our small businesses and their ability to access credit at affordable rates, grow beyond their walls, and provide good-paying jobs.

It is time for us to get back to ensuring that our small businesses are the backbone of our economy. This amendment is a very important step in that direction.

I thank Senator Landrieu for her outstanding leadership on this issue. I
am here today to urge all of our colleagues to support this amendment, and let's get Main Street back to work again.

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