Small Business Lending Act of 2010

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my colleague, Senator Burris, from Illinois, and the other Senators who have been on the floor this afternoon to speak to the Small Business Jobs Act that is pending before us today.

For weeks now, the Senate has been considering the Small Business Jobs Act. Today, I hope we will finally be able to pass this commonsense legislation that will help small employers and entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and to hire new workers.

While we have seen some signs that our economy is beginning to recover in New Hampshire, too many workers still cannot find the jobs they need to put food on the table and pay the mortgage. The best way to create those jobs is to invest in our small businesses.

Over the past 15 years, small businesses have created almost two-thirds of the new jobs in America. Small businesses are the cornerstone of New Hampshire's economy. Over 96 percent of businesses in the Granite State are small businesses with fewer than 50 employees.

But small businesses, as we all have heard, continue to feel the effects of a recession they had no hand in creating. That is why we need to pass the Small Business Jobs Act today.

This bipartisan legislation will dramatically increase lending to small businesses. It will enhance the ability of small companies to export. It will provide tax relief to so many small firms.

I am proud, as a member of the Small Business Committee, I worked with my chair, Mary Landrieu, who has done a terrific job on this bill, and ranking member Olympia Snowe, on provisions to enhance critical SBA programs. I am pleased to report this was a bipartisan effort.

I have come to the floor several times over the past few weeks to talk about the many important provisions in this bill--provisions that will get capital moving to small businesses again, and to provide them with some tax relief. But today I want to come to the floor to discuss another critical component of this bill, one that every Senator in this Chamber should support; that is, helping our small businesses sell their products overseas.

Exports are a great opportunity for small businesses that are looking to grow. Growing a small business is often about finding new markets for your products. Selling into foreign markets is especially important for businesses in my home State of New Hampshire.

Even in the difficult economic climate last year, one of the real bright spots in New Hampshire's economy has been exports. In 2009, New Hampshire had its second highest export year ever. But there is still a huge potential to continue to increase exporting by America's small businesses.

This chart I have in the Chamber shows the opportunity that exists for our small businesses. Only 5 percent of the world's customers live in the United States. We can see on the chart that is that very small blue portion of this pie chart. So that means 95 percent of the world's markets are outside of the United States.

But, of course, there are still significant barriers to small businesses as they try to access that remaining 95 percent of the world's population. For a small business, starting to export can be challenging. Unlike big firms, they do not have the technical capacity to identify new markets. They do not have the resources to go on trade missions, and they do not have the marketing expertise to promote their products to foreign buyers.

We can see the challenge small businesses face versus the challenge large businesses face on this pie chart. For large businesses, 42 percent of them export. For small businesses, only 1 percent of them in the country export. So 99 percent of small businesses still have the opportunity to access those international markets.

A vote for this bill is a vote to help small businesses in New Hampshire and across the country--businesses that are looking to export but do not have the resources or the expertise to do so. It is a vote to help small businesses create the jobs that will help us emerge from this recession.

I want to talk a little bit about one New Hampshire business that has been able to benefit from the kind of export assistance this bill will offer. The company is called Dartware. It is a high-tech company in West Lebanon, NH, over in the western part of our State, right across the river from Vermont. It is a pretty sophisticated business. It builds software to help improve professional networks. But even though they are sophisticated, they still had a tough time navigating the international terrain. So Dartware went to New Hampshire's International Trade Resource Center where they found a U.S. Foreign Commercial Service specialist who could help them, along with the folks at the Trade Resource Center. The center provided Dartware with a customized international market assessment and connected the business to international buyers for their services.

As a result, Dartware now has developed partner relationships in countries such as Brazil, China, South Africa, Egypt, and Argentina--countries that are emerging markets that offer opportunities for New Hampshire and America's small businesses.

The bill that is pending before us would give more small businesses such as Dartware the opportunity to succeed in exporting.

The Small Business Jobs Act includes two bipartisan bills I cosponsored that will help more companies access critical export resources. For the past few years, Federal and State resources have dwindled, while companies such as Dartware have clamored for more of these services to help them know how to export.

The Foreign Commercial Service has not been able to replace many of their retiring officials and, as a result, the service has been severely understaffed. This legislation, the small business jobs bill, restores staffing at the Commerce Department to 2004 levels and creates a competitive grant program so that strapped State export assistance centers will have that ability to provide grants to companies. This bill passed out of the Senate Commerce Committee with broad bipartisan support.

The Small Business Jobs Act also includes bipartisan legislation which will strengthen SBA export assistance programs. These programs help small businesses get the loans they need to finance their export growth and will provide export expertise. This part of the bill passed out of the Small Business Committee by a vote of 18 to 0.

So two more provisions in the legislation pending before us that have broad bipartisan support. These commonsense measures that had strong bipartisan support in committee deserve support on the floor when we vote on this legislation. There is no reason we should not have a strong bipartisan vote today when the full Senate takes up this legislation.

I hope all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will join me in voting for this bill because it is going to make a difference to our small businesses, and it is going to mean they can grow, they can add jobs, and we can put people back to work in this country. I urge my colleagues to join us in voting for this legislation.

Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source