Hire More Heroes Act of 2015

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. PETERS. Madam President, I rise to express my deep appreciation to my colleagues Senators Stabenow and Brown and to the majority leader for the bipartisan work that was done to remove a harmful and economically costly financing provision from the bill that is currently before this body. I had significant concerns with a provision in the pending highway bill which could have impaired the economic recovery in my home State of Michigan and in States across our country.

I am a strong supporter of programming to invest in our Nation's infrastructure, and much of the substance of this bill is absolutely essential. I applaud the work that has been done on a bipartisan basis to achieve a compromise, something that happens too little in Washington. While I believe Congress must make smart investments in our Nation's roads, bridges, and infrastructure, I also believe we must do so in a responsible way that does not hamper the economic recovery occurring in our States.

There are numerous financing policy alternatives available to lawmakers to fund infrastructure investments, but the drafters of this legislation originally chose to pay for infrastructure investments, in part, by asking some of the hardest hit communities in our Nation and in my State to bear the burden in order to help pay for the infrastructure investments contained in this bill. I am talking about a provision in the original bill and in the substitute which would have eliminated an important economic recovery program called the Hardest Hit Fund.

The Hardest Hit Fund has successfully supported efforts by local lenders to promote economic revitalization and renewal after the deepest and most painful housing and financial crisis in modern history. The Hardest Hit Fund helps States and municipalities invest in their citizens and in their communities. According to the most recent data reported by the State of Michigan, the Hardest Hit Fund has assisted more than 25,000 of my constituents in preserving their piece of the American Dream--their family home.

Not only are these funds being used to keep eligible families in their homes, but these dollars have also been put to work improving neighborhoods that have been devastated by urban blight resulting from America's most recent economic challenge.

In Michigan, we know the impact abandoned properties can have on economic renewal. Blight is not just ugly, creating eyesores and dragging down surrounding property values, empty homes and buildings also serve as way stations for criminals and drug dealers and further discourages outside investors and homeowners from taking a chance on a neighborhood that has been affected by blight.

That is why local leaders have been working with the nonprofit and private sectors to identify and eradicate blight in our communities. Several thousand blighted properties have been demolished or removed thanks to Michigan's partnership with the Hardest Hit Fund, and thousands more are in the pipeline to be addressed in the near term.

Thanks to the work done to address blight, homeowners are investing again in neighborhoods. Urban farming and greening and beautification efforts are well underway with businesses, nonprofits, and local schoolchildren transforming their communities one block at a time. Some of the impacted cities have already made investments in this area in anticipation of reimbursement from the Hardest Hit Fund. It would have been an unfair and inappropriate breach of our agreement to pull the rug out from under these cities at this stage in the game. That is why I worked with Senators Debbie Stabenow and Sherrod Brown to offer an amendment to strike this provision in the highway bill that would have rescinded the remaining Hardest Hit Fund money from communities that most desperately need it.

Congress must come together and pass a multiyear transportation bill that makes smart investments to upgrade our country's crumbling infrastructure, but it would have been unacceptable to fund this plan at the expense of the communities in Michigan and other States that rely on the Hardest Hit Fund to eliminate blight and improve their local neighborhoods. This proposal not only risked future blight-removal funds, it could have left cities across Michigan on the hook for millions of dollars already outlaid for blight-removal projects.

As legislators, it is important that we first do no harm when making policy. In considering this highway bill, it is important for us not to harm the very communities we are aiming to help by advancing infrastructure policies.

It was important for us to act to avoid impairing the economic renewal that is underway in places such as Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Saginaw, Pontiac, and other communities across my great State. Elimination of Hardest Hit funding would have been harmful to entire communities that are relying on public-private partnerships to transform their communities.

For these reasons, I was prepared to oppose the legislation we are considering today because I believed these changes would do damage to the economic recovery in my State. I could not in good conscience support this legislation under those conditions. But thanks to the unwavering dedication of my colleague, the senior Senator from Michigan, Ms. Stabenow, and the cooperation of the majority leader, we were able to find a way forward that avoids disruption to this important program and avoids devastating economic outcomes in cities across my State.

This is what the legislative process should be all about here in the Senate. We were able to come from a point of major disagreement, and through intense and respectful discussion, we were able to agree on a workable solution. This process has demonstrated that colleagues on both sides of the aisle can work together to prioritize the needs of their constituents while also advancing the economic interests of our country.

I look forward to further consideration of this important legislation.

Madam President, I wish to take a moment to express my gratitude to my colleagues in the Senate for prioritizing the needs of our Nation's small businesses.

Last night the Senate passed a critical and timely reform of the Small Business Administration's flagship lending program, the 7(a) Loan Guaranty Program.

Because of a growing economy and increased demand for small business loans, the SBA's 7(a) lending authority for this fiscal year may have been jeopardized absent the actions we took last night. This bill increased the 7(a) loan program authority from $18.75 billion to $23.5 billion. It also tightened the standards on lenders' determinations of borrower eligibility in order to target the SBA guaranty to promote loans to those who truly need it, and it included robust SBA reporting requirements that will keep Congress updated on the pace of lending going forward.

I am glad we were able to act in a bipartisan fashion to address this issue to continue to put the wind at the back of our country's entrepreneurs. We must make sure small businesses continue to receive the resources they need to survive, to compete, and to succeed.

I thank Senators Vitter, Shaheen, and Risch for their leadership on this matter. I have been working with them since the spring to increase the lending authority, and I am proud to say we accomplished that for the rest of this fiscal year.

Small businesses need to access the capital they need in order to continue growing and creating jobs. The 7(a) program is a true success story that provides small businesses and startups with a versatile financing tool that can be used to support a wide range of business development activities.

It is also a promising sign for our economy that demand for the 7(a) loan program is increasing at a faster rate than anticipated just last December when the previous authorization level was set.

In last week's semiannual ``Monetary Policy Report'' to Congress, the Federal Reserve indicated that financing conditions for America's small businesses were continuing to improve.

In recent months, SBA's 7(a) program has experienced unprecedented demand, approving over 45,000 loans this year totalling more than $16.5 billion--a 25-percent increase over this same period last year.

According to a Pepperdine University and Dun & Bradstreet study published this summer, America's small businesses are seeing rises in revenue, with 48 percent of surveyed small firms reporting revenue increases--4 percent growth from 3 years ago. Demand for small business loans increased by 9 percent over the first quarter's study.

These are positive signs. We have more work to do, but they are very positive. If these trends continue, we will need to ensure that next year's lending authorization level reflects the still-recovering economy and the growth of small business loan demand so that we will not be up against the cap again next year.

The reporting improvements in the bill passed last night will also help Congress perform better oversight and monitor the developments in the 7(a) lending program in a more timely manner.

The 7(a) program is a critical tool in the small business policy toolkit because it helps our economy at no cost to the taxpayer. Let me repeat. This is a no-subsidy program, so this increased authorization comes at no cost to taxpayers.

Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and helping them grow and compete should be a bipartisan priority. As a member of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to explore other small business policy changes in the months and years ahead. Our Nation's small businesses create jobs and help support our local tax bases, which in turn feed education, public safety, and health care priorities.

It is not a stretch to say that if small businesses succeed, all of our communities succeed. That is why I was proud to work with Senator Risch as the lead cosponsor on the Small Business Lending Reauthorization Act of 2015 earlier this year, and I was proud to work with the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship to pass this legislation to deliver needed results last night.

Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source