Kerry press release on small businesses

Kerry: President's State of the Union Ignored Small Businesses59 minutes ago

To: POLITICAL EDITORS

Contact: Kathryn Seck of Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, +1-202-224-9431


WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is a statement from Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), chairman of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, on the President's State of the Union address:


"Tuesday night the President talked about his domestic priorities -- about hope and opportunity, about keeping the economy moving, and about doing it with more enterprise, not more government. But on small business, the very backbone of our economy, he had nothing to offer. The President had no new solutions to foster enterprise or innovation, no plan for using small firms to achieve America's energy independence through green technologies, and no recognition of the needs of small businesses destroyed by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.


"Where was the hope and opportunity for New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast still so desperately seeking aid to rebuild after one of our country's worst natural disasters? A year and a half later, the jobs of rebuilding the Gulf and better preparing for future disasters are not done. These must remain top priorities in Washington and I'm disappointed the President didn't address them.


"What about the hope and opportunity for small business owners who create two-thirds of the jobs in this country? Many of them are struggling to keep their doors open and remain competitive. Minorities, women and veterans represent the fastest growing groups of entrepreneurs, yet they face constant barriers to success. The Small Business Administration can help where the private sector doesn't, yet the President's cut that agency more than any other in the federal government. And still, after six years, African Americans only get three percent of loan dollars out of the SBA's largest loan program.


"I fear that the President's omission of these key programs and priorities means that once again he'll send up a budget that weakens tools for fostering financial independence that could grow the middle class, close the wealth gap and expand entrepreneurship across all sectors of our society."

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The Senate's small-business committee has also announced legislation to help small business. Sen. John Kerry, D- Mass, the new chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, has unveiled legislation he says will level the playing field for small businesses and reform disaster loan program funding.

Kerry has vowed to secure additional funding for the SBA disaster loan program, which is expected to be bankrupt by February, and push through legislation to reform the agency.

Chief among his SBA reforms are policy changes requiring a more transparent budget process, including mandates for regular funding updates on its disaster loan program, reporting of daily lending activity for any major disaster declared by the president and requiring the agency to notify the small business committee whenever it is in danger of running out of funding. The bill also requires the SBA to report by May 1 its progress on developing a comprehensive hurricane response plan.

"There is no excuse for allowing such a vital program to fall into disarray," Kerry said in a statement. "I want to make sure we provide sufficient funding for the disaster loan program to keep it running this year and more importantly, to make sure that we don't run low on funds in future years."

Kerry also introduced legislation that would help small businesses lower their health care costs through a tax credit. The bill, which runs counter to President Bush's proposal to make health benefits count as taxable income, is designed to encourage more small firms to offer health insurance. The Small Business Health Care Tax Credit Act of 2007 would provide firms with fewer than 50 employees a refundable tax credit to employers paying at least 50 percent of health care premium costs for employers making between $5,000 and $50,000 a year.

Kerry also reintroduced legislation to reform the Alternative Minimum Tax. The bill would expand and extend the individual alternative minimum tax exemption amount for 2007 and allow nonrefundable credits against the alternative minimum tax for 2007. The loss of tax revenue would be offset by repealing the lower rates on capital gains and dividends for 2009 and 2010.

Minority business initiatives are also a major priority for the Senate committee. Kerry has proposed creating an Office of Minority Small Business Development within the SBA to give minority entrepreneurs an advocate within that agency. It would include a distance learning pilot program for minorities and would reauthorize the Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Business Program.

The committee has also proposed legislation to make it easier for small businesses to comply with federal regulations. The bipartisan legislation was approved Jan. 23 for inclusion as an amendment in the minimum wage bill currently up for debate in the Senate.

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