STATEMENT
of the
Honorable Nydia M. Velázquez
Ranking Member, House Small Business Committee
End of Year Report 2003, Press Conference
December 8, 2003
As the first session of the 108th Congress
comes to a close, there is a lot of discussion about what
did and didn't get done. But there is no dispute about how
nothing got done for small businesses.
As Ranking Member of the House Small Business
Committee, I can tell you this is bad - bad for small businesses
- bad for the economy in general - and bad for the millions
of Americans searching for work.
It is exactly in these times - when our economy
is fragile, when unemployment is high and wages are flat
- that small businesses can save the day. Small businesses
are the job creators, the innovators, and the leaders of
economic growth. It is unfortunate the Republicans don't
see it that way. They might say they do - but their actions
prove they don't.
The 108th Congress started out with a lot
of hope - and a lot of promises. The Bush administration
and Congressional Republicans vowed to do everything they
could to help small businesses. Tax and regulatory relief?
Yes. Affordable health care? Yes. Access to government contracts?
Sure. But the rhetoric is much different from the reality.
The small business Congress quickly turned into a big business
Congress. And that is why the Democrats on the House Small
Business Committee are issuing this report today.
In surveying associations that represent small
businesses from all over the country, this report looks
at 11 critical small business issues - and how the Republican-led
Congress and the White House didn't solve any of them.
Instead of helping Main Street, President
Bush and the Congressional Republicans helped Wall Street
instead. Just look at the energy bill with its billions
of dollars in subsidies and tax cuts for large corporations.
Or the Medicare bill that helps the big pharmaceutical companies
get rich at the expense of our nation's community pharmacists
and senior citizens.
And no place is this more obvious than in
the administration's most recent $350 billion tax cut -
the cornerstone of their economic strategy. Just 3 percent
of it went to small businesses. To add insult to injury,
these provisions won't be around long because they are set
to expire. And it's not as if there was any lack of small
business tax cut ideas. There were a handful of bills that
would have really helped our nation's entrepreneurs - but
after the dividend tax cut, there was just no room for them.
There are also the small business bills that
went NOWHERE. These include legislation to help small businesses
provide health care, pensions and training for their employees,
or give them greater access to the federal marketplace.
But these bills were hardly even noticed. Just like this
nation's small businesses.
Among the dozens of small business bills that
saw no action, the one that, perhaps, mattered the most,
was the reauthorization of the SBA. This bipartisan bill
passed out of the House Small Business Committee unanimously.
It modernized and streamlined SBA's programs. But the administration
and Republicans stonewalled it. And who loses the most?
This nation's 23 million small businesses.
This inaction has led us to where we are today.
Almost 9 million Americans are out of work. What these people
need are jobs - and small businesses can provide them. Small
businesses are the surefire way to get our economy back
on track - for good.
We hope this report sends a very strong message
to the Republicans - if you want the economy to rebound
- if you want economic opportunities in our communities
- if you want our country to prosper - you have to stop
talking about small business and start doing something to
help them. Small businesses have led us out of tough economic
times in the past - they just need the right tools. And
Republicans need to give them those tools in 2004. They
let them down this year. I urge them not to let them down
again.
Thank you.
