Dear Friends,
On Wednesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testified at a House Small Business Committee hearing on the state of small business access to capital and credit. Specifically, the hearing focused on the Small Business Lending Fund (SBLF) and the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) created by the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010.
It was good to hear firsthand from Secretary Geithner on the status of SSBCI and the SBLF; however, I am very disappointed by the performance of these programs so far. It has been nine months since the creation of the programs and not one lender has received funding.
On top of this, businesses that do have cash are wary of using it to grow or hire out of fear of not knowing what is coming next, given the significant debt and deficit concerns our country is facing, along with skyrocketing energy costs, excessive regulations, Dodd-Frank, ObamaCare and taxes.
Secretary Geithner agreed with me that reaching an agreement on our debt, “[w]ould improve overall confidence across the country.” Getting our fiscal house in order by addressing our massive debt will provide more certainty for our nation’s small business owners, but it will also improve consumer confidence which will increase demand and sales.
With unemployment hovering at nine percent, the administration must start working with Congress to strike the right regulatory balance so banks can start lending again and reach an agreement on our debt without raising taxes. Together, this combination will grow consumer confidence which will get our nation back to the strong economic engine that we are accustomed to and get Americans back on the job.
Sam Graves
Chairman
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