Sep 14: In a White House blog posting, Valerie Jarrett Senior Advisor to the President, highlights the importance of small business to "the engine of job creation in our economy." She pointed to a new report from Business Roundtable highlights what she says are "the principles and priorities that provide the foundation for the President's new ideas to accelerate business investment and increase the competitiveness of American firms. The report acknowledges the critical linkages between small and large businesses in our economy, and argued that 'government policies should be aiming to promote investment growth and job creation for all U.S. businesses.'"
Jarrett said, "To build on these efforts, we need to pass the Small Business Jobs Bill that is currently pending in the Senate. That bill would provide an additional 8 small business tax cuts, designed to help encourage hiring and promote small business growth. The bill would: Make 4 million small businesses and individuals eligible for higher small business expensing limits; Extend bonus depreciation for 2 million small businesses and individuals; Make 1 million small businesses eligible for zero capital gains taxes; Allow 2 million self-employed to receive a deduction for health insurance costs on their self-employment taxes; Enable virtually all small business owners to more easily receive a deduction for their use of cell phones. Acting on the small business bill along with the new proposals the President laid out would provide businesses large and small with unprecedented support and encouragement to invest and grow, not only in the short term but over the long term as well."
On September 14 the Senate amendment to the bill [S.Amdt. 4594 to H.R. 5297 (Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010)]passed a critical hurdle and received a cloture vote of 61 to 37 (2 Republicans not voting) which virtually guarantees its passage in the Senate. Nearly all Republicans voted against the bill, with the exception of George Voinovich (R-OH) and George LeMieux (R-FL). The Senate was expected to act on the bill September 15 and then it would have to be reapproved in the House before being delivered to the President for signature.
U.S. Department of the Treasury released a statement on the Senate cloture vote for the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010 saying, "The Senate, under the leadership of Senators Reid, Baucus, and Landrieu, has taken a vital step forward to help provide small businesses with the critical support they need to expand and hire in their local communities. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and a critical source for growth. This common sense legislation to provide targeted tax cuts and increase lending will help spur the creation of private sector jobs and strengthen our nation's recovery. I urge the Senate and House to move quickly to deliver legislation to President Obama's desk for his signature as soon as possible."
According to a Senate Finance Committee summary, the fully-paid for Small Business Jobs Act will provide small businesses access to capital, robust incentives for investment, and support for innovation and entrepreneurship. Among other items, the bill is projected to: Gives small businesses $12 billion in tax cuts; Help small businesses create 500,000 new jobs; and Incentivizes and increases small business lending. The bill would provide $1.5 billion in grants to support $15 billion in new small business lending through already successful state programs and create a targeted $30 billion Small Business Lending Fund to provide small community banks with capital to increase small business lending.
President Obama issued a statement saying, "Today's vote brings us one step closer to ending the months-long partisan blockade of a small business jobs bill that was written by both Democrats and Republicans. This is a bill that would cut taxes and help provide loans to millions of small business owners who create most of the new jobs in this country. It is fully paid for, it won't add to the deficit, and small businesses across the country have been waiting for Washington to act on this bill for far too long. I am grateful to Senators Reid, Baucus and Landrieu for their leadership on this issue as well as the two Republican Senators who put partisanship aside and joined Democrats in overcoming this filibuster. I urge all members of the Senate to support final passage as soon as possible."
Access the Jerrett blog posting (click here). Access the Business Roundtable report (click here). Access a release from the Treasury Secretary (click here). Access the statement from President Obama (click here). Access a bill summary and link to more details (click here). Access a Democratic fact sheet on Republican opposition to the bill (click here). Access legislative details for H.R. 5297 (click here).
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