PELOSI -- Remarks at Enrollment Ceremony for Small Business Legislation

Please see below the Speakers comments at the signing ceremony.

You will see in the comments the Speaker mentioned myself and Todd McCracken the Executive Director of the National Small Business Association. As you know Small Business California is a CORE member of NSBA. Our two organizations fought hard for the passage of HR 5297 and NSBA deserves to be recognized.

It is also interesting to note that the Chairman of the House Small Business Committee Nydia Velazquez voted against the measure. She seems to be on the wrong side of small business interest consistently.

You have heard me talk about Volunteers In Medicine and many of you have contributed to Clinic by the Bay which is a VIM clinic in SF. For those of you that are new on this email tree Volunteers In Medicine is a program that takes retired doctors, nurses, dentist and lay professionals and gives them the opportunity to provide free health services to the working uninsured.

Clinic by the Bay will be opening shortly and will be the 82nd VIM Clinic in the US. I just heard yesterday we will also be opening a clinic in Palm Springs in the next month or so.

When I started working with the Volunteers In Medicine Institute about 12 years ago we had about 8 clinics. What is amazing is that we have been able to grow and start new clinics without taking any government money.

If you would like to contribute to Clinic by the Bay you can do so by going to http://www.clinicbythebay.org/ or sending a check to me. I will match all your contributions. If you contribute on line please let me know.

For information about Volunteers In Medicine go to http://www.volunteersinmedicine.org/.


Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188




Pelosi Remarks at Enrollment Ceremony for Small Business Legislation

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined senior Members of Congress and small business owners and advocates at an enrollment ceremony at the Capitol this afternoon to sign H.R. 5297, the Small Business Jobs Act, and send it to President Obama for his signature into law. The House passed the bill earlier this afternoon by a vote of 237 to 187, with only one Republican supporting the measure; the Senate passed the legislation on September 16. Below are the Speaker’s remarks.

“Good afternoon. I have often said to my colleagues that one of the most optimistic steps a person can take, except maybe getting married, is to start a small business. It is risk taking. It is entrepreneurial. It is in the spirit of our great country. And today, we celebrate that great spirit.

“I am proud to be joined by small business leaders and small business advocates and small businessmen and women. They represent the millions of small businesses nationwide that are the backbone of the American economy.

“In their name, today, Mr. Hoyer, our distinguished Majority Leader; Mr. Clyburn, our Majority Whip; the chairs of our Steering and Policy Committee, Chairwoman Rosa De Lauro and Chairman George Miller; the chairman of one of the committees of jurisdiction on this bill, Chairman Sandy Levin.

“In the name of America’s small business people, we will send to President Obama legislation that will unleash hundreds of billions of dollars in loans for America’s small businesses, create half a million new jobs, and provide billions of dollars in tax relief. And we are doing it in a fiscally responsible way—creating 500,000 jobs without adding to the deficit. It is paid for.

“Earlier this month, I joined, once again, over and over again all of us join our small business owners in our own districts to hear about the challenges they are facing. They told me, once again, about difficulties obtaining capital they need to keep their doors open and to grow. Indeed, 45 percent of small businesses seeking loans were unable to get their credit needs met last year.

“I heard that day from a longstanding leader for San Francisco’s and California’s small businesses, Scott Hauge. He said, ‘All we are asking for is this: lend us the capital so that we can create the jobs. It’s what we do best.’

“Today, we are doing just that: unleashing $300 billion in lending to small businesses and offering more than $12 billion in tax incentives to help small businesses grow, hire, and fuel our economy.

“The most eloquent voices in this debate have been the small business owners themselves. I am pleased that we have two such small business owners here. Frequently we talk about them from the podium, but I want you to hear from them themselves. First, we will hear from Mariana Huberman, an entrepreneur from right here in Washington D.C. And after Mariana, Todd McCracken will join us and tell us of his experience and why this legislation is important.

“Small businesses, as we know, are the backbone of our economy: they have created two-thirds of all the new jobs created over the last 15 years. Today, we are helping small businesses become what they have been all along but even stronger engines of our recovery.

“Shortly, I will sign the bill, but first we are going to hear from Mariana. Mariana, please join us. Mariana Huberman—owner of a UPS store in D.C.”

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