U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-9) today spoke on the floor of the House of Representatives in support of America’s small business owners and urged his colleagues to support H.R. 3854, the Small Business Financing and Investment Act of 2009.  Following are his prepared remarks as well as video of the remarks as delivered, http://www.youtube.com/user/BLuetkemeyer#p/a/u/0/h_Qw8fMG5QI.  

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this bill and am pleased that this bill includes my legislation, H.R. 3740, the Small Business Investment Company Modernization and Improvement Act of 2009. As a small businessman, I am proud to support a bill that would assist many fellow small business owners and employees throughout my district in Missouri and all throughout the country. Small businesses have generated up to eighty percent of net new jobs annually over the last decade and contribute thirty-eight percent of the GDP, and like every recession before, small businesses will lead us back to economic prosperity.

 

Most small business owners remain cautious in their economic outlook, with more than two-thirds saying the recession is not over for them in a recent poll. Many people want a signal that the economy is on the mend, but America’s small business owners aren’t able to send that message yet. 

 

In recent hearings on the Small Business Administration’s capital access programs, we heard from two SBIC witnesses from my home state of Missouri -- Capital For Business and C3 Capital. Both testified that despite having a fifty-year record of growing American small businesses and providing over fifty-five billion dollars in financing to over a hundred thousand U.S.-based businesses, the SBIC program is being dramatically underutilized. When both credit and investment have evaporated, it does not make sense to leave an effective small business tool unused.

 

Additionally, this bill would halt the continued flight of SBICs that participate in the program by establishing an expedited licensing process. A broken licensing system, for far too long, has been cutting off capital to good small businesses. I know of a successful SBIC in Missouri that applied for a second license, and it took over a year, countless hours of paperwork and expensive legal bills.  This legislation would provide a transparent process, with clear standards, and a reasonable timeline for applicants. However, this bill also includes strong taxpayer protections. New background checks and proof of raised private capital would be required.  Funds that have major regulatory problems or that are unable to raise private funds would not be able to get an expedited repeat license.  Further, the Administrator should have the authority to put the brakes on any application that she thinks may pose a risk to the taxpayer. 

At a time when small businesses are still struggling to keep their doors open, I am pleased to see a bill working its way through the legislative process that would improve initiatives already available to small businesses. Perhaps more important, the bill we consider today recognizes the ability here to create good private sector jobs in Missouri and across the country.

I urge my colleagues to join me in passing this legislation.

 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With that, I yield back.