[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 91 (Thursday, June 17, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1129]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               SMALL BUSINESS JOBS AND CREDIT ACT OF 2010

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 16, 2010

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 5297) to 
     create the Small Business Lending Fund Program to direct the 
     Secretary of the Treasury to make capital investments in 
     eligible institutions in order to increase the availability 
     of credit for small businesses, and for other purposes:

  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. Chair, I want to thank Chairman Barney 
Frank and Members of the House Financial Services Committee for 
supporting the ``Small Business Lending Fund Act of 2010'', and for the 
opportunity to explain my amendment, No. 12, to H.R. 5297. I also want 
to thank Representative Anh ``Joseph'' Cao from the Louisiana's Second 
District, one of the Gulf Coast communities affected by the oil spill 
for co-sponsoring the amendment.
  My amendment would require the Secretary of Treasury to confer 
special consideration in the allocation of funds to states in the Gulf 
region, and to eligible financial institutions in the areas where the 
local economy has been adversely affected by the recent Gulf Region oil 
spill. Local communities that rely on the natural resources and the 
related business activity of the Gulf have been devastated. If economic 
action is not taken, they will continue to see layoffs, increased 
unemployment, and significant declines in economic activity. This 
amendment will help resolve the negative impacts of the oil spill by 
ensuring that credit is extended to small businesses in these areas.
  Madam Chair, given the enormous economy created by the natural 
resources of the Gulf of Mexico, the economic effects of the oil spill 
will be massive. In 2008, over 620,000 were employed in the tourism and 
recreation markets and 210,000 in commercial fishing industry in the 
Gulf Region. Secondary job markets also rely on business related to the 
natural resources of the Gulf. These include boat maintenance 
companies, fishing equipment suppliers, and cleaning companies to name 
a few. These markets are, and will continue to be adversely affected by 
the oil spill.
  Estimates of the exact economic repercussions of the spill have yet 
to be determined. However, the University of Central Florida predicts 
that in Florida alone, 40,000 jobs and $2.2 billion could be lost as a 
direct result. President Obama has recently stated that the American 
people should be prepared for an ongoing economic impact, resulting 
from the oil spill.
  In my recent visit to the impacted communities of the Gulf Coast 
region, I had an opportunity to visit with oystermen, fishermen, 
watermen, shrimpers, boat owners and others to listen to their personal 
stories of lost dreams, lost revenues, and disruptions to their way of 
living caused by the oil spill. This bill represents a small step 
towards returning their lives to some sense of normality by requiring 
financial institutions in these devastated communities, to begin 
lending again to small businesses, which generate jobs and incomes.
  Again, I would like to thank my colleague, Representative Anh Cao, 
for joining me as a co-sponsor of this amendment. He too understands 
the importance of this bill as a vehicle to provide small business 
lending to aid in the recovery of those communities affected by the oil 
spill. This amendment to H.R. 5297 would provide a major impetus in the 
sustained efforts towards recovery from this unfolding crisis. If small 
businesses are able to obtain credit, they would again gain the ability 
to grow, expand, and thus create new job opportunities in the regions 
affected by the oil spill. This would greatly offset the economic 
catastrophe that is already emerging in these areas; one that no one 
could have anticipated less than 57 days ago.
  For these reasons, I urge the Committee to make my amendment in 
order.

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