[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 147 (Tuesday, October 4, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H6522]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       PASS THE AMERICAN JOBS ACT

  (Ms. EDWARDS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. EDWARDS. Mr. Speaker, the other side has been in the majority for 
39 weeks and they still haven't passed a single piece of legislation to 
create jobs or help small businesses. And now they reject out-of-hand, 
commonsense ideas in the American Jobs Act that would help small 
business owners who really are the economic engine responsible for 
creating 70 percent of the jobs in this country.
  Last week, I visited with small business owners like Susan Bishop, 
the owner of Jaha Hair Studio. She has been in business 16 years, has 
eight employees, and she has found it impossible to get a $30,000 
credit extension to meet payroll from a bank that she has done business 
with for 16 years. She wants to expand her business, to hire others, to 
train others, and she can't do it, but she could with the American Jobs 
Act.
  Constituents Abeba and Lene Tsegaye, owners of Kefa Cafe, told me 
that they would actually hire someone if they could get the tax credits 
available in the American Jobs Act.
  So why aren't we doing it, doing it for the owners of Kefa Cafe and 
other small businesses throughout my congressional district? These are 
real job creators. It's time for this to be our top priority.
  Pass the American Jobs Act. Get America back to work. It's time for 
the majority to act.

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