[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Page 539]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    HELP OUR LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES

  (Mrs. KELLY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. KELLY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to work 
more collectively and comprehensively in Congress during the 
legislative year ahead to help our local small businesses. The 
President stressed last night that the tax and economic policies to 
help small businesses lead to continued economic growth and new jobs. 
Now is the time to put those words into action.
  During the past month, I have held town hall forums with small 
business owners and employees in New York's Hudson Valley. We agreed 
that there are five areas that we should focus our efforts to help our 
small businesses:
  One, lower health insurance costs for small businesses.
  Two, stop excessive and redundant Federal regulations on small 
business.
  Three, level the playing field for small businesses and give them the 
same advantages as larger companies.
  Four, permanently end the death tax that is a direct hit on family-
owned small businesses and family farms.
  Five, extend tax relief for small businesses to help them grow and 
create jobs.
  Let us fully demonstrate our commitment to small businesses by 
continuing to pursue legislative solutions to the challenges being 
faced by small businesses in the Hudson Valley and throughout our 
country.

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