[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16359-16365]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF SENATE AMENDMENT TO H.R. 5297, SMALL 
                       BUSINESS JOBS ACT OF 2010

  Ms. PINGREE of Maine. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on 
Rules, I call up House Resolution 1640 and ask for its immediate 
consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 1640

       Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution, it shall 
     be in order to take from the Speaker's table 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, to amend the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide tax incentives for 
     small business job creation, and for other purposes, with the 
     Senate amendment thereto, and to consider in the House, 
     without intervention of any point of

[[Page 16360]]

     order, a motion offered by the chair of the Committee on 
     Financial Services or his designee that the House concur in 
     the Senate amendment. The Senate amendment and the motion 
     shall be considered as read. The motion shall be debatable 
     for one hour equally divided among and controlled by the 
     chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on 
     Financial Services, the chair and ranking minority member of 
     the Committee on Small Business, and the chair and ranking 
     minority member of the Committee on Ways and Means. The 
     previous question shall be considered as ordered on the 
     motion to final adoption without intervening motion.
       Sec. 2. It shall be in order at any time through the 
     legislative day of October 1, 2010, for the Speaker to 
     entertain motions that the House suspend the rules. The 
     Speaker or her designee shall consult with the Minority 
     Leader or his designee on the designation of any matter for 
     consideration pursuant to this section.
       Sec. 3. The requirement of clause 6(a) of rule XIII for a 
     two-thirds vote to consider a report from the Committee on 
     Rules on the same day it is presented to the House is waived 
     with respect to any resolution reported through the 
     legislative day of October 1, 2010.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pastor of Arizona). The gentlewoman from 
Maine is recognized for 1 hour.
  Ms. PINGREE of Maine. Mr. Speaker, for the purposes of debate only, I 
yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Lincoln Diaz-Balart). All time yielded during consideration of the rule 
is for debate only.


                             General Leave

  Ms. PINGREE of Maine. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
insert extraneous materials into the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Maine?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. PINGREE of Maine. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 1640 provides for consideration of the 
Senate amendment to H.R. 5297, the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act 
of 2010. The rule makes in order a motion by the chair of the Committee 
on Financial Services to concur in the Senate amendment. The rule 
waives all points of order against consideration of the motion and 
provides that the Senate amendment and the motion shall be considered 
as read. The rule provides one hour of debate on the motion controlled 
by the Committees on Financial Services, Small Business, and Ways and 
Means.
  The rule also allows the Speaker to entertain motions to suspend the 
rules through the legislative day of October 1, 2010. Finally, the rule 
waives clause 6(a) of rule XIII which would allow for same day 
consideration through Friday, October 1, of any measure reported from 
the Committee on Rules.
  Mr. Speaker, today the House considers a tremendously important piece 
of legislation that provides long-overdue assistance to the millions of 
small businesses in our country. The Small Business Jobs and Credit Act 
of 2010 grants immediate tax relief to small business owners, increases 
access to much-needed capital, and enhances the ability of small 
businesses to export goods overseas.

                              {time}  1030

  Today, the House delivers on a promise it made to small businesses. 
With the passage of this bill, small businesses, the backbone of our 
economy, will be given the tools and relief they need to expand their 
companies, to create more jobs and to help this Nation recover from the 
worst economic recession in decades.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill provides more than just assistance for short-
term economic recovery, which it accomplishes by increasing the amount 
of money that banks can lend to small businesses, by eliminating 
certain Small Business Administration loan fees, and by giving States 
the increased flexibility to manage their own small business lending 
programs.
  This bill is also a blueprint for new and long-term job creation. We 
have heard the pleas from entrepreneurs and small business owners in 
our districts, and we closed the legal loopholes which gave 
multinational corporations an advantage in securing government 
contracts over HUBZone, 8(a), service-disabled veterans, and women-
owned businesses. Everyone is now on a level playing field when it 
comes to competing for Federal contracts.
  Perhaps the most important provision in this bill is the increased 
access to credit. As a small business owner myself, I know how 
difficult it is to make ends meet. When I first started my business, 
long before the credit crunch hit, fortunately I was able to work with 
a small community bank that was in a position to give me access to 
capital that was critical to getting my company up and running.
  Today, not all small businesses are so fortunate. No one was harmed 
more in the credit market collapse than small businesses. Throughout my 
home State of Maine, the stories I hear each week are the same:
  ``They say the economy is getting better, but I still can't get the 
capital I need to make payroll or rehire those employees I was forced 
to lay off, much less think about expanding.''
  This bill changes that by providing real relief at the same time 
small businesses need it the most.
  The benefits are not theoretical. This isn't wishful thinking. We 
know that increasing the 7(a) loan limits from $2 million to $5 
million, that increasing the 504 loan limits from $1.5 million to $5.5 
million and that increasing the 7(a) Express Loan limits from $300,000 
to $1 million will produce growth and jobs in communities all over our 
country.
  In July, the owner of Mount Desert Island Ice Cream, a small business 
in Bar Harbor, Maine, wrote to me to share her incredible success 
story. Despite the turbulent economy, she expanded her business and 
created 10 new jobs this summer because of a Recovery Act ARC loan.
  She explained if it weren't for the access to new capital, she 
wouldn't have been able to expand from two stores to three. She was 
able to use the Federal loan to manage the debt burden on her existing 
store locations, which freed up her cash flow, letting her expand.
  The results were a mini-economic boom in Portland. Mount Desert hired 
a staff of 10. It employed contractors and suppliers to retrofit the 
new store, and it buys more and more ingredients from local Maine 
producers, all because she had access to government-backed loans.
  I will say it obviously didn't hurt, Mr. Speaker, that business is 
also booming because her store sells really, really good ice cream. I 
think President Obama even got to enjoy a scoop or two when he went to 
Maine this summer.
  You know, I held a workshop in my district at the height of the 
recession in June of 2009, before the Recovery Act loans were 
available; and I invited small business owners from across Maine to 
attend. The response, frankly, was overwhelming. Hundreds of small, 
struggling businesses came because they had nowhere else to turn. They 
needed help to stay afloat and to meet their payrolls. They were 
adamant that loan limits were insufficient and that lending had dried 
up.
  In Maine, fishermen who run small businesses need capital for boat 
repairs--to replace gears and engines. Some of our fishermen are having 
a particularly difficult time gaining access to funds because they are 
already heavily in debt for their boats and permits, making it 
difficult for lenders to assess their levels of risk and exposure. 
Worse, fishermen who want to purchase and increase processing capacity 
to boost prices for the catches they receive face enormous difficulties 
in purchasing the facilities they need to process multiple species at 
once.
  One Maine fisherman explains it to me this way: ``The main problem is 
that, when most of us took out loans for our businesses, it was some 
time ago, and we could operate like a normal business. Now the struggle 
is getting even harder. Banks that I have dealt with do not seem to 
realize or care that things are different, and they still have fairly 
rigid rules that are based in the past about financing these 
operations. They pretty much laugh us out of the room now when they see 
the income from the last few years, mostly

[[Page 16361]]

due to a lack of price for the fish we catch. We need some kind of low-
interest loan program with very affordable payments if we are to keep 
the fleet in Maine until rebuilding occurs.''
  The loan guarantees included in this bill will make it more 
attractive for local lenders with the experience and know-how to 
provide access to the financing to our Nation's small business owners, 
and the reduced fees will make it more affordable for small businesses 
to grow, expand, and create jobs. This is why those at SBA support this 
bill, because they are able to work closely with lending institutions 
to assist our small businesses.
  Mr. Speaker, the recovery is under way, but we are certainly not out 
of the woods yet. Unemployment in my home State of Maine is about 8 
percent. That means almost 56,000 Mainers are out of a job. Passing the 
Small Business Jobs and Credit Act will provide much needed help. If 
the number of Maine small businesses with fewer than five employees 
added just one employee, then we could cut unemployment in half in our 
State. If every small business in Maine hired one more person because 
of the benefits in this bill, then we would certainly be on the road to 
recovery.
  This bill will also stimulate long-term job growth, once the economy 
is back on track, by implementing provisions that small businesses have 
long sought:
  There are numerous tax benefits that will entice rather than 
discourage our budding entrepreneurs from starting their own 
businesses;
  This bill will allow a taxpayer to deduct up to $10,000 in trade or 
business start-up expenses, an amount currently capped at $5,000. 
Allowing owners to keep more money and to reinvest it in their 
companies at the outset, as they work to grow and expand their 
businesses, is critical;
  This bill also allows owners to write off up to $500,000 in capital 
expenditures in 2010 and 2011, subject to a phase-out when they exceed 
$2 million. It also eliminates all capital gains taxes on certain small 
business investments for the 2010 tax year. For owners who have held 
off on hiring or making significant investments in their businesses, 
these tax provisions will allow them to act this year or next instead 
of continuing to wait;
  When it comes to competing for Federal Government contracts, we level 
the playing field for small businesses by closing loopholes that 
previously gave large companies a built-in advantage in seeking those 
contracts;
  We require a regular review of size standards to make sure that small 
businesses that are fortunate enough to expand don't retain an 
advantage over their smaller competitors in competition for small-
business-only contracts;
  We treat those in the aquaculture industry on par with other small 
businesses, and we make those companies eligible to receive SBA 
economic injury disaster loans.
  Could this bill be better? Of course it could, but small businesses 
demand our help now. They can't wait, and we have an obligation to act 
swiftly to pass this bill today to make good on our promise to reward 
innovation, to loosen outdated limits on lending, and to encourage 
entrepreneurs to go to the SBA for help in starting and building their 
own businesses.
  I look forward to the passage of this critical bill.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. I would like to thank my friend, 
the gentlewoman from Maine (Ms. Pingree), for the time; and I yield 
myself such time as I may consume.
  Today, the majority, Mr. Speaker, brings forth another closed rule, 
denying the minority the right to offer amendments to what many 
colleagues contend is a flawed product from the Senate.
  At the Rules Committee meeting yesterday, I was struck by a quote, a 
statement, made by the distinguished chairman of the Financial Services 
Committee:
  This is $30 billion. It's not $300 billion. It's not $3 trillion.
  That is precisely the problem with the majority party. They have 
already spent all the money available. Once you pass an almost $1 
trillion stimulus package that does not stimulate economic growth, the 
distinguished chairman of the Financial Services Committee is correct 
that $30 billion doesn't seem like such a big deal, but it is for the 
overburdened people of the United States of America.
  The underlying legislation establishes a $30 billion fund managed by 
the Treasury Department in an effort to increase lending from small 
banks to small businesses. The majority claims that this fund will move 
quickly to inject capital into the marketplace.

                              {time}  1040

  What we have today before us is junior TARP, Mr. Speaker. It's kind 
of a rehash of the 700-or-so-billion-dollar fund that was also supposed 
to make credit available for businesses. I was proud to oppose TARP 
then, and I am proud to oppose junior TARP today.
  We on the minority side, the Republicans, believe that lowering taxes 
on small businesses would do far more to help create jobs and lead us 
out of this recession. One hundred days from today, the 2001 and 2003 
tax cuts will expire and every American taxpayer will see tax increases 
at exactly the wrong time. Instead of taking clear, concrete action to 
reduce the tax burden on small businesses, the majority brings us 
junior TARP today.
  There is a hidden provision, by the way, in this bill, Mr. Speaker, 
that makes even worse the antibusiness provisions in the health care 
legislation that this Congress passed previously. Pursuant to the 
health care law, small businesses are required to file a form 1099 with 
the IRS for every business and every individual to which they make 
payments of at least $600. That is a significant burden on all 
businesses, especially on small businesses. It's important to note that 
even the administration has recently backed changes to that provision 
in their health care law. So Americans might expect legislation to come 
before us to assist small businesses to get out from under that onerous 
provision, but the underlying legislation goes completely in the wrong 
direction, in the other direction.
  This Congress can do better. But the Rules Committee will not allow 
any Member to offer any amendments under this closed rule to improve 
this legislation. We should defeat this rule and allow the House to 
proceed through regular order and allow Members to bring forth any and 
all ideas to provide meaningful help for our struggling small 
businesses.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. PINGREE of Maine. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments my 
colleague from the other side of the aisle made about the 1099 issue 
and the impact with the health care bill. I do want to remember that 
only recently we had that bill on the floor. The people on my side of 
the aisle actually voted to repeal that provision and the people on the 
other side of the aisle opposed that. So we have had an opportunity to 
fix that, and I'm not clear about why the other side of the aisle 
wasn't with us on that, and I'm a little confused that he is bringing 
it up this morning.
  I yield 3 minutes to my colleague on the Rules Committee, the 
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern).
  Mr. McGOVERN. I thank my colleague from Maine for yielding me the 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this rule, and I also rise in 
support of the underlying legislation.
  Small businesses are drivers of economic growth and play a pivotal 
role in creating jobs in our community. In fact, in my home State of 
Massachusetts, small businesses represent 85 percent of companies and 
employ over a quarter of our workforce. As I meet with small business 
leaders across my district, I hear time and time again that access to 
capital--dollars that allow our small businesses to invest and to 
grow--is a main concern, especially in these difficult economic times.
  It is clear to me that small businesses are a vital component of 
economic recovery. As we work to rebuild

[[Page 16362]]

our economy and create good-paying jobs here at home, we must support 
the efforts of small businesses across the country. That is why, Mr. 
Speaker, we must act today to pass this legislation.
  H.R. 5297 goes a long way in helping our Nation's small businesses 
thrive. Specifically, this bill authorizes the creation of a small 
business lending fund which will enable community banks to increase 
lending to small businesses. It raises Small Business Administration 
loan limits, and it improves access to these loans. It provides grants 
to States in support of small business lending programs.
  In addition to creating future opportunities for investment, this 
bill provides small businesses across our country with $12 billion in 
tax cuts and includes a 100 percent exclusion from capital gains taxes 
on small business investments. These tax breaks will make it easier for 
businesses to operate and will increase their capacity to grow.
  As we invest in our small businesses, we forge a path toward economic 
prosperity for so many Americans--not only for small business owners, 
but for those who will be employed by these companies. Improving small 
business access to capital will foster innovation and encourage the 
development of new products and services to carry our country forward.
  Simply put, Mr. Speaker, we have to act now. It's the right thing to 
do. All of my colleagues who have gone home and talked to their 
constituents, and particularly to small business owners, know that this 
issue of extending credit is a big deal. They want us to help, and 
that's what this bill is about.
  So I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to think about the 
small businesses that we represent and to support this rule and the 
underlying legislation. And I urge my colleagues on the other side of 
the aisle to put people ahead of politics this time and help our small 
businesses.
  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, again I thank my 
friend from Maine for her courtesy and her management of this rule.
  I will be asking for a ``no'' vote on the previous question so that 
we can amend the rule and allow a vote on the legislation introduced by 
Congresswoman Lummis.
  In this debate, when the underlying legislation is adding another $30 
billion to our Nation's debt, I think it's fitting that the minority is 
bringing forward another YouCut proposal.
  The American people are sounding the alarm that we have to change 
course. We have to focus on reducing the size of government, not create 
new programs that dig our fiscal hole deeper and deeper. That is going 
to require bipartisanship, which I hope to see soon, but we're not 
seeing it yet. And really, that's worrisome.
  Over the last week, participants in the minority whip's YouCut 
initiative voted on programs for us to bring to this floor for cutting. 
To date, participants in that program have voted to cut over $120 
billion in spending. This week, the participants in that program voted 
to cut Federal staffing levels to 2008. The legislation that we would 
be able to vote on if the previous question is defeated would exempt 
agencies that are critical to national security. It's no coincidence 
that while the administration and this Congress increase Federal 
spending by trillions of dollars, we see Washington, D.C. thrive, but 
the people in the congressional district that I've been honored to 
represent for 18 years continue to hurt as Americans throughout the 
Nation are hurting. We believe that we have to return the function of 
job creation to the private sector.
  So I will be asking Members to vote ``no'' on the previous question 
so that we can have a vote on Congresswoman Lummis's bill on cutting 
Federal staffing. And again, I remind Members that a ``no'' vote on the 
previous question will not preclude consideration of the underlying 
legislation before us today.
  I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment and 
extraneous materials immediately prior to the vote on the previous 
question.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Ms. PINGREE of Maine. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I disagree with my good 
friends on the other side of the aisle. I believe this is a day long in 
coming and I am grateful for it, because what all of us have said is 
that the small businesses of America are the backbone of America, the 
job creators of America, and now we have an opportunity for the 
President to sign this bill that incorporates tax cuts and job 
creation.

                              {time}  1050

  What has been the message of the American people? What have they told 
us? They've indicated that they want to have jobs. Right off, this bill 
provides extra opportunities in the small business trade opportunities, 
and it helps to leverage more than $1 billion in export capacity for 
small businesses, getting their products overseas in what we call the 
State Export Promotion Grant Program, which excites me, which allows us 
to help save 40,000 to 50,000 jobs in 2010.
  And so we give them a step up to get their goods overseas. And we've 
got some talented small businesses who simply ask us, How do we promote 
our product overseas? After this bill is signed by the President, they 
will have a helping hand.
  For a startup business in 2010, we double the deduction for a startup 
from $5,000 to $10,000. One of the great complaints of small businesses 
is how do we do business with this massive Federal Government? Well, I 
will tell you. We're now going to increase the percentage of small 
businesses doing business with the Federal Government and create the 
opportunity for more of them to get contracts and more jobs to be 
created.
  I'm grateful that this is a tax cutter as well, with a 100 percent 
exclusion of capital gains, and of course the opportunity to expand in 
lending by increasing the capacity of the Small Business Administration 
to provide access to credit.
  Loan limits have been increased, and I'm grateful that this bill is 
going to be passed today and small businesses will be helped.
  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it's my pleasure to 
yield 4 minutes to the author of the legislation that we would be able 
to consider if the previous question is defeated, the gentlewoman from 
Wyoming (Mrs. Lummis).
  Mrs. LUMMIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge my colleagues to support my 
proposal to halt the unchecked growth of the Federal Government.
  In selling the $1.1 trillion stimulus package to the American people, 
the President promised that it would keep unemployment under 8 percent. 
The results of this expensive experiment are in. It failed. We have 
lost millions of private-sector jobs, and unemployment is hovering just 
under 10 percent. But the Federal workforce, fueled by the stimulus and 
other massive spending bills, has grown by 188,000 employees--or 15 
percent--and it's only going to get worse. The Obama administration is 
on track to hire 230,000 new employees by next year.
  As we approach the full implementation of ObamaCare in 2014, our 
government will have to staff a vast new health care bureaucracy. This 
could include thousands of new IRS employees to enforce the health care 
mandate on individuals and businesses.
  My bill, the Federal Workforce Reduction Act, would halt the sprawl 
of government and get us back to pre-Obama government employment 
levels. My bill would not force any civil servant out of their job, and 
it would exempt the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, and 
Veterans Affairs. But all other agencies could only hire one new 
civilian employee for every two that retire or otherwise end their 
service.
  Our President and his agency heads would have to control their 
appetite for government expansion. They would make due with fewer 
resources--just

[[Page 16363]]

like the individuals, families, and small business owners who have had 
to make sacrifices and cut back to deal with the recession.
  By attrition the government would shrink back to pre-Obama levels and 
save taxpayers $35 billion over 10 years. But most importantly, my bill 
would help reverse a dangerous trend in which the private sector 
shrinks and the government sector expands. Growing the government does 
nothing to help our small businesses--the engines of job creation.
  Taxing to give people less money and the government more money to 
expand does not help the economy. Yet the Big Government chameleon--
debt-financed stimulus, cap and tax, ObamaCare, tax increases coming 
this January--continues to roam the halls of Congress, threatening to 
choke off the entrepreneurial spirit that built this country.
  Important decisions that should be made by individuals, families, 
their doctors, or our small businesses are being relocated to 
Washington to be made by unresponsive bureaucrats. The policies of the 
Democratic leadership are fostering a culture of dependency on Big 
Government. They are marching us towards European-style social 
democracy.
  But there is another way. Vote for this provision, cut spending and 
government employment back to pre-stimulus levels. Stop the big march 
of government.
  Ms. PINGREE of Maine. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman 
from Illinois (Mr. Davis).
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the 
rule and the underlying bill, and I want to thank the gentlelady from 
Maine for yielding time.
  All of us know that small businesses have been the backbone of the 
American economy. All of us know businesses that started as single 
individuals, single family, using their creativity, developing 
opportunities for not only themselves but for others.
  The basic thing that small businesses need right now is access to 
capital, lines of credit, the opportunity to grow and expand. This bill 
provides exactly that. And I know that there are thousands of small 
businesses in my State and in my community simply waiting so that they 
can go to a bank and get the line of credit that they need, get the 
small business loan that they must have.
  It's a good bill, a strong bill. I urge its passage.
  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it's my pleasure to 
yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. 
McClintock).
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I support this week's Republican YouCut 
amendment that would be prohibited by this rule. The amendment would 
reduce the Federal workforce to its pre-Obama level by phasing out 
188,000 new Obama bureaucrats who have already been added to the 
public's burden. This spending isn't stimulating the economy--it is 
stimulating the government at the expense of the economy.
  Before government can create a job by spending money, it must first 
take that money out of the economy, destroying the productive jobs that 
create wealth and replacing them with government jobs that merely 
consume it.
  In 1946, Harry Truman slashed Federal spending from $85 billion down 
to $30 billion. He fired 10 million Federal employees. It was called 
War Demobilization. The Keynesians at the time predicted catastrophic 
unemployment. Instead, he produced the post-war economic boom that 
produced unprecedented prosperity for middle- and working-class 
Americans.
  We know how to revive an economy because we've done it before--by 
reducing the burdens that government has placed on productivity. All we 
lack is the political will. Maybe the American people can help with 
that in a few weeks.
  Ms. PINGREE of Maine. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the 
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind).
  Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this rule and the 
underlying bill, the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act.
  You know, my good friend the gentleman from Illinois was exactly 
right. The district I represent in western Wisconsin, the small 
businesses and the family farmers really are the backbone of our 
regional economy.
  What this legislation does is continue a lot of the tax relief that 
was contained in the American Recovery Act in an attempt to help these 
small businesses and family farmers to stay sufficiently capitalized 
during this very tough and difficult economy.
  This bill will continue the 100 percent exclusion of small business 
capital gains. It has immediate expensing, accelerated depreciation, a 
net operating loss carryback. So if you're a business experiencing a 
loss this year, you can offset that immediately with the previous year 
profits to help them with their liquidity and keep them capitalized.

                              {time}  1100

  But it also deals with, I think, one of the detriments to further job 
growth for these small businesses, and that's the tight credit market. 
That's why the extension of the SBA 7(a) and 504 loan program is 
incredibly important to helping these small businesses get the lines of 
credit and the operating loans that they need to continue operating and 
to hire people.
  And it creates a new Small Business Lending Fund. If there was one 
criticism many of us had with the TARP intervention, it was that that 
intervention did not come back to Main Street to help small businesses. 
This legislation addresses that through a voluntary program with local 
lenders who chooses to participate, where they can reduce the interest 
rate that's charged to them depending on the number of small business 
loans that they get out the door. We need to support this bill and 
support small businesses. The Chamber of Commerce endorses this bill. I 
ask my colleagues to support this important legislation.
  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it's my pleasure to 
yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. 
Roe).
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Two years ago, I arrived here from the real world, and that's the 
world of business and the economy, and got to the Washington world. My 
experience before here was as a small business owner and a mayor. And 
we had to balance our budget. And what we did was we found out that our 
budget was awry, and much of it because of the size of government. We 
had let it grow too much.
  So what we did in our local government was we shrunk the size of 
government. And guess what happened to our revenue without raising 
taxes? It went up. And that's why I am rising in support of this YouCut 
proposal. It makes absolute sense. And I have heard this from both 
Democrats, Republicans, and independents. And I ask my colleagues 
across the aisle to support this.
  It makes sense not to add 188,000 more people to the government 
workforce when the economy is not doing well. Example: if a business 
out there that I ran had decreasing revenues, we didn't hire more 
personnel at that point. We hunkered down, we made do with what we had; 
and I think this is a very reasonable thing to do. It exempts three 
important Departments that secure and protect us: that's the Department 
of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs, and gives the 
administration the ability to place those employees where they think 
they're important.
  Why are businesses not hiring? It's very simple. I spoke to several 
business leaders yesterday on the telephone. They are hunkered down and 
not hiring because expenses and taxes are going up. They are 
overregulated, access to capital has decreased, and they can't lend 
money. I talked to bankers yesterday that cannot get the money out the 
door for qualified borrowers because of overregulation of the FDIC.
  I would ask my colleagues to support this commonsense $35 billion 
reduction in Federal spending. In the time of a recession, it makes 
sense. I urge you to vote for this.
  Ms. PINGREE of Maine. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman

[[Page 16364]]

from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), a member of the Ways and Means 
Committee.
  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I support the rule. It's taken far too 
long to overcome the obstruction to this bill. This obstruction has 
impeded $30 billion in credit for small businesses. The credit squeeze 
has been one of the largest obstacles they are facing today, small 
businesses. We have been told time after time after time that without 
access to credit, small businesses cannot grow.
  I am pleased that we continue to focus on job creation through the 
engine of our economy. Small businesses have generated 64 percent of 
new jobs over the last 15 years. But we must do more. We must address 
the elephant in the room. And here's the elephant in the room: we must 
address the expiration of the middle class tax cuts, which alone will 
help 98 percent of all Americans and 97 percent of small business. 
Small businesses have been struggling for decades, not just the last 
few years, because they have been the victim of previous 
administrations' and past Congresses' priorities that placed Wall 
Street and big banks over Main Street small businesses and their 
community banks.
  And here's the rub, and you can't deny it: these priorities have led 
to a 20 percent decline in small business market shares. And they have 
lost that to corporate welfare. Look at the record before the 
recession. Twenty percent more of market loss. That did not fall out of 
the sky. And I blame both parties. Neither party is privileged to 
virtue here. No one has a monopoly on this. This Congress recognized 
the problem.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Ms. PINGREE of Maine. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.
  Mr. PASCRELL. This Congress has done more for small businesses than 
others in years. Billions in tax cuts. We funded the SBA, payroll tax 
holidays, incentives for capital investments, depreciation, on and on. 
Nine specific tax cuts. Tax and spend? No, we wanted to cut taxes. You 
didn't give us one vote on any of these. You are standing up and 
preaching to us that what we have to do is change our culture? Nine tax 
cuts from this Congress. It's time to continue to do more by moving 
forward on the middle class tax cuts. I proudly support this rule.
  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it's my pleasure to 
yield 2 minutes to my friend, the great leader from Michigan (Mrs. 
Miller).
  Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, at the same time that job 
providers and workers across this great Nation have sacrificed in this 
very difficult economy, the Federal Government has exploded in growth. 
And the cost of this growth in Federal employment has been passed along 
to those very same hard-pressed taxpayers and job providers through 
higher taxes as well as increasing our national debt.
  This week's YouCut proposal calls for overall Federal employment to 
be reduced to 2008 levels. And this is for civilians only. It does not 
include military or Homeland Security or Veterans Affairs. This very 
simple step would save taxpayers $35 billion over 10 years.
  Mr. Speaker, each and every week House Republicans have asked the 
American people through the YouCut program to bring to the floor 
literally tens of billions of dollars of spending cuts. And today we 
stand up here yet again asking our colleagues across the aisle to join 
with us to answer America's call to put an end to out-of-control 
Federal spending.
  Today's cut will end the influx of more civilian government workers 
on the taxpayers' dime, and it will reduce the expansion of Big 
Government. And that, Mr. Speaker, is what the American people are 
asking for.
  However, while the Democratic leadership continues to pile more debt, 
more and more debt on our children and on our grandchildren, 
Republicans, however, have been very specific by bringing specific 
spending cuts to the House floor in an effort to restore fiscal sanity. 
Unfortunately, our Democratic colleagues have absolutely refused to 
join us in this effort. And we ask our colleagues once again to join us 
to reduce this out-of-control Federal deficit and cut Federal spending 
now.
  Mr. Speaker, House Republicans have been listening to the American 
citizens, and I ask my Democratic colleagues to do the same.
  Ms. PINGREE of Maine. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman 
from North Carolina (Mr. Etheridge), a member of the Ways and Means 
Committee.
  Mr. ETHERIDGE. I thank the gentlelady for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this rule and the Small 
Business Jobs and Credit bill. As a former small businessman, I know 
that small businesses are the engine of our economy. Credit is the 
lifeblood of these businesses. By expanding credit and providing small 
businesses tax cuts, this bill will help get credit flowing so small 
businesses can grow, hire workers, and fuel our economy.
  As I travel across the Second District of North Carolina talking to 
business owners and workers, I hear that while the economy may be 
improving for some, many of these folks on Main Street are still 
struggling. This bill is what they need to get going again.
  I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in voting 
to send this bill to the President of the United States for his 
signature to put it into law, help our small businesses create jobs and 
grow our economy.
  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. PINGREE of Maine. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield 1 minute to 
the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Berkley).

                              {time}  1110

  Ms. BERKLEY. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding to me.
  This is a very important piece of legislation for the people that I 
represent. Nevada is in a world of hurt. I've got the highest 
unemployment rate in the country and the highest mortgage foreclosure 
rate in the country. Small businesses are either folding or they don't 
have the revenue in order to continue, and certainly new businesses 
have entrepreneurs that wish to start new businesses but don't have the 
wherewithal.
  This piece of legislation provides critical funding to the SBA to 
ensure that people who want to start a small business have access to 
capital that will get their businesses up and running, creating jobs 
and bolstering the economy. It creates a $30 billion lending facility 
for small businesses and will create the credit available to small 
businesses and ensure that they can access resources necessary to 
create and to build on what they already have and particularly to hire.
  The provisions in this legislation can make all the difference in the 
world to the community that I represent and to its people. We need to 
get people back to work. This small business funding bill will do 
exactly that.
  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend 
from Maine and all who have participated in this debate. I again seek a 
``no'' vote, and I seek a ``no'' vote on the previous question.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. PINGREE of Maine. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my 
time.
  The Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010 gives immediate relief 
to struggling small businesses across the country. It combines more 
than $12 billion in tax relief with increased access to critical 
financing so that our Nation's small businesses can move forward on new 
or delayed expansion plans.
  Small business growth means job creation. Our economy will only 
continue to improve as our businesses bring back laid off employees and 
hire new workers. One of my constituents, the owner of the popular 
Allagash Brewing Company in Portland, Maine, describes the increase in 
the expense allowance under section 179 as a ``great idea''--something 
that will enable him to invest in his brewery and expand his brewery, 
which means hiring more employees.
  Allagash Brewery is the perfect example of who will benefit from this 
legislation, Mr. Speaker. Fifteen years

[[Page 16365]]

ago it began with a few employees working together in a 4,000-square-
foot building financed by SBA loans, which were used to purchase the 
tanks and the equipment necessary to brew some exceptional beer. They 
did most of their own welding and manufacturing, and they produced 120 
barrels of beer that first year.
  This year they employ 28 people in a brand new facility and are on 
track to produce more than 22,000 barrels of beer each year, and they 
are still growing. With the increase in the section 179 expensing 
allowance, Allagash can invest in new equipment, expand operations to 
meet its tremendous demand, and hire several new employees. If not for 
this bill, expansion plans may have been put on hold and no new jobs 
would have been created.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a very good bill that should be supported by 
every Member of this House. It ensures that small businesses, not big 
corporations, have the tools they need to expand and grow, and it 
ensures that regular Americans on Main Street take part in the economic 
recovery.
  The Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010 spurs short-term 
economic recovery while paving the way for long-term business growth 
once the economy is back on track.
  I urge a ``yes'' vote on the previous question and on the rule.
  The material previously referred to by Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart of 
Florida is as follows:

    Amendment to H. Res. 1640 Offered by Mr. Diaz-Balart of Florida

       At the end of the resolution add the following new section:
       Sec. 4. Immediately upon the adoption of this resolution 
     the Speaker shall, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule XVIII, 
     declare the House resolved into the Committee of the Whole 
     House on the state of the Union for consideration of the bill 
     (H.R. 5348) to amend title 5, United States Code, to reduce 
     the number of civil service positions within the executive 
     branch, and for other purposes. The first reading of the bill 
     shall be dispensed with. All points of order against 
     consideration of the bill are waived. General debate shall be 
     confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally 
     divided and controlled by the Majority Leader and the 
     Minority Leader or their respective designees. After general 
     debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the 
     five-minute rule. During consideration of the bill for 
     amendment, the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole may 
     accord priority in recognition on the basis of whether the 
     Member offering an amendment has caused it to be printed in 
     the portion of the Congressional Record designated for that 
     purpose in clause 8 of rule XVIII. Amendments so printed 
     shall be considered as read. At the conclusion of 
     consideration of the bill for amendment the Committee shall 
     rise and report the bill to the House with such amendments as 
     may have been adopted. The previous question shall be 
     considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to 
     final passage without intervening motion except one motion to 
     recommit with or without instructions. If the Committee of 
     the Whole rises and reports that it has come to no resolution 
     on the bill, then on the next legislative day the House 
     shall, immediately after the third daily order of business 
     under clause 1 of rule XIV, resolve into the Committee of the 
     Whole for further consideration of the bill. Clause 1(c) of 
     rule XIX shall not apply to the consideration of H.R. 5348.
                                  ____

       (The information contained herein was provided by 
     Democratic Minority on multiple occasions throughout the 
     109th Congress.)

        The Vote on the Previous Question: What It Really Means

       This vote, the vote on whether to order the previous 
     question on a special rule, is not merely a procedural vote. 
     A vote against ordering the previous question is a vote 
     against the Democratic majority agenda and a vote to allow 
     the opposition, at least for the moment, to offer an 
     alternative plan. It is a vote about what the House should be 
     debating.
       Mr. Clarence Cannon's Precedents of the House of 
     Representatives, (VI, 308-311) describes the vote on the 
     previous question on the rule as ``a motion to direct or 
     control the consideration of the subject before the House 
     being made by the Member in charge.'' To defeat the previous 
     question is to give the opposition a chance to decide the 
     subject before the House. Cannon cites the Speaker's ruling 
     of January 13, 1920, to the effect that ``the refusal of the 
     House to sustain the demand for the previous question passes 
     the control of the resolution to the opposition'' in order to 
     offer an amendment. On March 15, 1909, a member of the 
     majority party offered a rule resolution. The House defeated 
     the previous question and a member of the opposition rose to 
     a parliamentary inquiry, asking who was entitled to 
     recognition. Speaker Joseph G. Cannon (R-Illinois) said: 
     ``The previous question having been refused, the gentleman 
     from New York, Mr. Fitzgerald, who had asked the gentleman to 
     yield to him for an amendment, is entitled to the first 
     recognition.''
       Because the vote today may look bad for the Democratic 
     majority they will say ``the vote on the previous question is 
     simply a vote on whether to proceed to an immediate vote on 
     adopting the resolution . . . [and] has no substantive 
     legislative or policy implications whatsoever.'' But that is 
     not what they have always said. Listen to the definition of 
     the previous question used in the Floor Procedures Manual 
     published by the Rules Committee in the 109th Congress, (page 
     56). Here's how the Rules Committee described the rule using 
     information from Congressional Quarterly's ``American 
     Congressional Dictionary'': ``If the previous question is 
     defeated, control of debate shifts to the leading opposition 
     member (usually the minority Floor Manager) who then manages 
     an hour of debate and may offer a germane amendment to the 
     pending business.''
       Deschler's Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives, 
     the subchapter titled ``Amending Special Rules'' states: ``a 
     refusal to order the previous question on such a rule [a 
     special rule reported from the Committee on Rules] opens the 
     resolution to amendment and further debate.'' (Chapter 21, 
     section 21.2) Section 21.3 continues: Upon rejection of the 
     motion for the previous question on a resolution reported 
     from the Committee on Rules, control shifts to the Member 
     leading the opposition to the previous question, who may 
     offer a proper amendment or motion and who controls the time 
     for debate thereon.''
       Clearly, the vote on the previous question on a rule does 
     have substantive policy implications. It is one of the only 
     available tools for those who oppose the Democratic 
     majority's agenda and allows those with alternative views the 
     opportunity to offer an alternative plan.

  Ms. PINGREE of Maine. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on ordering the previous 
question.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the 
yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on 
this question will be postponed.

                          ____________________