For Immediate Release
April 18, 2007
Media Contact: Ray Yonkura
(202) 225-2676
Relief for Entrepreneurs: Coordination of Objectives and Values
For Effective Recovery Act of 2007
Washington, DC --
SPEECH OF
HON. JIM JORDAN
OF OHIO
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 18, 2007
Mr. JORDAN of Ohio. I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank the chairwoman of the committee for her hard work and the entire committee on this legislation.
Mr. Chairman, I rise to oppose the bill for many of the reasons that the ranking member has cited. I believe the bill shortsightedly tries to move a good organization, the U.S. Small Business Administration, further from its original mission of helping create, strengthen and maintain small businesses across our country.
The SBA was created by the Small Business Act of 1953. Its mission was to stand up for small businesses, and its main focus, other than loan guarantees, was promoting small businesses for Federal contracts. Since then, the SBA has grown to become the largest backer of small businesses in America. It has made progress toward its goal of improving small business and the engine of our free market economy.
Of late, though, the SBA has done more in fueling small business to coordinating disaster relief for businesses and homeowners. This is certainly a worthy goal, but again, one that strays from its fundamental mission. As the ranking member pointed out, this bill would require the SBA to provide loans it once denied as bad risks. It would also allow recipients to receive disaster relief.
Small businesses are successful in part because they are uniquely focused on their mission, and because they watch every single penny. This RECOVER Act will further blur the focus of SBA's mission while making it impossible for them, or us, to protect the integrity of tax dollars.
Finally, I would urge my colleagues to support the amendments that the ranking member plans to offer. Those will, I think, improve the legislation and make it worthy of everyone's support in a broad, bipartisan manner…
