Clarke Applauds President Obama’s Call for the Senate to Pass Small Business Bills

Brooklyn, NY- Today, Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement after President Barack Obama held a press conference on his proposals to strengthen our economy and help small businesses:

“Today, I applaud President Obama for continuing to push proposals that will rebuild our economy, bolster our national infrastructure, help our small businesses and create jobs. It is clear that we must hammer out solutions that will set the stage for 21st century growth, which means investing in a modern national infrastructure that will create jobs as well as tangible assets that will be put to productive use going forward,” stated Rep. Clarke. “I also join the President in calling for Republicans to stop blocking key small business legislation in the Senate.”

“Small businesses need the tax breaks and loan incentives that this bill will provide. Many of these small firms are dependent on these policies to stay afloat as well as keep and hire new employees, particularly those in minority communities,” added Rep. Clarke. “With the unemployment rate among African Americans and Latinos sitting at 16.3 percent and 12 percent, there needs to be a renewed focus on bolstering our minority owned businesses, many of whom tend to hire a larger percent of minority workers. It is clear that these hard economic times are having a disproportionate impact on these communities.”

“With small businesses representing 99.7 percent of all employer firms, and employing about half of all private sector employees, and contributing nearly 45 percent of the U.S. private payroll, it is imperative that we give them access to the resources they need to strengthen our economy. For too long, Republicans have played politics with important legislative initiatives that will help the American People. Republicans need to stop playing games and start passing legislation that will help our nation.”

“Unfortunately, Senate Republicans have blocked critical legislation that would help restore the flow of credit to enable small businesses to expand and hire new workers. It is imperative that we provide small businesses with the resources they need to bring our economy from the brink. It is important that Senate Republicans put away partisan politics, and work together with President Obama and my Democratic colleagues to help our nation’s small business create the job growth that we need,” declared Rep. Yvette D. Clarke.

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