The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the view of The Hill

Invest in the nation’s small businesses (Sen. Olympia Snowe)

by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) - 06/07/10 5:00 PM ET

Given the relatively stagnant unemployment rate, which has hovered near
10 percent since last August, it is evident that our economy requires a
significant jolt to prolong a sustained recovery. That is precisely why
it is imperative we invest in our nation’s small businesses to grow our
economy and create new private sector jobs immediately.

I urge you to utilize your leadership to ensure that Congress passes a consequential small business job creation package during the next work period, which ends at the July 4th recess. A small business jobs bill is an imperative if we are to move further toward a sustained economic recovery.

As Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I have introduced legislation – S. 3103, the Small Business Job Creation Act of 2010 – that includes critical components to help small businesses create new jobs. This bill includes provisions to continue the dramatic increase in Small Business Administration (SBA) lending, boost exporting by America’s small businesses, and provide tax and regulatory relief to our smallest firms.

These measures align with many of your stated goals for our nation’s economy recovery, and they represent a strategy that will help small businesses lead the way in putting Americans back to work. Indeed, many of these policies have passed out of the Small Business Committee with broad, bipartisan support, and if enacted, could help clear away the unpredictability that permeates our nation’s marketplace and unleash the job-creation potential of America’s nearly 30 million small firms.

As I have repeatedly said, a jobless recovery is not a true recovery. And frankly, the employment figures released today belie the fact that our nation’s economy still faces an arduous and uphill battle to fully recover from the calamitous effects of the recent recession. I look forward to continuing to work with you to improve our nation’s future, and I hope that you will consider a small business job creation package as one of the priorities you choose to champion in the coming weeks.