SHAHEEN STATEMENT ON PRESIDENT OBAMA’S TRIP TO NASHUA
Obama Visited New Hampshire to Outline New Small Business Lending Fund
(Nashua, N.H.) - U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen released the below statement following President Obama's town hall meeting at Nashua High School North, which Shaheen attended.
"There is no better place than New Hampshire for President Obama to discuss the crucial role small businesses play in our economy. Small businesses are the backbone of our state's economy. The majority of new jobs in our state and nation will be created by small businesses. And in order to for these businesses to grow and hire, we need to make sure they have access to capital.
"The President's proposal seems to be a good step to help small businesses grow and create jobs. I look forward to quickly taking up the President's proposal in the Senate."
In her first year in the U.S. Senate, Senator Shaheen, who is a member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, has focused heavily on small business issues. She persuaded the SBA to make loan guarantees available to 70,000 additional businesses; voted to allow small businesses to use fiscal year 2008 losses to offset profits made during the previous five years, enabling businesses hit the hardest to obtain substantial tax refunds; cosponsored legislation passed by the Senate to reauthorize and strengthen the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)and Small Business Technology Transfer programs; and cosponsored several pieces of legislation that would increase the availability of credit and help small businesses tap into overseas markets.
In August, Shaheen and Senator Olympia Snowe held a Small Business Committee hearing in Portsmouth. Shaheen invited Karen Mills, Administrator of the Small Business Administration, to hear firsthand about the challenges New Hampshire's small businesses face in this difficult economy. Mills traveled to New Hampshire again today for the President's town hall.
Shaheen has also established a Small Business Advisory Council, which is made up of small business owners from across the state. Members of the Council serve as an important link between Shaheen and New Hampshire's small business community, sharing challenges and timely information on how Shaheen can best support New Hampshire's small business economy.
