Congressman Hoyer Delivers Remarks at Small Business Workshop

LA PLATA, MD – Today, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-5) joined Maryland Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) for a small business workshop aimed at providing existing small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs with key resources and knowledge to help start or expand a business. The format of the Maryland SBDC's workshop was interactive and allowed participants the opportunity to work with professionals on business plans to ensure that they have a framework that will better prepare them to succeed.

Below are Congressman Hoyer's remarks as prepared for delivery:

"Small businesses are the job-creating engine of our economy.  They employ more than half of all employees in the private sector, and they have created 64% of net new jobs over the past 15 years.  They are especially critical in helping get our economy back on track.

"That is why I am so pleased to be here today, to bring light to programs such as Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) that provide invaluable assistance to small businesses. Ensuring that small businesses have the resources they need to keep innovating, growing, and creating jobs is essential to a sustained economic recovery.

"Small Business Development Centers provide one-stop support to individual entrepreneurs and small businesses, helping with business plan development, marketing planning, financial analysis, accounting systems, training, and assistance with financing and certification.

"Small businesses are often at the disadvantage of competing with large firms that may have more resources to hire consultants, accountants, and marketing experts. SBDCs provide affordable resources that enable individual entrepreneurs and small businesses to be competitive with large firms.

"Small businesses have been at the heart of Democrats' recovery strategy ever since this Congress convened in the midst of the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression.

"The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which cut taxes for 98% of Americans and is responsible for over 2 million jobs, allowed small businesses to carry back their 2008 losses, provided tax credits for hiring unemployed workers and helped them make the capital investments that are essential to their growth.

"ARRA eliminated and reduced fees for borrowers on 7(a) and 504 loans; raised to 90 percent the guarantee on 7(a) loans; and doubled the surety bond guarantee from $2 million to $5 million providing businesses with another tool to help them compete for federal construction contracts.

"The Small Business Administration (SBA) reports that is has supported more than $29 billion in ARRA loans to small businesses since February 17, 2009. The SBA has also noted that after months of reduced activity and lower premiums, the 7(a) secondary market is picking up and premiums are beginning to recover.

"Since the Recovery Act, we have expanded Small Business Administration lending, created further tax credits for hiring unemployed workers, and offered immediate and long-term tax credits to help small businesses afford employee health care.

"In June, the House passed the Small Business Jobs Tax Relief Act, which will exempt 100% of small business capital gains from taxation and increase the amount of start-up expenses small business owners can deduct from their taxes. That means more investment in small businesses, and more entrepreneurs willing and able to start businesses of their own and hire workers to staff them.

"Also in June, the House took another step to help small businesses by establishing a $30 billion fund to expand lending to small businesses looking to make new investments in growth. This bill, the Small Business Lending Fund Act, invests capital in community and small banks under terms that become more favorable to those banks as they make more loans to small businesses. This bill will go a long way toward opening up the flow of credit that helps create jobs, and I hope the Senate will act swiftly to pass it and send it to the President.

"Moving forward, I am committed to working with my colleagues to help small businesses create jobs and put our nation's economy back on solid footing."

For more information on Democratic efforts to help small businesses grow and expand, click here. For more information on the Maryland Small Business Development Center Network, click here.

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