Mary Landrieu

Ms. LANDRIEU

Ms. LANDRIEU. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Ms. LANDRIEU. I ask unanimous consent to speak for up to 15 minutes as in morning business. I may ask to extend my time.

Ms. LANDRIEU

Ms. LANDRIEU. I am just to speak for 1 minute now and turn it over to the good Senator from Oregon, who will speak for a few minutes on this subject, and then the Senator from Washington State, as we wait for the underlying paperwork that is going to support this effort to appear. We thought we would not let this time be wasted. We have just finished a very important vote on unemployment compensation that is going to extend benefits for 15 million Americans who are out of work. It was a very tough negotiation, but we got it done. Now we move on to another very important issue, to try to help build our way, find our way, out of this very difficult economic time in our country. The Democratic leadership, occasionally with a few Members from the other party, have passed some very tough but important votes to make that happen under President Obama's leadership. We are going to continue to do that tonight and through the next couple days and in the next 2 weeks, until we take a short break, and then come back, of course, in September to continue our work. One of the bills we are going to move to right now is the small business lending bill, a jobs bill, the jobs bill focused on small business, because as all of us on this side--and I think some on the other side--recognize, this recession is going to end as quickly or as soon as we can deliver significant help in terms of capital, access to capital, reduction in regulations, and reduction in taxes to small business. It is not that complicated. The jobs that are going to be created in America are not going to be created by the large corporations. In fact, there have been several front-page articles in the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Times-Picayune, my hometown paper, saying that actually the big corporations are making profits, they are hoarding cash, they are waiting because there is uncertainty out there on any number of fronts. We cannot solve that entire uncertainty in the next few weeks or even maybe in the next few months, but we can lay down building blocks that will start increasing demand, giving access to capital to small business. Hiring will begin, and then the way forward will be more clear. So that is basically what this small business package does. It has three main components. I am not going to go into any detail because the Senator is here to speak. But one component came out of the Finance Committee with very broad bipartisan support. It is a tax-cut package for small business, about $12 billion--quite significant. Senators Baucus and Grassley and others worked on that package, and we will discuss that at some future time. The other piece came out of the Small Business Committee. There are probably eight or nine major items that came out with good bipartisan support that will help to expand and strengthen the SBA programs, which is one of the pieces, one of the essential pieces of this bill. There are three very important pieces. The tax cuts of $12 billion for small business--not for big business, not for Wall Street but for Main Street businesses, $12 billion of tax cuts. There is a very strong bipartisan provision for small business. But there is one piece in the amendment that we will offer in a minute. It is going to be a LeMieux, Landrieu, Merkley, Boxer, Cantwell, and Klobuchar amendment we will offer in few minutes. This is going to add a lending piece to this bill for small business. It is a small business access-to-capital piece. It is not for banks, it is for small business. I would like to now turn it over to Senator Merkley, who has been one of the lead designers and advocates and champions. He has been extraordinary. He has held any number of townhall meetings in his State. The people of Oregon should be extremely grateful for his tenacity on this, to stand up to many doubters here--or some doubters--to fight for this program. We intend to fight for it because it is for small businesses, and they are desperate. We have spent about a year and a half up here talking about big business, international business, international tax code, bailing out Wall Street. Well, these three Senators on the floor tonight will start the discussion about helping small businesses on Main Street. If we do not do this, and if this is not in the package, it is going to be a gaping hole that will exist in this package. I believe we can get this included in this package and that this will secure a great legacy for this Congress, to turn our attention to getting capital to businesses. Twenty-seven million small businesses are out there saying: Does anyone know that we are out here? Well, I want you to know that Senator LeMieux from Florida, Senator Landrieu from Louisiana, Senator Merkley from Oregon, Senator Cantwell, and I believe more than 60 Members of this Senate hear you, and we are going to fight now, over the course of the next couple days, to see if we can deliver for you $30 billion access to capital, which could, because it leverages itself 1 to 10, turn into about $300 billion for small business in America. They deserve it. They are the ones that are suffering. These are the people who are losing 20 years of work, 10 years of work, not the fat cats, not the big business, not the Wall Street banks that are racking up profits out of the ceiling because we have fallen all over ourselves to stabilize Wall Street. Well, we are about ready to put down a big fight for Main Street. You are either going to be for Main Street or you are against Main Street. We are going to see who is going to stand and be counted. This Senator is standing. I would like to ask him now to add his voice to this debate.

Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, the Senator is aware that all 59 Democrats support Main Street, and we have been joined by the Senator from Florida, Mr. LeMieux. This is the LeMieux-Landrieu-Merkley- Cantwell-Boxer amendment. We will be joined by others. Would the Senator say again how we are going to explain that we did send billions to Wall Street with virtually no terms whatsoever, and now we have an opportunity to send money to small businesses on Main Street and we can't get a supermajority of Senators to do so? How are we going to explain this?

Ms. LANDRIEU. I thank the Senator from Washington. We are joined now by the Senator from Rhode Island, who has been another champion for small business. He knows, as we all do, that small businesses are the engines that are going to lead us out of this recession. I am sure he has some information to share with us about his small businesses in Rhode Island. They must be absolutely flabbergasted that we are even having this debate because, as the Senator knows, there wasn't really this much debate when we sent billions to Wall Street with virtually no strings attached. Now we actually have to fight hard--we are going to have to do this for a couple days--to try to get some capital to small businesses in all of our States. This isn't a bank program. It is a small business program. It is a small business program for Main Street, the companies that have had their credit card rates raised, the companies that have had their lines of credit cancelled without notice. Could the Senator from Rhode Island give us any more information as to what he is hearing in his State and why he thinks there are some Republican leaders who are adamantly opposed to this? It is mind- boggling to me.

Ms. LANDRIEU. I thank the Senator. I wish to continue to speak as is required, not seeing anyone else on the floor. I appreciate the opportunity while we are waiting. I love the analogy the Senator from Rhode Island mentioned about the blockade. We have breached the blockade. For the last 8 months there has been an inexplicable silence on the other side of this aisle as to why we cannot lend money to small businesses in America through the private sector. This is not a direct Federal lending program. This is not bloating the Federal budget. I hear from the other side every single day: Private sector solutions; reduce the deficit. May I say again to them now on the floor of the Senate that I have tried so hard over the last 8 months to explain this to them individually, and only one--only one so far--Republican Senator has heard the cries of his small business. Only one. This is not a government program for banks. It is a public-private partnership lending strategy for small business. Have they not noticed that small businesses have closed their doors? Have they not noticed people in long unemployment lines that weren't just workers, they were business owners? Are they not listening? I am the chair of the Small Business Committee. I guess that is why I feel so protective of the community. It is not because I am such a great Senator; it is because I am a protective person, I guess. Some of my colleagues say it is because I am the oldest of nine children and I grew up protecting my eight little brothers and sisters. My dad laughs when I say this, but it is the truth. I feel as though I have 27 million small businesses out there that have been a steady stream into my office since I became chair, begging with me, pleading with me, saying: Senator, does anyone know we are out here trying our best? You keep bailing out the big banks. You keep giving money to big corporations. Does anyone--anyone in Congress--hear us? I keep assuring them: Yes, people do hear you. We know how difficult it is. So I said: This isn't going to be a problem, ``Ms. Naive'' that I must be. This isn't going to be a problem. I am sure we can do this. So I start talking to my colleagues and, sure enough, Senator Merkley and Senator Boxer had a beginning of an idea that had some problems with their general ideas, so we removed those problems. We kept fashioning it. It kept getting better and better. The President then started talking about it. The Secretary of the Treasury started getting excited about it. We started lining up hundreds of endorsements from the independent banks, the community banks; almost every small business association in America. I am so excited I am thinking: You know, this is going to work. Then we get the score back from CBO and it doesn't cost anything. It makes $1 billion. It earns $1 billion. I am thinking: This is great. Our Republican colleagues can't possibly be against something that is a public-private partnership. It is not direct lending by the Federal Government. It is not creating a new bureaucracy. It is using the healthy community banks on Main Street that know our constituents, they know their customers, they know the businesses. They know the businesses. They want to help them, but they have restrictions on their capital. So this program allows them--voluntary, it is not mandatory; there are no onerous restrictions. You don't have to cap your salaries. You just have to be able to make good loans, and if you do, you will be rewarded by getting money at a cheaper rate than you normally would, so the community bank makes a little money. The small business gets the loans. We create jobs. People get employed. The recession starts ending. This is too good to be true. I guess it is, because lo and behold, I start hearing that the Republican leadership is opposed to this idea. I am still not believing what I am hearing. I start going to each and every one and, sure enough, that seems to be the case. It is a shame. I can't even explain it or understand it. It has nothing to do with TARP money. It is not a TARP program. It is not a bank program. It doesn't have anything to do with banks except that we are working in partnership with banks to lend money to small businesses which are desperate for money. I want to put up the chart to make it very clear. When the leadership over there comes and talks to me about banks not being supportive, they better come armed with some interesting data, because I have on the record the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, Neil Milner, president and CEO. There are not that many national bank organizations. There are only a few, and all of them are here. So for the other side to come to the floor and say there are some bank organizations that are not for this, they better be specific. It may be the big banks. I guess the big banks aren't for it. They can't even qualify for it. If the American Bankers Association is not for it, I understand that. They can't qualify for this. This isn't for them. They already got their money. This is for the small banks. The only way you can even be in this program is if you have less than $10 billion. This is for the small banks. So if someone comes to this floor anytime in the next couple of days to debate this and they say: Oh, but the ABA isn't for this, I guess they wouldn't be. They are not involved in it. It is not even for them. Maybe the big banks are afraid of the competition from their community banks; I don't know. But there are 7,500 community banks out there and somebody should stand up for them. I know their PACs aren't as big. I know they don't give as many contributions. They don't have as much money as the big banks do. But they are in our neighborhoods, they are in our communities, and they know the small businesses. If we give them a little bit of help, a partnership, we could get some money to the small businesses of America. So we have here Neil Milner, president of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors; they are strongly for it; the National Small Business Association. This isn't a bank but a strong small business association; John Arensmeyer, founder and CEO of the Small Business Majority; Independent Community Bankers of America and 28 State community bank associations. We are working on the others. I don't know why we don't have all 50, but we are working on it. Maybe there are a few community bank associations that are opposed to it. They have not shown themselves. Maybe they will. But we have 28 community bank associations for it, and the Independent Community Bankers. We have the National Bankers Association. They say: The Obama administration--continuing its efforts to lift the country out of a two-year recession--has hit a home run with its proposed $30 billion Small Business Lending Fund. This is not a bailout to small business and medium-sized banks; it is, instead, a true investment in a brighter future for America's working class. It must be too good to be true, that we would actually pass an amendment that would be an investment in Main Street, an investment in America's working class. These people are working so hard right now at so many jobs to keep the roof over their heads, they don't have time to form PACs or give many contributions. I guess that is why we can't get some people to stand up and listen, but we better listen to them because they are all going to be voting in the next election. They might not have time to get organized to come to Washington and tell us about their woes, but they can walk right on down to the polls, and I hope they will remember this debate when they do. Every single Democrat is going to vote for this--every single one on our side--and we are going to have one Republican so far, and I hope we can get another one or two or three. Maybe we will be surprised and get a half dozen. There are also hundreds of organizations that are supporting this, and I am going to read the ones I have. The American Apparel and Footwear Association; the American Bankers Association. Let me correct myself. They are for it. So for anybody who says they are not, they are for it. Arkansas Community Bankers, Associated Building Contractors, California Independent Bankers, Community Bankers Association of Alabama, Community Bankers Association of Georgia, Community Bankers Association of Illinois, Community Bankers Association of Kansas, Community Bankers Association of Ohio, Community Bankers of Iowa, of Washington State, of West Virginia, of Wisconsin, Fashion Accessories Shippers Association, Financial Services Roundtable, Florida Bankers. I wish to thank the Florida bankers. They were very passionate in their advocacy, and both of their Senators are supporting this bill. I am extremely proud of Senator LeMieux and Senator Nelson who have stood up. They have listened to what their Florida bankers and Florida small business people are saying. They have been a State that has been most affected, or almost as affected as almost any other--maybe more. Florida has had a very difficult time. We bailed out the big banks. We bailed out the derivatives folks. We bailed out the swap kings and queens. Go through Florida. Their little shopping centers are all boarded up. Their condos are empty. The little bakeries that used to bake the doughnuts for the people who came to the condos, they can't sell any doughnuts. There is nobody there to sell them to. Can we help that bakery? I don't know why we can't seem to get anymore support from the other side, because Senator Nelson and Senator LeMieux hear them. The Governors of Michigan, Ohio, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Washington, West Virginia. Do you think these Governors would send us a letter on something such as this if they didn't need it or want it? These Governors--Republicans and Democrats--are doing everything they can every day to keep their small businesses. But because of the deficits in their States--because of the deficits we are struggling with because President Bush left us in a terrible situation--and Democrats helped to get us in that situation as well, so I am not just blaming the other side. But when this President came in, the deficits were huge. States have to balance their budgets. The occupant of the chair knows; he was a mayor. Mayors have to balance budgets. These Governors write us and say: Please, do this lending program; it will help our small business, and we will start generating tax revenues. It will help us get out of our deficit. You would think the other side would respond to these Governors. Evidently, they have their ears closed. Independent Bankers of Texas, Independent Bankers of Colorado, Independent Community Bankers of New Mexico, Independent Community Bankers of South Dakota, Indiana Bankers Association, Louisiana Bankers Association. My team has been terrific at home, and we are facing a very difficult situation with this moratorium. We are working very hard to modify it and overcome it. In addition to this, we have our own problems. But for heaven's sake, our bankers and small businesspeople know they need to get capital--right now, particularly. Maryland Bankers, National Council of Textile Organizations, National Restaurant Association, National RV Retailers, National Small Business Association, Printing Industries of America, Small Business Majority, Travel Goods Association, Women Impacting Public Policy--I could go on and on, and I will. I would like the other side, when they come back tomorrow--I know everybody took a dinner break, and I lost my appetite, so I stayed for a while. I hope when they come tomorrow to debate this issue they will at least have the guts to hold up some associations that are opposed. I would like to know who might be opposed to this, what association. I said I would fight for small business as the Small Business chair, and this is one of the first big fights we are going to have. It probably will not be the last. I don't know if we will win, but we are going to give it a good try. As my colleague from Washington State said, if people are listening, I know they are finding it hard to trust things they hear in Washington. I don't blame them. It has been a tough time. I hope they can trust me and those of us who have spoken tonight to say we are trying hard to give them $30 billion, which we will leverage up to a $300 billion access to capital through their own community banks-- completely voluntary on their part--at rates that are normal. It is like they could actually borrow money at 6 and 7 and 8 percent instead of having to use their credit cards and pay 16 or 24 percent. Evidently, there are people on the other side who like the idea that small businesses only have credit cards on which they pay very high rates. I think it is despicable. We tried to do that, and we were thwarted by them. We tried to get help on the small business credit card side, but we were told we could not interfere with private commerce. So small businesses out there are between a rock and a hard place, through no fault of their own. The equity in their homes has depleted substantially, so they cannot go take out a home equity loan. The Republicans have made sure when they go to their credit card companies, they have to pay pretty high rates and they can't get help. Now when we offer them good loans at reasonable rates for their businesses through their own community banks they know, the Republican leadership tells us no. Maybe it is because they don't want this recession to end so they can blame President Obama and the Democrats for everything, and they can try to win the election. I hope that is not the case because small businesses should not be a pawn in the next election. We should be doing everything we can to help them. This is a bipartisan amendment. Senator LeMieux and Senator Nelson from Florida have stood up, and I am hoping some of the other Senators on that side will stand up tomorrow and the next couple of days so we can get a good vote on this amendment and then pass the entire package. Again, this is not a program for banks; it is a program for small businesses. It is a private sector partnership with community banks-- small banks. Big banks cannot even qualify. If you are a big bank in America, you can turn my speech off if you are listening. If you are above $10 billion, you can't be in this. It is only for the small banks and small business. That is all this is for--a partnership of lending. It makes $1 billion over 10 years. It will earn, it will generate, so the program doesn't cost anything. It earns $1.1 billion according to CBO score. So the taxpayers get some money at the end. But that must be just too good for some people I don't know. I am looking forward to the debate. I think I am the last person to speak tonight. I will be here early on the Senate floor tomorrow. I will be here all day tomorrow. I cannot wait for someone from the other side to come and give me either one organization that is opposed to this or one good reason they can't vote for this amendment because we are going to vote on it. We are going to vote on this amendment, and it will be very clear that the 60 people who vote for it--and maybe 39 or 40 people who vote no--or maybe we will have 62 or 63 or 64--maybe we will end up having everybody. I hope so. If all the people who have said they support this provision will call and let their Senators know, maybe we will have success. I may not win every battle as chair of the committee. I know I haven't been able to deliver for small business all the things they would like. I know they need more tax cuts and they need more regulation relief. But I know one thing they need; they need access to capital. They don't want to have to go to Wall Street and beg for it. They don't want to have to pay 18 and 24 percent on their credit cards. They would like to walk down the street to their friendly banker whom they know and extend their line of credit. Why anybody in this Chamber would vote against them doing that, I don't know. But we are going to find out. Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

Ms. LANDRIEU

Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I wish to speak for about 5 or 10 minutes--not very long--about an important matter before the Senate.

Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I am joined by my colleague from Oregon, Mr. Merkley, who has been a wonderful supporter of the small business package and as a member of the Banking Committee has been very instrumental in the shaping of the jobs bill 3, the small business package, that we will be debating and hopefully voting on this week. I wish to say first that I appreciate all the work the members of the Small Business Committee have done, both Ranking Member Snowe and all the members of the committee, as well as the members of the Finance Committee who worked very hard to put a package together and the work that has come from the White House and Treasury to build a package that is paid for, fiscally responsible, and meaningful for small business in America. There are many important pieces of the package, but one of the most significant in this very tough time for small businesses, Mr. President, which you know because I am sure you hear from your small businesses in Delaware, is that they would like some tax relief, if possible. They understand we are in a deficit. They understand it is difficult to provide tax relief, it is also difficult to cut spending, but they would like to see us respond with some targeted tax cuts to small business. This package, I am happy to say, that Leader Reid will be presenting in the next 24 to 48 hours has $12 billion in targeted, specific tax cuts for small businesses in America, from accelerated depreciation to zero capital gains for investments made in small businesses in the next year, incentives to invest, not in the big businesses, not in the businesses on Wall Street but in the businesses that are on Main Street in all our States and all our towns, whether they be large cities or smaller cities or tiny villages throughout, whether it is Delaware or Louisiana, Texas or New York I am pleased a centerpiece of this legislation is targeted, substantial tax cuts for business. The other very interesting piece of this bill is a whole series of things on which the small business community has worked together in a very bipartisan fashion for strengthening programs within the SBA, the Small Business Administration; it is not a very big agency, it is a small agency, but it can be muscular. If it is provided the right tools and with the right shaping of those muscles, it can be actually very effective in lifting small businesses to a better place. With Senator Snowe's help and support, we have managed to come out with several provisions, one of which is the doubling of the loan limits for the 504 and 7(a) programs, which together have the potential to leverage about $30 billion in lending. We have reduced the fees-- eliminated the fees, actually, for banks. We have increased the guarantee from 75 percent to 90 percent. We have expanded the amount of loans, the limit, people can ask for to provide greater access to capital. It is widely popular with the small business associations, and we have their broad support. Again, small businesses in America have seen their credit lines shrinking or evaporated. They have seen their credit card companies charging higher interest rates and demanding full payment on outstanding balances. It is important for us to recognize that this recession is not going to end without some businesses hiring again. They do not hire on wishes and prayers. They hire on bottom-line finances and the hope that things will get better. Both are important--bottom line finances, access to capital, and the hope that things will be better. That is what this bill brings--bottom line support and hope that things can be better. That is a big portion of our bill. Included in that is a very important component of increasing exports. When people say in the surveys: We need to increase demand, I agree. One way we can increase demand is to open exporting opportunities for our small businesses. I do not have it with me, but I have used it many times, a chart that shows only a small sliver that represents small businesses that export. Most of our products are exported and services sold by big companies. When people say to me: Senator, what can the Federal Government do to help open markets or to give us more customers, one thing we can do is to strengthen programs at the Federal level and the State level that give technical assistance and support for our small businesses to export. It is very important to Senator Snowe. It is very important to Senator LeMieux from Florida. It is very important to Senator Klobuchar from Minnesota, who has been a great advocate for this provision for exports, and others as well. That is in the bill. The final piece I am going to speak about--and then I will turn it over to the Senator from Oregon, who has worked so hard on this particular proposal--is, in addition to the $12 billion in tax cuts targeted for small businesses in America, in addition to the strengthening of the SBA direct lending programs that are so important to so many colleagues on both sides of the aisle, there is a $30 billion lending program to small businesses. It is not a government program but a private sector-based lending program, using the great and powerful network of our community bankers. Not our big banks, not the Wall Street banks, not the hedge fund managers about whom we have heard so much--usually bad--but our own very familiar partners at the local level, our community banks. This program would take $30 billion and basically pass it through to small businesses that are looking for capital. I have people come into my office, representing hundreds of small businesses, saying: Senator, we don't have the capital we need to expand, and we have been in business X number of years. If I could just get a loan for $5 million or $10 million or get a capital line for $20 million, I could expand my business. If we do not find a way to get more money into the hands of small businesses--this is not a banking program. It is not like the old bailout program we did for banks. This is about a liftup, a helping hand to small businesses in America. With that program, amazingly, it encourages more lending to small businesses, it is voluntary, and it actually makes money for the Federal Treasury. Again, it is voluntary. It is available to all small banks in good standing to encourage them to use this capital to lend to small businesses. I am going to turn it over to the Senator from Oregon. Before I do, I would like to call attention to the many strong endorsements we have gotten, starting with the Conference of State Bank Supervisors: The proposals--the Small Business Lending Fund and the State Small Business Credit Initiative--will provide much- needed access to capital support small business lending, the lifeblood of our national economy. That is Neil Milner, president and CEO of that organization. I will read another one from John Arensmeyer, founder and CEO of Small Business Majority: The Small Business Lending Fund will create a program that will provide up to $30 billion in capital to smaller banks to spur lending to small businesses and help create new jobs. There's no ``silver bullet'' that will put small business owners out of the financial hole . . . but these initiatives are an important piece of the overall plan to help revive our struggling economy. . . . Finally, from Michael Grant, president of the National Bankers Association: The Obama Administration--continuing its efforts to lift the country out of a two-year recession--has hit a home run with its proposed $30 billion Small Business Lending Fund. This is not a bailout to small business and medium-sized banks; it is, instead, a true investment in a brighter future for America's working class. Again, I turn it over to the Senator from Oregon. I thank him very much for his help in shaping this proposal, expanding it, and promoting it. It promotes itself based on its merits. We are always happy to have his voice enter this debate. I yield the floor for my colleague.

Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I thank my colleague, and let me add a few words to that wonderful explanation. Again, what we are on the floor talking about here--the jobs 3 bill, the small business bill--is a lending program for small business. This is not a bank bailout. It is not a big bank bailout. It is not a medium-sized bank bailout, It is not a small-sized bank bailout. It is not for banks. It is for small businesses. We are using healthy banks, not troubled banks, as a conduit to reach small businesses so they do not have to rely on high rates through a credit card company that is impersonal and not interested in their business but just the bottom line. They do not have the home equity that they used to have, as you know, either in Delaware or Louisiana or Oregon or Texas. I think in America we want to encourage healthy relationships between our small businesses and our local banks. Only small healthy banks can participate in this voluntary program on behalf of small businesses in their communities. Ninety percent of community banks are less than $1 billion, and you can only participate in the Small Business Lending Program if you are below $10 billion. So none of the big banks can even qualify for this. As the Senator from Oregon said, there is not going to be an end to this recession any time soon if we don't, in this Chamber, figure out a way to get low-cost capital into the hands of small business. We don't have many choices. We could issue some more credit cards to them and let them pay 15, 16, 17, 24 percent. We can ask them to go back and get equity out of their homes, which has all but dried up, and not through any fault of their own, or we could give direct lending through the Small Business Administration. Some people have trouble with the Federal Government acting as a direct lender, and I can understand that. It is not what we do. We are not a bank. But there are banks out there--there are 8,000 community banks--many of which are healthy, and with a little bit more capital and a partnership with the Federal Government, they could turn around and lend money to businesses that desperately need it. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record a list of small business organizations I received from the Small business Access to Credit Coalition.

Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I am going to read a few of these organizations into the Record at this time. This is a very market- based, private-sector approach to solving this problem, and that is why the American Apparel & Footwear Association, the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the American International Automobile Dealers Association, the Associated Builders & Contractors, Heating, Airconditioning & Refrigeration Distributers International, and we said the Independent Community Banks of America, but how about the Independent Electrical Contractors, the International Council of Shopping Centers, the Main Street Alliance, the National Association of Women Business Owners--Los Angeles, and I could go on and on and on. There are hundreds of organizations that support this $300 billion Small Business Lending Fund. Again, it leverages up to $300 billion of potential loans to small businesses right here in America to create the jobs we need to move us out and past this recession to higher ground and happier times. We can't wait to get there, but we are not going to get there by peddling in place. We have to move forward. This is a bold proposal, but it is very much based on common sense. It is easy to understand, with clear parameters for understanding it. It is using the great asset of community banks to get low-cost capital into the hands of small businesses--shoe stores, retailers, cleaners, grocery stores--that can then start the hiring of one or two or three extra people. All of that is going to add up to more consumer demand. As people have paychecks, they can go spend them, increasing demand. This is economics 101. It is very simple. It is bold, it is simple, and I believe it will work. It is voluntary. It is for healthy banks only--for community banks only. It has nothing to do with Wall Street, hedge funds or bailouts. It has everything to do with job creation on Main Street in America, and more than 100 small business organizations are supporting this initiative. I thank the Members of the Senate, both Democrats and Republicans, who have been very supportive. We are grateful for the wonderful testimony and endorsements we have received from these very powerful organizations and we look forward, after we have the vote on unemployment sometime tomorrow, to getting back to the business of ending this recession. We have all had about as much of it as we can take. We want to move to stronger times, to happier times. We are only going to do that by giving small business substantial and targeted tax cuts and a lending program that they can work for them and the businesses they want to serve and service every day on Main Streets throughout America. Exhibit 1 Small Business Access to Credit Coalition (February 17, 2010) Dear Senator: Access to credit is a critical issue facing small businesses today. The undersigned organizations, representing millions of small business owners in every industry sector, were very disappointed to learn that only one provision related to expanding small business access to credit was included in the draft legislation offered by Senators Baucus and Grassley, the ``Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act.'' Furthermore, none of the provisions aimed at improving the Small Business Administration (SBA) lending programs are currently being considered in Majority Leader Reid's latest proposal. We are concerned that if the Senate fails to listen to the needs of small businesses and address the credit crisis, a tremendous opportunity to help create new, sustainable jobs in 2010 and beyond will be lost. We urge your support for appropriations to extend the SBA loan provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) through the end of December 2010. The depletion of funds last fall is proof that the SBA programs were, and continue to be, critically important for our nation's creditworthy entrepreneurs. An additional $354 million in appropriations is needed to fund the extension of the higher guaranty percentages and waiver of borrower fees for the balance of the fiscal year. Additionally, we urge your support for an increase in the maximum loan size and the maximum guaranteed portion of SBA loans. Senators Landrieu and Snowe have introduced legislation that would increase the maximum size of SBA 7(a) and 504 loans from $2 million to $5 million. This legislation would also provide a commensurate increase in the statutory maximum guaranteed portion of SBA 7(a) loans. Moreover, the CBO has determined that their legislation, S. 2869, will have no impact on spending or revenue. These levels are recommended by the Administration, have bi-partisan support and we urge your support as well. By including these provisions in upcoming legislation aimed at spurring new job creation, there is the potential to leverage an additional $16 billion in SBA lending in 2010. According to Federal Highway Administration data, federal spending on highway programs can generate about 34,100 jobs for every $1 billion spent. Small businesses can generate the same rate of job creation, except that small businesses have the ability to create new, sustainable jobs in every local community. Therefore, by acting on these recommendations, the Senate will help increase small business lending that will result in over 545,000 sustainable new jobs in the next year. We urge you to act quickly so that we can continue to realize the SBA lending momentum we saw in 2009. Small businesses cannot be the engine of our economy if they continue to face unrelentingly tight credit markets. The Senate must include these important provisions in the job creation bills currently pending in order to restart the flow of credit to America's small businesses or else these entrepreneurs will be left to sit on the sidelines. Respectfully, American Apparel & Footwear Association; American Bankers Association; American Foundry Society--California Chapter; American Hotel & Lodging Association; American International Automobile Dealers Association; Associated Builders & Contractors; California Association for Micro Enterprise Opportunity; California Association of Competitive Telecommunications Companies; California Cast Metals Association; California Chapter of the American Fence Contractors Association; California Employers Association; California Fence Contractors Association; California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; California Metals Coalition; California Public Arts Association, Inc.; Council of Smaller Enterprises (Ohio); Engineering Contractors Association; Entrepreneurs Organization Los Angeles; Fashion Accessories Shippers Association; Flasher/Barricade Association; Golden Gate Restaurant Association; Greater Providence (RI) Chamber of Commerce; Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International; Independent Community Bankers of America; Independent Electrical Contractors; Independent Waste Oil Collectors and Transporters; International Council of Shopping Centers; International Franchise Association; Main Street Alliance; Marin Builders' Association; Marine Retailers Association of America; Monterey County Business Council; Napa Chamber of Commerce; National Association for the Self-Employed; National Association of Development Companies; National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders; National Association of Manufacturers; National Association of Women Business Owners--Inland Empire; National Association of Women Business Owners--Los Angeles; National Automobile Dealers Association; National Cooperative Business Association; National Council of Chain Restaurants; National Council of Textile Organizations; National Federation of Filipino American Associations; National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce; National Marine Manufacturers Association; National Ready Mixed Concrete Association; National Restaurant Association; National Small Business Association; North American Die Casting Association--California Chapter; North Carolina Bankers Association; Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce; NPES--The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce; Oregon Small Business for Responsible Leadership; Peninsula Builders Exchange of California; Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors of California; Recreation Vehicle Industry Association; Recreational Vehicle Dealers Association; Rhode Island Small Business Summit Committee; Sacramento Asian Chamber of Commerce; San Francisco Builders Exchange; San Francisco Chamber of Commerce; San Francisco Small Business Advocates; San Francisco Small Business Network; Small Business Association of Michigan (SBAM); Small Business Association of New England (SBANE); Small Business California; Small Business Majority; Small Manufacturers Association of California; South Carolina Small Business Chamber; Spa and Pool Industry Education Council of California; SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association; The Financial Services Roundtable; The Hosiery Association; Travel Goods Association; Tree Care Industry Association; Urban Solutions--San Francisco; U.S. Chamber of Commerce; U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Ms. LANDRIEU

Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Samantha Seiter be granted the privilege of the floor for the debate on the floor.

Ms. LANDRIEU

Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the memory of one of the Senate's giants, Robert C. Byrd. My family and I were saddened to learn of his passing on Monday morning at the age of 92. I will remember Senator Byrd as a fierce defender of the Constitution, master of Senate procedure and a proud fighter for West Virginia and its rural heritage. Senator Byrd was more than just a colleague, he was a mentor. He taught me--and everyone who had the honor of serving with him--never to apologize for standing up for your State. During more than a half century of service in Congress, Senator Byrd gave a voice to those who would not have been heard otherwise. There are times when it is easy to get caught up in the petty bickering and partisan squabbles that seem to be increasingly plaguing this chamber. But, we would all do well to follow the example Senator Byrd set for all of us during his legendary Senate career and never lose sight of the fact that we are sent here to fight for those in our home States and across the country who cannot fight for themselves. Senator Byrd's work on behalf of his constituents is well known. West Virginians knew they could count on their senior Senator to come here to Washington and deliver for them. They were not alone. I will never forget how helpful Senator Byrd was to my State. Louisiana lost a true friend. Through storms and floods, Senator Byrd made sure that promises made to the gulf coast, particularly to Louisiana, were not broken. He kept an eye on the fair and just distribution of funds to Gulf Coast States, and I and everyone I represent will always be grateful for his dedication to our recovery. One critical example is his effort to provide funding for Louisiana's Road Home program. Road Home, which is the largest single housing recovery program in U.S. history, was designed to provide compensation to Louisiana homeowners whose houses were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina or Rita. In late 2007, as Louisiana faced a daunting program shortfall, it was Senator Byrd who stepped up to help me secure $3 billion to keep this rebuilding program going. A year later, Senator Byrd once again stood up for the people of Louisiana, when he worked with me to include $8.7 billion for gulf coast hurricane recovery and protection in the emergency supplemental spending bill for Iraq and Afghanistan. The funding provided for levees, criminal justice needs, health care and housing for low-income hurricane survivors. Senator Byrd once said, ``The people of Louisiana have the strength and the spirit to rebuild their homes and their communities. We owe them the support to get the job done.'' He did not just pay lipservice to the gulf coast. He delivered for us time and again, because he understood the importance of standing up for those who were hit so hard by the tragic storms that battered the Louisiana coast. Senator Byrd was not just a colleague who put his weight behind fighting for the gulf coast region. He was also a walking encyclopedia of Senate history, and he was always willing to impart his vast knowledge to anyone who wanted to learn about the legends that walked these halls for more than two centuries before us. When I was first sworn in as a U.S. Senator, back in 1997, my entire family came to Washington for the event. After it was over, I asked Senator Byrd if he would give my family--both adults and children--a history lesson on the Senate. He graciously obliged, and for 2 full hours spoke eloquently and expertly on the history of this great body. His lecture left a lasting impression on every single member of the Landrieu family, and it is a memory we will always cherish. Senator Byrd spoke with such passion about John C. Calhoun, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Rebecca Felton, Everett Dirksen and the many other historical figures who shaped the Senate. It is only appropriate that he will forever be mentioned in the same breath with these men and women he so truly admired. And, it makes me proud to have had the opportunity to serve with a man who left such an indelible mark on this Chamber. As we reflect on Senator Byrd's remarkable life and career, our prayers are with the Byrd family. But we all take comfort in knowing that while he leaves behind one of his great loves--the Senate--he is finally going home to be with his greatest love--Erma.

Ms. LANDRIEU

Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, it is with great sadness that I come to the Senate floor today to reflect upon the passing of Benny Powell, Jr., an esteemed jazz trombonist from Louisiana. Louisiana and the Nation lost a musical icon on June 26 when Benny passed away, but he lives on in our memories and in the music that he created. Born March 1, 1930, in New Orleans, LA, Benjamin Gordon Powell, Jr. first set his sights on the parade drum. At the time, his mother was working as a maid in the French Quarter and she played the piano. Thankfully, his mother quickly realized his enthusiasm for music and encouraged Benny to play the trombone. By the time he was 14, Benny had landed his first professional band gig. He was tremendously musically gifted, even from such a young age. Benny has said of the trombone that he loved most how expressive the instrument was. In an interview with the Times-Picayune in 2001, he was quoted as saying that, ``It's like a voice. It can go from a whisper to a roar.'' Benny has performed from coast to coast with a variety of musical figures. In 1961, he played at President Kennedy's inauguration. He has recorded or performed with Frank Sinatra, Screamin' Jay Jawkins, Lionel Hampton, pianist Randy Weston, in Broadway pit bands, and for many years in the house band on ``The Merv Griffin Show.'' However, he is probably best known for playing with Count Basie from the early 1950s through the early 1960s. Since 1944, he taught at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, passing along his gift to aspiring young musicians. I know younger generations were encouraged and inspired by his talents, strength and wisdom. There is a deep rooted musical tradition in New Orleans that Benny's music exemplified by his clear passion and rich sound. We will miss his inspiring gift. As we reflect on his life and his contributions, our prayers are with his daughter, Demitra Powell Clay, his sister, Elizabeth Powell McCrowey, and his grandchildren, Faith and Kyle Swetnam. May we all find some solace in the part of Benny that continues to live on in his music.

Ms. LANDRIEU

Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I would like to talk about the underlying bill that we are actually on today, which is the extenders package. The Democrats negotiated in very good faith with the Republican Party to try to figure out a way to get tax credits, tax cuts to businesses that we all need to make sure continue in terms of research and development. These are credits they have relied on to keep not only their businesses open but keep them hiring. There is a long list. They have been well explained on the floor. They are all very popular with both sides of the aisle. They have been negotiated over and over. The Democrats have, in good faith, argued or debated with the Republicans that we need to get these extended for the purpose of stimulating our economic growth. But we have said there is one that we are not going to pay for because, A, we don't have to pay for it; and, B, because it is an emergency. So everything in the extenders package is paid for. Every single item is paid for. Although some people don't like the pay-fors, every single item to extend a tax credit--not new spending on the part of the Federal Government through bureaucracy but tax credits--is paid for except for the unemployment benefits because it is an emergency. With 15 million people out of work, it is an emergency. For anyone on that side to come to the floor and say Democrats are big spenders and we can't pay for anything and we don't know how to run the government, we have put a great package together. But there is one thing that is not paid for, and that is unemployment because it is an emergency. That is what this debate is about, whether they are going to vote for it. If they don't want to vote for it, it is completely at their feet that people in America today, who have no benefits, will not get them for the Fourth of July. They will not get them as we celebrate the birthday of our country. If they are not going to get them, it will be because the Republican Party decided that we, as a Congress, are going to have to find a way to pay for unemployment benefits, when they never paid for even 1 year of any war they helped lead us into when their party was in charge. So I hope the leadership over here holds the line. We are going to pass the extenders package the way it was presented. They can continue to vote no on it. That is their choice. But everything in this bill-- many things very important to the State of Louisiana, such as flood insurance--is paid for and is now being held up; for example, the placed-in-service date which keeps four or five of our major housing projects from being built. When I say housing, I mean neighborhoods, really, being rebuilt. That is being held up because this side is trying to make an issue of finding a way to pay for unemployment benefits when it is clearly an emergency, clearly qualifies as an emergency, and in the past was always clarified that way. That is what part of this argument is about. As one of the managers of the small business bill, which we are moving to, I am very hopeful and will make sure that the extenders debate stays separate from the small business debate. Now that the extenders bill has been set aside, we have another bill we believe we can move forward with more bipartisan support for, and I want to thank the Republican Senators who helped to move this bill to the floor: Senators Grassley, Voinovich, Snowe, Collins, LeMieux, Lugar, Bond, and Brown of Massachusetts. These eight Senators have negotiated in extremely good faith with both the Finance Committee and the Small Business Committee to bring a package to the floor that will actually help create, we hope, millions of jobs in our country. I want to make one editorial comment before I speak about the small businesses, and as a Senator from Louisiana, I feel compelled to do so. I have helped to manage and craft, along with my committee members-- and I am very proud of the small business piece of this bill. There are three pieces. There is the finance piece, there is a small business package, and then there is a treasury piece. I will discuss all of them briefly in just a moment. We have worked hard over this year trying to come up with some things that the government could do that wouldn't cost that much money but could spur growth in small business. As the Presiding Officer knows, it is not the big businesses that are creating jobs. They are still laying off people or are putting in efficiencies, which means holding the line. Even as they get more contracts, they are not hiring because it is not what big business does. They have enough cushion to hold what they have, but small businesses are affected immediately by contractions and expansions. They can't afford to hold three or four people on their payroll without a contract, so they let them go. But the minute they get a new contract, they will hire them back. They are immediately tied to the daily, weekly, and monthly jolts in this economy. That is why we see that 65 percent of all new jobs created since 1993 have been by small business. When we want to look out from 2009 to the year we are in, 2010, and to 2011 and 2012, which the country is depending on us to do, we should focus our attention where the jobs can be created. Mr. President, that is in small business. So that is what we are here this week and next week to do, and these eight Senators have said yes, basically, to small business in America. The package isn't going to be what all ten of these Senators would write if they could write it themselves, but they understand this is a good package. It is a worthy package to pass--the small business, the finance, and the treasury package--to get small business moving again. I feel compelled to comment, before explaining some of the pieces of this bill, that it is concerning to me that while we are on the Senate floor talking about a small business package, back home in Louisiana and in Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas, because of events almost beyond the control of any of us here, we are facing a real economic challenge with the oilspill in the gulf and the subsequent moratorium that was laid down by the administration on deepwater drilling. I have to say right now there are, in fact, about 50,000 to 60,000 jobs immediately at risk while that issue is being worked out. So while I am here on the Senate floor to help create millions of new jobs--and I believe this bill will do that--we also want to be mindful of not losing the jobs we have in trying to come up with some very quick, appropriate responses to the BP spill--the Deepwater Horizon spill--and the call for safety in the gulf. We need to be getting our people back to work. I spent all morning in the Energy Committee on that subject, and I am proud to be leading and helping with some suggestions in that regard. But I have to say I want all the Members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, to understand there is an economic calamity brewing in the gulf that needs our immediate attention. We can do more than one thing at a time here, so we are going to continue to move forward on the small business bill because small business in Louisiana will be helped, as well as those in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Texas, and small businesses all over this country. There are a couple of important components in this overall bill. Again, I thank the members of my committee who voted these items out 17 to 1 and 18 to 0. Senator Snowe, the ranking member, did a magnificent job of working with the Republicans on our committee. We had many hearings and several markups. In the underlying bill, one of the most important provisions is the Small Business Jobs Creation Access to Capital Act. It increases 7(a) loans from $2 million to $5 million, 504 loans from $1.5 million to $5 million, and microloans from $35,000 to $50,000. If I had my way, I would like to see that go up to $100,000. Why? Because small businesses need access to capital. They must have access to grow. If we want small businesses to be able to grow, they have to be able to expand by borrowing more money at relatively low interest rates on favorable terms, and then they can start hiring people to get the jobs necessary to, A, end the recession; and, B, as Senator Stabenow has said so beautifully all week, to start paying the deficit down. What the Republican Party doesn't understand is that one way to pay the deficit down--not the only way but one way to chip away at it--is to get more people working so they can pay the taxes to the local, State, and Federal Government and we can then take that tax money and apply it to deficit reduction. Yes, we have to cut spending. Yes, we have to stop giving out tax cuts we cannot afford. They never want to do the tax cut piece, and they do not do the cutting piece well either most of the time. But what they need to understand is that creating jobs, both private sector and public sector jobs, where it is appropriate, generates taxes to the local, State, and Federal governments. Then we can begin chipping away at the deficit--a deficit they left, by the way. When the last administration came in--when President Bush came into office--he was handed a surplus. We handed him a surplus of $5.1 trillion and said: Mr. President, here is a world at peace and here is $5.1 trillion in surplus; the economy is creating jobs. When he left office 8 years later, he handed the next President a deficit twice that big, with Wall Street in collapse, two wars that hadn't been paid for, and a mess here at home--and they want to ask why we haven't fixed all that in a year and a half? It is quite humorous to me. I know President Obama is smart and good--though I don't agree with him on everything--but I don't think any human being could fix the mess they left in just a year and a half. We have been plodding along trying to fix different pieces of it, but it hasn't been pretty. All of it isn't working, but we are trying. Most of it is working. That is what the American people expect of us. They do not expect us to get it 100 percent right every day, but they do expect us to move forward; to say, yes, we will try not to say no and not to lecture Democrats about deficits they created. Having gotten that off my chest, I want to say here we are in our small business package. I am very proud that eight of these Republican Senators joined us to get on the discussion on the small business bill. This is going to do a lot of good for a lot of people in many places, let me say, not just New York and not just Wall Street. This is a Main Street bill. This is about creating jobs in little towns in Oregon as well as little towns in Louisiana, small towns in Washington State and Maine. That is what this is about. The second piece is the export piece. This is a very exciting chart to me. I am maybe not as good as Kent Conrad is with charts, Senator Conrad, but I like this one very much. This chart shows the potential of small business in America. Just think about this. We have so many, millions and millions of small businesses, but less than 1 percent of them today are exporting. This is tragic, if you think about it. If we can get a few percentage points, up to 3 percent, 4 percent, 5 percent of small businesses in America exporting their products, using the Internet, using favorable tax provisions that will help--that are in this underlying bill--using new support and technological support from the Small Business Administration, from volunteer organizations such as SCORE, university-based technical support programs that can go to our small businesses and say: You sold 50,000 pairs of shoes last year but you sold them all down the road. We can help you sell them to China or sell them to India. Think about the possibility of that. And it is real. That is what this bill does. Senator Snowe has done a tremendous amount of work. I am extremely proud of her work on the export portion of this bill. Again, large businesses, percent of firms that do not export, 58 percent. This number could be increased. But the exciting opportunity is small business. But sometimes they are intimidated, as you can imagine. They don't know how to negotiate with foreign governments. Some of the things we are going to do in this bill will help them move that number up and they are going to be able to grow. Third, the contracting piece. I know some people on both sides of the aisle believe government is too big. Sometimes I agree with that and think it is too. We have to shape it, make sure it is efficient and effective and muscular, not flabby and big but bold and muscular, so it can do things it needs to do that the private sector can't do. But one of the things all governments do is spend a lot of money, and it is not just money to hire their own employees, it is spending money for the private sector. We contract out a lot of our work. When the Government has a job to do, we do not always do it with government employees; we contract it out. I do not have the exact numbers in front of me but it is billions and billions of dollars. We are the largest--if you put us in terms of a corporation--the largest corporation, potentially, maybe in the world. So the contracting provision we have in this bill says: OK, Federal Government, if you were a business, if you could contract with more small businesses, meet your small business contracting goals, then we could create a lot of jobs in America because it is, again, the small businesses that are creating these jobs. If you give a big company a government contract, they might absorb it into their infrastructure. They are so big, they have millions of employees, or hundreds of thousands. But you give a contract to a small business, you know what happens? They might have five employees. If they get a very nice size contract from the government, they will hire 10 people to implement that contract and they will do it right away. So we have some contracting provisions in this bill that I am, again, very proud of. They have broad bipartisan support. In addition, in this bill, which is paid for, is an additional $50 million for the Small Business Community Partnership Relief Act which gives $50 million in addition to women business centers, microloan intermediaries. It weighs or reduces the non-Federal share of funding so that for 1 year States all over this country can start enhancing and improving their Women Business Owners' Center, their Minority Business Centers, the centers that are in universities all over the country. I am sorry I do not have a map to show what the Secretary or Administrator of the SBA fondly calls our bone structure, because it is a great structure in the country. It is not just isolated little offices of the SBA. If you can imagine, so many of our universities have small business development centers and SCORE chapters, which is retired business executives, senior executives who volunteer to help younger businesses. There are hundreds of these chapters around the country. If you could imagine a map of the United States, you could see, if I could show where these centers are, there are centers at universities and SCORE chapters and community banks, almost within a few miles of any citizen. Any citizen could find a SCORE chapter or a university or a local bank. This bill is sending funding and help to all of those places. Again, not just on K Street here. There are lots of jobs on K Street. In fact, there are so many buildings going up on K Street, I am amazed how many. It never stops. There are lots of buildings going up, maybe, on Wall Street--lots of office space. But where I represent, there are empty spaces. There are lots of vacancy signs. This bill is trying to push out money, not to the Federal Government but to our universities, to our private sector partners to help them tweak--help support small businesses to help small businesses grow. I am very proud of that piece. The job impact analysis was something Senator Snowe wanted. We worked with her. On everything we do, this is going to be a way to say, in this bill, how many jobs will actually be created, to record them so we can be accountable to the American people for that. I am happy she put that in the bill. Going back to the 7(a) loan program, this is the major loan program of the SBA. As you can see, it has been sort of a happy and sad situation here over the last couple of years since 2008. When Congress acts and puts money in this program, loans to small business go way up. When we dilly-dally and cannot agree and the program expires, loans go way down. When we get our act together again, it goes up. I wish this chart did not look like this. I wish it looked straight up, like this. Right now it is down beneath where it was before the stimulus act was passed. It has fallen below the ARRA average of $172 million. It is down to $154 million. We need to get it back up. When we initially announced that the Small Business Administration was expanding the amount you could borrow, reducing the fees so you did not have to pay as much, and giving you a 95-percent guarantee rate, those loans are good loans. Small businesses need them, particularly because credit card companies are not lending the way they used to or charging you too much for the money they do give you. Credit lines are drying up. This is the core of the small business bill. I hope we will see this number go straight up. Banks all over our country want this program. Many of them--not every bank participates, but I would say about 1,000 or 1,200 out of the 5,000 banks participate in this program, and they are very excited about getting this funding back in place so they can begin to loan money again to small business. There are many other things we can do and should do. One of the amendments I have filed--I wish I could have gotten this in the base bill, but even as the chairman of the committee you can't get everything you want in the base bill. So I have agreed to offer one of these as an amendment. I am very proud to have Senator Cochran's support, Senator Wicker's support, Senator Vitter's support. It is a bipartisan amendment. What it would do is provide in the small business bill interest loan relief for the gulf coast outstanding disaster loans from Katrina and Wilma, Gustav and Ike, from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. There are 13,207 loans. I will take a moment to try to explain it. I will try to wrap up in about 5 minutes. There are currently today 13,207 small business loans that were taken out by businesses all along the gulf coast. Some of these loans are to fishermen whose boats were destroyed and they had just bought the new boat or fixed their net from some of these hurricanes. They were just getting back into the water. The water was coming back, the marsh was coming back after Katrina and Rita, and then all of a sudden the Horizon BP disaster happened. The same people who were affected by these hurricanes and who may be affected by hurricanes in this season--which unfortunately promises to be a very difficult one--these are the businesses that are struggling to pay these loans on top of the economic disaster they are experiencing. So I am asking the Senate to please give some forgiveness--in the loan forgiveness, but give some special help to this group of loans. What we are asking in the amendment is 3 years of an interest rate reduction; not loan forgiveness, so the taxpayers will be paid back the full principal amount of all the loans these individuals and businesses have made. But if we could give them a little interest relief--let me give a specific example. I actually took Karen Mills, our Administrator of the SBA, to Louisiana on several occasions to impress upon her the seriousness of this situation. I took her to see the Bergerons, who run a gas station in Lakeview. This entire neighborhood was destroyed, 8,000 families. Three of my brothers and sisters lived in this neighborhood, with four children each. They lost everything, their homes, their clothes, everything was completely destroyed. That was true of their 8,000 other neighbors. This gas station--the Bergerons came back. They operated one of the most successful gas stations in this neighborhood. In order for people to be able to rebuild their house, because they had fled to higher ground hundreds of miles away, families would drive long distances after work to come and gut their homes in Lakeview and try to rebuild their homes. But when they went to go back, there was no gas station for them to fill up their car so they could get back to where they were living until they could get home. So the Bergerons, like a lot of what I call the pioneer businesses-- the hardware stores, the gas stations--said you know, I have been here 40 years. Mr. Bergeron is in his 70s, still very active, but he said I am going to go back and open my gas station. So he went to the SBA and got a loan. The problem was, he did a great thing, but his business came back so slowly. But without his business no one in the neighborhood could come back because there was no place to get gasoline. He is paying on his loan $1,000 a month. If this passes, his note will go down to about $400 a month. It will give him a little bit of relief because right now in his same neighborhood he has a lot of people who work in the fishery industry or the seafood industry or the oil and gas industry, so some of his customers cannot come and get as much gas as they want to because they are being affected now by this Deepwater Horizon. I am begging the Members of the Senate to please help this particular group. I wish we could afford to do for everyone in America but not everybody in America right now is on the gulf coast. But these 13,207 people are and we need to give them a little breathing room. That is one of my amendments. I am going to yield the floor after I make a comment on a nominee. But that is one of the amendments I am going to ask the Senate, when we get an opportunity to offer amendments, to please give us a chance to help these small businesses. It is a temporary relief for them, but I think it is something they deserve and will help this region that has now been hit again. Nomination of Winslow Sargeant Mr. President, at this time I want to talk for a minute about Winslow Sargeant. He is a gentleman who has been recommended by the President to serve at the SBA, in the advocacy position at the SBA. He comes highly regarded and highly recommended. He has a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin in Madison in electrical engineering and a background as a very successful small business owner. He is managing director of Venture Investors, a Midwest venture capital country with a concentration in starting up health care technology companies. Dr. Sargeant has a great deal of support from a wide variety of individuals and businesses that I will submit for the Record. With more than 80 percent of job losses coming from small firms, I believe this is someone who should be in the Office of Advocacy. For some reason, he is being held up by the other side. I understand there are nominations being held up on both sides of the aisle, but I wanted to ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider--I am going to wait and ask for unanimous consent. I am not going to wait long, but I will continue talking for a few minutes. I will wait for a few minutes, but at some point I am going to ask for unanimous consent that he be moved ahead because here we are on a small business bill, and here is the man whom the President has nominated, who obviously is well credentialed, has tremendous support, who is being held up. We do not really understand why he is being held up, so I would like to know, and in just a few minutes, I am going to ask for him to go by unanimous consent. In the meantime, I will speak about one other potential amendment to the underlying bill. This amendment is coming from Senator Boxer, and I am so excited that she came up with this idea and this amendment. I think it has a lot of potential, and I think many Members might support it. Senator Boxer called to my attention that there are many small businesses that operate out of their homes, and if you think about it, there are many people who operate their business out of their homes but particularly women who are trying to raise children, they are still the primary caregiver--not the only caregiver, but in most homes the women are trying to balance being a good wife and a good mother and also contributing to the bottom line of their family income. So a lot of them might be running small businesses out of their homes. Well, it has come to our attention that in order to take the tax deduction that is rightfully there for anyone, man or woman, who works out of their home--it has come to my attention through Senator Boxer that it is not really very easy to take that deduction. In fact, it is so complicated, to my knowledge, that many people don't take it. Think about that. If we are really supportive of family values, of people being flexible; if we don't like spending a lot of gasoline traveling back and forth to work and we are kind of trying to encourage people to stay at home and work if they can--many women who are very well credentialed because the government spent a lot of money on our universities getting them the degrees they need, are home raising three, four, five kids, and they can't travel a long time to work, so they set up a business in their home. Senator Boxer's amendment would help them by simplifying this deduction. I am hoping Senator Boxer will come at some time to the floor over the next couple of days--I am sure she will--and explain the details of this, but I think it would be an excellent provision to add to the small business bill because again, remember, this underlying bill is cutting taxes for small businesses, specifically cutting taxes for small businesses; it is supporting the small business programs to create more of them, both in our country and their export potential; and then it is giving--the third leg of the stool--$30 billion to banks in America, voluntarily. It is not TARP-like, nothing about TARP; it is $30 billion to small banks in Oregon, Louisiana, and other places to be able to then take that money and lend it to small businesses. That is the essence of this bill. I am very hopeful we can add a couple of amendments to an already very good small business package. So I am hoping Senator Boxer will come at some point and explain this amendment. My colleagues are here to speak, I guess, on either the extenders package or the small business package. I see the Senator from Ohio, who has been very supportive of small business. Of course, Ohio is one of the States that has been hardest hit, and Michigan has been very hard hit in the underlying economy. So I am very happy to have, hopefully, their support on the underlying bill. But one more comment about the moratorium. And I started off by saying I am proud to be the chair of the Small Business Committee advocating for small businesses in the country. I think the small business package, the finance and treasury package that we have on the floor will deliver to the American people how to, in a very fiscally responsible way, help us create the jobs we need. But one of the points--and I am going to be very brief because I see the minority leader here, but at the same time I want to say again that the moratorium on the gulf coast--and the Senator from Kentucky will, I believe, agree with me on this point--the moratorium on the gulf coast is really hurting many small businesses now. I know we have to get this drilling safer and it has to be very safe. The people of my State want that. The people of the gulf coast want that. But we hope sometime in the next few weeks to clarify or fix or modify this. The Federal judge, as you know, has ruled that the moratorium is lifted, because the Federal judge did not agree with the actions taken by this administration, nor do I. So while we are debating a small business bill, I am very hopeful that as soon as this small business package can pass, we can get on to getting more people back to work along the gulf coast who have been affected by both the moratorium and this bill. Unanimous consent Request--Executive Calendar I ask unanimous consent for Winslow Sargeant to be Chief Counsel for Advocacy, Small Business Administration; that the nomination be confirmed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to the nominee be printed in the Record; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate then resume its regular legislative session. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Merkley.) Is there objection?

Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I begin by complimenting the senior Senator from Massachusetts for a remarkable tribute to the late Senator Robert Byrd. It was beautifully delivered, beautifully written. It captured the spirit of this wonderful Senator and highlighted just a few of the extraordinary accomplishments in his life. I was privileged to be on the floor to hear it delivered by the Senator from Massachusetts. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for up to 10 minutes as in morning business.

Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I was here earlier today, following Senator Baucus's handling of a portion of the small business bill. I am pleased to share in that responsibility on a small business bill that is not immediately before the Senate because, remember, we came off it temporarily to talk about the unemployment measure that is pending about which Senator Harkin just spoke. I want to return to the small business bill because at some point, after a vote on the unemployment measure before the Senate, we will get back to a very important bill for you, Mr. President, and you have been a leader in this area, as well as many of us. I want to speak for a moment about a couple of provisions of the small business bill. The bill itself has three major pieces to it. There is a piece that came out of the Small Business Committee about which I spent some time this morning talking, the elements of strengthening the SBA lending programs, expanding the limits for the amount of money that businesses can borrow. There is a piece that is coming out of the Finance Committee that is broadly supported. Senator Baucus and Senator Grassley have done a great job. Basically, it is tax cuts relative to small businesses that can help them with tax provisions. Then there is a piece that has come from the Treasury, the White House, the leadership team, about small business lending. I want to talk for a few minutes about a piece of the small business package, and then I want to talk about the bank investment program, the $30 billion program. First of all, one of the most important aspects of the small business bill is the extension and the expansion of 7(a) loans. To put this in plain English, these are the loans that the Small Business Administration partners with banks to make what we call floor plan lending. It is any business that has inventory--maybe it is a tractor company or a manufactured home company or a boat, marine industry with a small business owner--and you have some of these in Illinois, I know, Mr. President, and I have many of them in Louisiana--that has to buy inventory and put it in their showrooms for when people come by and they look at the product.

Ms. LANDRIEU

Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I come to the floor this afternoon to speak on a couple of different subjects. Briefly I wish to say a few words about our extraordinary and great colleague who has left the Senate and left this world, but his spirit will be here for many years to come and his presence will be felt here for decades, if literally not centuries, and the extraordinary contribution that Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia has made to the Congress, to the Senate, to our country, and to the world. My colleague, the Senator from Rhode Island, gave a beautiful tribute a few minutes ago. I was in the Chamber and listened to what he said. I wish to add that not only did Robert Byrd rise up through educating himself--in these days that is almost a foreign concept to so many people. You go to school, you get a degree--but he did all of that and more. He read so much. He was so curious about so many aspects of life, not just politics, not just government, but industry, art, and music that literally he was one of the most inspirational human beings I have ever had the pleasure to know or ever read about in that sense. Senator Reed said he lifted himself from literally an orphan status in one of the poorest communities in the world, West Virginia. Parts of it are much like a few parts of our country that are extraordinarily poor, even by world standards. He came from a very humble, orphaned beginning with virtually no chance at anything much, and ended up, we know, sitting at that desk, which is one of the great desks of honor in this Chamber. As people who work here know, the longer one is here, the closer one gets to the center aisle. Since he held up the center aisle literally with his presence every day, one cannot get any more senior than that desk. We look at it now these days and are reminded of him. He lifted himself, he lifted his family, but I would say in that earnest curious way, he lifted an entire State and an entire Nation. There are not many individuals who can say that their life actually did that. But Robert Byrd is one of them. West Virginia today is lifted so much higher. The children of West Virginia, the families of West Virginia, the communities of West Virginia literally were lifted by the strength--the spiritual and intellectual strength--and courage and tenacity of a man for whom there is no peer in this room relative to that, and our Nation across decades, through many of the great trials of this Nation. He lifted this Nation to a better place and was such a strong man and such a great man that he would even admit when he made some very bad mistakes, which raises him even higher in my eyes. He said toward the end of his life many times that his stand on civil rights was not right. He apologized profusely for being on the wrong side of history on that issue. He did not make many mistakes such as that. But he was such a great man that he admitted when he did. Senator Reed recalled that he always called him ``captain,'' but Senator Byrd had a way of referring to each of us in a special way. He would always say to me: How are you today, Senator, and how is that fine father of yours, Moon Landrieu? It would always make me feel so wonderful that he would say he was such a great mayor. How is Moon today and how is Verna? Can you imagine a gentleman with so much on his mind that he would always remember to me the parents I have and that we both admire so much? It was a special way about him. Finally, when Katrina happened and all of us on the gulf coast were devastated--frankly, I could not find a great deal of comfort at the level of the administration that was in power. I never thought they quite understood the depths of the destruction that occurred. It worried me then and it still troubles me to this day. But the first meeting I had with Senator Byrd, when I was trying to explain to him how devastating this situation was--because it wasn't a hurricane, it was a flood and the Federal levees had collapsed--he just sort of put his hand out and said: Senator, have a seat. He said: I do understand, and I am going to work with you. I am going to help you. I am going to be here for the people of Louisiana and the gulf coast as we try to get this right. Mr. President, we were shortchanged by other Members of Congress and by the White House. They never quite understood. When the first allocation of funding was given out, it was just an arbitrary number thrown out that we were going to take $10 billion and help the gulf coast, but no State could get more than $5.4 billion. Well, when you looked at the facts at the time, the numbers were so disproportionate to the injury that Louisiana and our people had suffered, had you done it on just a disaster basis--which we should have done in calculating it--we should have gotten $15 billion relative to that distribution. When I brought those numbers to Senator Byrd, he said: We are going to work on it. And you know what, Mr. President, he did. Unbelievable as it might be to the people in this Chamber, because he was a very powerful chairman of the Appropriations Committee, he could actually do it, and he did. I didn't have to explain that much or beg that much. I just had to present the data to him that showed this is how many houses were destroyed, this is how many homes were lost, this is what the President gave to X, Y and Z; what do you think, Senator Byrd? Is it fair for us? And he said: Absolutely. So he gave us literally billions of dollars. Today, St. Bernard Parish, the city of New Orleans, and parishes all in the southern part of the State are recovering because of one person, Senator Byrd, the chair of the Appropriations Committee, who said: We are not going to leave you at your hour of greatest need. I will never forget, and my State will never forget, the generosity and the courage it took for him to stand with us through that difficult time. So I wanted to, in a small way, add my voice to the many tributes that Senator Byrd has received, and those are the most important ones that I wanted to share today.

Ms. LANDRIEU

Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, as we continue the important work of the Senate this week on a number of important bills, one of them being the small business package that is before this body now, we are always mindful, as we come to the floor with the beautiful flowers on Senator Byrd's desk, of the great loss we are all experiencing. His colleagues here and in his home State of West Virginia, the Nation and, as you know, many people around the world are mourning the death of a great Senator, a very well-known Senator, a very well-respected Senator, and a very historic figure. So as we all do our work today, it is with heavy hearts that we work. I told my staff today walking into the building, it seems so empty and particularly quiet, and it is because of the great respect this Senator enjoyed in his life and now enjoys in his death. But as even Senator Byrd would say if he were here, the work of the Senate, which he loved very much, needs to go on because it is the work of the people in a very special way. It is in that spirit that I come to the floor to briefly talk about a bill we are attempting to move to. It is a major piece of legislation. It has three distinct components. It has been in shape and in the works for many months now. A part of this bill has come out of the Small Business Committee. I am extremely proud, as the chair of that committee, that the package we have contributed has been built on strong, solid bipartisan support. In fact, many of the provisions came out of our committee 17 to 0 or 17 to 1 or 18 to 0. We have had tremendous cooperation on the part of my ranking member, Senator Snowe, who has been to the floor several times in the last couple of weeks, joining me in talking about the importance of focusing the congressional efforts and Congress's efforts on small business, on Main Street. We have spent a lot of the last year and a half dealing with the big companies, the big companies on Wall Street, the big banks, the big insurance companies, the big health care companies. We have had to deal with it because it has been in a state of crisis where Wall Street was going to collapse, the financial structures were collapsing. We had to act quickly. The health care tragedies or stresses were clearly visible, and we had to work our way through that. But now it is time for this Congress, at this time, this summer, to focus on small business, because these are the businesses on the front line of the battle against this recession. And this is a battle. It is a battle to end this recession, to fight and win our way back to prosperity. Much of this can be accomplished if we would focus on the businesses in our neighborhoods, on Main Street, on the farm-to-market road, the small business owners driving those pickup trucks, delivering supplies and equipment all over America, in urban areas and in rural areas. We would be very much helped if we could get our minds and our hearts on them, because they are going to be the ones that lead us out of this recession. Small firms created 65 percent of all new jobs from 1993 to 2009. It was true in the early 1990s. It was probably true if you would go back to the 1980s, probably true in the 1970s. It is true today. Job creation is not going to come 1,000 jobs at a time. It comes one at a time, two at a time, or three new jobs in small businesses all over America. What we do here on tax policy, on strengthening the Small Business Administration, on freeing up capital for them, is going to make the difference between whether this recession comes to an end. So I am pleased about the work that has been done. A portion of our bill has come through the Small Business Committee. A portion of the bill has come through the Finance Committee. I have to take my hat off to the Senator from Montana, Max Baucus, and his ranking member, Senator Grassley, former Chairman Grassley, from Iowa. They have worked nonstop and overtime on a number of bills that have to do with our Tax Code. But they have set aside this special time for their committee to work on tax relief, tax extensions, tax relief for small businesses to add to this package. So it is a portion of tax cuts and tax relief for small businesses that is so important, to strengthen the Small Business Administration programs that we know have been effective, not just throwing money at government programs but targeting the government programs that we know work because we have studied them, and we have gotten reports from not just the government bureaucrats--and there are many good ones here--but we have been hearing from businesses: Senator, this works for me. Can you get us more of it? That is what this bill is about. Then finally there is a piece that has come from the leadership, from the President himself, from the White House, through the Treasury Department, to say: What can we do to leverage some assets of the Federal Treasury to create a $30 billion lending pool, not for the big banks--they have gotten enough of our money and enough of our attention, as far as I am concerned--but the small banks on Main Street. There are 8,000 of them. They are the ones that need a little help, a little financing to help them, not on their bottom lines in terms of their stability because they are quite stable. I am extremely proud of our small banks around this country that did not go belly up. They are strong. They have money to lend. We want to give them some additional funding to lend. I am proud that the Independent Bankers Association has sent us a letter, which I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record.

Ms. LANDRIEU. The Independent Community Bankers Association has sent to Senator Snowe and me a strong recommendation. They say: On behalf of 5,000 members and our State partner community banking associations, we strongly support the proposed Small Business Lending Fund, and urge prompt passage of this important legislation. The nation's 8,000 community bankers are well positioned because of their established relationships with small businesses in their communities to use the funds to get credit flowing. Under the proposal that is being brought to the floor today, banks with less than $1 billion in assets could receive capital investments up to 5 percent of their risk-weighted assets, and those with between $1 billion and $10 billion in assets could receive up to 3 percent. We know community banks are the ones that small businesses do go to, some with more success than others, and that is a speech for another day. But I do know there are a number of bankers who say: Senator Landrieu, Senator Snowe, we want to lend to our small businesses, and if you can help us with a few things, we could do a better job. In addition, we also know that small businesses use their credit cards for capital. We also know our small businesses go to family members. They dig into their own savings to find the money needed to initiate or support their business. We also know they go to their uncles and aunts. Financing through family members has been a traditional way that small business owners use, and credit unions. So everything we can do now--we cannot have a relief to the great uncle and aunt bill. That is a little bit out of our reach. But we can help our small banks, our small business agencies. We can look hard on credit card companies and their practices and make sure they are doing right by businesses. We are trying to do all of that one step at a time. Let me take a minute or two to explain a few pieces of this bill. This is one of the most important components. This chart is startling. Two of the most important programs that SBA operates are the 7(a) and 504 loan programs. These are the loan programs that all of the Federal Government--these are the programs that focus most directly on small business loans in America. They allow a 90-percent guarantee and allow the waiver of fees. We did this, when the recession started, so a small business could go into a bank and say: I have got a great idea. I want to expand; even though my neighborhood is a little bit in the doldrums, and even though my product is not in great demand today, I think it will be in the future. Can I have a loan? And the bank officer says: Well, we do not quite have money for you. But let me look in the 7(a) program. They can get a 90-percent loan backed up by the Federal Government, and these loans can be made without fees. This is how low we were in 2008. We were only down to $200 million in loans back in 2008. You can see through the recession how low this was. When we acted, we acted back here in 2009 and started doing some increased guarantees, reducing the fees. It worked. We spiked the number of loans up to almost $1.2 billion. But as you can see, Congress's actions have a direct effect on this lending to small business. Look here. Now we are down below where we were 2 years ago. This bill will move this number back up, and this bill will help this number stay up. This represents thousands of loans to small businesses, without which they cannot create the jobs that we need and the country needs to get us out of the recession. This is a very important component of our bill. I am very proud of that component. One more chart we will show. This is a startling chart. I have used this several times. I hope people understand the potential for growth. There is real potential here. Right now in America, 1 percent of small businesses export. Think about that. We are only 4 percent of the world's population, so 96 percent of everybody else lives somewhere else. The market is very big outside of America, although we are a very important market. So we can help our small businesses learn to be better exporters. With the Internet, now it becomes so possible for them to export products, with first day, short delivery times, all on-time delivery from airplanes, trains, trucks that can deliver products everywhere. Plus, there are so many ideas now with services. The small business here that has a great idea on the Internet, it becomes a great idea in Vietnam or in Korea or a country in Africa. They can sell those products. So this bill does a great deal, with Senator Snowe's help, where she did pioneering work in this area to help us give technical assistance to more small businesses and help them become experts on exporting so they can keep the money, the profits, and the jobs right here at home. My colleague has been good about waiting, but I wanted to share a few of the aspects of this important bill. We are going to be voting I hope today at about 2 o'clock or so. We hope to get the 60 votes necessary to move to this package. As a manager of this package, I can say Senator Baucus as well, we are open to amendments people might want to have to perfect it. But we believe this is a very good, solid package to bring up. It is time that we focus on the small businesses of America. They deserve our best efforts between now and the end of the year or as long as it takes. They have not gotten the attention they deserve. So if we can get 60 votes, we may not be able to get all our work done this week, but we believe in the next couple of weeks we can get the work done on this bill. I yield the floor.

Ms. LANDRIEU

Ms. LANDRIEU. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Ms. LANDRIEU. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business for about 15 minutes. It might go to 20 minutes.

Ms. LANDRIEU. Madam President, I come to the floor today to add some comments to the Record about this horrendous environmental and economic disaster unfolding in the gulf and to try to provide some additional perspective on behalf of the people I represent, the people of Louisiana. I have been proud to represent them over the last 14 years in the Senate, and in that capacity I have had the opportunity, on a variety of occasions, to speak up strongly for our neighboring States, the gulf coast, America's working coast--a coast that does the work of this country in many ways. We produce most of the oil and gas off the shores of our Nation. We provide a great percentage of petrochemicals that are relied on by men and women in every part of the world, including those in our own country. I could go on and on, from agriculture, to seafood, to navigation of the Mississippi River. We work hard down South, and we are proud of the work we do. We are extremely troubled, as you can imagine, by what is happening today. I would like to share just a few thoughts and potential suggestions for a way forward. It has been 66 days now since the tragic explosion of the Deepwater Horizon that unleashed one of the worst manmade disasters this Nation has ever witnessed. Every day you can simply turn on the television or many sites on the Internet and find pictures, disturbing pictures of that well still gushing uncontrollably into the Gulf of Mexico. Millions of Americans, including 105 million who call the Louisiana coast home, watch, in some ways helplessly, as this brown sludge washes up onto our beaches and into our marshes. It is not only staining our lands but threatening our way of life. We must move decisively. This is an emotional issue for me, for many people I represent, from the broad political spectrum of liberals to conservatives, Democrats to Republicans to Independents, from individuals to families, people of all ages. We try to debate the appropriate way forward. It is important for us not to lose focus that 66 days ago our Nation lost 11 men. More importantly, more directly, 21 children lost their fathers, and hundreds of families lost members, friends, and coworkers. They lost these men, and we will keep them forever in our memory. We must also remember these 11 men were just like literally thousands of other men and women who put on their blue jeans and overalls and work outside for a living on the land and on the water in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and all over the United States, who engage in difficult work, and at times dangerous work, to produce what our country needs to operate--many of us can work in the comfort of air- conditioning in buildings like this. In fact, in my State, there are more than 300,000 men and women working in the oil and gas industry alone. Every day, they go to work with the risk associated with offshore and onshore development, but they understand what I understand, that this country needs to produce more, not less, oil and gas domestically for our economy and, I would contend, for our environment--and I will get to that point in a minute--and for our national security. As I said on the floor of the Senate last week, I fully supported a thorough review of offshore drilling safety standards. Obviously, we need them. Not only do we need new standards, we need to enforce the ones we have. I have welcomed the efforts of Department of Interior Secretary Salazar to rewrite, reorganize, and retool an agency that has fallen down on the job, and in some ways been part of the disaster--in many ways. We now have a new agency emerging, and we most desperately need it. However, if we are going to ensure that an incident of this magnitude never happens again, this new agency--whatever it ends up being called--must train, recruit, and pay the most qualified people to carry out this new urgent mission. Robust oversight, greater transparency, strong safety standards, and high ethical standards must be maintained. This administration did not inherit, obviously, a perfectly well run, well-tuned agency. It inherited a mess. I share their desire to see it cleaned up, retooled, and refocused. I commend the Secretary and the new appointee, Michael Bromwich, whom I had the opportunity to meet for the first time this morning, in their efforts to do so. That is an important step forward and one this Congress seems to be willing to take, both from the Republican and Democratic sides of the aisle. I am looking forward to working in a nonpartisan way as we strive to find the right way forward. But the President and his administration have imposed a very arbitrary and, in my view, ill-conceived 6-month moratoria on new deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico--the only place in the country now where we drill in depths, and one of the few places that allows drilling off the coast at any depth of water. The first well was drilled off our coast 12 feet off the shore many decades ago in just a few feet of water. Now, as we know, we are drilling in thousands of feet and have successfully done that, safely done that, for now 20 years--until this undescribable blowout that has occurred. In Louisiana, unfortunately, we are coming to terms with what a prolonged moratoria will mean for our families and our businesses, large and small, and it is not a pretty picture. It is painful, it is frightening, it is upsetting, and it needs to be told. A 6-month moratoria on all of these 33 rigs that operate in the Gulf of Mexico will wreak economic havoc on this region. Right now, there are thousands of people out of work--fishermen, oystermen, boat captains, recreational. They cannot fish. It is not safe. No one is coming down to Louisiana. They are going to Florida. They are going to Mississippi because there are actually beaches that are still clean and available for people. But in Louisiana, we do not have that many beaches actually. We have America's great wetlands. These boat captains have--I have met with them on many occasions. As to these people, their clients contract with them months in advance. They do not come down to sunbathe and take their kids on a few little rides here and there and then occasionally rent a boat. They come down to rent the boats to fish in some of the greatest, most wonderful fishing places in the world. They are closed down. In addition to them being closed down and not being able to work at all in many instances--these are small businesses that can generate anywhere from a few thousand dollars a month to millions of dollars a month, and companies worth millions of dollars--the President and the administration have slapped down an ill-conceived 6-month moratoria without any real timeframes. I am encouraged that just this morning--I came to the floor right after the energy hearing--Ken Salazar, who continues to have my great respect and support despite my differences of opinion with him on some of these issues, spoke before our committee and said that based on the judge's decision, with which I agree, and comments made by the Secretary's own experts that ``a blanket moratorium is not the answer. It will not measurably reduce risk further and it will have a lasting impact on the nation's economy which may be greater than that of the oil spill. . . . We do not believe punishing the innocent is the right thing to do''--these are not Mary Landrieu's words. These are not words from the congressional delegations that represent the gulf coast. These are words from the Secretary's own experts. We urge--I urge--the Secretary and the President to listen to these men who submitted the first report and try to find a better way forward. Marty Feldman--a judge I know well--I hold in the highest esteem. He is more conservative than some Members here but, nonetheless, has served with distinction. He said the moratorium was arbitrary and capricious. He said: [A] blanket, generic, indeed punitive, moratorium on deepwater oil and gas drilling is not the way to go. He said: The blanket moratorium, with no parameters, seems to assume that because one rig failed and although no one yet fully knows why, all companies and rigs drilling new wells over 500 feet also universally present an imminent danger. He goes on to a well-reasoned argument that has been well published and well debated. I hope, as the Secretary said this morning, he and the President are trying to find the way forward that would involve reaching very high safety, more certification of the engineers and managers on these rigs. That is obvious since this looks like, in many instances, it might be more human error than equipment error that caused this. So I think we should focus on the humans in charge and try to make sure they are up to the task on all of these 33 rigs. That could be done well within 6 months. There needs to be, in other words, some more urgency to find the safety level that is now being demanded by the American people, and rightly so. No one wants it more than the women who lost their husbands. They sat with me at my kitchen table just 2 weeks ago and said those words to me: Senator, no one in America could want this to be more safe than we do. But they also said: We believe the moratorium is wrong. We cannot stand by and not say this because our neighbors, the husbands of our best friends, are being laid off. People we know in our community are being irreparably harmed. They said: We told this to the President. Do you think, Senator, he will listen? I have assured them that the President is listening, that the President is a man with a great mind and a great heart. I have assured them that Secretary Salazar could not be a more honest broker. He has been beat up on both sides. The environmentalists do not think he is tough enough. The oil and gas industry beats him up all the time. So that convinces me he is probably the right person for this job. But this moratorium that idles these 33 rigs is dangerous, and I will tell you why. These rigs can move, and they will move. There is more oil to be found in this world. There are reserves off many coasts, and there is more oil than there are rigs able to drill. Since the world is a thirsty sponge, it just continues to need billions and billions of barrels of oil to operate. In the United States, we use 20 million barrels a day. We used 20 million barrels yesterday. We will use 20 million barrels today. None of that is changing. So the world is needing this oil. There are fewer rigs than there is oil. They cannot and will not sit idly in the Gulf of Mexico while we try to decide what to do. They will leave, and they will not then be coming back any time soon. I will submit for the Record--because it really got me upset this morning, and it should get everyone upset who reads it--a very moving article in the New York Times about what is happening in the Niger Delta, a delta we don't pay a lot of attention to here. Why would we? There are just a lot of poor people who live there, and we don't represent them here. But in the Niger Delta, I read this morning, they have to put up with a spill equal to the Valdez. They put up with it, the size of it, every year. The mangroves that I read about--the mangroves I can imagine in my mind because we have them in Louisiana and in Florida and in places I have been--are destroyed. The swamp is lifeless. Madam President, I tell my Democratic colleagues: If you drive this oil drilling off our shore, you will simply drive it to places with greater environmental degradation than either you or anyone you know could probably imagine. I ask unanimous consent for 5 more minutes.

Ms. LANDRIEU

Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, before I speak briefly about the subject I came to the floor to speak about, which is small business--I am chair of the Small Business Committee--I want to thank our colleague from Florida for his advocacy for the gulf coast, as we struggle as to how to stop this gusher in the gulf and to clean up what has been done. We have recently seen some terrible photographs from the beaches of Florida. We have photographs equally as troubling from the marshes of Louisiana. I want to thank the Senator for his leadership, and we are all going to double our efforts to get this job done, and to do it in a balanced way. As upsetting as this oil is, in trying to clean it up, and keep it from our shores--both the beaches and the marshes--we also have to find a balance as to how to let this industry at some point move forward with these 33 rigs or we are going to lose the entire deepwater gulf drilling, which will put thousands--tens of thousands--of people out of work, some of whom live in Florida; and some of the businesses benefit, as well as so many in Louisiana. But I thank my colleague for his continued effort, and we will look into some of the issues he has raised and push as hard as we can from Louisiana as well. Mr. President, I know my colleagues are on the floor to speak about job creation. That is why I am here as the chair of the Small Business Committee. I say to the Presiding Officer, you have had a great deal of experience in your own role, before being a Senator, as a bank president and as a lender for small business. You know how important it is. I start by sharing this graph I have in the Chamber that shows that from 1993 to 2009, 65 percent of the net new jobs created were created by small firms with 1 to 500 employees--65 percent of the jobs. Large firms created 35 percent of the jobs. So I suggest this is a very important topic for us to be discussing, and I am very pleased the leader wants to bring this small business bill to the floor next week. We have been--many of us--clamoring to get to this debate, and I want to see this bill move forward if we can work out a few minor differences. This package has been put together with very good bipartisan cooperation, from my view as the chair of the Small Business Committee, both from our committee and then the Finance Committee has done its part as well. But there are a few items I wish to highlight because there are some agreements that must be reached and some points I wish to make briefly. First of all, let me briefly describe the small business provisions. One is the increase in 7(a) loans from $2 million to $5 million; 504 loans from $1.5 million to $5.5 million; and microloans from $35,000 to $50,000. If I could, I would lay an amendment down to raise that to $100,000. We have had testimony from business advocates--from conservative to moderate to liberal advocates--saying this is one of the most important things we need to do to stimulate lending to small businesses through the Small Business Administration, to give capital, to give credit to these small businesses that can create the jobs I am talking about. We must get credit into the hands of small businesses from Maine to California to Texas to Louisiana to Washington State, and these small businesses, if we can strengthen the SBA programs, can, in fact, begin to turn this recession into a job creation era and opportunity. That is in the bill. It passed our committee 17 to 1--a great bipartisan vote. The Small Business Export Enhancement and International Trade Act, which Senator Snowe has worked so hard on--and I want to commend her for her work; and I have worked with her on this as well--this is a challenge for us. Less than 1 percent of small businesses in America are exporting. I want to say that again. Less than 1 percent of America's small businesses are exporting. The market is overseas. The population growth is overseas. If we do not help our small businesses with technical assistance and support to be able to allow them to position to market, particularly with the ability of the Internet today--an extraordinarily exciting tool--with broadband, high-speed Internet, there are opportunities for a person, whether they are in Chicago, IL, or in New Orleans, LA. If they have a product, they can go on the Internet, show the product, and it can be shipped to China or India or any other country in the world, and the profits can come home right here and jobs can be created. That is in this bill, and it is extremely important we move to it and figure out the few problems we have with it. There is the Small Business Contracting Improvement Act that has not been completely worked out, but I want to take a moment to speak about it. The Federal Government is one of the largest purchasers of goods and services in the world. If we are going to try to help businesses, we most certainly, in my view, should strengthen the opportunity to contract with small businesses so the Federal Government can purchase goods and services. We want to allow small businesses to do that. There is a problem we are trying to work out that Senator Thune has raised, and I look forward to working with him over the weekend to work through that. The fourth section of the bill is the Small Business Community Partner Relief Act. This would allow SBA, upon request by a woman business center or a microloan intermediary, to waive or reduce the non-Federal share. Why is this important? We have also added $50 million to the small business development centers. Small businesses cannot necessarily create the jobs they want to create without help and support. We have a great network. We have a great backbone, a great reach through women business centers, through university-based centers, and this bill we are going to bring to the floor next week has support for them so they can then reach out and help small businesses on Main Street. This bill is not about Wall Street. I have heard as much about Wall Street as I want to hear and so have the people in my State. We want to start hearing about Main Street at home, businesses that are struggling and need our support and our help. We also have some additional sections for the 8(a) improvements, and I have offered a section of the bill that I think is very important to help the 11,700 businesses that, unfortunately, on the gulf coast are still paying off loans from the last disasters 5 years ago, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. As you heard Senator LeMieux from Florida and as you have heard Senator Nelson from Florida, now we have another catastrophe along the gulf. I have asked, in this bill, for some interest relief for these businesses. Some of these businesses are paying $1,000 a month--$700 in interest, $300 on principal. And that is the example that Jaimie Bergeron of Fleur de Lis Car Care in New Orleans presented to our committee. This bill would allow the owners, the Bergerons, right now-- where their sales are down; the region is threatened--to go from paying $1,100 a month down to $300 or $400 a month. We can afford to do this now. We have to be able to give these small businesses some relief. There is some opposition to this provision. I hope people will think about how important this is for these gulf coast businesses. We have had support not only from our local newspaper, the Times-Picayune, but even the New York Times has said the people of the gulf coast deserve a break. We need a little help, and we need it now. Giving these small businesses some interest relief would be a great help. Finally, in this bill, the White House has put forward, and I support, $30 billion for small business lending. We have the estate small business credit initiative developed by Senator Warner, Senator Levin, and others. We have $1 billion going to community development finance institutions that are not banks but lend money to neighborhood- based, grassroots organizations that then turn around and lend money to small businesses. So there are some great provisions to include in this bill. We have a few things to work out over the weekend with my colleagues from the other side. I just want to say that no one could be working harder than our committee, both Democrats and Republicans, to try to bring a consensus to this floor. In good faith, I come to ask my ranking member, Senator Snowe, please let's work hard over the weekend to work these final provisions out so we can provide to the American people not only a bill that works for them--and Senator Stabenow helps us grow small business--but a bill we can actually enthusiastically support in a bipartisan way. I think the American people deserve our best efforts. I am going to work double- time over the weekend, even doing some other things I need to do in my home State to get this work done, and I look forward to being here on Monday to see if we have been able to achieve that.

Ms. LANDRIEU. Yes.