Sen. Joseph Lieberman says he’s disappointed with the anemic pace of the national recovery and says he’ll support legislation this fall that will provide economic assistance to the small-business community, The Day of New London reports.
Lieberman met with executives from the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut at the Lake of Isles resort in North Stonington and said he will work toward passage of the Small Business Jobs Act when Congress convenes on Sept. 13, the newspaper reports on its Web site.
The proposed legislation, introduced in the Senate this summer, would provide numerous benefits and incentives to small business, which still creates the majority of new jobs nationally and remains an integral part of eastern Connecticut’s $13 billion economy. The House of Representatives has already passed similar legislation designed to jump-start the nation’s small business sector.
Among the Senate bill’s many provisions are increases in loan limits backed by the federal Small Business Administration and the creation of a $30 billion revolving small-business loan fund. The fund is designed to encourage small-business lending by smaller banks, or those with less than $10 billion in assets. The recession has robbed many small businesses of the ability to gain necessary credit to run, or expand, their businesses.
President Barack Obama has called on the Senate to pass the legislation, which would aid the nation’s economic recovery. Small business, according to the White House, creates two out of every three new jobs in the private sector.
Lieberman, whose talk to the business executives was hosted by the Mashantucket Pequots, said he remains concerned about the lukewarm pace of the economic recovery, both in Connecticut and across the nation.
“In general terms, we’re on the right track, but obviously moving too slowly,” said Lieberman. “We have a long way to go before we get back to where we want to be.”
Lieberman said he supported the stimulus packages from both the Bush and Obama administrations, saying without those programs the nation’s recession would have been deeper and job losses – already at historic highs – would have been even more severe.
“But I know that saying it would have been more severe is no relief to those who are in economic pain,” said Lieberman. “We need to get our economy growing again, and we need to get people back to work,” he added.
He said he supports new-job creation in the energy fields and applauded both Pfizer Inc. and the Electric Boat shipyard as two of eastern Connecticut’s premier employers, praising their technology-driven businesses and their continued innovation.
Lieberman said he also is encouraged by this state’s exports, which are up 16 percent this year – one of the few success stories in the economic landscape in Connecticut.
“We’re on track for record-breaking exports. That’s really great news that I hope we can build on,” Lieberman told the business executives.
