Fwd: EMBARGOED: Weekly Address: President Obama Says Small Business Must be at the Forefront of the Recovery

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

______________________________________________________________________________

EMBARGOED UNTIL 6:00 AM ET, SATURDAY, October 24, 2009

 

WEEKLY ADDRESS: President Obama Says Small Business Must be at the Forefront of the Recovery

 

WASHINGTON – In this week's address, President Barack Obama spoke of how important small businesses are to the economy and described the steps his administration is taking to support them.  Health insurance reform will allow small business to purchase insurance for their employees through exchanges, which will increase the quality of coverage while lowering the costs, and reform will provide tax credits to those businesses.  To free up credit, the President called on Congress to increase the size of various SBA loans, and he announced that the administration will be making more credit available to the small local and community banks that many small businesses depend on.

 

The full audio of the address is HERE. The video can be viewed online at www.whitehouse.gov.

 

Remarks of President Barack Obama

Weekly Address

October 24, 2009

Washington, DC

 

All across America, even today, on a Saturday, millions of Americans are hard at work.  They're running the mom and pop stores and neighborhood restaurants we know and love.  They're building tiny startups with big ideas that could revolutionize an industry, maybe even transform our economy.  They are the more than half of all Americans who work at a small business, or own a small business.  And they embody the spirit of possibility, the relentless work ethic, and the hope for something better that is at the heart of the American Dream.

 

They also represent a segment of our economy that has been hard hit by this recession.  Over the past couple of years, small businesses have lost hundreds of thousands of jobs.  Many have struggled to get the loans they need to finance their inventories and make payroll.  Many entrepreneurs can't get financing to start a small business in the first place.  And many more are discouraged from even trying because of the crushing costs of health care – costs that have forced too many small businesses to cut benefits, shed jobs, or shut their doors for good. 

 

Small businesses have always been the engine of our economy – creating 65 percent of all new jobs over the past decade and a half – and they must be at the forefront of our recovery.  That's why the Recovery Act was designed to help small businesses expand and create jobs.  It's provided $5 billion worth of tax relief, as well as temporarily reducing or eliminating fees on SBA loans and guaranteeing some of these loans up to 90 percent, which has supported nearly $13 billion in new lending to more than 33,000 businesses.

 

In addition, our health reform plan will allow small businesses to buy insurance for their employees through an insurance exchange, which may offer better coverage at lower costs – and we'll provide tax credits for those that choose to do so. 

 

And this past week, I called on Congress to increase the maximum size of various SBA loans, so that more small business owners can set up shop and grow their operations.  I also announced that we'll be taking additional steps through our Financial Stability plan to make more credit available to the small local and community banks that so many small businesses depend on – the banks who know their borrowers, who gave them their first loan and watched them grow. 

 

The goal here is to get credit where it's needed most – to businesses that support families, sustain communities, and create the jobs that power our economy.  That's why we enacted the Financial Stability Plan in the first place, back when many of our largest banks were on the verge of collapse; our credit markets were frozen; and it was nearly impossible for ordinary people to get loans to buy a car or home or pay for college.  The idea was to jumpstart lending and keep our economy from spiraling into a depression.  Fortunately, it worked.  Thanks to the American taxpayers, we've now achieved the stability we need to get our economy moving forward again. 

 

But while credit may be more available for large businesses, too many small business owners are still struggling to get the credit they need.  These are the very taxpayers who stood by America's banks in a crisis – and now it's time for our banks to stand by creditworthy small businesses, and make the loans they need to open their doors, grow their operations, and create new jobs.  It's time for those banks to fulfill their responsibility to help ensure a wider recovery, a more secure system, and more broadly shared prosperity.  And we're going to take every appropriate step to encourage them to meet those responsibilities.  Because if it's one thing we've learned, it's that here in America, we rise and fall together.  Our economy as a whole can't move ahead if small businesses and the middle class continue to fall behind.

 

This country was built by dreamers.  They're the workers who took a chance on their desire to be their own boss.  The part-time inventors who became the fulltime entrepreneurs.  The men and women who have helped build the American middle class, keeping alive that most American of ideals – that all things are possible for all people, and we're limited only by the size of our dreams and our willingness to work for them.  We need to do everything we can to ensure that they can keep taking those risks, acting on those dreams, and building the enterprises that fuel our economy and make us who we are. 

 

Thanks.

 

 

Fwd: EMBARGOED: Weekly Address: President Obama Explains How Health Insurance Reform Will Strengthen America's Small Businesses

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

______________________________________________________________________________

EMBARGOED UNTIL 6:00 AM ET, SATURDAY, October 3, 2009

 

WEEKLY ADDRESS: President Obama Explains How Health Insurance Reform Will Strengthen America's Small Businesses

 

WASHINGTON – In this week's address, President Barack Obama spoke of how the rising costs of health care are stifling America's small businesses, and how reform will strengthen these businesses and the economy.  Small businesses create roughly half of all new jobs, but they also pay up to 18 percent more for the very same insurance plans as larger businesses.  Too many have been forced to cut benefits, drop coverage, shed jobs, or shut their doors entirely.  Health insurance reform is integral to laying a new foundation for our economy so that small businesses can grow and create new jobs. 

 

The audio and video will be available at 6:00am Saturday, October 3, 2009 at www.whitehouse.gov.

 

Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama

Weekly Address

Washington, DC

October 3, 2009

 

When I took office eight months ago, our nation was in the midst of an economic crisis unlike any we'd seen in generations.  While I was confident that our economy would recover, we know that employment is often the last thing to come back after a recession.  Our task is to do everything we possibly can to accelerate that process. 

 

And we've certainly made progress on this front since the period last winter when we were losing an average of 700,000 jobs each month.  But yesterday's report on September job losses was a sobering reminder that progress comes in fits and starts, and that we will need to grind out this recovery step by step.

 

That's why I'm working closely with my economic team to explore additional options to promote job creation.  And I won't let up until those who seek jobs can find them; until businesses that seek capital and credit can thrive; and until all responsible homeowners can stay in their homes. 

 

It won't be easy.  It will require us to lay a new foundation for our economy – one that gives our workers the skills and education they need to compete; that invests in renewable energy and the jobs of the future; and that makes health care affordable for families and businesses – particularly small businesses, many of which have been overwhelmed by rising health care costs. 

 

This is something I hear about from entrepreneurs I meet – people who've got a good idea, and the expertise and determination to build it into a thriving business.  But many can't take that leap because they can't afford to lose the health insurance they have at their current job. 

 

I hear about it from small business owners who want to grow their companies and hire more people, but they can't, because they can barely afford to insure the employees they have.  One small business owner wrote to me that health care costs are – and I quote – "stifling my business growth."  He said that the money he wanted to use for research and development, and to expand his operations, has instead been "thrown into the pocket of healthcare insurance carriers."

 

These small businesses are the mom and pop stores and restaurants, beauty shops and construction companies that support families and sustain communities.  They're the small startups with big ideas, hoping to be the next Google, or Apple, or HP.  Altogether, they create roughly half of all new jobs. 

 

And right now, they are paying up to 18 percent more for the very same insurance plans as larger businesses because they have higher administrative costs and less bargaining power.  Many have been forced to cut benefits or drop coverage.  Some have shed jobs or shut their doors entirely.  And recent studies show that if we fail to act now, employers will pay six percent more to insure their employees next year – and more than twice as much over the next decade. 

 

Rising health care costs are undermining our businesses, exploding our deficits, and costing our nation more jobs with each passing month.  

 

So we know that reforming our health insurance system will be a critical step in rebuilding our economy so that our entrepreneurs can pursue the American Dream again, and our small businesses can grow and expand and create new jobs again. 

 

That is precisely what the reform legislation before Congress right now will do.  Under these proposals, small businesses will be able to purchase health insurance through an insurance exchange, a marketplace where they can compare the price, quality and services of a wide variety of plans, many of which will provide better coverage at lower costs than the plans they have now. 

 

Small businesses won't be required to cover their employees, but many that do will receive a tax credit to help them pay for it.  If a small business chooses not to provide coverage, its employees will receive tax credits to help them purchase health insurance on their own through the insurance exchange. 

 

And no matter how you get your insurance, insurance companies will no longer be allowed to deny your coverage because of a pre-existing condition.  They won't be able to drop your coverage if you get too sick, or lose your job, or change jobs.  And we'll limit the amount your insurance company can force you to pay out of your own pocket.

 

By now, the urgency of these reforms is abundantly clear.  And after long hours of thoughtful deliberation and tough negotiation, the Senate Finance Committee – the final congressional committee involved in shaping health care legislation – has finished the process of crafting their reform proposal. 

 

As we move forward in the coming weeks, I understand that members of Congress from both parties will want to engage in a vigorous debate and contribute their own ideas.  And I welcome those contributions.  I welcome any sincere attempts to improve legislation before it reaches my desk.  But what I will not accept are attempts to stall, or drag our feet.  I will not accept partisan efforts to block reform at any cost. 

 

Instead, I expect us to move forward with a spirit of civility, a seriousness of purpose, and a willingness to compromise that characterizes our democratic process at its very best.  If we do that, I am confident that we will pass reform this year, and help ensure that our entrepreneurs, our businesses, and our economy can thrive in the years ahead.  Thank you.