Kerry praises Obama Small Biz plan. Nice to see JK's ideas becoming reality.

[beachmom]

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2009/03/obama_seeks_to_3.html

Joined by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Obama will outline a package that includes lower fees for small-business lending and more guarantees for some Small Business Administration loans. It is the latest step by the White House to unfreeze credit so that businesses will expand and either add jobs, or at least not cut them.

Obama and Geithner are also announcing that the Treasury Department will begin directly buying as much as $15 billion in securities backed by SBA loans "to get the credit market moving again, and it will stand ready to purchase new securities to ensure that community banks and credit unions feel confident in extending new loans to local businesses," the White House announced.

"The Obama Administration firmly believes that economic recovery will be driven in large part by America’s small businesses, which have generated about 70 percent of net new jobs annually over the past decade. But as the flow of credit has dried up during this recession, small business owners who were prudent and responsible have been set back by the behavior of others in our financial system who were not," the White House said in a statement.

Geithner urged banks to lend to small businesses and said the federal government will keep closer track.

Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts praised the proposals, which his office said incorporated provisions he suggested last year to eliminate fees on SBA loans.

“President Obama’s small business package will provide small businesses with access to capital so they can stay afloat and get back in the business of creating jobs,” Kerry said in a statement. “The faster we get small businesses on track the faster our economy will recover. I’m glad that the provisions I wrote and pressed last year as Chairman of the Small Business Committee are now being enacted to help our struggling small businesses. President Obama gets it when it comes to helping small businesses in the toughest economy in decades.”

[karynnj]

1. It has to be good to have a President who uses your proposals

after 8 years of a President vetoing them. Thanks for the link to a nice article.