Remember in the campaign when Bush defended tax cuts for his elite base by saying they were enacted to help "small businesses." Remember when Kerry accused Bush of confusing the issue to the point of actually including himself as an owner of a small business (because he owned stock in a lumber company)?
Oh ya (shrugging shoulder laughter) I forgot about that that.
Well, you forgot about small business once again, Mr. President; this time in your post election budget. Actually you did worse, you remembered to slash funding for vital program that help real small businesses like toy stores at the shopping mall hold on another year in your choppy economy.
Kerry Questions Bush Commitment to Small Business
Since 2001, the SBA's budget has been cut from $900 million to this year's request of $593 million. The President's fiscal year 2006 budget proposal for SBA is an $85 million decrease from the fiscal year 2005 budget proposal. This year's budget proposal for the SBA:
-- eliminates the Small Business Investment Company Participating Securities program
-- eliminates the Microloan program
-- eliminates the Program for Investment in Microentrepreneurs (PRIME)
-- eliminates grants for about 50 percent of Women's Business Centers (WBCs)
-- cuts $1 million from the Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs)
-- cuts 20 percent from SBA! 5/8s Native American outreach assistance
--provides no funding for the 7(a) loan program, instead increases fees for lenders
-- again provides zero funding for Business Information Centers (BICs), the New Market Venture Capital (NMVC) program, the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Rural Outreach Program (ROP) and Federal and State Technology (FAST) program, and the BusinessLINC program.
In addition, the President's budget targets programs that help small manufacturers by cutting $62 million (57 percent) from the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) and eliminating the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) at the Department of Commerce.
In the House, they are going over the Republican's Class Action [un]Fairness Act. The Tom Joad Society has opposed this bill from its ill conceived inception. We are delighted to see Rep. Pelosi speak up. We are dismayed, however, that so many Democrats voted for the bill in the Senate, including Barack Obama and Evan Bayh. In all likelihood it will easily pass the House, be signed by the President and become the law of the land.
As Pelosi states in her release, it is wrong to trust that Republicans and major corporations can be trusted to fairly administer this legislation. Americans have looked on for four-years as Republicans talk like moderates and govern like extremists.
As the president says: "that's a plain fact."
Pelosi: Republican Class Action Bill 'An Injustice to Consumers, a Windfall for Irresponsible Corporations'
"When Americans are injured or even killed by Vioxx or Celebrex or discriminated against by Wal-Mart, they may never get their day in court. Those cases that do go forward will take significantly longer because the federal courts are overburdened and unequipped for this caseload. That is why the bill is opposed by federal judges, including the Judicial Conference of the United States.
"Special interests have even admitted that the real intent of this bill is to clog the federal courts and therefore stop the cases.
"To irresponsible corporations, however, the class action bill is a belated Valentine. It is exactly what they asked for. Powerful corporations will largely be immune from the accountability that currently comes from meritorious state class action cases. For example, this bill would help shield large corporations from any accountability for Enron-style shareholder fraud, for activities that violate employee rights under state law, and for telemarketing fraud targeted at the elderly.
"It should come as no surprise, however, that Republicans are seeking yet another way to protect irresponsible corporations."
Rep. Pelosi spoke volumes when she issued a quote from Democrats past to describe Republicans present:
"The Democratic Party stands for the people. The Republican Party stands, and always has stood, for special interests." --Harry S. Truman