WARWICK – U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy held out hope today that President George W. Bush’s proposal to slash the U.S. Small Business Administration budget by 3 percent could be blocked, but warned his audience not to expect any action until a new president is elected.
Kennedy’s comments came during the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce Congressional Breakfast 2008, held this morning at The Crowne Plaza Hotel at the Crossings, and attended by about 500 Chamber members and guests.
Moderator Donna C. Cupelo, regional president for Verizon Communications Inc., posed questions prepared by the Chamber to Kennedy, U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, U.S. Rep. James R. Langevin and U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse. Topics covered also included health care, the economy and the foreclosure crisis.
Bush already has slashed SBA funding by 28 percent over the eight years of his presidency, Cupelo said. His latest proposal, to cut funding to the agency by another 3 percent, “doesn’t make any sense whatsoever,” Kennedy told the gathering.
“It’s a particularly devastating time to cut the SBA loan program” in light of the ongoing “credit crunch,” which Kennedy said makes it especially difficult for small businesses to acquire the financing they need. SBA-guaranteed loans, he said, help “level the playing field” for small business that lack the financing options available to larger companies.
SBA-supported organizations like the R.I. Small Business Development Center in Providence “have done terrific work,” Kennedy said, adding that he fears budget cuts could reduce the money available for such endeavors.
After the panel discussion, Kennedy – a member of the House subcommittee that has “last say” on the president’s SBA budget proposal – told Providence Business News it is possible that further provisions for the SBA could be made in a second economic-stimulus package.
But, because this is a presidential election year, Kennedy predicted there will be “no resolution to the major conflicts” on SBA funding and no passage of a Commerce budget until a new administration is in place. Meanwhile, he said, current funding levels will apply.
Reed – a member of the Senate Banking Committee – said Bush’s $150 billion economic-stimulus package and its taxpayer rebates will have a “positive impact” on the economy, “but not enough to turn it around.”
The most immediate need, Reed suggested, is to stabilize home prices. He also suggested an increase in benefits under the unemployment and food stamp programs.
Whitehouse, co-sponsor of the Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008, said that his bill would allow bankruptcy courts to reset mortgage rates, would require financial counseling for homeowners in fiscal trouble, and would bring $90 million to Rhode Island Housing.
“The faster we move on the housing legislation, the better,” Reed said.
Langevin spoke of his own work to provide universal health care through a system of managed competition, calling it “a passion of mine.” His proposal would see the federal government negotiate with private insurers on the public’s behalf, to arrange smaller premiums and copayments, in the same way the government now does for more than 8 million federal employees and retirees.
“This is the future of health care,” Langevin said. “There will be choice and it will be affordable.” Early estimates are that the proposal would be financed through businesses that want it, with smaller companies contributing no more than 4 percent of the payroll, and larger companies no more than 10 percent, he said.
Whitehouse spoke of a “huge transformation coming up in health care” under the next administration. Although reform “is urgent and can’t come quickly enough,” lawmakers may well wait until “the bitter end of the Bush term,” he said.
“We could either go ahead now and face a veto, or probably spare ourselves the pain of the veto process by waiting until November, when we know who the new president is,” Whitehouse said.
The presidential choices of the state’s congressional delegates came as no surprise. Whitehouse and Langevin, co-chairmen of U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Rhode Island effort, remain firmly in her camp, while Kennedy continues to back U.S. Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination. “The Clintons have had their chance to run this country,” Kennedy said, “and I think they should just give it up.” (Reed had left for another appointment before this question was posed.)
The Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce aims to foster a positive and productive business climate throughout Rhode Island through public policies, economic development and business-to-business relationships. Based in downtown Providence, it has more than 2,700 member businesses across the state. To learn more, visit www.ProvidenceChamber.com.
