SHAHEEN HIGHLIGHTS IMPORTANCE OF SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT
Outlines bipartisan effort to include deficit reduction resolution in tax package
(Salem, N.H.) - U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen today discussed the impact recent legislation has had on small businesses in New Hampshire during a tour of Mechanical Systems Incorporated, a full-service mechanical contractor and facilities service provider for commercial, industrial and retail projects based in Salem. In her remarks, Shaheen also detailed her work with a bipartisan group of more than 20 Senators to include language on deficit reduction in the pending federal legislation on tax cuts.
"My first priority in the Senate has been and remains jobs and the economy," said Shaheen. "And the best way to create sustainable jobs in New Hampshire is to support small businesses like Mechanical Systems Incorporated, because they are the lifeblood of our economy."
As a member of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Shaheen has worked diligently on behalf of small businesses in the Granite State. In both the Recovery Act and the Small Business Jobs Act, Shaheen supported measures to increase credit availability to small businesses. As a result, the Recovery Act provided more than 900 Small Business Administration (SBA) loans to small businesses in New Hampshire, which supported over $200 million in financing. Similarly, under the Small Business Jobs Act, the SBA has approved more than 140 loans to small businesses in New Hampshire since passage of the legislation in September.
"We were pleased to welcome Senator Shaheen to Mechanical Systems to discuss the challenges facing small business owners in New Hampshire," said Tom Hooper Sr., the firm's president. "It was a great opportunity to share views and exchange ideas that will be productive in developing an environment that allows businesses to flourish and grow in our state."
On the tax package, Shaheen said that while it was critical to extend cuts for the middle class, it was equally important the bill address the country's soaring deficit.
"Now is the time to get serious about our deficit problem," said Shaheen. "That's why I've joined a bipartisan group of more than 20 Senators, including Judd Gregg, to express the Senate's commitment to tax reform and deficit reduction in a resolution we'll be fighting to include in any tax package going forward. While the compromise on the table is far from perfect, I intend to vote today to end the filibuster on this, so that we can have the debate we need to have and take the votes we need to take to prevent middle class taxes from going up."
