Call to Action: Urge Support for Small Businesses in the Economic Stimulus Plan

As the Senate debates President Obama's economic stimulus plan, the American Booksellers Association is calling on booksellers to contact their legislators in Washington as soon as possible to urge support for the bill's small-business provisions.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (H.R.1), which passed the House of Representatives last week, contained a number of provisions that support small businesses. It's likely, however, that in order to gain bipartisan support the Senate version of the bill will be a different, and possibly pared down, version, according to CNN.com and other media reports.

"The Senate is expected to change the economic stimulus package that recently passed the House -- perhaps significantly," said ABA COO Oren Teicher, "so it is critical that booksellers act now to urge lawmakers in both the House and Senate to include support for small businesses in the final version. Independent businesses are the backbone of the American economy, and their survival and long-range health are key drivers of our nation's overall economic well-being. Let's make sure all of our legislators remember this as they seek to create a final version of the economic stimulus package."

To help booksellers in this crucial endeavor, ABA has prepared a template letter that can be adapted and sent to legislators in both the Senate and the House. (ABA is asking booksellers to notify ABA Public Policy Liaison David Grogan at [email protected] when they have sent the letter.)

The economic stimulus bill that passed the House last week increases the guarantee on Small Business Administration loans for lenders, which will induce commercial lenders to lend while also providing capital for entrepreneurs through a new debt-refinancing program. The bill also contains provisions to unclog frozen secondary credit markets, which in recent months have stopped working, denying private lenders the liquidity they need to make additional loans. Providing this fresh capital to entrepreneurs is expected to result in the creation or retention of 400,000 jobs, more than 15 percent of the jobs the economy shed last year. --David Grogan