By Nicholas Johnston May 25 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama urged Congress to act on his proposals to help small businesses secure financing and reduce taxes for investments that create jobs. “Government can’t create jobs, but it can help create the conditions for small businesses to grow and to thrive and hire more workers,” the president said today at a White House ceremony focused on U.S. small-business owners and the role they play in creating jobs. Small business accounts for about two of every three U.S. jobs, Obama said, telling the business owners gathered at the White House that they are not only “the backbone of this economy — you’re also the driving force behind this recovery.” Obama has been calling on Congress to approve a $30 billion program that would use bailout money repaid by large financial institutions to help community banks make loans to small businesses. Banks with assets from $1 billion to $10 billion would be able to borrow from the Small Business Lending Fund. Obama outlined the plan on Feb. 2 at a town hall event in New Hampshire. “This is not a Republican issue or a Democratic issue,” Obama said today. “This should not be an issue about big government versus small government.” With unemployment nationwide at 9.9 percent, Obama has stepped up his efforts on the economy, holding events outside of Washington to say government programs have helped stabilize the system yet Congress must do more. In Buffalo, New York, on May 13, he said steps taken by his administration were necessary to avert economic disaster and now the country is “headed in the right direction.” Obama today said his proposals will spur additional job growth by ensuring small businesses looking to grow have access to financing and that investments in those companies will be encouraged by eliminating long-term capital gains taxes. “This is an issue of putting our government on the side of the small-business owners who create most of the jobs in this country,” he said. To contact the reporter on this story: Nicholas Johnston in Washington at njohnston3@bloomberg.net
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Obama Urges U.S. Congress to Act on Lending Plans for Small Businesses
