Kerry Fights for Immediate Hurricane Katrina Small Business Assistance

[kerrygoddess]

John Kerry Fights for Immediate Hurricane Katrina Small Business Assistance
September 22nd, 2005

Today, John F. Kerry continued to push for a combination of federal economic aid and disaster assistance for small businesses in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama recovering in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Senators Kerry and Mary Landrieu (D-La.) led a bipartisan group of Senators in passing a small business relief package for Gulf-area small businesses last week as part of the Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) appropriations bill. Because the House considered its version of the bill before Hurricane Katrina struck, this issue must be resolved in conference.

“It’s outrageous to think that after spending $63 billion, Congress has yet to provide a penny for small business relief. We can’t turn our backs on America’s small businesses. Small business owners in the Gulf region have put their hearts and souls into their businesses. We just cannot allow Washington to stand idly by while their hopes and dreams vanish,” said Kerry. “This is a smart investment that will help speed up the recovery, get people back to work, and jump start the regional economy.”

MORE - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=644

[Firespirit]

1. As an almost-coastal resident I can attest to the importance of this....

My state (MS) is going to take a beating, economically, from the hurricane. Our tourist revenue came from three main sources: inland hunting/fishing/ecotourism, historical site tourism, and the Gulf Coast. Now one of those -- the biggest one, in fact -- is gone for nine months at a bare minimum. As much as I think it's a blight upon people who are already struggling, the coastal casino industry also provided a lot of revenue and a large part of the taxes that the casinos paid went to education. The three large (comparatively :P) cities -- Biloxi, Gulfport, and Pascagoula -- comprised one of only two significant population centers. For us it is the equivalent of California losing Los Angeles. And like most states, we've had a budget problem for three or four years now.... In short, we NEED a package like this.