Congressman Dave Reichert's Chamber of Commerce Roundtable Discussion
by
Bryan Kelley, Valley Automotive and our Chamber's legislative delegate to the
East King County Chambers of Commerce Legislative Coalition.
It’s time to get behind business, both big and small. Business, small business in particular is the only thing we can rely on to pull us out of our current economic situation. With 85% of our employers in WA State being small business, I couldn’t agree more. This was the general theme of our lunch meeting with Congressman Reichert.
We couldn’t have asked for a better place to sit and talk with the Congressman than The Muirfield Room at The Golf Club at Newcastle. If you haven’t had the chance to visit this venue I can only describe it as a majestic walk into a well kept castle. It’s perched up on a bluff with a view in every direction, from Mt Rainier to Downtown Seattle.
SBA Loans were one of the initial conversations. In particular, we discussed the lack of these types of loans available to business owners and those looking to start a business of their own. Often times, when a business actually needs these funds they will no longer qualify for them. This was high on Congressman Reichert’s radar and he spoke to the issues in obtaining these loans. It’s clearly no easy task in changing the way these loans are administered. The Congressman spent more time listening and taking notes than giving input in this area, but he did mention there needs to be a clear way of accessing the TARP money set aside for SBA loans.
It’s clear that in Washington State we need incentives that make businesses want to grow and prosper, and Congressman Reichert wants to make that happen. It was encouraging to see him spend almost double the amount of time he originally allocated to listen to our problems in the business world.
Added on 03/11/2010
Filed Under
Legislative Issues by Chamber blog
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