We really accomplished what we set out to do with the Recovery Act programs, which was to fill the lending gap created by the crisis.
We spend a great deal of our energy making sure that small businesses have help in navigating to the outcomes that they want.
We see entrepreneurship and small businesses and supply chains as a critical part of the economic growth and competitiveness agenda.
I think we've learned that the S.B.A. plays a critical role in providing access and opportunity when the market is not providing that access. We help banks get that money out into the hands of important and viable businesses, particularly those owned by minorities, women, immigrants and veterans.
Among our responsibilities is to make sure that 23 percent of all government contracts go to small businesses. That's about $150 billion annually, from all the government agencies.
As you probably know, half of the people who work in this country work for small businesses. And it's more than that, because two out of every three net new jobs come from small business. So we mean it when we talk about small business being the engine for the economy.
It's not government that creates jobs; it's small business. Our job is to make sure they have the access to capital, the access to contracting opportunities, and the help, advice and mentoring that they need to go out and be successful.
This is not a zero-sum game. We know that if we provide access and education, particularly where there are gaps in the market, we will create more jobs, we will create more growth, and we will create more activity in the U.S. market, which will be good for our economy.
Small businesses want things streamlined, and one of the great successes we're having is less paperwork, faster turnaround times.
I recently had the opportunity to participate in Inc.'s first-ever 'Hire Power Awards' event in Washington, D.C. The event was a testament to the power of American entrepreneurship and the role that it plays in driving job creation and innovation in a wide array of industries.
Small businesses are really the engine in the economy.
Small businesses, you can give them capital, but what they often need as much is mentoring, advice and help with their business plan.
President Obama vowed in his State of the Union address to make assisting domestic manufacturers a top priority for his second term.
If you want to have prosperity here, we really have to see our small businesses able to grow and compete around the world.
I saw the S.B.A. with just enormous potential, and that's what I told the president - this is really a jewel.
We have to keep the momentum going in the economy. And we have to make sure that we give small businesses as much cash and liquidity as possible so they have the confidence to hire that next worker.
We don't want to give a business that is not going to come through the troubled waters a loan that they can't pay back.
