Small Business
Small businesses are the cornerstone of our economy. I support legislation to establish a lending fund to provide community banks with capital to increase small business lending. I also support investing in innovative state small business lending programs, providing tax incentives to purchase employee health insurance coverage, reducing regulatory burdens and unnecessary paperwork, and enacting measures to spur small business creation and new jobs.
More on Small Business
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) today joined members of Georgia's congressional delegation in urging U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to grant Secretarial Disaster Designations for those counties that have been adversely impacted by the state's ongoing drought. Due to high temperatures that have engulfed Georgia the last several months, sectors of the state's agricultural industry, particularly farming communities in southwest Georgia, have suffered severe economic hardships. |
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WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 1309, the Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2011. The measure, which would reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) for five years and make several reforms to strengthen NFIP’s financial position, passed the House by a vote of 406 to 22. Rep. Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) voted in favor of the bill. |
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Rep. Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) stood up for farmers and rural communities in voting against the Fiscal Year 2012 Agriculture Appropriations Act because it unfairly targeted the agriculture community. If signed into law, the bill would make draconian cuts to agriculture research programs, rural development programs and assistance for seniors and pregnant mothers who go hungry. The bill barely passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 217 to 203. |
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Rep. Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) this week joined members of the Georgia delegation in sending a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack urging him to designate 22 Georgia counties suffering from drought as Secretarial Disaster Areas. Farmers across Georgia have suffered major crop losses because of the extreme weather, and the Georgia USDA State Emergency Board recently listed which counties are suffering from extreme drought conditions according to the U.S. Drought Monitor as of June 2, 2011. |
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Donalsonville, GA – Rep. Sanford D. Bishop Jr. (GA-02) toured downtown Donalsonville, Georgia today to see the damage caused by severe storms and subsequent fires earlier this month. Donalsonville Mayor Joe Burke, City Manager Marty Shingler, and business owners affected by the storm, joined Rep. Bishop on the tour. |
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WASHINGTON – Rep. Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) today voted to eliminate a costly and duplicative permitting requirement for the application of pesticides that would hurt local farmers and further stretch state budgets. The House passed H.R. 872, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2011 by a vote of 292 to 130. If signed into law, the bill would overturn the misguided court decision in National Cotton Council v. EPA. |
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WASHINGTON – Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) released the following statement after the Labor Department released the February Jobs Report, showing that the economy added 192,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate dropped to 8.9%, the lowest since April 2009. On Thursday, the Georgia Department of Labor reported that Georgia’s unemployment rate rose two-tenths of a percent in January to 10.4%. |
Atlanta, GA – Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) and Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black today discussed the future of Georgia’s agriculture sector during a meeting at the Georgia Department of Agriculture office in Atlanta, Georgia. At the meeting, both men highlighted what effect the looming budgetary pressures could have on Georgia Agriculture and pledged to work together on behalf of Georgia’s farmers.
Washington, DC – Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) voted to support the Senate-passed version of H.R. 5297, the Small Business Jobs Act. The legislation establishes a $30 billion Small Business Lending Fund in the United States Department of Treasury to provide community banks (those holding $10 billion or less in assets) with capital to increase small business lending. It also invests $1.5 billion in grants to support $15 billion in new small business lending through already successful state programs. The U.S.