Larry Poltavtsev, president and CEO of certified LGBTBE Target Labs, Inc., asks President Obama a question at a "backyard meeting" on small business issues in Fairfax, Va. on Sept. 13.
Larry Poltavtsev, president and CEO of certified LGBTBE Target Labs, Inc., never expected to meet President Barack Obama in person, but he got the chance to meet and discuss small business issues with him this week.
On Monday Poltavtsev was one of only 25 people invited to a "backyard meeting" in Fairfax, Va., where he and other small business owners met to discuss the pending Small Business Jobs Act with the president. Poltavtsev was invited at the suggestion of the NGLCC, a strong and vocal proponent of the legislation.
"I never expected the president to be so personable and open and easy to talk to," Poltavtsev said. "He really understands the needs of middle-class people."
Poltavtsev asked the president about how the pending legislation will make getting small business loans easier.
"How can we ensure that banking and lending institutions are going to actually lend money to small businesses? There have been numbers of steps done in that way, but so far I've been denied a loan twice and only got the [loan] for the third time after I asked for a SBA-backed loan," Poltavtsev told President Obama.
The president responded by emphasizing the strides that his administration has made to improve access to SBA loans for small businesses, but noted that despite doubling the number of these loans, there is still not enough capital to meet the demand of small businesses.
"That's why this bill that we're looking to pass this week out of the Senate...is so important," Obama said. "Because what it would do is it would take funding authorization to provide to community banks, who are most likely to give loans to small businesses, but it would say to those banks, you know what, we're going to hold you accountable for actually lending the money. Over the long term we think that there are going to be enormous opportunities for banks to make money with businesses like yours, because yours are the ones that grow."
The Small Business Jobs Act would authorize the creation of a Small Business Lending Fund, providing the Treasury Department with the ability to purchase preferred stock from smaller financial institutions, including community banks, to use for small business loans.
Poltavtsev added that his company has acquired new contracts and is prepared to hire 20 more employees to handle the workload, but uncertainty about getting additional loans from banks prevents him from hiring.
"Well, that's why it's so important to make sure that if they are getting help from us in terms of having more money to lend, that they actually lend it out and they lend it to small businesses," Obama responded. "And we [have] to make a direct link between the help that they're getting and them actually lending the money. That's going to be critical."
According to Poltavtsev, the meeting with Obama was an "unforgettable experience."
"I'm very grateful to the NGLCC and everyone who works there for an opportunity to attend this event," Poltavtsev said. "I'm proud and honored to be a part of the NGLCC, and I look forward to participating in other events in the future."
Speaking in Cleveland, Ohio last week about his vision for the future and ways to move the economy forward, the president has called for a push to rebuild the country's transportation infrastructure, expand, simplify and permanently extend the Research and Development/Experimentation (R&D) tax credit, and accelerate business investment to encourage job creation.
If put into action, the president's plan to accelerate business investment would be the largest temporary investment incentive in the country's history. In 2008 and 2009, businesses were able to depreciate 50 percent of qualified investments up-front, and now the president's proposal would increase this benefit to 100 percent expensing through 2011. Obama's expensing plan would also provide nearly $200 billion to businesses in the next two years. This expensing would help businesses make investments, for which they would receive upfront deductions.
The Small Business Jobs Act cleared a major hurdle on Thursday when the Senate passed the bill 61-38. The legislation authorizes the creation of a Small Business Lending Fund, providing the Treasury Department with the ability to purchase preferred stock from smaller financial institutions, including community banks, to use for small business loans. The NGLCC and other advocacy groups have called on the House of Representatives to pass the senate bill to expedite the president’s signatures and avoid a Senate-House conference on the bill that could prolong its enactment.
"The president has been working tirelessly to help small businesses and promote job creation, and his most recent proposals to accelerate business investment is just another indication that this administration is in touch with the needs of Americans in today's economic climate," said Justin Nelson, co-founder and president of the NGLCC.
For more information on the president's business expensing plans, download the fact sheet here.
The president's has also proposed to expand the R&D tax credit by 20 percent-the largest increase in the credit's history-which is intended to help spur innovation and create high-skilled jobs in America. The proposal would also make the R&D tax credit permanent, which would curb business uncertainty for companies counting on research and development to help them increase their bottom lines. For more information on the president's proposal for the R&D tax credit, download the fact sheet here.
Obama's proposals also include plans to modernize the nation's highway system and implement coast-to-coast high-speed rails in thousands of miles of transportation infrastructure rebuilding, which will also create jobs. For more information on the president's transportation infrastructure plans, download the fact sheet here.
For a full transcript of Poltavtsev's small business meeting with Obama, click here.
For a summary of the Small Business Jobs Act, click here.
