AUGUST 30-- At the beginning of a busy week for the President, Obama took time out to once again address the small business bill on hold in the Senate.

"There is one thing we know we should do; something that should be Congress' first order of business when it gets back. And that is making it easier for our small businesses to grow and hire," President Obama said.

The pending Small Business Lending Bill has been repeatedly tripped up since its inception last October. President Obama has spoken publicly before about this issue, most recently calling for the Republicans to allow a vote on July 29th, the date of the last big push by Democrats to pass the bill before August recess.

Today, President Obama made sure to respond specifically to qualms that were made as to why not to vote for the bill.

"Unfortunately this bill has been languishing in the Senate for months. Held up by a partisan minority that won't even allow it to go to a vote; this makes no sense. This bill is fully paid for, it will not add to the deficit and there is no reason to block it besides pure partisan politics.

"Small businesses and the communities that support them do not have time for political games. They shouldn't have to wait any longer. In fact, just this morning a story showed that small businesses have put hiring and expanding on hold while waiting for the Senate to act on this bill.

"Simply put, holding this bill hostage is directly detrimental to our economic growth."

The current economic state was another focal point of the President's speech,

"Nobody knew just how deep the recession would go, or the havoc it would wreck on the families and the businesses across this country. What we did know, is that it took nearly a decade for us to dig the hole that we are in, and that it would take longer than any of us would like, to climb our way out.

"That is why my administration remains focused, every single day, on pushing this economy forward, repairing the damage that has been done to the middle class over the past decade, and promoting the growth we need to get our people back to work."

President Obama said that his economic team is at work identifying measures to promote growth and hiring in the short term, and promote economic competitiveness in the future. Some of the steps he listed included: extending tax cuts for the middle class that are set to expire this year, redoubling investments in clean energy, rebuilding infrastructure, and further tax cuts to encourage businesses to create jobs here in the United States.

The President explained that these proposals would be expanded upon in the coming days and weeks, but that he really wanted to focus on small business today. "We know that in the final few months of last year, small businesses accounted for 60% of job losses in America. That is why we passed eight different tax cuts for small businesses and worked to expand credit for them. But we have to do more; there is currently a jobs bill before congress that would do two big things for small business owners: Cut more taxes and make available more loans."

Later in the speech, President Obama acknowledged the fact there will be 'serious' challenges to face in the future, but he remained optimistic that everything would get done.

"So I ask senate republicans to drop the blockade. I know we're entering election season, but the people who sent us here expect us to work together to get this done and improve this economy. If we rise above the politics of the moment to summon an equal seriousness of purpose, I am absolutely confident that we will meet these challenges.

"I've got confidence in the American economy, and most importantly I've got confidence in the American people."

--TA Seiber, Coleman Publishing

FULL SPEECH TRANSCRIPTION:

President Obama:

"At that time, nobody knew just how deep the recession would go, or the havoc it would wreck on the families and the businesses across this country. What we did know, is that it took nearly a decade for us to dig the whole that we are in, and that it would take longer than any of us would like, to climb our way out. And while we have taken a series of measures, and come a long way since then, the fact is that too many businesses are still struggling, too many Americans are still looking for work, and too many communities are far from being whole again. That is why my administration remains focused, every single day, on pushing this economy forward, repairing the damage that has been done to the middle class over the past decade, and promoting the growth we need to get our people back to work.

"So, as congress prepares to return to session, my economic team is hard at work in identifying additional measures that could make in a difference in both promoting growth and hiring in the short term and increasing our economy's competitiveness in the long term. Steps like: extending the tax cuts for the middle class that are set to expire this year; redoubling our investment in clean energy and R&D; rebuilding more of our infrastructure for the future; further tax cuts, to encourage businesses to put their capital to work creating jobs here, in the United States.

"I'll be addressing these proposals in further detail in the days and weeks to come. In the mean time, there is one thing we know we should do; something that should be Congress' first order of business when it gets back. And that is making it easier for our small businesses to grow and hire.

"We know that in the final few months of last year, small businesses accounted for 60% of job losses in America. That is why we passed eight different tax cuts for small businesses and worked to expand credit for them. But we have to do more; there is currently a jobs bill before congress that would do two big things for small business owners: Cut more taxes and make available more loans. It would help them get the credit they need and eliminate capital gains taxes on key investments, so they have more incentive to right now. And it would accelerate $55 billion in tax relief to encourage American businesses small and large to expand their investments in the next fourteen months.

"Unfortunately this bill has been languishing in the Senate for months. Held up by a partisan minority that wont even allow it to go to a vote; this makes no sense. This bill is fully paid for, it will not add to the deficit and there is no reason to block it besides pure partisan politics. Small businesses and the communities that support them do not have time for political games. They shouldn't have to wait any longer.

"In fact, just this morning a story showed that small businesses have put hiring and expanding on hold while waiting for the Senate to act on this bill. Simply put, holding this bill hostage is directly detrimental to our economic growth.

"So I ask senate republicans to drop the blockade. I know we're entering election season, but the people who sent us here expect us to work together to get this done and improve this economy. No single step is the silver bullet that will reverse the damage done by the bubble and bust cycles that cause our economy into this slide. It's going to take a full scale effort, a full scale attack that not only helps in the short term, but builds a firmer foundation that makes our nation stronger for the long haul.

"But this step will benefit our small business owners and our economy right away. That is why it has got to get done. There is no doubt we still face serious challenges. But if we rise above the politics of the moment to summon an equal seriousness of purpose, I am absolutely confident that we will meet them. I've got confidence in the American economy, and most importantly I've got confidence in the American people. We have just got to start working together to get this done. Thank you very much."