Thursday, October 25, 2007

Small Business Investment Expansion Act - Walberg Votes No



As I continue to try to catch up with the Walberg Voting Record...

On September 27, 2007, the House of Representatives took up HR 3567, the Small Business Investment Expansion Act of 2007. A summary of the bill can be found here. The cost is given as less than a dollar per American in 2008.

There's a provision in the bill which allows more federal dollars to go toward businesses which have already have a certain amount of private money from venture capitalists, allowing the Small Business Administration's investment programs to help more companies.

At least, I think that's what it does. Part of the problem with the kind of blogging that I do is that I'm trying to educate myself on a wide variety of issues with which I am unfamiliar, all in my free time. (And not even using all of my free time, because, believe it or not, Fitzy tries to have a social life, too.)

So if there's someone out there that can make sense out of it, please, say so in the comments. I'd love to hear from an expert. I've seen arguments in favor and arguments against. Frankly, I'm not sure what's good or bad about this, and I'd love to hear from you. (Though please, if you do your own research, use less biased sources than the two I just gave you!)

What I do know, however, is that the vast majority of members of the House of Representatives seemed to think the bill was a good idea. It passed, by a vote of 325 to 72.

Congressman Tim Walberg voted No. He was the only member of the Michigan delegation to vote against the bill. Everyone else (except Congressman Dingell and Congressman Hoekstra-- they didn't vote) supported the bill.

So, either Congressman Walberg is a principled visionary, standing up for what's right, or obstinate and stubborn, and won't vote for something everyone else can agree is a good thing.

Based solely on what I've seen from him before, I'm going to guess it's the second one. But that's just me.

Labels: , , , , ,


Comments:
Venture Capital Firms To Get Government Small Business Contracts Under H.R. 3567. Here is our (ASBL.com) explanation of 3567.

http://www.asbl.com/showmedia.php?id=610

LA Times
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-smallbiz27sep27,0,677623.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-business
 
Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]





<< Home

Archives

August 2006   September 2006   October 2006   November 2006   December 2006   January 2007   February 2007   March 2007   April 2007   May 2007   June 2007   July 2007   August 2007   September 2007   October 2007   November 2007   December 2007   January 2008   February 2008   March 2008   April 2008   May 2008   June 2008   July 2008   August 2008   September 2008   October 2008   November 2008