During remarks on the Senate floor Monday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke about the Small Business Liberation Act.
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00:00Madam President, the Democratic leader. So just a few moments ago, I joined with some of my Senate
00:06Democratic colleagues to stand with a group of small business owners who are living every day,
00:12every day with the wreckage of Donald Trump's economic agenda. And let me tell you, these small
00:18business owners are not partisans. Some of them support the president. Many of the business owners
00:23I've stood with in New York support the president. But right now, all of them are watching their
00:28livelihoods go up in smoke. Donald Trump's reckless trade war is economic arson. And it's Main Street
00:36that's getting scorched. In a few weeks, Donald Trump's tariff tax has jacked up prices, smashed
00:43supply chains, and forced small shops to make impossible choices. Raise costs on their customers,
00:50lay off workers, or shut their doors for good, which some unfortunately are doing. While Trump's
00:56billionaire buddies get private meetings to go beg for exemptions, America's small business owners
01:03are left out in the cold, forgotten, ignored. They don't have Donald Trump's phone number. Nope.
01:10As many know, this is National Small Business Week. 35 million businesses in this country employ nearly 60
01:17million Americans. And I heard our, my friend, the Democratic, the Republican leader talk about it
01:23being National Business Week, National Small Business Week. Well, I'd say to my Republican colleagues,
01:29if you really want it to be National Small Business Week, put our legislation on the floor
01:35that exempts small business from the tariffs. That will make small business happy.
01:41A idle celebration, while they're being smashed with tariffs, doesn't make them happy. In rural America,
01:50small business is particularly important. They employ more than half of all the workers.
01:56These small businesses are the heartbeats of our towns, our neighborhoods, our economy. But the trade war
02:00jeopardizes these businesses. Over 80% of business say that thanks to Donald Trump's tariffs, they could be
02:07forced to raise prices for consumers, and many say they would lay off employees. Protecting small
02:13business has never been a partisan issue. It shouldn't be now. It's a national priorities. But what
02:19do small businesses hear from Donald Trump? Well, you should have listened to him yesterday. When asked
02:25yesterday if he'd consider relief for small businesses, the president waved it off. He said,
02:31they're not going to need it. Utterly condescending. Utterly dismissive. Not going to need it?
02:39Tell that, President Trump, to the small business owners I just met with. Tell that to the nearly 370,000
02:46workers at the smallest of small businesses who have already lost their jobs. He's in a bubble. Donald
02:52Trump has no understanding of what small business people go through. Senate Democrats are fighting
02:59back against Donald Trump's economic disaster. Today, my friend Senator Markey is introducing the
03:05Small Business Liberation Act, which I am proudly co-sponsoring to exempt small business from Donald
03:11Trump's destructive tariffs. And this bill should not be a partisan fight. It should be a common sense.
03:17When 72%, 72% of small businesses say erratic tariffs are giving them economic whiplash, it's time for the
03:25Senate to act. Last week, Senate Republicans had a chance to stop this trade war, but they chose to
03:33stand with Trump instead. Well, we're giving Senate Republicans another chance now by working with us
03:41to take up the Small Business Liberation Act. Senate Republicans' refusal to stop this trade war makes
03:51them just as complicit as Donald Trump. Madam President, small businesses are the backbone of this country.
03:59It's time for Senate Republicans to grow a backbone and defend small business from Donald Trump's tariffs.