Obama administration thanks Chamber, NFIB for comments on small business bill

The Obama administration on Monday thanked the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Federation of Independent Business for praising legislation aiming to boost small businesses.

The administration's comments come even as the associations, two of the largest business groups in the country, have not strongly lobbied Congress to support the bill. The legislation includes a range of tax incentives and a $30 billion fund to promote small business loans.

In a letter to the two associations, Valerie Jarrett and Larry Summers thanked the groups for joining community banks and others, "that have expressed praise or support" for the bill.

The bill has been caught up in Senate debate for months and failed to pass a key procedural vote on Thursday. Senate Democrats may try hold another vote on the legislation this week, while Democrats and Republicans spar on how amendment swill be considered. The Obama administration has been trying to rally support behind the legislation.

"We appreciate your support for this bill and look forward to working with you to help pass this important piece of legislation," Jarrett and Summers wrote.

Susan Eckerly, senior vice president at NFIB, recently praised the lending fund and tax incentives and said the legislation, "may help some small businesses." But she also said it did not tackle the industry's "most pressing problems."

"Small business owners are worried about the threat of increased taxes, new healthcare mandates, higher energy costs and more regulations from Washington. Small businesses need to know if the individual tax rates are going to remain at current levels or increase. They need to plan for the estate tax. And now they have to calculate how much the new healthcare law will cost their business. All of these issues make it that much harder for businesses to survive and grow," Eckerly said in a statement on July 22.