Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On The Small Business Liberation Act And Trump’s Destructive Trade War

Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor in support of the Small Business Liberation Act, highlighting the urgent need to shield small businesses from the devastating impact of Donald Trump’s reckless trade war. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks:

I am a sponsor, along with Senator Markey, our lead sponsor, and Senator Hirono, of the Small Business Liberation Act, and in a few minutes Senator Markey will come to the floor and ask unanimous consent to pass it.

Senate Democrats today will try to pass the Small Business Liberation Act, to exempt small businesses from Trump’s destructive trade war. I’m very proud to cosponsor and support this legislation that Senator Markey has sponsored.

Two months since Donald Trump’s so-called Liberation Day, his tariffs have been economic arson on Main Street, and small businesses are getting scorched.

I've visited small businesses from one end of New York to the other, and these tariffs are sowing chaos. They’re raising costs, smashing supply chains, forcing businesses to hike prices, lay off people and even close their doors for good.

Already, employment at the smallest of small businesses has declined by 3%. In the last month alone, 65,000 small business jobs were wiped out.

And Trump’s 90-day pause does nothing to bring relief or certainty to small businesses. It only continues the uncertainty and chaos.

How can a small business possibly plan for the future when the future only shows chaos? One day Donald Trump says this, the next day he says that, and nobody knows what tomorrow brings.

These small businesses can’t do anything about their pain. They don’t have the ear of the president like the mega-corporation CEOs do.

The administration is utterly clueless about the pain they’re creating for small businesses.

So, our legislation will help small businesses get back on track by exempting them from Trump’s destructive tariffs.

There are almost 35 million small businesses in the U.S. that employ roughly half of the private sector jobs in the country.

Providing these businesses with tariff relief shouldn’t be partisan – it’s a national priority.

If Republicans truly care about protecting small businesses, they should not stand in the way of our legislation passing today.

Will they side with the American people and small businesses, and help pass our legislation?

Or will Republicans block this bill and side with Donald Trump as his trade war decimates small businesses from one end of the country to the other?

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