TRANSCRIPT: Leader Schumer Remarks At Small Business Press Conference

Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Democrats spoke at a press conference alongside small business owners from across the country to highlight the damage already caused by Donald trump’s tariff tax. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

We have a lot of small businesses represented here and you know why? Because they're hurting. As all the folks behind me know all too well, President Trump's trade war is economic arson on our Main Streets. President Trump's trade war is economic arson on Main Street and these folks are getting scorched. Trump's tariff tax is jacking up prices, smashing supply chains, forcing small shops to raise costs, lay off people or worse yet, close their doors altogether. While Trump has been busy helping the billionaires, Main Street pays the price. While Trump has let mega corporations, CEOs and his donors have his ear on exemptions when they want relief from tariffs, small business owners have been left out to dry.

You're a big business, you can knock on the White House door and say, I need an exemption, I need this and Trump goes along. These people don't have that access to the White House and Trump doesn't even seem to care. So today, Senate Democrats are showing America the faces, businesses and communities impacted by Trump's devastating tax war – trade war. Sorry, he's had a bad tax war too. 

Today, Senator Markey will announce legislation that I'm proud to co-sponsor to exempt small businesses from the President's destructive tariffs. Protecting small businesses shouldn't be a partisan issue. It's a national priority. And let's not forget, the 35 million small businesses in America employ 59 million people. That's about half the private sector jobs in the country are in businesses like those depicted here.

Small businesses play a significant role. They're even more needed in rural communities. And there they account for about 54% of rural workers. They're the backbone of our economy, yet right now they're bending over backwards to make ends meet, to not charge their customers more, to not lay off employees. That's the dilemma they're all faced with. 72% of small businesses say erratic tariff policies create, quote, a whiplash effect, disrupting planning and long-term decisions. In that way, small businesses and big businesses are alike. They can't plan unless they have certainty. They can't make that order that'll come in three months from now if they think the price is going to go way up. 81% of small businesses say, thanks to President Trump's tariff tax, they would be forced to raise prices for consumers, and many indicated they would lay off employees as a direct result of increased costs.

I've visited many small businesses from one end of the state to the other, and you should see the anguish on the faces of these small business people. They have put their whole souls, their blood, sweat, and tears into building these businesses, into creating a team of employees, and now they're either going to have to charge their dear customers, who they love, or lay off employees, who they cherish. It's an awful decision, an unnecessary decision. Already employment at the smallest of small businesses has declined by 3%. We have lost 366,000 jobs since Trump took office in these businesses. And not only did Trump put them in an awful spot, he's clueless to the real-world ramifications. He was asked yesterday by Welker about small business. Trump highlighted, incorrectly I might add, how wonderful tariffs are for big businesses, and how he doesn't care one iota about the concerns of small businesses or American families suffering from high prices.

He just didn't care. He went on bragging about himself. I watched the clip. When asked if he's considering relief for small businesses, Trump said, quote, they're not going to need it. He was condescending and dismissive. Well, tell the folks behind me that they're not going to need it, President Trump. Senate Republicans had a chance last week to stop Trump's trade war, but instead they stood with him. We are giving them another chance now by working with us to take up the Small Business Liberation Act. Senate Republicans' refusal to stop this trade war makes them complicit as Donald Trump in hurting these businesses and millions more across the country. Small businesses are the backbone of this country. It's time for Senate Republicans to grow a backbone and defend small businesses.

Q&A

Leader Schumer: Thank you for these great testimonies. It's clear there are three things—many things—but three things. Number one, these people struggle in their businesses. My dad was a small businessman. I know how small business people struggle. Two, they love their businesses.

Three, they hate the tariffs and they want both sides of the aisle to come together and get rid of them for small business. Questions on this subject? Yes, ma'am.

Reporter: Senator Joni Ernst and Kelly Loeffler of the Small Business Administration are pushing legislation right now that would max out small business loans and double them from five million to ten million. Is this a more viable solution, if you make more capital available?

Schumer: Well, the bottom line is: ask these people. They don't want to incur more debt. I didn't have to ask them. It just—that's more debt. One of the things small business people struggle with is the debt they have to repay. They don't need more. Tell Senator Ernst she ought to support our bill. That's what they want.

Reporter: Is there an option to use the procedural rules to make this a privileged resolution?

Schumer: Well, we explore every way we can look to get legislation to the floor and we will explore this one too.

Reporter: Senator Markey, what are you hearing from your Republican colleagues and counterparts?

Senator Markey: Well, again, we have SBIR. We have STTR. They're great programs and we're going to try to work with the Republicans to save them. But that's not who these people are. These are people who don't want to have to deal with the Small Business Administration. They just want to be left alone so they can run their businesses that they created by themselves. That's who they are. That's who most small businesses are in our country. So what we're hoping from the Republicans is that they'll listen to small businesses who, if they needed it, they would go to the SBA, but that's not what they're asking for. All they're saying is: exempt us from the tariffs and we'll go back to work for the country. We'll employ people. We'll continue to increase the productivity. So we're not hearing that from the Republicans. So even the proposal that you just heard isn't relevant to their lives, okay? They just want to be left alone on Main Street, USA, all across the country.

Schumer: And I'll say one thing. I don't know what we're hearing from our Republicans, but I'll tell you this: Our Republicans are hearing from small businesses across the country because they're really hurting. These people are just such fine people, the backbone of America, and they're hurting for no good reason. We have to help them. Thank you everybody.

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