Chuck Schumer Calls On Senate GOP To 'Grow A Backbone' And Vote For Tariff Exemption Bill

During remarks on the Senate floor Monday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke about the Small Business Liberation Act.

Transcript

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.