Senate Democrats held a press briefing on Monday on President Trump's tariffs and their impact on small businesses.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Yeah, it's a cross-lead something.
00:04All right, it's great to be here, and I just want to acknowledge all the people who are here, who I had the pleasure of meeting.
00:10First, my colleagues, Senators Klobuchar, Markey, and Smith, small business owners from across the country.
00:17We have Dominic Pronomo, owner of Yono's Restaurant in Albany, New York.
00:21I've had the pleasure of being there and seeing what a great job he does.
00:25We have Beth Beneke, founder and CEO of Busy Baby in Zumbroda.
00:30Zumbroda?
00:31Zumbroda.
00:32Zumbroda.
00:33Zumbroda.
00:34Zumbroda.
00:35That's an interesting name.
00:39We have Amy Leinbach, the owner of Big B and Little B in Caesar Park, Texas.
00:47We have T.J. Simanshan, CEO and owner of Wonder State Coffee in Madison, Wisconsin.
00:53We have Andrea Deutsch, owner of Spots, the place for pause in Pennsylvania.
01:00That's P-A-W-S.
01:02So they don't think you're resting, you know, pause.
01:06Joanna Hellrigal from Washington, D.C.
01:11We have Ivy Mix from, oh, Joanna's restaurant or business is called Amma.
01:19Did I say it right?
01:22You may not be here, so no one will correct me.
01:24We have Ivy Mix, Leanda.
01:27It's a business in New York City.
01:29We have Vicki Lee Parker High, North Carolina Sustainable Business Council.
01:33We have Holly Holliswell Silverman, the Eastern Point Collective.
01:38And we have Richard Trent of the Main Street Alliance.
01:41He's the executive director.
01:42So we have a lot of small businesses represented here.
01:46And you know why.
01:48Because they're hurting.
01:49As all the folks behind me know all too well, President Trump's trade war is economic arson
02:00on our main streets.
02:02President Trump's trade war is economic arson on Main Street.
02:06And these folks are getting scorched.
02:08Trump's tariff taxes, jacking up prices, smashing supply chains, forcing small shops to raise
02:15costs, lay off people, or worse yet, close their doors altogether.
02:20While Trump has been busy helping the billionaires, Main Street pays the price.
02:26While Trump has let megacorporations, CEOs, and his donors have his ear on exemptions when
02:32they want relief from tariffs, small business owners have been left out to dry air.
02:38They're a big business.
02:39You can knock on the White House, go and say, I need an exemption, I need this, and Trump
02:42goes along.
02:43These people don't have bad access to the White House.
02:47And Trump doesn't even seem to care.
02:51So today, Senate Democrats are showing America the faces, businesses, and communities impacted
02:57by Trump's devastating trade war.
03:02He's had a bad tax war too.
03:03Today, Senator Markey will announce legislation that I'm proud to co-sponsor to exempt small
03:10businesses from the President's destructive tariffs.
03:14Protecting small businesses shouldn't be a partisan issue.
03:18It's a national priority.
03:20And let's not forget, the 35 million small businesses in America employ 59 million people.
03:26That's about half the private sector jobs in the country on businesses like those depicted
03:32here.
03:33Small businesses play a significant role.
03:35They're even more needed in rural communities.
03:38And there, they account for about 54% of rural workers.
03:43They're the backbone of our economy.
03:45Yet right now, they're bending over backwards to make ends meet, to not charge their customers
03:51more, to not lay off employees.
03:53That's the dilemma they're all faced with.
03:5672% of small businesses say erratic tarant policies create, quote, a whiplash effect, disrupting
04:03planning and long-term decisions.
04:06In that way, small businesses and big businesses are alike.
04:09They can't plan unless they have certainty.
04:12They can't make that order that will come in three months from now if they think no one,
04:15the price is going to go way up.
04:1781% of small businesses say, thanks to President Trump's tariff tax, they would be forced to
04:26raise prices for consumers.
04:29And many indicated they would lay off employees as a direct result of increased costs.
04:35I've visited many small businesses from one end of the state to the other.
04:38And you should see the anguish on the faces of these small business people.
04:43They've put their whole souls, their blood, sweat, and tears into building these businesses,
04:48into creating a team of employees.
04:50And now, they're either going to have to charge their dear customers, who they love, more,
04:57or lay off employees, who they cherish.
05:01It's an awful decision, an unnecessary decision.
05:04Already, employment at the smallest of small businesses has declined by 3%.
05:11We've lost 366,000 jobs since Trump took office in these businesses.
05:17And not only did Trump put them in an awful spot, he's clueless to the real-world ramifications.
05:24He was asked yesterday by Welker about small business.
05:29Trump highlighted, incorrectly, I might add, how wonderful tariffs are for big businesses.
05:37And he said he, and he, how he doesn't care one iota about the concerns of small businesses
05:46or American families suffering from high prices.
05:50He just didn't care.
05:51He went on bragging about himself.
05:53I watched the clip.
05:53When asked if he's considering relief for small businesses, Trump said, quote, they're
06:00not going to need it.
06:02He was condescending and dismissive.
06:05Well, tell the folks behind me that they're not going to need it, President Trump.
06:11Senate Republicans had a chance last week to stop Trump's trade war, but instead, they
06:18stood with him.
06:19We are giving them another chance now by working with us to take up the Small Business Liberation
06:26Act.
06:27Senate Republicans' refusal to stop this trade war makes them complicit as Donald Trump in
06:35hurting these businesses and millions more across the country.
06:39Small businesses are the backbone of this country.
06:43It's time for Senate Republicans to grow a backbone and defend small businesses.
06:49And our next speaker is my good constituent and owner of Yono's, a great restaurant that
06:56has an Indonesian flavor to it that is just top-notch, and that is Dominic Pernomo.
07:02Dominic.
07:02Thank you, Peter.
07:05Good afternoon, everyone.
07:08Glad to be here.
07:09And just a quick note, Peter Schumer, I just want to thank you once again on behalf of our
07:12industry for all the work that you did for us, for the restaurant.
07:15And that's what's kept us going a lot the last four years.
07:18On to today's topic.
07:21The proposed retaliatory tariffs are disruptive and detrimental to all facets of the restaurant
07:27and food service industry.
07:29An industry that accounts for $1.6 trillion, or roughly 4% of the entire GDP of the United
07:34States.
07:35One in 10 jobs, $15.1 million in total, is in the food service industry, making it the
07:42nation's second largest private sector employer.
07:43Yet the proposed retaliatory tariffs and imports from key trading partners like Canada, Mexico,
07:49and China threaten to destabilize the vital sector, which has struggled to regain its
07:53quitting since the COVID-19 pandemic.
07:56These tariffs will make it harder and more expensive to source the high-quality ingredients
08:00and goods our guests have cherished for nearly four decades, driving up costs to the tune
08:05of $12.1 billion in disrupting supply chains nationwide or worldwide.
08:10The restaurant industry is uniquely vulnerable to supply chain disruptions due to our resilience
08:15on perishable products, some costing hundreds of dollars per pound.
08:19Ingredients like fresh produce, seafood, specialty items must be turned around in as little as
08:2448 to 72 hours to meet the stringent health code standards and deliver the quality our guests
08:30expect.
08:31Uninterrupted flow through our ports is essential to ensure freshness and safety.
08:35The proposed 25% tariffs on imports from key trading partners like Canada and Mexico will
08:40slow this critical supply chain, risking $2 billion in spoiled goods.
08:44At a time when 13% of the United States' population is food insecure, that is unconscionable.
08:50For an industry already battered by post-COVID challenges, these unnecessary tariffs would
08:55be catastrophic, driving up costs and invadering the 15.1 million jobs we support.
09:00We urge the administration to exempt food and beverage products from tariffs to safeguard
09:04a nation's food supply, protect consumers, and prevent devastating economic losses.
09:09The restaurant industry has endured relentless challenges over the past five years.
09:12Supply chain breakdowns, labor shortages, and soaring inflation.
09:17Tariffs could deliver a devastating blow, potentially forcing closures and jeopardizing millions of
09:21jobs.
09:22Unlike other sectors, the food industry maintains a near-balanced trade profile, with a minimal
09:27trade deficit or surplus, depending on the year.
09:31Targeting food and beverage imports is a misstep that punishes an industry already on the ropes.
09:36Restaurants are more than just commerce.
09:38They are the heart and soul of any community.
09:39They are a place for us to gather, to share, to communicate, and to engage.
09:45We are the last light left on Main Street.
09:48They are often the first step of young people looking to join the workforce.
09:51Restaurants are the largest employers of marginalized people, of single mothers, of immigrants.
09:56It offers the largest access to second-chance employment for those looking to rebuild their
10:02lives after being rehabilitated during incarceration.
10:05And it offers wonderful employment for military veterans assimilating back to the workforce after
10:09calling to protect our nation.
10:12We urge the administration to accept the food and beverage products from these tariffs.
10:16Doing so will stabilize costs, preserve access to essential ingredients like Mexican produce
10:21and Canadian meat, and protect the livelihoods of 15.1 million American workers.
10:27If the administration is truly committed to safeguarding American jobs and strengthening
10:31the economy, eliminating these tariffs is a crucial step to secure the future of the
10:35food service industry, one of America's most resilient and cherished sectors.
10:43And our next speaker, and I'm going in the set order here, is, and the set order is here,
10:49Senator Amy Klobuchar.
10:51Oh, Amy Klobuchar.
10:53Okay.
10:54Okay.
10:55All right.
10:56Well, thank you so much, Leader Schumer.
10:58Thanks for your leadership on this.
10:59Thanks to my colleague, Senator Smith.
11:02And mostly thank you, Senator Markey, for having the wherewithal to think of this great idea.
11:08Uh, because, uh, we are in a whole lot of trouble in general in the economy.
11:12We know that.
11:13Americans know it when you see the numbers of the President's first 100 days.
11:19But it is small businesses and small farms and small ranches that are really going to
11:24be bearing the brunt of this.
11:27Um, I know, having talked to them as just a bunch of farmers, and they're losing their
11:33soybean markets, they don't know what they're going to do.
11:36They, and the small business owners that are standing here with us today, they do not
11:40have a direct dial number for the White House.
11:42They do not have the President's cell phone.
11:44They are not like a major, major CEO of a Fortune 500 company that can call and get a meeting
11:50with the White House and then get their products exempted.
11:53They weren't invited to the J.P. Morgan secret meeting with the Treasury Secretary, where the
11:59Treasury Secretary gave them little tips on what was going to be happening here.
12:03They're excluded from all of that.
12:05And that, in addition to what this is doing to our economy as a whole, the big business,
12:10small business, the $4,000 tariff tax for every family, the $200 grocery tax for every family,
12:17but the unfairness and the destruction of the competitive marketplace for small businesses
12:22businesses will have longer-term effects than anyone can even imagine.
12:27So, one example of the small business here today is a Minnesotan, and we're really excited.
12:35She is her.
12:36Her name is Beth Vannecke.
12:37The leader mentioned her.
12:39She was just, this is really what we call ironic.
12:44She was at the White House, at the Small Business Administration, just before this.
12:51Is that right?
12:52To get the award.
12:54Get an award.
12:55She's Minnesota's Entrepreneur of the Year.
12:58She makes baby equipment for high chairs.
13:01That's why it's called Busy Baby, because they throw things off the high chairs.
13:05She has just been getting her products on shelves all over in major retailers, and then she
13:11is hit by these tariffs.
13:13This is a living example where they're giving her an award for her incredible entrepreneurship
13:19as a small business, and then they're sacking her with these tariffs that make it impossible
13:25to run her business.
13:26And with that, I turn it over to Beth.
13:33All right.
13:35Hi.
13:36I am Beth Vannecke.
13:37I am a ten-year Army veteran, active duty, served in Bosnia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kosovo.
13:42I had my son, Christian, eight years ago, and I had an idea for a baby product.
13:47And I made a prototype for myself and one for my friend, and she said, oh my gosh, this thing
13:51is so useful, you should make it for real.
13:54And I thought, hmm, how would I do that?
13:57And I found a product developer who helped me come up with a design, who helped me find
14:01a manufacturer.
14:02And because this was a product that never existed before, no U.S. manufacturer was willing
14:06to take the risk on making it.
14:08They need to make hundreds of thousands of units, not 2,000 units.
14:13So I started my manufacturing in China.
14:15And I have been having wonderful quality, wonderful relationships with my factories in
14:20China for eight years.
14:22When I got into Walmart shelves and only had four months to get my product ready into the
14:27U.S. and on those shelves, they made it happen.
14:30They are wonderful partners to me.
14:33And I currently have three months' worth of inventory sitting at my factory that I cannot
14:38bring to the U.S.
14:39I have maybe two months' worth left in my warehouse in Minnesota.
14:44And when that's gone, I have no more revenue.
14:48I cannot pay my employees.
14:50I cannot pay my bills.
14:52I cannot pay the loans which I have leveraged my house against.
14:56So we could lose our house.
14:59I do not have the $230,000 that were just immediately dropped in front of me to get my products into
15:07the U.S.
15:08So I am asking, begging for support from both sides of our, both parties, to support our small
15:18businesses and get rid of these tariffs on U.S. owned small businesses.
15:23It doesn't just affect me.
15:25When I go out of business, it affects all of those contractors that I pay to help me with
15:28my business.
15:29All of those American-owned businesses, my trucking company that brings me my container,
15:35the bookkeepers, accountants, and marketing teams that work with me.
15:39They now don't get to have the revenue they're getting from me.
15:42And I'm just one business that's at risk of going out of business.
15:45There are thousands of us.
15:47So this is hurting more than just people importing from China.
15:53Well done.
15:54Senator Markey, the sponsor of our great legislation.
15:58Thank you so much.
15:59Thank you, Senator Schumer.
16:00Thank you for all of our great small business leaders who are here today.
16:05This National Small Business Week comes during a time when small businesses are being hit hard
16:12by Donald Trump's reckless, unnecessary tariffs, his policies.
16:18Trump's tariffs are a disaster for small food vendors like those based out of Commonwealth Kitchen in Boston.
16:27Executive Director Jen Fagel is with us today.
16:31She told me that she has imports coming in from 15 countries.
16:38She's a small business.
16:40This is, without question, something that threatens her.
16:45Small businesses aren't like Fortune 500 companies.
16:48They just can't write it out.
16:51They live day to day, week to week, month to month.
16:55They just can't wait three months, four months, five months, six months, a year for something to get figured out through the White House.
17:03They live day to day.
17:07And that's why she is seeing price increases.
17:12That's why all of the people behind us are seeing containers, basic ingredients, everything from eggs and sugar to vanilla and vinegar all increasing.
17:22And even with the 90-day pause, small businesses can't afford this cloud over their head.
17:29Or the remaining reckless Trump tariffs could return in a nanosecond.
17:35And that's why, with Senator Schumer, introducing the Small Business Liberation Act with Senator Verona to provide an exemption for small businesses in our country from Trump's Liberation Day.
17:51Because it is not Liberation Day.
17:53It's obliteration day for small businesses.
17:56It will be a massive economic liquidation day for small businesses.
18:03We have 7 million people in Massachusetts and we have 734,000 small businesses.
18:10And the same incentives exist for every single state in our country.
18:14They are mainstream.
18:16These aren't the firms listed on the NASDAQ or the S&P 500, but they are the lifeblood of our economy.
18:2397% of all businesses to trade internationally are small businesses.
18:29And they represent 30% of all trades for our country.
18:34And that's who these people are behind us today.
18:37Those are the people who can't afford to run the rest that Trump does not know what he's doing.
18:44Because they are the ones who are going to become the economic roadkill for this economic experiment which he is running.
18:52So he's shown his willingness to give relief to CEOs of the big tech giants and grant them an exemption.
18:59Apple gets an exemption.
19:00But how about people who need Apple for a lot of their businesses?
19:03Do they get a relief?
19:05It's only fair to provide an exemption for small businesses that operate on razor-thin profit margins.
19:12If Republicans are serious about helping small businesses, they need to stop listening to the ones in their state.
19:18They need to stop listening to Rotarians, to Cowanians, to the Chamber of Commerce not here in Washington, D.C.,
19:25but in the small towns and cities all across our nation.
19:30So I thank you, Leader Schumer, for hosting this important event, for uplifting the stories of small businesses being harmed,
19:37and working for us to introduce this legislation which will give relief to all of the small businesses in our country to Trump's economic experiment.
19:49This small business tax that the tariffs putting about affects red states, blue states, and purple states.
19:57We are here to welcome Allison Vitt, owner of Little Blue Macaroni and Little Blue Bakehouse in Raleigh, North Carolina,
20:05a purple state if there ever was one.
20:11Hi.
20:12Thank you so much for having us.
20:14Thank you for giving us this platform.
20:16Um, like you said, I own a bakery in Raleigh, North Carolina, but we're not just a bakery.
20:22We are an incubator kitchen for small bakery businesses.
20:25So we house small bakeries that are trying to figure out their place in the economy and in the marketplace.
20:33And it is so hard to do that when you're constantly up against a tidal wave of things coming against you,
20:42like tariffs, taxes, even the cuts to SNAP, Medicaid, anything that's on the chopping block ultimately affects us.
20:51We're already seeing packaging delays, so we're not able to even put pastries in the boxes that we've been using for two and a half years
20:58because our distributors are not sending them to us because they're not able to obtain those items.
21:04And these are, you know, manufacturers that have US-based products but require things that come from overseas to manufacture their product.
21:12So we're not able to receive them.
21:14We're seeing increased costs in kitchen equipment.
21:17Um, we're just crossing our fingers and hoping that the equipment that we use every day doesn't require a new part.
21:24It doesn't break down on us because we don't have the ability to wait three months to see if we're going to be able to get that
21:31or to pay four times the amount that we would have paid for that only so many months ago.
21:37We, small businesses are the pillars of our communities, but we can't support all of the weight.
21:45We need help.
21:46We need these tariffs to be taken out of the realm of things that we are responsible for.
21:54Um, we need, we need your help.
21:57Great job.
21:58Now we have Senator Smith from Minnesota.
22:01Good afternoon, everybody.
22:06Thank you, Leader Schumer and Senator Klobuchar and Senator Markey for your legislation.
22:10And especially, thank you to all the entrepreneurs who are here today to tell about how your businesses are affected by this chaos and uncertainty
22:18that President Trump's reckless trade war is causing, um, for all of you.
22:23Um, my constituent, Beth, who is with us today, was just named as Senator Klobuchar says,
22:29Minnesota Small Business Person of the Year.
22:31And her baby products were making their way onto the shelves of some of the biggest retailers in the country.
22:36Um, she should be celebrating that.
22:38But instead, she is worried about keeping her business afloat.
22:42And as Beth says, that's heartbreaking, but it is also real.
22:46And you can see from the people standing with us today that this is not a political issue for them.
22:51This is not about politics.
22:53This is about the survival of their businesses, the survival of their dreams.
22:57And I think that Beth's story shows us so clearly that the, the randomness and the chaotic approach to tariffs are putting small businesses like hers and all of these at risk.
23:08And they are hurting people's capacity to make payroll and pay rent.
23:12And they are hurting our economy.
23:14And they are hurting American consumers.
23:16And it is ironic that we are celebrating, um, our Republican colleagues are celebrating small, national small business week, uh, this week when what is really happening to American small businesses is just a huge, a huge challenge.
23:31Small business owners, as we know, are resilient, they are creative, and they are constantly trying to figure out how to make it work.
23:38But how can you do that when you have no idea of what is around the next corner?
23:43You have no idea how you're going to be able to control costs.
23:46And you don't have a million dollars sitting in your bank account to help you navigate the ups and downs of this chaos that has been unleashed.
23:55I think that one of the things that drives me the most crazy about this is that we have big companies like Apple who have a connection in the White House.
24:07They know who to call.
24:08They have the wherewithal to give a million dollars to President Trump's inauguration ceremony.
24:13They get seated right up there on the dais on Inauguration Day when the people standing with us today have no capacity to accomplish that.
24:22And what happens? Apple gets a carve out, and these guys are left holding the bag.
24:26And that is wrong, and we cannot put up with it.
24:29That's good.
24:30Good job.
24:31We have two more small business people.
24:34T.J. Sebastian, owner of Wonder State Coffee in Madison, Wisconsin, Purple State.
24:40And Amy Lineback, owner of Big B, Little B, and Cedar Park.
24:44Texas.
24:45A red stick.
24:46We're from all over.
24:49Thank you, Leader Schumer.
24:51So my name is T.J. Sebastian, and we import coffee from farmers from around the world.
24:58And right now I'm facing that all the coffee that we import is going to get hit with a tariff.
25:03I think the thing I want to underscore, there's been a lot of words shared, a lot of personal stories shared, but that we here, us small businesses, we are on the front line of these tariffs.
25:15We are the ones who are paying it.
25:18I had to go to my bank and ask for an additional line of credit just to finance the tariff tax.
25:25We are the ones who need to come up with the money, and if we can't come up with the money, in Beth's case, our product is at risk.
25:32So everything that we buy is now at least 10% more, and I don't know, we have countries that we buy from that are on the reciprocal tariff list.
25:43And so I don't even know what the cost of some of my product is going to be, it's going to be shipping to me pretty soon.
25:49And so we, again, I got into coffee because of relationships with farmers I have in Latin America and Africa, that our supply chains are very personal to us.
26:00There are real people on the other end of the supply chain.
26:03These are relationships I've developed over two decades in the coffee industry.
26:08These are complex supply chains, and we are at risk of disrupting that, and these are things we can't just change overnight.
26:16I think anyone who knows about business, about importing, international trade, any of that, would know this.
26:22But these are the simple rules of business, that they are depending on relationships that take months and years to develop.
26:30And we are at risk of losing those relationships.
26:33So I also want to just share with my colleagues up here and ask them for support for small businesses.
26:41Thank you very much.
26:42Last but not least, Amy.
26:45Let me just say your business.
26:49Owner of Big B, Little B, in Cedar Park, Texas.
26:54Hi, my name is Amy Leinbach.
26:57I own Big B, Little B, along with my daughter, Marlo, who is here with us today.
27:04We invent planet-friendly products that make daily routines easy for families.
27:10We manufacture all of our products in China, including herds.
27:19Initially, it was out of necessity because we began manufacturing in the United States years ago, but it wasn't scalable.
27:27So we moved to China, like you said, out of necessity.
27:30And now we love working with them.
27:33They're our friends.
27:35They're our teammates.
27:36They put their heart and soul and time on the line to support our dreams.
27:43So as it stands right now, Marlo and I have a few months' worth of inventory.
27:52We were one of the very lucky ones to receive a container of inventory at the beginning of March.
27:58Now, it feels a little funny to have this particular business strategy, but we intend to stretch that inventory as much as possible by pulling back our advertising and slowing our sales.
28:12Why?
28:13Because it's important for us to stay visible as long as possible so we can just stay relevant in the market.
28:22But then what?
28:25We have no orders in production right now.
28:28So when we stretch that inventory to the end of quarter three at the very latest, we run out of inventory.
28:37We lose sales.
28:39We have zero cash flow.
28:42And I don't think I need to explain what happens to a small business when you have no cash flow.
28:52And I refuse to think of where our business might be at the end of this year.
29:01We need help from both sides.
29:04We are begging you.
29:06We need this help immediately.
29:09And we appreciate, we truly appreciate what you're doing for us.
29:14We need more help and we need it now.
29:18Thank you for these great testimonies.
29:21As it's clear are three things, many things, but three things.
29:24Number one, these people struggle in their businesses.
29:28My dad was a small business man.
29:30I know how small business people struggle.
29:32Two, they love their businesses.
29:34Three, they hate the tariffs.
29:36And they want both sides of the aisle to come together and get rid of them for small business.
29:41Questions on this subject?
29:42Yes, ma'am.
29:43Senator Jenny Ernst and Kelly Loftler's small business administration are pushing legislation right now that would max out small business loans and double them from $5 million to $10 million.
29:54Is this a vital solution to make more capital available?
29:56Well, the bottom line is, ask these people, they don't want to incur more debt.
30:00I didn't have to ask them.
30:03It just, that's more debt.
30:05One of the things small business people struggle with is the debt they have to repay.
30:09They don't need more.
30:10Tell Senator Ernst for the support of our bill.
30:13That's what they want.
30:14Yes.
30:15Is it an option to use Senate procedural rules to make this privileged resolution from the floor?
30:21Well, we explore every way we can look to get legislation to the floor, and we will explore this one, too.
30:27Yes.
30:28Senator Martin, do you have, what have you been hearing from your Republican colleagues and counterparts on this?
30:36Well, again, we have SBIR.
30:42We have STTR.
30:44They're great farmers.
30:45And we're going to try to work with them if you want them to save them.
30:50But that's not who these people are.
30:52These are people who don't want to have to deal with the small business industries.
30:57They just want to be left alone so they can run their businesses that they created by themselves.
31:02That's who they are.
31:03That's who most small businesses are.
31:05In our country.
31:07So 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.
31:17But that's not where the rest is.
31:19All they're saying is exempt us from the tariffs and we'll go back to work for the country.
31:24We'll employ people.
31:25We'll continue to increase the productivity.
31:28So we're not hearing that from the Republicans.
31:30So even the proposal you just heard isn't relevant to their lives.
31:34They just want to be left alone on Main Street, USA, all across the country.
31:40And I'll say one thing.
31:42I don't know what we're hearing from our Republicans, but I'll tell you this.
31:46Republicans are hearing from small businesses across the country.
31:50Because they're really hurting.
31:52These people are just such fine people, the backbone of America.
31:55And they're hurting for no good reason.
31:58We have to help them.
32:01The powers have already lost small businesses like these.
32:04$26 billion since this Liberation Day started.
32:09And it can't continue indefinitely.
32:11They don't have that.