missed dorfman -- miss dorfman is talking about a permanent fix.. we have to be cognizant of those problems. i am trying to point out that we need to be careful. you point out something there as well about regulation. mr. smith made the point that one of the problems we had with the banking institutions is the regulators. he has the exact words. they've got their boot on their necks. most banks are small businesses as well. they have to make a profit. they have to make things work. i am very concerned. i appreciate the comments of mr. smith. >> i must say i agree totally with the comments of congressman blaine luetkemeyer. i would like to add that the thought that the small business administration or any government agency could do a better job of commercial lending than banks or credit unions is a naive and totally informed. the reason why our banks are not lending is not that they do not want to. it is a combination, as mr. smith and mr. turnbull have testified -- a combination of post-cyclical regulation. it is a combination of that with illiquid

dorfman, the administration has proposed the creation of a $30 billion fund.edit, the branch that would take this money should use it to lend to small businesses. do you believe there should be a penalty for lenders to use the funds solely to increase profit margins on loans they would have made any way? >> absolutely. yes. >> mr. gordon, in the last year, we have seen the government bailout aig, at gm, and chrysler, and give infusions to our largest banks, including goldmansachs. now the demonstration is proposing to cut another $30 million a check to banks under the premise that it will trickle down to firms like your own. do you believe that any of this $30 billion will reach businesses like yours? >> absolutely not. this is what really bothers americans. i do not understand why congress cannot just cut through all this stuff and or direct. why in the world would you want to give money to the banks and have them do nothing? why not put it in an account under government management so that 100% of those funds are used for loans? why give money to banks and ho

department of labor signed by margaret dorfman, the new york women's chamber of commerce. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. harkin: ms. smith is imminently well qualified and well vetted and we need a solicitor of labor at the department of labor. this nomination has been hanging here since last april. since last april. it's time to move on. but, again, the republicans are exercising their right. although i think there's an abuse of that right to drag it out for 30 more hours, keep the senate in session for no purpose whatsoever other than just to slow things down in this chamber. to me that's -- that's not a good enough excuse. whatsoever. when only one person came here today to speak against her and that person spoke against her yesterday. i read the transcript. nothing new. same stuff. so i would hope that we could collapse this time frame and vote on it. but evidently the republicans are intent on stretching this out to the maximum 30 hours. as i said, maybe they're right. but i think it's an abuse of that right. mr. president, i yield the floor. toy in t

. >> dorfman, i have heard you testify on various committees, and you keep talking about direct lendinggulator, i guess i am old enough to member -- to remember the mid 1970's. farmers. that was an absolute disaster for agriculture. it wound up causing inflation in our real estate prices of farm land overproduction. once we got them out of that, we solved a lot of our problems. what data, what information, do you have to think that the sba can be a better direct lender than banks? >> what we are looking for is making sure that small businesses are accessing the capital t$ey need. the sba, with direct lending -- there was a question about our they qualified. yes. they are qualified to oversee the process. there are employees that have been let go from banks that use to do the lending that could be hired into a program to provide this program. >> one of the problems you have with direct lending is who is at risk. it is not the sba. it is the american taxpayer. when the banks are on the hook, it is their stockholders. and that is a really big difference. when you have the government involv