mr. altmire referred to. credit, along the tax credit issue, may apply temporarily and narrowly if the business has fewer than 25 full-time or equivalent employees making an average annual wage of $50,000 or less. but what about every other small business? what advantages do they have as far as a tax credit? >> well, you're correct in that the tax credit was targeted for the smallest of the small businesses with, you know, under 9 getting the maximum credit and you can get up to 25 depending on what the wages are that you pay your small business. you know, one of the reasons it was targeted because those were the small businesses that had the lowest offering. as you move up to say, employers with 50 employees, you have offer rates, offer rates of insurance coverage that can be in the 80 to 90% rate. so the tax credits were targeted towards that segment of the market that was most in need of help in terms of getting the offer. there are still many benefits as i mentioned in the affordable coverage act. and rat

mr. altmire anything? i want to thank you for taking time to coming down to capitol hill and testifying today. on this very important matter. with that the committee is adjourned. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> executive director of the organization iraq and afghanistan veterans of america told a senate committee wednesday veterans are concerned about losing their benefits if the nation does not raise the debt limit. the committee held a hearing to assess the long-term financial costs of caring for iraq and afghanistan war veterans. especially with those with traumatic brain injuries. hosted by the committee on veterans affairs, this is just over an hour and a half. >> good morning and welcome to today's hearing where we are going to examine the lifetime costs of supporting our newest generation of veterans. as we all know, when our nation goes to war, it's not just the cost of fighting that war that must be accounted for. we must include the cost of caring for veterans and families

mr. altmire. to answer the first part, yes. the challenge small businesses face in the credit markets right now are not unique to 2011 or 2010. they are there for several years now and stagnant. it's not improving, and that's a real concern. you know, honestly, at this point, i think part of what everybody is hearing is let's not do anything to make it worse. it's not exactly clear what it is what is gumming up the works, but what we know for sure is that the commercial lending markets are not froze p, but they -- frozen, but they are not in good shape. the message we hear is let's certainly not take away some of the tools that do some toke working now. we can use the credit cards, borrow money against our car or home. even those markets are functioning fairly well, so their message to us is do no harm essentially, and that means working closely with the cfpb to make sure they understand the effects in, you know, to the small business lending world and the actions they are taking. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> mr. west? >> tha

mr. altmire? >> no further questions. >> thank you for coming down to capitol hill and testifying today on this very important manner. with that, committee's adjourn. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> the senate negligence committee took up the -- the organization charged with gathering and analyzing counterterrorism intelligence. before going the nsa, matthew olsen directed the task force overseeing the administration's detainees at the guantanamo bay. a vote is not expected until the senate returns from its august recess. this is an hour and 35 minutes. >> the hearing will come to order. the process will be as follows. i'll make remarks, the vice chairman makes remarks, and then we'll call on the distinguished senator from south dakota for remarks, and then we will proceed. i trust that is agreeable with everybody. the committee meets today to consider the president's nomination of matt olsen to be the director of the national counterterrorism cente

altmire. >> thank you. mr. levitin is professor at georgetown where he teaches courses in bankruptcy, commercial law, and consumer finance. he is previously served as a solar in residence at the bankruptcy institute and special counsel to the oversight panel supervising t.a.r.p.. before joining the georgetown faculty, he practiced law and served as a law clerk for the u.s. court of appeals for the third circuit. he holds a jd from harvard law school and degrees from columbia university and harvard college. >> members of the committee, good aftno