At a press briefing on Monday, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke about President Trump's tariffs.
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00:00All 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.
00:06First, my colleagues, Senators Klobuchar, Markey, and Smith, small business owners from across the country.
00:13We have Dominic Pernomo, owner of Yono's Restaurant in Albany, New York.
00:17I've had the pleasure of being there and seeing what a great job he does.
00:22We have Beth Benecke, founder and CEO of Busy Baby in Zumbrota.
00:26Zumbrota.
00:28Zumbrota.
00:28Zumbrota, that's an interesting name.
00:35We have Amy Leinbach, the owner of Big B and Little B in Caesar Park, Texas.
00:43We have T.J. Samanshin, CEO and owner of Wonder State Coffee in Madison, Wisconsin.
00:50We have Andrea Deutsch, owner of Spots, the place for pause in Pennsylvania.
00:55That's P-A-W-S.
00:57So they don't think you're resting, you know, pause.
01:02Joanna Hellrigal from Washington, D.C.
01:08We have Ivy Mix from, oh, Joanna's restaurant or business is called Ama.
01:15Did I say it right?
01:15She may not be here, so no one will correct me.
01:20We have Ivy Mix, Leanda, it's a business in New York City.
01:25We have Vicki Lee Parker High, North Carolina Sustainable Business Council.
01:30We have Holliswell Silverman, the Eastern Point Collective.
01:33And we have Richard Trent of the Main Street Alliance.
01:37He's the Executive Director.
01:38So we have a lot of small businesses represented here.
01:42And you know why.
01:44Because they're hurting.
01:46As all the folks behind me know all too well, President Trump's trade war is economic arson
01:56on our Main Streets.
01:57President Trump's trade war is economic arson on Main Street, and these folks are getting
02:03scorched.
02:05Trump's tariff taxes, jacking up prices, smashing supply chains, forcing small shops to raise
02:11costs, lay off people, or worse yet, close their doors altogether.
02:15While Trump has been busy helping the billionaires, Main Street pays the price.
02:22While Trump has let mega corporations, CEOs, and his donors have his ear on exemptions when
02:28they want relief from tariffs, small business owners have been left out to draw.
02:34You're a big business.
02:35You can knock on the White House, go and say, I need an exemption, I need this, and Trump goes
02:38along.
02:39These people don't have bad access to the White House.
02:42And Trump doesn't even seem to care.
02:46So, today, Senate Democrats are showing America the faces, businesses, and communities impacted
02:53by Trump's devastating trade war.
02:58He's had a bad tax war, too.
03:00Today, Senator Markey will announce legislation that I'm proud to co-sponsor to exempt small
03:06businesses from the President's destructive tariffs.
03:09Protecting small businesses shouldn't be a partisan issue.
03:14It's a national priority.
03:15And let's not forget, the 35 million small businesses in America employ 59 million people.
03:22That's about half the private sector jobs in the country are in businesses like those
03:27depicted here.
03:29Small businesses play a significant role.
03:31They're even more needed in rural communities.
03:33And there, they account for about 54% of rural workers.
03:39They're the backbone of our economy.
03:41Yet, right now, they're bending over backwards to make ends meet, to not charge their customers
03:47more, to not lay off employers.
03:49That's the dilemma they're all faced with.
03:5172% of small businesses say erratic tariff policies create, quote, a whiplash effect, disrupting
03:59planning and long-term decisions.
04:01In that way, small businesses and big businesses are alike.
04:05They can't plan unless they have certainty.
04:07They can't make that order that will come in three months from now if they think no one,
04:11the price is going to go way up.
04:1381% of small businesses say, thanks to President Trump's tariff tax, they would be forced to
04:22raise prices for consumers, and many indicated they would lay off employees as a direct result
04:28of increased costs.
04:31I've visited many small businesses from one end of the state to the other, and you should
04:35see the anguish on the faces of these small business people.
04:39They have put their whole souls, their blood, sweat, and tears into building these businesses,
04:44into creating a team of employees, and now they're either going to have to charge their
04:49dear customers, who they love, more, or lay off employees, who they cherish.
04:57It's an awful decision, an unnecessary decision.
05:01Already, employment at the smallest of small businesses has declined by 3%.
05:07We've lost 366,000 jobs since Trump took office in these businesses, and not only did Trump
05:14put them in an awful spot, he's clueless to the real-world ramifications.
05:20He was asked yesterday by Welker about small business.
05:26Trump highlighted, incorrectly I might add, how wonderful tariffs are for big businesses,
05:32and how he doesn't care one iota about the concerns of small businesses, or American families suffering
05:45from high prices.
05:46He just didn't care.
05:47He went on bragging about himself.
05:49I watched the clip.
05:50When asked if he's considering relief for small businesses, Trump said, quote, they're not
05:56going to need it.
05:58He was condescending and dismissive.
06:00Well, tell the folks behind me that they're not going to need it, President Trump.
06:07Senate Republicans had a chance last week to stop Trump's trade war, but instead, they
06:14stood with him.
06:16We are giving them another chance now by working with us to take up the Small Business Liberation
06:22Act.
06:22Senate Republicans' refusal to stop this trade war makes them complicit as Donald Trump in
06:31hurting these businesses and millions more across the country.
06:35Small businesses are the backbone of this country.
06:39It's time for Senate Republicans to grow a backbone and defend small businesses.
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