U.S. Small Business Administration Acting Administrator Sandy Baruah today urged federal lawmakers to pass President George Bush's economic rescue plan.

Below are excepts from a speech given at the Innovate Now! Conference in Chicago:

"There is no doubt that the capacity to innovate is America's only possible sustainable competitive advantage in the 21st century. But a good idea without capital is simply that – just an idea – and until Congress works out the details of the President's financial recovery plan and passes final legislation, our innovators and entrepreneurs...may not have the capital they need to do business. Fully functioning credit markets are critical to all of us – as business owners, as employees, as home owners, and as consumers.

"Small businesses – even those with good credit and good ideas – are finding it more difficult to get the credit they need to start, maintain, or expand their businesses.  The credit situation has literally changed in the blink of an eye, which is why the President and many Congressional leaders are focused on quick action.

"To the extent that the plan reduces turmoil in the housing market, it will help the many small business owners who use a personal residence as collateral for business investments and don't want to be in a position where the price of their home is less than their mortgage."

To read Baruah's speech in its entirety, click here.

Associated General Contractors of America, the nation's largest commercial construction association, and the American Bankers Association, a large banking trade group, and the National Retail Federation also voiced their support of the plan.