Democrats and Republicans can agree on at least one thing – an economic recovery hinges on the success of small businesses. But that’s about where it ends.

President Barack Obama stopped by the Tastee Sub Shop in Edison, N.J., earlier this week to tout a bill making its way through Congress that he says will provide tax breaks and spur lending to small businesses, reported the New York Times.

Senate Republicans have blocked the bill, saying that the $30 billion lending program will raise taxes on small businesses and encourage community banks to make risky loans. And with mid-term elections just weeks away, Republicans are loathe to hand Obama and the Democrats another legislative victory, said the Times.

It’s not the first time Democrats and Republicans have battled over which party is a better friend to small business – and it won’t be the last.

Republicans opposed the president’s health-care reform bill, in part, because they said it would hurt small businesses. It appears the GOP will take a similar tack in the upcoming debate about extending President Bush’s tax cuts on the top two income brackets, said the Times.

The tax benefits are set to expire in the fall, and Republicans, along with the United States Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business, say small business owners will be hurt if the cuts aren’t extended.

The tax increase would affect only individuals making over $200,000 and families making over $250,000. Democrats say only 3 percent these top earners show any business income, so the majority of small business owners will benefit from the change.

In the meantime, Democrats are trying to push small business advocacy groups like the Chamber of Commerce to support the $30 billion lending bill.

Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Democrat from Louisiana and chair of the small business committee, contends that 81 percent of the jobs lost during the recession were from small business, said the Times. She and other Democrats are counting on the bill’s passage to jump-start the economy.

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