President Obama vowed to help the nation’s small businesses, promising immediate action to thaw frozen credit.

Obama spoke to reporters after he and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner met in the White House with representatives of the Small Business Administration.  Obama called small businesses “one of the biggest drivers of employment that we have” and said his administration is “working diligently to increase liquidity throughout the financial system.”  He talked about famous small businesses such as HP, Apple and Google that grew to become the cornerstone of America ingenuity and productivity.

Geithner said the package will double to $250,000 the new capital investment that can be written off, include provisions to reduce and then eliminate capital gains taxes in stock, and will health insurance more affordable.

In addition, the IRS announced that small businesses will be able to carry back business losses for five years instead of the current two years “in order to increase your cash flow as we come out of this period and allow you to invest more in your operations.”

Story at CNN