Washington, July 24, 2010, SPA -- US President Barack Obama on Friday urged the U.S. Congress to quickly approve assistance for small businesses, as he criticized Republicans and praised a week of “enormous” progress for his economic recovery plans. Obama thanked the Senate for reviving his proposal for a fund that would encourage community banks to make loans to small businesses, which have had difficulty obtaining credit as the effects of the financial crisis and economic slump linger. The U.S. president also highlighted financial regulation reform legislation, another law he signed to cut wasteful government payments, and the passage of legislation to extend unemployment benefits to the long-term jobless. “Taken together, we made enormous progress this week,” he said. Obama said the small-business legislation, which also cuts taxes, would help job creation and growth. “The small businessmen and -women who write to me every day and the folks who I’ve met with across this country, they can’t afford any more political games,” the president said, apparently referring to Republican efforts to block all his initiatives. “They need us to do what they sent us here to do. They didn’t send us here to wage a never-ending campaign.” --SPA 11:11 LOCAL TIME 08:11 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/804549