The Senate will act on legislation to help small businesses as soon as they return from the August recess, and the challenges facing Central Virginia's small business owners were front and center as Senator Warner met with about 25 business owners today at Inklings Bookshop in Lynchburg.

He's been working on a bill that would jump start lending to small businesses and give them about $12 billion in tax breaks. Warner says in the past, small businesses have created about two-thirds of the jobs coming out of a recession.

As the Lynchburg News & Advance reported, the meeting provided a chance to "exchange ideas on what is and is not working in the government’s efforts to revive the economy." 

"We're starting to see those small businesses that normally get through downturns actually go out of business, and the big problem is they can't get credit. So I need to put out my ideas, but I also need to hear their ideas," Senator Warner told WSET-ABC13. 

We also toured Babcock and Wilcox, a local company that manufactures nuclear power reactors. He told B&W employees that another way to improve the economy is to give large companies the confidence to start investing some of the estimated two trillion dollars in cash they've accumulated since the recession started in 2008.

Senator Warner also talked about the need to make Virginia businesses competitive globally, not just locally, by developing programs that would encourage innovation and keep jobs in the U.S.

“It’s not a silver bullet … I’ve got this thing I’ve been trying for a year to get going that would actually provide $10,000 of (federal) credit for in-sourcing jobs back into this country.” 

And finally, speaking of innovation, Senator Warner visited the headquarters of Edison2, which is developing an ultra-light car that is making headlines across the country. Their car is shortlisted to win a $5 million "X Prize" - a prize that requires the entry cars to seat four passengers, get the equivalent of 100 miles per gallon on average in all driving conditions, and be able to travel 200 miles without refueling.