Schiff Supports Legislation to Help Small Businesses Access Credit
Washington, DC – Today, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) supported and the House passed legislation to boost lending to small businesses struggling to gain access to credit as a result of the financial crisis, helping them retain and hire more workers.
“Small businesses are the engines of job creation in this country and will be the birthplace of our economic recovery,” Rep. Schiff said. “This legislation is another step to partner with small businesses, expanding access to much-needed capital to help them grow, hire more workers and fuel our economic recovery.”
Small businesses created two-thirds of the new jobs over the last 15 years. However, a lack of credit and tight lending standards left 45 percent of small businesses seeking loans unable to have their credit needs met in 2009.
The Small Business Jobs and Credit Act (H.R. 5297; passed today) and Small Business Jobs Tax Relief Act (H.R. 5486; passed Tuesday) are fully paid for and will be combined to:
- Leverage up to $300 billion in loans for small businesses through a $30 billion lending fund for small and medium-sized community banks, which focus on lending to small firms, and $2 billion for innovative state lending programs supporting small business;
- Restart private investment to meet small businesses’ evolving financing needs through a new SBA public-private partnership; and
- Provide $3.5 billion in bipartisan tax incentives to spur investment in small businesses and the formation of new small businesses, and grant small business tax penalty relief.
According to the CBO, all of the funding in the Small Business Lending Fund will be repaid with interest, resulting in a $1 billion profit over the next decade for American taxpayers.
This lending bill has earned support from the National Small Business Association, Small Business Majority, National Association of Realtors, Conference of State Bank Supervisors, Independent Community Bankers of America, American Bankers Association, Biotechnology Industry Organization and National Bankers Association