Small-Business Stimulus Provisions Extended As expected, President Barack Obama signed the Fiscal Year 2010 U.S. Department of Defense Appropriations Act into law (Pub. L. No. 111-118) on Dec. 21, 2009. The U.S. Senate approved—88-10—the $636.3 billion measure Dec 19, only days after the U.S. House of Representatives passed it—395-34. In addition to funding the regular activities of the U.S. Department of Defense, the law contains funding for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and a two-month extension for various federal programs, including the small-business provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Specifically, the bill extends the 90 percent guarantee on 7(a) loans and the elimination of borrower fees on both 7(a) and 504 loans through February 2010. Nearly 1,000 small firms, seeking approximately $500 million in loans, signed up for a waiting list—in the hope that the increased guarantee and eliminated borrower fees eventually would be reinstated—when the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) exhausted its original stimulus funds for these provisions in early December 2009. New approval of loans with the increased guarantee and reduced fees began Dec. 24, with the borrowers who chose to wait in the Recovery Loan Queue funded first, followed by new applicants. While NSBA is pleased that the provisions have been restored through February—and thanks Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), the chair and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and sixteen of their colleagues for their leadership in this accomplishment—it also believes that the provisions must be extended beyond next month. NSBA urges Congress to extend these critical provisions through all of the 2010 and approve S. 2869, the Small Business Job Creation and Access to Capital Act, introduced by Landrieu and Snowe, and H.R. 4302, the Small Business Job Creation and Access to Capital Act, introduced by Reps. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) and Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.). The bills also would increase the loan limit on 7(a) loans from $2 million to $5 million, on 504 loans from $1.5 million to $5.5 million, and on microloans from $35,000 to $50,000. Please take a few minutes NOW to urge your members of Congress to support these bills. |