Small Business Financing And Investment Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

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Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Chair, small businesses are the backbone of the American economy. They represent almost 8 out of every 10 new jobs created in the country and are a key element of the Nation's efforts to achieve a successful and complete economic recovery.

Last week I joined President Obama, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Small Business Administrator Karen Mills, Members of the Maryland Delegation, Governor Martin O'Malley, County Executive Jack Johnson, and Hyattsville Mayor William Gardner at Metropolitan Archives in Largo, MD to discuss the work Congress and the Obama administration are doing to create jobs and expand credit access to Maryland small businesses. The bill we consider today, H.R. 3854, the Small Business Financing and Investment Act of 2009, is a significant part of our efforts.

H.R. 3854 reauthorizes and increases the resources of successful programs such as the SBA 7(a), Business Stabilization Loans and the SBA Microloan programs. The Small Business Administration 7(a) program guarantees long-term loans for business startups and expansions. The bill authorizes funds to guarantee $20 billion in 7(a) loans in 2010 and 2011. The bill extends until 2011 Business Stabilization Loans which provide $50,000 each for qualifying small businesses to make payments on existing loans. The bill also helps provide small businesses with short-term, working capital through the SBA Microloan program. Under the program, small businesses and not-for-profit child care centers can qualify for loans up to $35,000 to use for equipment, supplies, inventory and other business necessities.

The bill renews and expands the resources of the public/private partnership programs that serve small businesses such as community development programs, the Small Business Investment Company and the New Markets Venture Capital Program.

The SBA works with certified development companies to contribute to the economic development of communities. These public/private partnerships provide community small businesses with long-term loans to expand and modernize with the purpose of creating local jobs. This bill authorizes the SBA to guarantee no less than $9 billion of these community directed loans in 2010 and 2011.

The bill also continues Congress' commitment to the Small Business Investment Company by authorizing the SBA to guarantee $5 billion in loans in 2010 and $5.5 billion in 2011 for the program. The Small Business Investment Company licenses private investment firms to borrow Treasury money and make loans to small businesses. The loans are made with the long-term growth in mind since such investments can take years before becoming profitable. Since its creation in 1958, the Small Business Investment Company has provided nearly 100,000 small businesses with the capital they need to develop and grow.

The bill also reauthorizes the New Markets Venture Capital Program to promote economic development and job creation in low-income areas with $100 million in loans and loan guarantees for qualifying venture capital companies engaged in small business and job creation and economic development.

The latest reports and statistics catalogue the continued difficulty small businesses are experiencing as they attempt to access credit. The Nation's rising unemployment statistics emphasize the urgency of the problem. The resources provided by this bill should help American small businesses cope as the country struggles to right itself in the aftermath of the greatest economic downturn the world has ever known. I urge my colleagues to join me in support of the bill.

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