Sen. Snowe to Offer SBA Loan Bill

Sen. Olympia Snowe, the top Republican on the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, plans to offer an amendment to the Senate’s version of small business jobs legislation that would pay for the temporary fee reduction and increased guarantee rates associated with Small Business Administration 7(a) and 504 loans.


These provisions originally were part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and were credited with boosting SBA lending by 90 percent from passage of that law through the expiration of the fee reductions on May 30.  The Senate’s current version of the bill includes language to reinstate and continue these provisions through Dec. 31.

“Given the critical role SBA lending has played in bolstering affordable credit to our nation’s small businesses, we must reinstate these provisions as part of the small business jobs legislation the Senate will again take up after the July 4 recess,” said Snowe of Maine. “It is essential that we pay for these provisions so that we are not risking future economic growth by increasing the deficit.”