Bipartisanship seen in bill for key Small Business Administration loan program

293
Advertisement

By Michelle Christian, SBA Regional Administrator 

President Donald J. Trump has signed the bipartisan, bicameral  Small Business 7(a) Lending Oversight Reform Act into law.

Led by House Small Business Committee Chair Steve Chabot (R-OH), Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Jim Risch (R-ID), and House Ranking Member Nydia Velázquez (D-NY); the Reform Act improves access to capital for small business owners by ensuring appropriate oversight of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s  flagship 7(a) loan program.

The bill passed both committees unanimously and passed the House and Senate without objection before going to the President’s desk for his signature.

The 7(a) loan program was created to help entrepreneurs gain access to credit in order to start and grow their businesses when they are unable to qualify for a conventional loan. It can be a “make or break” cash infusion that gets small businesses doing what they do best, creating jobs in their community and supporting the American economy. Millions of American entrepreneurs use and repay billions of dollars in 7(a) loans each year.

Advertisement

The Small Business 7(a) Lending Oversight Reform Act updates the “credit elsewhere” test, which is the entry point to the program; increases oversight of the program and transparency to Congress, and provides flexibility for SBA’s Administrator  to increase the program’s authorization cap in an emergency. It ensures SBA has the tools it needs, provides lenders with needed clarity, and makes sure entrepreneurs and small business owners have access to funds they would otherwise not be able to obtain.

This bill was widely supported in the small business community, including by the National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders (NAGGL), the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), the American Bankers Association (ABA), the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU), the Consumer Bankers Association (CBA), the Credit Union National Association (CUNA), and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Check out our online  Lender Match  tool to find an SBA-approved lender to help you through the process. I also encourage you to visit your local  SBA office or a “Powered by SBA” partner organization  for help putting in  together the business plan you’ll need to qualify for an SBA-backed loan.

 

Advertisement
Previous articleDelaware legal phone hotline moves online
Next articleJen Groover to keynote Great Dames’ Remarkable Ideas event
Delaware Business Now is a four-year-old, five-day-a-week newsletter and website operated by Bird Street Media LLC. Publisher and Chief Content Officer is Doug Rainey, a 30-year veteran of business journalism in the state of Delaware.  Business Now focuses on breaking business news in Delaware and immediate adjacent areas with apropriate background and perspective. Also offered exclusively in our FREE newsletter is commentary on state and regional issues. Have a complaint, question or even a compliment? Send an email to drainey@delawarebusinessnow.com. For advertising information, click on the About tab at the top of the home page Our business hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Call us at 302.753.0691.
Advertisement