Sen. Landrieu: Economy Improving, But More Help Is Needed for America's Small Businesses

Late yesterday, just hours after the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that approximately 162,000 Americans were put back to work in the month of March, United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu [D-La., pictured], chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, issued the following statement:

"Last month, approximately 162,000 Americans were put back to work -- a sign that the measures Congress is taking to improve the economic climate are working," said Landrieu. "While I am encouraged by the number of jobs that were created, there is still much work to be done to support the nation's small businesses and those Americans still out of work.

"To build on the successful recovery loan initiatives -- higher guarantees and fee waivers on borrowers of Small Business Administration loans -- I urge my colleagues in the Senate to work to adopt the provisions coming out of the Small Business Committee. With small business accounting for 65 percent of all new jobs, these proposals are aimed at creating jobs and spurring small-business growth, and have passed this Committee with bipartisan support."

Sen. Landrieu has proposed five measures to be included in the next jobs bill to be debated on the Senate floor. The measures include:

* Small Business Job Creation and Access to Capital Act of 2009 [S. 2869]: Raises the cap on small-business loans to increase lending by $5 billion the first year, and refinances commercial real estate debt into long-term, fixed-rate loans -- provisions that are expected to be budget neutral and could create/save 200,000 jobs;

* Small Business Export Enhancement and International Trade Act of 2009 [S.2862]: Boosts small businesses’ exporting potential by improving access to loans, counseling programs and coordination of existing federal export assistance resources, while injecting more than $1 billion in capital for small businesses and saving/creating as many as 50,000 jobs;

* Small Business Contracting Revitalization Act of 2010 [S. 2989]: Removes the red tape and closes loopholes that too often put government work into the hands of multinational corporations instead of Main Street businesses. Increasing contracts to small businesses by just 1 percent can create more than 100,000 jobs;

* Small Business Community Partner Relief Act of 2010 [S. 3165]: Strengthens SBA women’s business and microloan programs to ensure they have the funds and manpower needed to be successful resource partners and help small-business owners get the assistance they need; and

* SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2009 [S. 1233]: Encourages small businesses to develop new technologies in fields from health care and defense, to clean energy. These competitive grants are the largest source of federal R&D funding for small, high-tech firms. Twenty-percent of SBIR participants say they started their company in part because of a prospective SBIR award, creating thousands of jobs.

This week, Sen. Landrieu sent a letter to her Senate colleagues requesting their support for this legislation. To view a copy of the letter, please go to: http://bit.ly/LandrieuLetterJobsBill.

Detailed information on each proposal can be found here: http://bit.ly/SmallBizJobCreation.

SOURCES: GovTrack.us, U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship
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President Obama Proposes Strong Budget for Small Business; Increases SBA Funding by More Than 20 Percent

Yesterday, U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chair Mary L. Landrieu [D-La., pictured] praised the Small Business Administration [SBA] components of President Barack Obama’s budget proposal. For the second year in a row, the President has proposed increasing funding for the SBA and its programs, taking decisive steps to rebuild the SBA after eight years of cuts.

The request proposes to increase funding to the agency by $170 million from last year’s enacted level, to $994 million. This, along with new small-business, job-creating proposals the President outlined in his State of the Union address last week, show the Obama Administration’s strong support for small businesses.

"By requesting more money to help our small businesses succeed," said Sen. Landrieu, "President Obama’s budget proposal emphasizes that small business remains a top priority for the Administration, and is central to the President’s efforts to create jobs.

"As part of his budget, the President again showed his support for increasing the caps on small-business loans as a way to provide small businesses with immediate capital to grow and hire workers. This is a proposal I, along with Ranking Member Olympia Snowe [R-Maine], introduced last year. It has since gained even more bipartisan support, and passed the committee. It is my hope the proposal will be included in any job-creating measure introduced in the Senate."

President Obama’s proposed budget:

Expands Access to Capital
* Supports the increase of the maximum 7[a] loan size from $2 million to $5 million, 504 loans from $1.5 million to $5.5 million, and microloans from $35,000 to $50,000. Sen. Landrieu introduced, and the committee passed, legislation that matches these increases;

* Supports more than $28 billion in small-business financing -- including $17.5 billion for the 7[a] loan guarantee program; $7.5 billion for the 504 loan guarantee program; and $3 billion for the Small Business Investment Company [SBIC] program, which provides venture capital financing to small firms;

* Supports $25 million in microloans, allowing intermediaries to provide small loans to entrepreneurs and start-ups; and

* Provides $5.9 million for the SBA’s international trade and export promotion programs, allowing the agency to support more than $1.1 billion in capital to small exporters and maintain their network of 18 export finance specialists.

Supports Counseling and Contracting Programs
* Provides $113 million to support about 900 Small Business Development Centers [SBDCs];

* Provides $14 million to support about 100 Women’s Business Centers [WBCs];

* Provides $7 million to support about 370 chapters of SCORE, a mentoring program involving retired executives;

* Provides $2.2 million for the Historically Underutilized Business Zones [HUBZones] program, which creates incentives for contracting with small firms to create jobs in underserved communities;

* Provides $3.4 million for the 7[j] technical assistance program, which provides small disadvantaged businesses with training in financing, business development, management, accounting and marketing;

* Provides $3 million to increase the reach of Emerging Leaders. Graduates of this program -- often in distressed areas -- have reported significant increases in revenues, government contracts, local hires, and access to financing; and

* Provides $11 million to support the job growth potential found in regional clusters of businesses. These clusters will involve public-private partnerships, which align federal resources with existing regional strengths and economic growth opportunities.

Provides Help for Those Hit by a Disaster
* Supports $1.1 billion in direct disaster-assistance loans, in line with the 10-year average;

* Includes a legislative proposal that would extend, from three to seven years -- the maximum term for businesses that want an SBA disaster loan, but have an existing line of credit with a bank or have enough cash on hand where they could get a conventional loan from non-SBA sources; and

* Requests $203 million to support for administrative expenses for the disaster program -- an increase of $126 million from last year’s enacted level. These funds are critical in supporting SBA’s effort to efficiently and effectively service its $8.4 billion active loan portfolio.

Reduces Risk and Increases Oversight
* Provides $2 million to strengthen lender oversight and on-site reviews, to ensure taxpayer dollars are going to those who need help the most;

* Provides $4 million to improve oversight of government contracting programs, including the HUBZone program, and to strengthen performance assessment and management of the Small Business Innovation Research [SBIR] program; and

* Provides $1.1 million to evaluate the SBA’s loan, counseling and other programs to optimize effectiveness.

"While this budget request shows the President’s strong dedication to small businesses, I will work to increase funding for critical counseling programs, and to restore funding for the Federal and State Technology Partnership program [FAST]," Landrieu added. "The FAST program increases small-business innovation opportunities, and is vital for the growth of rural areas. The program received funding last year for the first time since 2004, and must not disappear."

SOURCES: Library of Congress, U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, U.S. Small Business Administration
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SBA, Minority Business RoundTable Renew Strategic Partnership to Expand Outreach to Minority Entrepreneurs

The U.S. Small Business Administration announced today that it renewed its two-year partnership agreement with the Minority Business RoundTable [MBRT], to continue joint outreach efforts to minority entrepreneurs.

“During these difficult economic times, it is imperative that we provide small and minority businesses with the necessary tools to drive economic growth and create jobs in their communities,” said SBA Administrator Karen Mills [pictured]. “Far too often, minority-owned small businesses and entrepreneurs encounter hurdles to getting capital, contracts and other assistance to help them succeed in the marketplace. Making sure we do all we can to remove these hurdles is a top priority for SBA and the Obama Administration.”

This strategic alliance is part of SBA’s ongoing effort to support small-business development initiatives in underserved communities. The agreement allows the organizations to share resources and educate minority entrepreneurs on how to use SBA products and services to establish and grow their businesses.

SBA has supported substantial financing to minority-owned small businesses under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Since the Act was signed into law on Feb. 17, 2009, minority-owned small businesses have received more than $4 billion in SBA-backed loans -- about 23 percent of the more than $18.5 billion in small-business lending that SBA has supported under the Recovery Act.

Minority-owned businesses continue to account for about 29 percent of the agency’s overall lending, and 37 percent of its microloans. Minority-owned small businesses also have received more than $3 billion worth of federal contracts under the Recovery Act.

MBRT is a national membership organization for minority CEOs that serves as a unified voice for minority businesses. Through this partnership, the SBA and MBRT intend to help more of these businesses succeed and stimulate economic growth in their communities and the nation’s economy.

The SBA-MBRT alliance is intended to strengthen and expand small-business development across the nation for minority entrepreneurs. SBA will provide MBRT with timely information on the agency’s programs, services and resource partners; participate in roundtable discussions and conferences; and advise them on events that will impact their mission.

As part of the resource pooling, MBRT will cooperate with SBA and its resource partners to provide information to members about its business-development programs and services, and share current SBA news and information. The two-year agreement is a renewal of the partnership between the SBA and MBRT, and was implemented on Jan. 11, 2010.

GoodBiz113 Tools
* SBA: http://www.sba.gov/
* MBRT: http://www.mbrt.net/
* Recovery.gov: http://www.recovery.gov/

SOURCE: U.S. Small Business Administration
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