Congress passes loan program to aid small manufacturers.Included in this years annual spending bill is legislation coauthored by House of Representatives Small Business Committee Chair Don Manzullo (R-Ill.) and Senate Slnall Business Committee Chair Olympia Snowe Olympia Jean Bouchles Snowe (born February 21, 1947) is a Republican politician and the senior United States Senator from Maine. A moderate Republican, Snowe has become widely known for her ability to influence close votes and Senatorial filibusters, making her among the (R-Maine) that reauthorizes and strengthens the Small Business Administration (SBA SBA abbr. Small Business Administration Noun 1. SBA - an independent agency of the United States government that protects the interests of small businesses and ensures that they receive a fair share of government ) and many of its popular loan guarantee programs for two years. The bill, which includes many provisions written by Manzullo and Snowe in an earlier version of the Small Business Reauthorization and Manufacturing Assistance Act of 2004 (H.R. 5108 and S. 2821), strengthens the 7(a) loan guarantee program by maintaining current fees and eliminating the need for federal subsidies, saving taxpayers between $70 million and $80 million. In addition, the legislation raises the maximum 7(a) loan guarantee level from $1 million to $l.5 million and raises the maximum loan amount from $250,000 to $350,000 for paperwork-friendly SBA Express loans. The legislation also makes the 504 Certified See certification. Development Company loan guarantee program more useful for needy need·y adj. need·i·er, need·i·est 1. Being in need; impoverished. See Synonyms at poor. 2. Wanting or needing affection, attention, or reassurance, especially to an excessive degree. small businesses by increasing the amounts that small businesses can borrow, particularly for small manufacturers. It also increases the job requirement amount for the 504 program in the law from $35,000 to $50,000 to match existing practice. Further, the bill makes the International Trade loan program friendlier to struggling manufacturers suffering from foreign import competition, helps small businesses establish drug free workplaces, protects the privacy rights of small businesses seeking assistance from Small Business Development Centers and bolsters the surety bond surety bond An insurance fee required before a duplicate security is issued to replace one that has been lost. The fee is approximately 4% of the market value of the security to be replaced. program to help small businesses obtain government contracts. It also strengthens and expands the HUBZone program. The 7(a) and 504 programs helped more than 80,000 small employers flourish this last year, and the changes in this bill will stabilize stabilize See peg. and improve these SBA programs and others so the agency can continue to help small employers expand and create jobs. Also included in the bill is a provision that creates a Small Business Manufacturing Task Force at the SBA to examine what it can do better to meet the needs of small manufacturers. For more information on these loans, visit the SBA web site at http://www.sba.gov See .gov and GovNet. (networking) gov - The top-level domain for US government bodies. . |
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