Elect Adam Smith

Nearly $20 Million Announced for Small Business Lending in Washington StateOctober 12, 2010

Washington, Oct 8 – Today, Congressman Adam Smith (WA-09) announced that $19,722,515 is being allocated for lending to small businesses in Washington State, a key step of implementing the just-passed Small Business Jobs Act. States can now apply for their allocation. This effort will spread $15 billion in new small business lending through innovative local programs that help entrepreneurs expand their businesses and create new jobs.

Congress recently passed the Small Business Jobs Act to spur economic growth and create new jobs by providing much-needed lending to millions of small businesses, and offering 8 new tax incentives to companies, so that they can expand, hire, and fuel our economy.

“Small businesses are the engine of our economy and are central to creating American jobs and rebuilding the economy for the future,” said Congressman Adam Smith. “This investment of nearly $20 million and new tax cuts will provide an important boost to small businesses and help them grow and flourish. I encourage local officials to move quickly on this opportunity.”

Through this part of the Small Business Jobs Act, states have the opportunity to apply for federal funds for programs that partner with private lenders to extend credit to small businesses. States are required to demonstrate a minimum “bang for the buck” of $10 in new private lending for every $1 in federal funding. Accordingly, the $1.5 billion investment from the federal government is expected to support $15 billion in additional private lending.

In addition to the State Small Business Credit Initiative, the Small Business Jobs Act will help America’s 27 million small businesses with eight tax cuts totaling $12 billion that went into effect last week. It will make small businesses more competitive with big corporations by spurring up to $300 billion in private sector lending for small businesses through community banks and extending and expanding existing Small Business Administration low-cost loans. Finally, this bill is fully paid for and will not add a dime to the deficit.

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