House Passes the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010

Press Release

Today, Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement after the House passed the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010 with a vote of 237 to 187. This bill helps strengthen the economy and assist small businesses.

"Today, I applaud my colleagues in the House for passing the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010. This legislation will help provide small businesses the tax cuts and access to credit assistance they deserve," stated Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke.

This legislation will:

* Leverage up to $300 billion in loans for small businesses through a $30 billion lending fund for small and medium-sized community banks, which focus on lending to small firms, and $2 billion for innovative state lending programs supporting small business;

* Restart private investment to meet small businesses' evolving financing needs through a new SBA public-private partnership; and

* Provide $3.5 billion in bipartisan tax incentives to spur investment in small businesses, the formation of new small businesses, and grant small business tax penalty relief.

* Restore parity to the Federal small business set-aside programs, allowing minority, women-owned, and veteran owned businesses to be more competitive for Federal contracts

* Improve the 8(a) business development program to ultimately grow the participation of small and disadvantaged businesses in the Federal procurement process

"Small businesses are essential to recovery. Therefore, it is imperative that we give them access to the resources they need to strengthen our economy," Rep. Clarke added. "This legislation is the latest in a series of bills that have focused on small business. This Democratic Congress and Administration are working together to put small businesses first! Democrats are the true party of small business and this bill is proof! To date, President Obama has signed eight tax cuts into law aimed at helping small business. Now with H.R. 5297, small businesses will see gains in access to credit to grow their businesses and create jobs. In addition there are various improvements to the federal procurement policies that minority and women owned firms can be proud of."

"In these difficult times, know that we will continue to fight for our small businesses and focus on creating solutions that will lead to economic growth. We must continue to strengthen our economy going into the 21st century," concluded Rep. Clarke.

Source