On loan | SBA's Karen Mills returns to Maine to urge passage of lending package
Maine small business owners denied working capital by banks because of the economic downturn could see relief almost immediately if Congress passes the Small Business Jobs Act this month, according to Karen Mills, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration.
“Healthy small businesses still report they are having trouble finding loans,” Mills, of Brunswick, recently told more than 500 professionals gathered in Portland for the three-day America East Conference for SBA Lenders. “This Senate bill will help us fill even more of the gaps that are out there.”
Mills, who has led the SBA since April 2009, said she has 1,000 businesspeople who are ready to expand their companies if they can get access to these funds. Streamlining the application process and helping small businesses get access to financing were among the topics on the conference’s agenda.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of the Small Business Jobs Act, a set of tax breaks and lending incentives, in July, and Mills says the Senate will take up the legislation when Congress returns from its summer break in mid-September. If passed, a joint conference committee would have to approve a final bill before sending it to President Obama’s desk.
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