[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 153 (Wednesday, October 21, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10641-S10642]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. MERKLEY (for himself and Mrs. Boxer):
  S. 1822. A bill to amend the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 
2008, with respect to considerations of the Secretary of the Treasury 
in providing assistance under that Act, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee

[[Page S10642]]

on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
  Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I join today with Senator Boxer of 
California to introduce legislation that will help create jobs by 
getting credit flowing to small businesses and consumers.
  Small businesses employ half of the Nation's workforce and are key to 
creating jobs. Sadly, they have been hit hard by the credit crisis. 
Less than one-third of small businesses report that their credit needs 
are being met today, and 59 percent of them now rely on credit cards to 
finance their daily operations, up from 44 percent at the end of last 
year. We urgently need to speed credit to small businesses so that they 
can create jobs and grow the economy. The best way to do so is through 
the thousands of community banks located across our Nation.
  Community banks are essential to small business lending. Our Nation's 
7,500 community banks of under $1 billion in assets hold 11 percent of 
our Nation's assets, but they make 38 percent of our Nation's small 
business loans by asset. Due to the current economic recession, these 
responsible, well-regulated institutions have seen their capital bases 
shrunk and have been forced to reduce lending, which negatively impacts 
surrounding businesses and communities. These institutions can help us 
turn our economy around if we give them the capital they need to 
increase the flow of credit to small businesses and entrepreneurs.
  The Bank on Our Communities Act will help get capital to community 
banks--on the condition that they restart lending. The bill empowers 
the Secretary of the Treasury to redeploy up to $15 billion in TARP 
into a new Community Credit Renewal Fund. Community banks of $5 billion 
in assets or less can qualify for investment by the Fund if they 
conduct an internal stress test to determine the amount of capital they 
need to remain well-capitalized during adverse economic conditions and 
restart small business and consumer lending and raise at least 50 
percent of that target recapitalization amount from private investors. 
Once in receipt of their new capital, participating banks would be 
required to increase small business and consumer lending by at least 
the amount provided by the Fund and to increase small business lending 
in particular by at least 5 percent over the lowest point in 2009. 
Additional incentives are given to increase lending to credit-worthy 
businesses above the minimum levels required for program participation.
  This bill is common sense legislation with common sense values. It 
will give the folks on Main Street the same access and opportunity as 
those on Wall Street and create much needed jobs in the process. I ask 
that my colleagues join me in the effort to help small businesses 
thrive in our local communities and get our economy back on track.
                                 ______