[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 200 (Wednesday, December 23, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S13872]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


             SMALL BUSINESS LENDING ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2009

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. President, as our Nation begins its 
economic recovery, our unemployment numbers still remain far too high. 
Too many Americans are unable to find work, which only slows the pace 
of our emergence from recession. As part of my continuing effort to 
support tailored, fiscally responsible methods to getting our economy 
back on track, I am proud to discuss a bipartisan bill that I 
introduced this week with several of my Senate colleagues from both 
sides of the aisle.
  The bill is the Small Business Lending Enhancement Act of 2009, which 
is cosponsored by Senator Schumer, Senator Lieberman, Senator Snowe, 
Senator Boxer, Senator Collins, and Senator Gillibrand. If enacted, 
this legislation would immediately allow increased lending for small 
businesses to the tune of billions of dollars. It would do so in a safe 
and fiscally responsible way, without calling on the Federal Government 
to spend a dime. And best of all, it could lead to large-scale job 
creation in my home State of Colorado and around the country. For these 
reasons, I hope that our Senate colleagues join us in urging swift 
passage of this common-sense legislation.
  Small businesses are the engine of our Nation's economy. In the last 
15 years, small businesses have generated nearly two-thirds of all new 
jobs created in the United States, and they currently employ more than 
half of the American workforce.
  However, small businesses continue to struggle accessing credit, as 
large banks have significantly cut back on Main Street lending. 
According to a recent Treasury Department report, the 22 banks that 
have received the most funding through the Troubled Asset Relief 
Program, TARP, cut their collective small business loan balances by 
$11.6 billion from April through October of this year.
  America's community banks, which by-and-large did not receive Federal 
bailout funds, are doing all they can to fill the Main Street credit 
vacuum created by these large financial institutions. While this 
legislation I have authored is aimed at helping credit unions ramp up 
their small business lending, I have also joined with many of my 
colleagues this year in support of a number of initiatives that will 
help community banks increase lending to small businesses.
  The Small Business Lending Enhancement Act will further these efforts 
to free up credit for small business. Under current statute, credit 
unions are required to limit member business lending to 12.25 percent 
of the credit union's total assets. This bill would raise that cap to 
25 percent of total assets, and increase the minimum business loans 
subject to the cap from $50,000 to $250,000. These provisions would 
increase the amount that credit unions already offering business loans 
could provide to small businesses, while also encouraging more credit 
unions to enter the business loan market. Under current law, many 
credit unions find it difficult to start member business lending 
programs because the cost of meeting high regulatory and staffing 
requirements is too expensive relative to the cap. Raising the member 
business lending cap would make it easier for credit unions to recover 
costs, and therefore would increase the number of credit unions able to 
start small business loan programs.
  The Credit Union National Association estimates that these sensible 
reforms would increase small business lending by $10 billion within the 
first year of their enactment, including an increase of nearly $200 
million in my home State of Colorado. This new access to credit would 
likely produce more than 100,000 new jobs nationwide within the first 
year of the bill's enactment. That is the sort of pro-business, pro-
jobs policy that we need.
  Mr. President, these simple statutory changes would not increase 
Federal outlays one cent, but they would dramatically increase the 
amount of private capital available to small businesses to help make 
payroll, buy inventory, and expand and innovate. Moreover, these 
proposed statutory changes are safe and fully supported by the National 
Credit Union Administration, the independent Federal regulator with 
oversight of our Nation's credit unions. To further ensure the safety 
and soundness of credit unions, this bill requires the NCUA to submit a 
semiannual report to Congress on the status of credit union member 
business lending, including any recommendations for legislative 
changes. In sum, this is a responsibly drafted bill that could help 
spur much-needed economic growth and job production.
  Mr. President, we have to do all we can to responsibly unlock credit 
markets for small businesses in Colorado and throughout the country. I 
believe this legislation is an important piece of that effort. I look 
forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to 
quickly pass the Small Business Lending Enhancement Act, and allow our 
nation's small businesses to again set our country on a path toward job 
growth and further prosperity.

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