[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 143 (Thursday, October 1, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7104-S7105]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN:
  S. 2125. A bill to make the Community Advantage Pilot Program of the 
Small Business Administration permanent, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Small 
Business Lending and Inequality Reduction Act of 2015.
  It is a simple bill with a straightforward goal: to increase economic 
activity in underserved communities to help create jobs and reduce 
economic inequality. We must help low and moderate income communities 
grow by partnering with organizations that can channel expertise and 
resources to these communities. The bill I am introducing today would 
assist community development institutions provide more funding to small 
businesses.
  This bill would increase their ability to lend in underserved 
communities and promote development and economic growth. The more 
lending they can offer to underserved communities, the more those 
communities can prosper.
  One example of this process can be found from CDC Small Business 
Finance, an organization that has created more than 165,000 jobs and 
funded more than 10,000 small businesses. In Anaheim, CA, for example, 
they provided $178,000 in financing to help Gretchen Shoemaker and her 
family successfully launch a restaurant based on Gretchen's 
grandmother's Southern-style cooking in an historic area of Anaheim.
  Another example is Leatherby Family Creamery, an ice-cream parlor in 
Sacramento that opened in 1982 with the goal of creating a family-
friendly community gathering place. They received a loan backed by the 
Small Business Administration that allowed them to modernize and expand 
their business. Leatherby's now has three locations and has sustained 
itself for over 30 years despite bumps in the economy. It is truly 
dedicated to its communities as well, donating to over 180 
associations, schools, and organizations in 2015 alone.
  Overall, it should be clear: these loans provided real dividends back 
to the communities.
  With more access to financial services--which my bill would provide--
there will be more improvements to businesses, nonprofits, and our 
communities.
  The bill I am introducing today would do two main things: First, it 
allows community development institutions to increase their lending by 
providing them access to loans backed by the Small Business 
Administration.
  It would do this by authorizing and making permanent an existing 
pilot program run by the Small Business Administration and raising the 
maximum loan amount so that small businesses have access to additional 
funding. There are currently over 95 approved

[[Page S7105]]

lenders in the pilot program, which has approved over $214 million in 
over 1,650 loans.
  Small businesses eligible for loans under the program include small 
businesses located in areas of high poverty and unemployment; small 
businesses that have more than 50 percent of employees living in low- 
or moderate-income communities; and Small businesses owned by veterans.
  Second, this bill would expand the ability of Community Development 
Financial Institutions to access funding from the Federal Home Loan 
Bank System, which in turn allows them to provide more loans to low-
income communities.
  These are two simple actions that can have a significant impact on 
small businesses and communities in California and across the country.
  I am proud to say that the Opportunity Finance Network, which is an 
association of community development financial institutions, supports 
this bill.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to support this legislation and am 
hopeful that this Congress will move it forward.

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