Small Business in the News: What was the Deal with that Small Biz Jobs Bill?

Once again, every politician and their mother wants to position themselves as the CHAMPIONS of small business. The GREAT SMALL BUSINESS DEFENDERS! Prior to the defeat of the Small Business Jobs Act on the Senate floor, Democrats and Republicans alike claimed to act on behalf of America’s small business owners.

But what did the now-defunct Small Business Jobs Act say? Do we want it and is there a chance it could come back?

The Bill’s Dollar Amount: $30 billion to banks with assets of less than $10 billion, plus tax credits and incentives

The Big Picture: The bill contained a number of tax incentives, enhancements of SBA loan programs, and a $30 billion injection into community banks for small business lending. According to the White House blog, “The Administration has been very clear about the intent of this program: it is to stimulate lending to small businesses by providing capital and incentives to the community banks on Main Street that make these loans.”

The bill aimed to address issues like this one, outlined in the LA Times: “Across the nation, small businesses are paying private lenders annual rates of up to 36% plus fees to get the cash they need to buy inventory, pay their mortgages and meet payroll.” Small businesses need capital and the Small Business Jobs Act wants to help them get it. For more info, check out the White House-produced fact sheet here.

The Fine Print: A number of amendments to the bill provided a greater boon to large corporations than to small businesses--at least, that’s the claim of a Wall Street Journal piece published prior to the bills collapse.

Who Liked it and Why: Aside from the Obama administration and many Senate Democrats, the Bill was also endorsed by U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Federation of Independent Business. Both organizations, however, qualified their endorsements with critiques of new government mandates and the bill’s limited scope.

What happened: Republicans wanted to spend more time debating amendments and Democrats wanted to get the ball rolling. Keep your eyes peeled though between now and November for the bill’s resurgence. An article released yesterday from CNBC suggests the Small Business Jobs Act may have second day in the sun.