The Stimulus Cash is Gone...Now What?

Did you enjoy the stimulus cash--get yourself an SBA loan with waived fees and higher guarantees maybe? No? Well, sorry to tell you, but it's too late. Last week, the stimulus funding that enhanced the SBA's offerings ran out. The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act gave SBA $375 million in new funding, but it's been spent.

So now what?

Just as the Federal Reserve was announcing that credit to small businesses remains "substantially limited," boom, the money was gone. There's concern that the small spurt in bank lending the stimulus guarantees produced this fall will fade now, leaving a dry gulch for small businesses that need loans.

The National Small Business Association is among many pro-business groups pressing for additional funding for the SBA loan programs and extension of the 90 percent guarantee SBA has been offering under the stimulus plan. Calling the $375 million SBA got "a drop in the bucket," NSBA is encouraging business owners to call their legislators and try to press the case for more SBA funding. If you agree that SBA needs more funding to support small business owners through the credit crunch, now's the time to make that phone call, fax or email to Washington, D.C. The SBA is advocating for more funds now--are you?