Delaware Sen. Chris Coons is co-sponsoring a bill to make sure small businesses can access federal loans even in periods of high demand.
In Delaware, Small Business Administration district director John Fleming says the demand for loans periodically outstrips their resources -- especially toward the end of the fiscal year. It happened last summer and in 2014:
"SBA loans, unlike other agencies -- we pull from the same pool. So when there was a high demand, we had a couple of days where Congress had to act in order to get us back up and running," Fleming says. "We actually exhausted our demand -- it was, I think, $26 billion nationwide."
In Delaware, the 7A loans in question often go to help people open franchises, pay business expenses and buy land. Fleming's agency had a record year in 2015, doling out $112 million in loans, including $30 for new chicken houses.
Coons' bill would let the SBA increase the set loan limit by up to 10 percent if it's maxed out in a given year. Officials would have to ask Congress for approval 45 days in advance.
"They want to kind of get in front of that before we run into the problem again, and kind of take the cap off in case we run into the problem," Fleming says.
The legislation carries no real cost, since SBA loans are designed to pay for themselves.
Coons is co-sponsoring the legislation with Idaho Republican Jim Risch and New Hampshire Democrat Jeanne Shaheen.
