By Tania Anderson

Small businesses may have an opportunity to seek financial help from the government for their heating bills.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., introduced legislation Thursday that sets up low-interest loans through the Small Business Administration for manufacturers with less than 500 employees or services companies with less than $3 million in profits.

The small-business owner would have to prove that they could not pay for their heating oil, propane, kerosene or natural gas bills and was unsuccessful in getting approved for other financial aid.

If the bill passes through Congress, businesses would be able to seek loans to cover heating bills from Nov. 1, 2000 through the end of April.

"Soaring heating prices have the potential to hurt job markets and unravel our economic stability," said Mr. Kerry, the top Democrat on the Senate Small Business Committee. "This legislation is a lifeline for small business owners who might be a heating fuel payment away from going out of business or laying off an employee.

Nationally, the cost of heating oil nationally climbed 27 percent from September 1999 to September 2000. The cost of propane climbed 54 percent from January 2000 to January 2001.

The Small Business Energy Emergency Relief Act of 2001 was developed to the Small Business Committee, which will have the first crack at the legislation.