WASHINGTON – Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., is calling on the Small Business Administration to help Michigan address the state’s job losses, which have led to the highest unemployment rate in the country. Levin requested a meeting with SBA Administrator Steven Preston to discuss what the SBA can do to help Michigan small businesses create jobs.

“I’d like to know specifically what SBA is doing with its programs to address the problems in states like Michigan that are suffering from high unemployment, job losses and high foreclosure rates,” Levin wrote to Administrator Preston.

“I’d also appreciate knowing what you intend to recommend to Congress for inclusion in the economic stimulus package that will help small businesses in states like Michigan. In addition to passing an economic stimulus package in a timely manner, I believe the federal government should look at how it can use all of its existing programs in a targeted way to help the states that need the most assistance, including much more aggressive marketing of its programs in Michigan.”

“When an economy is in or nearing recession, one of the first groups to be hurt is small businesses in the form of reduced access to credit,” Levin wrote. “This is where SBA’s role is so important because SBA’s programs are designed to help small businesses when the private sector may not be doing so.”