WASHINGTON – United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., Chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, today applauded the extension of funding for provisions aimed at boosting lending to small firms as part of the continuing resolution, H.R. 3082.

Sen. Landrieu said:

“Since these incentives were put in place in 2009, billions of dollars have reached credit-worthy businesses across the country that were otherwise shut out of lending. I fought with Senator Snowe to have these provisions included in the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, which extended higher government guarantees and fee waivers on SBA-backed loans to December 31st. By extending these provisions, one of the few that made it into the continuing resolution, Congress has acknowledged their importance and has shown a commitment to continuing to support small businesses – the driving force behind our economic recovery. I am thankful to my colleagues for including these provisions before Congress adjourned.”

Today, the Senate voted 79-16 to approve a continuing resolution to fund the Federal government through March 4, 2011. Included in the package were the extension of higher government guarantees on Small Business Administration (SBA) 7(a) loans and the elimination of borrower fees on 504 and 7(a) loans at no cost to the government. Since the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 was enacted, over 17,000 loans have supported more than $8.5 billion in lending with the help of these provisions.