US President Obama signed a bill Monday to provide $42 billion in loan incentives and tax cuts for small businesses.
"It was critical that we cut taxes and make more loans available to entrepreneurs," Obama said. "So today after a long and tough fight, I am signing a small business jobs bill that does exactly that."
Small- to medium-sized steel companies have long lamented the tight lending standards that banks adopted after the economic crisis. It is widely believed that looser credit will allow companies to invest in both equipment and personnel, which will hopefully lower the current 9.6 unemployment rate in the US.
The bill features a $30 billion lending fund to encourage community banks to make small business loans, plus $12 billion worth of tax breaks. The bill was first proposed in January 2010, but legislative debate stalled the bill's progress. The House of Representatives passed the legislation last week in a 237-187 vote, and the bill passed in the Senate Monday with a 61-38 vote. Supporters of the bill noted the Small Business Administration's swift use of nearly $700 million in earlier stimulus funds as proof that there is strong demand for small business loans.