President Obama officially signed a $42 billion bill that has passed the Senate and House of Representatives. The purpose of the bill is to offer tax breaks, to the tune of $12 billion, and provide easier access to loans, to small businesses.
The Small Business Jobs Act passed the House of Representative last week with a 237 to 187 vote. The Senate summary of the bill says that the expectation is for it to create 500,000 jobs in the U.S.
Obama said of the bill:
“It’s going to speed relief to small businesses across the country right away. We’ve got to keep moving forward. That’s why I fought so hard to pass this bill, and that’s why I’m going to continue to do everything in my power to help small businesses open up and hire and expand.”
One factor of the bill is the plan to get money into the hands of the small community banks. There will be a $30 billion fund, handled by the Treasury Department, to offer low cost capital to any bank that operates with assets that equal less than $10 billion.
The hope is that since the smaller banks are the main provider of resources for small businesses, being able to provide capital for these banks will help those small businesses acquire much needed funds.
