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Holland Sentinel: U.S. Sen. Gary Peters introduces bipartisan bill

U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-14th District, a member of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, announced he has introduced bipartisan legislation.

The legislation will ensure that the Small Business Administration’s main lending program, the 7(a) Loan Program, can continue to meet the increasing small business demand for loans. In recent years, there has been an increase in demand for 7(a) loans, from $15.2 billion in 2012 to $19.2 billion in 2014, including $1.2 billion in lending to over 2,145 small businesses in Michigan.

Peters introduced the Small Business Lending Reauthorization Act of 2015 with Sens. Jim Risch, R-Idaho; Cory Gardner, R-Colorado; and Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire.

The bill will increase the authorization levels for the program to $20.5 billion for 2015 and $23.5 billion for 2016. In 2014, the SBA approved 52,044 7(a) loans. Recent data has shown an increase in demand with industry experts predicting that volume will reach $20.5 billion by the end of 2015, significantly more the $18.75 billion approved by Congress last December.