Bipartisan vote will extend SBA operations for three months
WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords voted with a strong bipartisan majority in the House today to extend operation of the Small Business Administration for three months.
“The Small Business Administration is absolutely crucial to businesses in Arizona and across the nation,” said Giffords. “The SBA is the largest single financial backer of small businesses, the engines that will drive the economic recovery.”
The bill to extend operation of the SBA passed the House today on a 410-to-4 vote, with 245 Democrats and 165 Republicans joining to pass the measure. It now goes to the Senate for its consideration.
The Small Business Administration was created in 1953 and has a current loan portfolio of about 220,000 loans worth more than $50 billion. That makes it the largest single financial backer of American businesses.
Congress has extended authority for the SBA with several short-term authorization measures since 2007. The latest was signed into law at the end of October. Under that law, authorization for SBA programs was scheduled to expire Jan. 31.
Giffords, a former small business owner, has been a strong advocate for small businesses in Congress. She recently voted for legislation requiring the SBA to establish loan programs to support new small businesses in targeted industries, such as clean and defense technologies.
On Jan. 23, Giffords hosted a Small Business Information Workshop at the University of Arizona. The event was aimed at Southern Arizona’s small business owners interested in learning more about how the SBA can help them in these difficult economic times. More than 120 business owners attended the free event.