Detroit — U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters introduced legislation Friday that would provide an additional $26 million in federal loans to help small businesses in Michigan grow and create jobs.
The Small Business Access to Capital Act of 2015 builds on the pre-existing State Small Business Credit Initiative, which helps fund the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and other state-led lending programs.
Overall, the legislation would provide an additional $500 million in formula funds across the country. Michigan will receive more of that funding than any other state after Florida and California.
The bill also creates a new $1 billion pool of funding for states that have already capitalized on funding from the 2010 program.
This is important because Michigan has exhausted nearly all SSBCI federal funding, loaning out more than $85 million to date, and creating a total of nearly $450 million in investment when including private capital. It has also led to the creation or retention of 9,000 jobs across the state, the senators said.