House Passes Miller, Baca Bill to Include Homebuilders in Small Business Lending Programs
Bill Increases Small Business Loan Opportunities to Promote New Home Construction
Washington, DC – September 29, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — Last night, the House of Representatives voted to unanimously approve legislation introduced by Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC) and co-sponsored by Rep. Joe Baca (D-Rialto) designed to promote job growth in the home construction industry. H.R. 6191 modifies the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010 to allow healthy lending institutions to extend credit for residential construction and land development to U.S. homebuilders.
Previously Rep. Baca and Rep. Miller had served as leaders on this critical issue, successfully co-authoring and passing a similar amendment to the original small business lending legislation, which passed the House of Representatives in June, 2010.
“The construction industry is a consistent source of jobs for the American people,” said Rep. Baca. “Unfortunately, the housing market crash has had a devastating impact on the home building industry in my area of California and thousands of other communities across our nation. I thank my colleague, Rep. Brad Miller, for working to advance this critical legislation – which helps target vital small business lending assistance to America’s housing industry, a proven source of new job creation.”
The Small Business Lending Fund Act, approved by Congress last week, will establish a $30 billion fund to boost lending to small businesses looking to hire and expand their operations by providing additional capital to community banks. Currently, home construction loans are excluded from the eligible pool of lending in the new lending fund created by the legislation. H.R. 6191 removes this restriction.
Despite a growing demand for new residential housing in many markets, the home building industry continues to experience severe problems in accessing credit from banks. The legislation sponsored by Reps. Miller and Baca will help address the housing production credit crisis faced by builders across the country by opening the Small Business Lending fund program to include housing production loans to our nation’s home builders, who are comprised primarily of small businesses.
“Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy,” concluded Rep. Baca. “Many of the construction sector businesses that play an important role in the home building industry continue to face a crippling credit freeze. The housing crisis led our country into the current economic recession, and creating incentives to allow the housing market to thrive is critical to a sustained economic recovery. I thank my colleagues in the House for supporting this important bill, and urge the Senate and the Administration to act quickly to implement this funding that will help get our economy moving again.”
Contact:
John Lowrey (202) 225-6161
Linda Macias (202) 225-6161
