Dear Lucas,
I hope you had a wonderful Holiday Season and wish you all the best for the New Year!
As last year drew to a close, we celebrated the victory of extending the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance benefits. As my colleagues and I go back to Washington, we must make sure we continue this extension through 2012 and work towards a legislative solution to unemployment. Although the economy added 200,000 jobs in December and unemployment dropped to 8.5%, much work remains to be done.
I recently introduced new legislation to increase the availability of micro-loans to help entrepreneurs start or expand businesses. I believe the much-needed boost to our economy that this bill would provide can transcend the partisan gridlock that has descended over Washington in recent times.
My "micro biz" bill would give federal grants to Community Development Financial Institutions to establish loan-loss reserves, which would leverage private investment to provide small businesses with loans of up to $25,000. In so doing, this bill will expand a vital source of seed money for entrepreneurs who don't have access to bank loans. And for every dollar of public money invested, six dollars of private money will be leveraged, creating a strong public private partnership between CDFIs, the business community and the government.
The American dream of multinational corporations that spring up from dorm rooms or a garage workshop is still very much a reality, as the employees of Facebook or Hewlett-Packard can tell you. Unfortunately, the Great Recession has made it harder than ever for entrepreneurs to access credit. It is my hope that this micro biz bill will be a bridge not only to vital financing for entrepreneurs, but also to a brighter economic future for our country.
For a micro-loan success story that helped create jobs in my district, please take a look at how a Micro-loan saved a Long Island City business owner .
For more info on this bill please check out the Recent News section on my Campaign Website.
Providing people with economic opportunity and much-needed capital should be our highest priority as a nation right now. Growing our small businesses is the best way to get our economy back on track. To contribute to my campaign for re-election, Go Here.
Thank you as always for your support and Happy New Year! I'm excited to make 2012 the year we get our economy going again.
Sincerely,
Carolyn B. Maloney