Bill Clinton: “Act of 1993 August 13, 1993 Today I am signing S. 1274, the ``Small Business Guaranteed Credit Enhancement Act of…”

“Act of 1993 August 13, 1993 Today I am signing S. 1274, the ``Small Business Guaranteed Credit Enhancement Act of 1993.'' This legislation will inject new life into many small businesses by significantly increasing the availability of loans that can be guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA). My Administration and the Congress recognize that SBA is an increasingly critical component of our efforts to end the credit crunch by making sufficient capital available for small businesses to grow and prosper. The demand for SBA loan guarantees has increased over the past several years at a 35 to 40 percent annual rate, as banks have increasingly turned to SBA for assistance in small business lending. S. 1274 increases the amount of loans that may be guaranteed per dollar of credit subsidy. This will allow SBA to more than double its Section 7(a) General Business Loan Guarantee program from a range of $3 billion to $4 billion to a range of $7 billion to $8 billion in fiscal year 1994, based on anticipated appropriations. This higher program level will provide an uninterrupted source of credit for small businesses, something that has been lacking over the past few years. And it will do so while providing significant savings to the taxpayers. The savings will be about $180 million in the first year and $748 million over four years relative to appropriations that would be needed to meet expected demand for the 7(a) program absent the reforms.…”