On the recordAugust 5, 2010
The bill we have put forward, supported by hundreds of organizations, has a way forward. I wish to also include for the Record another editorial by Mr. Richard Neiman of the Wall Street Journal. I submit it again because it is so good. The Journal mistakenly editorialized against this bill, but there are people sending letters to the Wall Street Journal to take a second look. Richard Neiman is one of them. He writes: Unlike TARP, the SBLF would incentivize banks to loan by lowering the dividend rate at which banks must repay the government if the banks meet lending performance metrics. Further, the SBLF removes the TARP stigma that discouraged small banks from participating in government programs that support lending. It is these banks that are the primary source of credit for small businesses which lack the same access to capital markets as large companies. The SBLF is not a sequel to TARP, but it can be a segue toward a stronger future for our nation's small businesses and their employees.
