Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) announced today that the State of Texas will receive $46,553,879 for the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) to spur increased lending for small businesses and local entrepreneurs to create more private sector jobs. This initiative is a component of the Small Business Jobs Act, which Congressman Cuellar supported. It was signed into law on September 27, 2010.

“Americans are rightly concerned with our current economic state. We need more jobs to reboot our economy and bring Americans back to work,” Congressman Cuellar said. “The State Small Business Credit Initiative provides support to lending programs to unlock credit. This funding will boost investments, aid small businesses and entrepreneurs to generate jobs and simultaneously propel the economy – a positive domino effect.”

The U.S. Treasury allocated these funds to Texas under the SSBCI. The Texas Department of Agriculture will launch the Texas Small Business Venture Capital program and the Texas Loan Guarantee program with the $46.5 million. Treasury estimates that for every $1 in federal funding, it will generate a minimum of at least $10 in private lending.

Background:

The Small Business Jobs Act was the most significant piece of small business legislation in the past decade. It was signed into law on September 27, 2010, by the President. Part of the law included the SSBCI to fund $1.5 billion to strengthen state programs that lend to small manufacturers and businesses. This program is expected to spur $15 billion in lending to small businesses, participating states will use federal funds for programs that provide private loans to creditworthy small businesses and manufacturers that are not receiving the funds necessary to create jobs.

The SSBCI allows states to build on already successful models including collateral support programs, Capital Access Programs (CAPs) and loan guarantee programs.