WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, announced the availability of $18,743,498 in new federal funding to help Ohio small business and manufacturers grow operations and create jobs by increasing access to available credit. The funding will be made available through the U.S. Treasury Department’s State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), a program Brown worked to include as part of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010.

“Small businesses and manufacturers are the backbone of Ohio’s economy,” Brown said. “Over the last four years, the State Small Business Capital Initiative has driven more than $115 million in private investment and supported nearly 7,000 jobs at Ohio’s small businesses. These new funds will give more small businesses the capital they need to expand and grow Ohio’s workforce.”

While serving as chairman of the Economic Policy subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Brown held a series of hearings on increasing credit for small businesses and manufacturers. Brown was also a strong supporter of the Small Business Jobs Act, aimed at helping small business owners access more private capital to finance an expansion or hire new workers. Because many Ohio small businesses are in the manufacturing industry, they require higher loan limits due to higher capital costs in the industry.

Endorsed by the Chamber of Commerce and National Federal of Independent Businesses (NFIB), the Small Business Jobs Act created a $30 billion loan fund—at no cost to taxpayers—to enable community banks to make loans to small businesses seeking to expand operations or hire new workers. Click here for a summary of the bill's provisions.

Under the SSBCI, participating states use the federal funds for programs that leverage private lending to help finance small businesses and manufacturers that are creditworthy, but are not getting the loans they need to expand and create jobs. The SSBCI allows states to build on successful models for state small business programs, including collateral support programs, Capital Access Programs (CAPs) and loan guarantee programs.

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