Small Business:
Access to Capital and Job Creation
Updated October 28, 2020
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
R40985

Small Business: Access to Capital and Job Creation

Summary
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) administers several programs to support small
businesses, including loan guaranty and venture capital programs to enhance small business
access to capital; contracting programs to increase small business opportunities in federal
contracting; direct loan programs for businesses, homeowners, and renters to assist their recovery
from natural disasters; and small business management and technical assistance training programs
to assist business formation and expansion.
Congressional interest in these programs has always been high, primarily because small
businesses are viewed as a means to stimulate economic activity and create jobs, but it has
become especially acute in the wake of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic’s
widespread adverse economic impact on the national economy.
This report provides a brief description of the SBA’s access to capital programs and includes
congressional action to assist small businesses during and immediately following the Great
Recession (2007-2009) and during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the following:
 P.L. 111-5, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA),
provided the SBA an additional $730 million, including $375 million to
temporarily subsidize SBA fees and increase the 7(a) loan guaranty program’s
maximum loan guaranty percentage to 90%.
 P.L. 111-240, the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, authorized numerous changes
to the SBA’s loan guaranty and contracting programs; provided $510 million to
continue the SBA’s fee subsidies and 90% maximum loan guaranty percentage
through December 31, 2010; and provided about $12 billion in tax relief for
small businesses.
 P.L. 116-136, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES
Act), among other provisions, created a new $349 billion (later increased to $659
billion) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to provide forgivable, low-interest
loans to assist small businesses, small 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, and
small 501(c)(19) veterans organizations that have been adversely affected by
COVID-19. The loans were originally available through June 30, 2020, and were
later made available through August 8, 2020.
When the national economy is doing well, congressional debate typically involves the extent to
which the federal government should provide the SBA additional resources to assist small
businesses in acquiring capital necessary to start, continue, or expand operations and create jobs.
Those opposing providing additional resources typically worry about the long-term adverse
economic effects of spending programs that increase the federal deficit. They generally advocate
business tax reduction, reform of financial credit market regulation, and federal fiscal restraint as
the best means to assist small business economic growth and job creation.
During and immediately following recessions, concerns about fiscal constraint are typically
superseded by the perceived need to help small businesses access the capital necessary to create
or retain jobs. During these times of economic distress, congressional debate tends to focus on
finding the means to provide additional SBA assistance to small businesses as quickly and
efficiently as possible.
This report addresses a core issue facing the 116th and 117th Congresses: What, if any, additional
action should the federal government take to enhance small business access to capital?
Congressional Research Service

Small Business: Access to Capital and Job Creation

Small Business Access to Capital
The Small Business Administration (SBA) administers several programs to support small
businesses, including venture capital programs to provide “long-term loans and equity capital to
small businesses, especially those with potential for substantial job growth and economic
impact”1 and loan guaranty programs to encourage lenders to provide loans to small businesses
“that might not otherwise obtain financing on reasonable terms and conditions.”2 Historically, one
of the justifications presented for funding the SBA’s access to capital programs has been that
small businesses can be at a disadvantage, compared with other businesses, when trying to obtain
sufficient capital and credit.3 As an economist explained
Growing firms need resources, but many small firms may have a hard time obtaining loans
because they are young and have little credit history. Lenders may also be reluctant to lend
to small firms with innovative products because it might be difficult to collect enough
reliable information to correctly estimate the risk for such products. If it’s true that the
lending process leaves worthy projects unfunded, some suggest that it would be good to
fix this “market failure” with government programs aimed at improving small businesses’
access to credit.4
Congressional interest in the SBA’s programs has always been high, primarily because small
businesses are viewed as a means to stimulate economic activity and create jobs, but it has
become especially acute in the wake of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic’s
widespread adverse economic impact on the national economy.5
Economists generally do not view job creation as a justification for providing federal assistance to
small businesses. They argue that in the long term such assistance will likely reallocate jobs
within the economy, not increase them. In their view, jobs arise primarily from the size of the
labor force, which depends largely on population, demographics, and factors that affect the choice
of home versus market production (e.g., the entry of women in the workforce). However,
economic theory does suggest that increased federal spending may result in additional jobs in the
short term. For example, the SBA reported in September 2010 that the $730 million in additional
funding provided to the agency by P.L. 111-5, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009 (ARRA), created or retained 785,955 jobs.6 Also, a study by economists at the

1 U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), Fiscal Year 2014 Congressional Budget Justification and FY2012 Annual
Performance Report, p. 58, at https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/files/1-508-Compliant-FY-2014-
CBJ%20FY%202012%20APR.pdf.
2 SBA, Fiscal Year 2010 Congressional Budget Justification, p. 30, at https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/
aboutsbaarticle/Congressional_Budget_Justification_2010.pdf.
3 Proponents of providing federal funding for the SBA’s loan guarantee programs also argue that small business can
promote competitive markets. See P.L. 83-163, §2(a), as amended; and 15 U.S.C. §631a.
4 Veronique de Rugy, Why the Small Business Administration’s Loan Programs Should Be Abolished, American
Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, AEI Working Paper #126, April 13, 2006, at http://www.aei.org/wp-
content/uploads/2011/10/20060414_wp126.pdf. Also, see U.S. Government Accountability Office, Small Business
Administration: 7(a) Loan Program Needs Additional Performance Measures, GAO-08-226T, November 1, 2007, pp.
3, 9-11, at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08226t.pdf.
5 For further information and analysis concerning the role of small businesses in job creation, see CRS Report R41523,
Small Business Administration and Job Creation, by Robert Jay Dilger. For further information and analysis
concerning programs enacted to assist small businesses during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic,
see CRS Report R46284, COVID-19 Relief Assistance to Small Businesses: Issues and Policy Options, by Robert Jay
Dilger, Bruce R. Lindsay, and Sean Lowry.
6 SBA, “FY2009/2010 Final—Recovery Program Performance Report, September 2010,” September, 2010, at
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that the SBA’s $659 billion Paycheck Protection
Program (PPP), created by P.L. 116-136, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act
(CARES Act), “increased aggregate U.S. employment by 1.4 million to 3.2 million jobs through
the first week of June 2020.”7 Perhaps indicative of the methodological challenges in determining
PPP’s impact on employment, other estimates range from a self-reported high of 51 million jobs
saved by PPP recipients to a positive, but imprecise effect on employment by economists at the
National Bureau of Economic Research.8
During good economic times, congressional debate about the SBA typically involves the extent to
which the federal government should provide the SBA additional resources to assist small
businesses in acquiring capital necessary to start, continue, or expand operations and create jobs.
Those opposing providing additional resources to the SBA typically worry about the long-term
adverse economic effects of spending programs that increase the federal deficit. They generally
advocate business tax reduction, reform of financial credit market regulation, and federal fiscal
restraint as the best means to assist small business economic growth and job creation.9
During and immediately following recessions, concerns about fiscal constraint are typically
superseded by the perceived need to help small businesses access the capital necessary to create
or retain jobs. During these times of economic distress, congressional debate tends to focus on
finding ways to provide additional SBA assistance to small businesses as quickly and efficiently
as possible.
As will be discussed, the tightening of private-sector lending standards and the disruption of
credit markets in 2008 and 2009 led Congress to pass legislation during the 111th Congress that
temporarily expanded several SBA lending programs and permanently expanded several others.
For example,
 P.L. 111-5, provided the SBA an additional $730 million, including $375 million
to temporarily subsidize SBA fees and increase the 7(a) loan guaranty program’s
maximum loan guaranty percentage from 85% on loans of $150,000 or less and
75% on loans exceeding $150,000 to 90% for all regular 7(a) loans.
 P.L. 111-240, the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, authorized the Secretary of
the Treasury to establish a $30 billion Small Business Lending Fund (SBLF)
($4.0 billion was issued) to encourage community banks with less than $10
billion in assets to increase their lending to small businesses; $1.5 billion State
Small Business Credit Initiative to provide funding to participating states with

https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2018-06/perform_report_9_2010.pdf.
7 David Autor, David Cho, Leland D. Crane, Mita Goldar, Byron Lutz, Joshua Montes, William B. Peterman, David
Ratner, Daniel Villar and Ahu Yildirmaz, “An Evaluation of the Paycheck Protection Program Using Administrative
Payroll Microdata,” July 22, 2020, pp. 3, 4, at http://economics.mit.edu/files/20094.
8 Ashley D. Bell, SBA southeast regional administrator, “PPP Save Over 51 Million Jobs,” at
https://www.sba.gov/about-sba/sba-newsroom/press-releases-media-advisories/ppp-save-over-51-million-jobs; SBA,
“Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Report, Approvals through 06/30/2020,” p. 4, at
https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/PPP%20Results%20-%20Sunday%20FINAL.pdf; and Alexander W.
Bartik, Zoe B. Cullen, Edward L. Glaeser, Michael Luca, Christopher T. Stanton, and Adi Sunderam, “The Targeting
and Impact of Paycheck Protection Program Loans to Small Businesses,” National Bureau of Economic Research,
Working Paper 27623, July 2020, p. 3, at https://www.nber.org/papers/w27623.
9 See Susan Eckerly, “NFIB Responds to President’s Small Business Lending Initiatives,” Washington, DC, October
21, 2009; and National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), “Government Spending,” Washington, DC, at
https://www.nfib.com/content/issues/economy/government-spending-small-businesses-have-a-bottom-line-
government-should-too-49051/.
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small business capital access programs; numerous changes to the SBA’s loan
guaranty and contracting programs; funding to continue the fee subsidies and the
7(a) program’s 90% maximum loan guaranty percentage through December 31,
2010; and about $12 billion in tax relief for small businesses (see Table A-1 in
the Appendix for a list of its key provisions).
 P.L. 111-322, the Continuing Appropriations and Surface Transportation
Extensions Act, 2011, authorized the SBA to continue its fee subsidies and the
7(a) program’s 90% maximum loan guaranty percentage through March 4, 2011,
or until available funding was exhausted, which occurred on January 3, 2011.
According to the SBA, the temporary fee subsidies and 90% maximum loan guaranty for the 7(a)
program “engineered a significant turnaround in SBA lending.... The end result is that the agency
helped put more than $42 billion in the hands of small businesses through the Recovery Act and
Jobs Act combined.”10
During the 112th Congress, several bills were introduced to enhance small business access to
capital through the SBA, including bills to extend the SBA’s temporary fee subsidies and increase
the 7(a) program’s loan guaranty percentage to 90%.11 Congress did not adopt these legislative
efforts. Instead, Congress passed legislation designed to enhance small business contracting
opportunities, expand access to the SBA’s surety bond guarantee program, amend the SBA’s size
standard practices, require a review and reassessment of the federal procurement small business
goaling program, and expand small business mentor-protégé programs.12 Congress also adopted
the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (P.L. 112-106) that established a regulatory structure for
startups and small businesses to raise capital through securities offerings using the internet
through crowdfunding (discussed later).13
During the 113th Congress
 P.L. 113-76, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014, increased the SBA’s
Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) venture capital program’s
authorization amount to $4 billion from $3 billion as a means to provide small
businesses additional access to venture capital.
During the 114th Congress
 P.L. 114-38, the Veterans Entrepreneurship Act of 2015, authorized and made
permanent the SBA’s waiving of the SBAExpress loan program’s one-time, up-
front loan guaranty fee for veterans (and their spouse). The act also increased the
7(a) loan program’s FY2015 authorization limit from $18.75 billion to $23.5
billion.
 P.L. 114-113, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, expanded the projects
eligible for refinancing under the 504/CDC loan guaranty program in any fiscal
year in which the refinancing program and the 504/CDC program as a whole do
not have credit subsidy costs; generally limited refinancing under this provision
to no more than 50% of the dollars loaned under the 504/CDC program during

10 SBA, “Jobs Act Supported More Than $12 Billion in SBA Lending to Small Businesses in Just Three Months,”
January 3, 2010, at https://www.sba.gov/content/jobs-act-supported-more-12-billion-sba-lending-small-businesses-just-
three-months.
11 For example, see H.R. 5851, the Increasing Small Business Lending Act of 2012 (112th Congress); and S. 1828, the
Increasing Small Business Lending Act of 2011 (112th Congress).
12 P.L. 112-239, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013.
13 Securities and Exchange Commission, “Crowdfunding,” 80 Federal Register 71388-71615, November 16, 2015.
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the previous fiscal year; and increased the SBIC program’s family of funds limit
(the maximum amount of outstanding leverage allowed for two or more SBIC
licenses under common control) to $350 million from $225 million. The act also
increased the 7(a) loan program’s authorization limit to $26.5 billion for FY2016.
During the 115th Congress
 P.L. 115-31, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017, increased the 7(a)
program’s authorization limit to $27.5 billion for FY2017.
 P.L. 115-141, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, increased the 7(a)
program’s authorization limit to $29.0 billion for FY2018.
 P.L. 115-187, the Small Business Investment Opportunity Act of 2017, increased
the maximum amount of outstanding leverage allowed for individual SBICs to
$175 million from $150 million.
During the 116th Congress
 P.L. 116-6, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019, increased the 7(a)
program’s authorization limit to $30.0 billion for FY2019; P.L. 116-93, the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, maintained the 7(a) program’s
authorization limit at $30.0 billion for FY2020; and P.L. 116-159, the Continuing
Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act, continued the 7(a)
program’s authorization limit at $30 billion in FY2021 (through December 11,
2020).
 P.L. 116-136, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES
Act), among other provisions, provided $349 billion (later increased to $659
billion) to support SBA’s Section 7(a) lending programs and create a new
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). PPP loans have a 100% SBA loan
guarantee, a 10-year maximum term, and a not-to-exceed 4% interest rate to
assist small businesses, small 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, and small
501(c)(19) veterans organizations that have been adversely affected by COVID-
19. Loan deferment and forgiveness are provided under specified conditions. The
loans were originally available through June 30, 2020, and had a two-year term at
1% interest. A summary of the CARES Act’s major small business-related
provisions is presented in Table A-2 in the Appendix.
 P.L. 116-139, the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement
Act (Enhancement Act), among other provisions, increased the SBA’s Section
7(a) lending programs’ authorization limit to $659 billion and appropriated an
additional $321.335 billion for the PPP.
 P.L. 116-147, to extend the authority for commitments for the paycheck
protection program, extended the PPP covered loan period from June 30, 2020, to
August 8, 2020, and authorized $659 billion for PPP loan commitments and $30
billion for 7(a) loan commitments.
This report addresses a core issue facing the 116th and 117th Congresses: What, if any, additional
action should the federal government take to enhance small business access to capital? It
discusses the role of small business in job creation and retention, provides an assessment of the
supply and demand for small business loans, and discusses recently enacted laws designed to
enhance small business access to capital by increasing the supply of small business loans, the
demand for small business loans, or both.
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Two Indicators of the Supply and Demand for
Private-Sector Small Business Loans
Federal Reserve Board: Surveys of Senior Loan Officers
Each quarter, the Federal Reserve Board surveys senior loan officers concerning their bank’s
lending practices. The survey includes a question concerning their bank’s credit standards for
small business loans: “Over the past three months, how have your bank’s credit standards for
approving applications for C&I [commercial and industrial] loans or credit lines—other than
those to be used to finance mergers and acquisitions—for small firms (annual sales of less than
$50 million) changed?” The senior loan officers are asked to indicate if their bank’s credit
standards have “Tightened considerably,” “Tightened somewhat,” “Remained basically
unchanged,” “Eased somewhat,” or “Eased considerably.” Subtracting the percentage of
respondents reporting “Eased somewhat” and “Eased considerably” from the percentage of
respondents reporting “Tightened considerably” and “Tightened somewhat” provides an
indication of the market’s supply of small business loans.
As shown in Figure 1, senior loan officers reported that they generally tightened their small
business loan credit standards from 2007 through late 2009, generally eased their loan credit
standards, with some relatively brief periods of tightening, from 2010 through 2019, and have
tightened their loan credit standards in 2020, primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s
widespread adverse economic impact on the national economy.
The survey also includes a question concerning the demand for small business loans: “Apart from
normal seasonal variation, how has demand for C&I loans changed over the past three months for
small firms (annual sales of less than $50 million)?” Senior loan officers are asked to indicate if
demand was “Substantially stronger,” “Moderately stronger,” “About the same,” “Moderately
weaker,” or “Substantially weaker.” Subtracting the percentage of respondents reporting
“Moderately weaker” and “Substantially weaker” from the percentage of respondents reporting
“Substantially stronger” and “Moderately stronger” provides an indication of the market’s
demand for small business loans.
As shown in Figure 1, senior loan officers reported that the demand for small business loans
declined somewhat in 2007 and 2008, and declined significantly in 2009. Demand then leveled
off (at a relatively reduced level) during 2010, generally increased, with some relatively brief
periods of decline, from 2011 through 2019, and decreased in 2020, primarily due to the COVID-
19 pandemic’s widespread adverse economic impact on the national economy.
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Figure 1. Small Business Lending Environment, 2007-2020
(senior loan officers’ survey responses)

Source: Federal Reserve Board, “Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices,” at
https://www.federalreserve.gov/data/sloos.htm; and Brian Headd, “Forum Seeks Solutions To Thaw Frozen Small
Business Credit,” The Small Business Advocate, vol. 28, no. 10 (December 2009), p. 3, at https://www.sba.gov/sites/
default/files/The%20Small%20Business%20Advocate%20-%20December%202009.pdf.
FDIC Call Reports: Outstanding Small Business Loans
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) reports bank lending statistics on a quarterly
basis drawn from the banks’ Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income (Call Report).14 The
FDIC has maintained comparable small business lending data for the second quarter (June 30) of
each year since 2002. Figure 2 shows the amount of outstanding small business loans (defined by
the FDIC as commercial and industrial loans of $1 million or less) for non-agricultural purposes
as of June 30 of each year since 2007. As shown in Figure 2, the amount of outstanding small
business loans for non-agricultural purposes increased from June 30, 2007, to June 30, 2008,
declined over the next several years, generally increased from June 30, 2013 through June 30,
2019, and increased significantly in 2020, primarily due to the PPP, which provided more than

14 Every national bank, state member bank, and insured nonmember bank is required by its primary federal regulator to
file consolidated Reports of Condition and Income as of the close of business on the last day of each calendar quarter
(the report date). The specific reporting requirements depend upon the size of the bank and whether it has any foreign
offices.
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$525 billion in loans to small businesses and nonprofit organizations from April 3, 2020, through
August 8, 2020.15
Figure 2. Outstanding Small Business Loans, Non-Agricultural Purposes, 2007-2020
(billions of $)

Source: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, “Statistics on Depository Institutions, Standard Report #3,” at
https://www5.fdic.gov/sdi/main.asp?formname=standard.
Notes: Data as of June 30th each year. The FDIC defines a small business loan as a loan of $1 mil ion or less.
The large increase in outstanding small business loans in FY2020 is primarily due to the Paycheck Protection
Program (PPP), which provided more than $525 bil ion in loans to small businesses and nonprofit organizations
from April 3, 2020, through August 8, 2020.
Although changes in small business outstanding debt are not necessarily a result of changes in the
supply of small business loans, many, including the SBA, view a decline in small business
outstanding debt as a signal that small businesses might be experiencing difficulty accessing
sufficient capital to enable them to lead job growth.
SBA Lending
Table 1 shows selected financial statistics for the SBA from FY2005 to FY2019. It provides an
overview of the extent of the SBA’s various programs to enhance small business access to capital.
Final lending disbursement data for FY2020 are currently not available. As mentioned, the SBA’s
lending in FY2020 exceeded the amount from all of the SBA’s lending programs combined over
the previous 29 years.
The first column reports the total face value of non-disaster business loans that were disbursed by
the SBA from FY2005 to FY2019. The second column indicates the number of non-disaster
business loans approved by the SBA (after full cancellations) from FY2005 to FY2019. Each

15 SBA, “Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Report, Approvals through 08/08/2020,” at
https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/SBA-Paycheck-Protection-Program-Loan-Report-Round2.pdf.
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year, 7% to 10% of the loans approved by the SBA are subsequently canceled for a variety of
reasons, typically by the borrower.
The third column reports the contract value of bonds guaranteed under the SBA’s surety bond
guarantee program.16 A surety bond is a three-party instrument between a surety (someone who
agrees to be responsible for the debt or obligation of another), a contractor, and a project owner.
The agreement binds the contractor to comply with the contract’s terms and conditions. If the
contractor is unable to successfully perform the contract, the surety assumes the contractor’s
responsibilities and ensures that the project is completed. It is designed to reduce the risk of
contracting with small businesses that may not have the credit history or prior experience of
larger businesses. The SBA does not issue surety bonds. Instead, it provides and manages surety
bond guarantees for qualified small and emerging businesses through its Surety Bond Guarantee
(SBG) Program. The SBA reimburses a participating surety (within specified limits) for losses
incurred due to a contractor’s default on a bond.17
Table 1. Selected Small Business Administration Financial Statistics, FY2005-FY2019
(millions of $)
SBA Business Loans
7(a)
Secondary
Market
Surety Bond
Guarantee
Unpaid
Guarantee
Program
Principal
Amount
Number
Contract
Outstanding
Loan
Fiscal Year
Disburseda
Disbursed
Value
Principal
Balanceb
2019
$26,950
38,266
$6,480
$33,900
$143.516
2018
$29,516
57,337
$6,490
$33,400
$141,719
2017
$29,248
60,739
$6,031
$32,400
$131,483
2016
$27,057
61,518
$5,724
$28,200
$124,011
2015
$25,018
60,300
$6,348
$25,200
$118,767
2014
$22,509
51,054
$6,413
$22,500
$114,450
2013
$21,655
47,165
$6,151
$20,500
$109,771
2012
$19,656
47,386
$3,917
$19,200
$104,446
2011
$19,687
52,659
$3,607
$17,600
$99,705
2010
$14,660
52,250
$4,000
$15,500
$93,594
2009
$12,474
44,914
$2,760
$14,700
$90,477
2008
$17,441
69,043
$2,450
$14,900
$88,244
2007
$19,114
97,275
$2,250
$14,100
$84,522
2006
$18,860
94,956
$1,730
$14,600
$78,119
2005
$18,597
92,157
$908
$14,900
$71,497
Sources: U.S. Small Business Administration, “WDS Lending Report, Amount, FY2019: Disbursements by
Program and Cohort,” provided by the Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs, October 18, 2018; U.S.
Small Business Administration, “WDS Lending Report, Amount and Count, Summary, FY2019: Disbursements by

16 For further information and analysis of the SBA’s surety bond guarantee program, see CRS Report R42037, SBA
Surety Bond Guarantee Program, by Robert Jay Dilger.
17 SBA, “Surety Bonds,” at https://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/loans-grants/bonds/surety-bonds.
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Program and Cohort,” provided by the Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs, October 18, 2019; U.S.
Small Business Administration, Agency Financial Report [various fiscal years] (contract value of surety bonds
guaranteed and 7(a) secondary market guarantee program outstanding principal); and U.S. Small Business
Administration, “Unpaid Principal Balance by Program,” at https://www.sba.gov/document/report—small-
business-administration-loan-program-performance.
a. The amount disbursed is the amount provided to the borrower. In recent years, the SBA has guaranteed
about 84%-87% of the loan amount approved.
b. Includes unpaid principal loan balance for disaster loans: $3.6 bil ion in FY2005, $6.8 bil ion in FY2006, $9.0
bil ion in FY2007, $8.6 bil ion in FY2008, $8.4 bil ion in FY2009, $7.9 bil ion in FY2010, $7.5 bil ion in
FY2011, $7.2 bil ion in FY2012, $7.2 bil ion in FY2013, $6.8 bil ion in FY2014, $6.3 bil ion in FY2015, $6.0
bil ion in FY2016, $6.2 bil ion in FY2017, $9.0 bil ion in FY2018, and $9.6 bil ion in FY2019.
The fourth column shows the outstanding principal balance for the SBA’s 7(a) secondary market
guarantee program, which is discussed later in this report. The final column reports the SBA’s
outstanding principal balance of loans that have not been charged off as of the end of the fiscal
year. It provides a measure of the SBA’s scope of lending.
As shown in Table 1, the amount of non-disaster small business loans disbursed by the SBA
declined in FY2008 and FY2009; increased, but remained below pre-recession levels in FY2010;
and has generally exceeded pre-recession levels since FY2011.18
The decline in the amount of small business loans guaranteed by the SBA during FY2008 and
FY2009 was, at least in part, due to the following three interrelated factors:
 many lending institutions become increasingly reluctant to lend to small
businesses, even with an SBA loan guarantee, as loan defaults increased due to
the recession, earnings fell, and an increasing number of lending institutions
failed;19
 the secondary market for small business loans, as with other secondary markets,
began to contract in October 2008, reached its nadir in January 2009, and then
began a relatively prolonged recovery.20 The SBA estimates that about half of the

18 The recession began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009.
19 FDIC-insured lending institutions lost $12.9 billion in 2008, including a $37.8 billion loss in the fourth quarter,
which more than erased $24.9 billion in profits during the previous three quarters. In 2009, FDIC-insured lending
institutions had a net profit of $4.2 billion. See Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, “Quarterly Banking Profile:
Quarterly Net Income,” at https://www5.fdic.gov/qbp/2009dec/qbp.pdf. In 2010, FDIC-insured lending institutions had
$85.4 billion in net profits. See Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, “Quarterly Banking Profile: Quarterly Net
Income,” at https://www5.fdic.gov/qbp/2010dec/qbp.pdf. The number of lending institutions which failed increased
from 3 in 2007 to 26 in 2008, 140 in 2009 and 157 in 2010. In 2011, 92 lending institutions failed and in 2012 92
lending institutions failed. See Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, “Failed Bank List,” at http://www.fdic.gov/
bank/individual/failed/banklist.html. Included in the list of failed lending institutions in 2009 was CIT Group, Inc., the
nation’s largest lender to small businesses at that time. See Patrice Hill, “Lender to small business bankrupt,” The
Washington Post, November 2, 2009, pp. A1, A10. CIT Group, Inc. failed on November 1, 2009.
20 In a secondary market, loans are pooled together and packaged as securities for sale to investors. This practice makes
more capital available by allowing lending institutions to remove existing loans from their balance sheets, freeing them
to make new loans. When secondary credit markets constrict, lenders tend to become both less willing and less able to
supply small business loans. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, using authority provided under §13(3) of the
Federal Reserve Act, created the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) on March 3, 2009, to stabilize
secondary credit markets by lending up to $200 billion to eligible owners of certain AAA-rated asset backed securities
(ABS) backed by newly and recently originated auto loans, credit card loans, student loans, and SBA-guaranteed small
business loans. The initial TALF subscription took place on March 19, 2009, and the last one took place in June 2010.
There were 23 monthly ABS and Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities (CMBS) subscriptions. TALF supported
about $58 billion of ABS and $12 billion of CMBS. See Federal Reserve Bank of New York, “Term Asset-Backed
Securities Loan Facility: Terms and Conditions,” New York, NY, at http://www.newyorkfed.org/markets/
talf_terms.html; Federal Reserve Bank of New York, “New York Fed releases revised TALF Master Loan and Security
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lenders that make SBA guaranteed loans resell them to obtain additional capital
to make additional loans; and
 the demand for small business loans declined as many small business owners
(and entrepreneurs considering starting a new small business) became more risk
adverse during the recession.
In 2009, the number and amount of small business loans guaranteed by the SBA declined sharply
early in the year, followed by modest increases during the second and third quarters, and briefly
surpassed pre-recession levels in the fourth quarter as small business owners took advantage of
ARRA funded fee subsidies for the SBA’s 7(a) and 504/CDC loan guaranty programs and an
increase in the 7(a) program’s maximum loan guaranty percentage to 90%, which were expected
to end by the end of the year.21
The SBA argued that the increase in the number and amount of small business loans it guaranteed
during FY2010 was primarily due to fee subsidies and loan enhancements first put in place under
ARRA and later extended by law to cover most of the fiscal year.22 The SBA noted that its
average weekly loan volume for FY2010 ($333 million) was 29% higher than its average weekly
loan volume for FY2009 ($258 million).23 Another likely factor contributing to the higher loan
volume was a general improvement in the economy as the recession ended (officially in June
2009) and the economic recovery began, albeit slowly in many parts of the nation.
The demand for SBA loans increased significantly during the first quarter of FY2011 (October-
December 2010), as borrowers took advantage of SBA fee subsidies that were expected to expire
at the end of the calendar year. The SBA announced, on January 3, 2011, that it “approved nearly
22,000 small business loans for $10.47 billion, supporting a total of $12.16 billion in lending”
during the first quarter of FY2011, which “was the highest volume in a fiscal year’s first quarter
than at any time in the agency’s history.”24 After the fee subsidies ended, SBA lending declined
during the second quarter of FY2011, and then increased somewhat during the final two quarters
of FY2011. As mentioned previously, the amount of non-disaster small business loans disbursed
by the SBA has continued at or above pre-recession levels since FY2011.

Agreement and appendices,” press release, New York, NY, at http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/press/
monetary/20090303a.htm; and U.S. Department of the Treasury, “Secretary of the Treasury Timothy F. Geithner,
Written Testimony Congressional Oversight Panel,” press release, June 22, 2010, at http://cop.senate.gov/documents/
testimony-062210-geithner.pdf.
21 SBA, “Recovery Act Changes to SBA Loan Programs Sparked Major Mid-Year Turn-Around in Volume,” October
1, 2009; and Nancy Waitz, “U.S. stimulus funds run out for lower SBA loan fees,” Reuters News, November 24, 2009,
at http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSN2431964620091125.
22 SBA, “Recovery Loan Incentives Spurred Continued Rebound in SBA Lending in FY2010,” October 4, 2010.
23 Ibid.
24 SBA, “Jobs Act Supported More Than $12 Billion in SBA Lending to Small Businesses in Just Three Months,”
January 3, 2011, at https://www.sba.gov/content/jobs-act-supported-more-12-billion-sba-lending-small-businesses-just-
three-months.
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Recent Laws Designed to Enhance the Supply of
Small Business Loans
During the 110th and 111th Congresses, several laws were enacted to enhance the supply of small
business loans, largely in response to the contraction of financial credit markets which started in
2008, and reached its nadir in early 2009. For example
 P.L. 110-343, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, was designed
to enhance the supply of loans to businesses of all sizes. The act authorized the
Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to “restore liquidity and stability to the
financial system of the United States” by purchasing or insuring up to $700
billion in troubled assets from banks and other financial institutions.25 TARP’s
purchase authority was later reduced from $700 billion to $475 billion by P.L.
111-203, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The
Department of the Treasury disbursed $389 billion in TARP funds, including
$337 million to purchase SBA 7(a) loan guaranty program securities.26 The
authority to make new TARP commitments expired on October 3, 2010.
 P.L. 111-5 (ARRA) included several provisions to enhance the supply of loans to
small businesses.27 For example, the act
 authorized the SBA to establish a temporary secondary market guarantee
authority to provide a federal guarantee for pools of first lien 504/CDC
program loans that are to be sold to third-party investors. The 504/CDC First
Mortgage Loan Pooling program became operational in June 2010 and was
scheduled to end on February 16, 2011, or until $3 billion in new pools are
created, whichever occurred first.28 As will be discussed, the Small Business
Jobs Act of 2010 extended the program.29

25 For further analysis, see CRS Report R41427, Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP): Implementation and Status,
by Baird Webel.
26 U.S. Department of the Treasury, Troubled Assets Relief Program Monthly 105(a) Report—November 2010,
December 10, 2010, pp. 2-4, at https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/docs/historical/fct/treasury/
treasury_tarp_105areport_20101130.pdf. On March 16, 2009, President Obama announced that the Department of the
Treasury would use TARP funds to purchase up to $15 billion of SBA-guaranteed loans to “immediately unfreeze the
secondary market for SBA loans and increase the liquidity of community banks.” The plan was deferred after it met
resistance from lenders. Some lenders objected to TARP’s requirement that participating lenders comply with
executive compensation limits and issue warrants to the federal government. Smaller, community banks objected to the
program’s paperwork requirements, such as the provision of a small-business lending plan and quarterly reports. See
The White House, “Remarks by the President to Small Business Owners, Community Leaders, and Members of
Congress,” March 16, 2009.
27 For further analysis, see CRS Report R40728, Small Business Tax Benefits and the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009, by Gary Guenther, and CRS Report R41385, Small Business Legislation During the 111th
Congress, by Robert Jay Dilger and Gary Guenther (out of print; available to congressional clients upon request).
28 SBA, “SBA Creates Secondary Market Guarantee Program for 504 First Mortgage Loan Pools,” October 28, 2009;
U.S. Government Accountability Office, Recovery Act: Project Selection and Starts Are Influenced by Certain Federal
Requirements and Other Factors, GAO-10-383, February 10, 2010, p. 23, at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/
d10383.pdf; and SBA, “New First Mortgage Loan Poolers Will Jump-Start Secondary Market for SBA 504 Loans,
Make Credit More Available,” June 24, 2010, at https://www.sba.gov/content/new-first-mortgage-loan-poolers-will-
jump-start-secondary-market-sba-504-loans-make-credit.
29 SBA, “The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: Secondary Market First Lien Position 504 Loan Pool
Guarantee,” 74 Federal Register 56087, October 30, 2009; and SBA, “New First Mortgage Loan Poolers Will Jump-
Start Secondary Market for SBA 504 Loans, Make Credit More Available, June 24, 2010, at https://www.sba.gov/
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 authorized the SBA to make below market interest rate direct loans to SBA-
designated “Systemically Important Secondary Market (SISM) Broker-
Dealers” to purchase SBA-guaranteed loans from commercial lenders,
assemble them into pools, and sell them to investors in the secondary loan
market. The SBA established the Direct Loan Program for Systemically
Important Secondary Market Broker-Dealers on November 19, 2009.30
 provided $255 million for a temporary, two-year small business stabilization
program to guarantee loans of $35,000 or less to small businesses for
qualified debt consolidation, later named the America’s Recovery Capital
(ARC) Loan program (the program ceased issuing new loan guarantees on
September 30, 2010); $15 million for the SBA’s surety bond program, and
temporarily increased the maximum bond amount from $2 million to $5
million, and up to $10 million under certain conditions (the higher maximum
bond amounts ended on September 30, 2010); $6 million for the SBA’s
Microloan program’s lending program and $24 million for the Microloan
program’s technical assistance program; and increased the funds (“leverage”)
available to SBA-licensed Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs) to
no more than 300% of the company’s private capital or $150,000,000,
whichever is less.
 authorized the SBA to guarantee 504/CDC loans used to refinance business
expansion projects as long as the existing indebtedness did not exceed 50%
of the project cost of the expansion and the borrower met specified
requirements.
 P.L. 111-240, enacted after the financial credit markets had stabilized, included
several provisions designed to enhance the supply of loans to small businesses.
For example, the act
 authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a $30 billion Small
Business Lending Fund (SBLF) to encourage community banks to provide
small business loans ($4 billion was issued) and a $1.5 billion State Small
Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) to provide funding to participating states
with small business capital access programs.31
 extended the SBA’s secondary market guarantee authority from two years
after the date of ARRA’s enactment to two years after the date of the
program’s first sale of a pool of first lien position 504/CDC loans to a third-
party investor (which took place on September 24, 2010).32
 authorized $22.5 million for a temporary, three-year Small Business
Intermediary Lending Pilot Program to provide direct loans to intermediaries
which provide loans to small business startups, newly established small
businesses, and growing small businesses. On August 4, 2011, the SBA

content/new-first-mortgage-loan-poolers-will-jump-start-secondary-market-sba-504-loans-make-credit.
30 SBA, “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Loan Program for Systemically Important SBA Secondary
Market Broker-Dealers,” 74 Federal Register 59891, November 19, 2009.
31 For further analysis of the Small Business Lending Fund, see CRS Report R42045, The Small Business Lending
Fund, by Robert Jay Dilger. For a further analysis of the State Small Business Credit Initiative, see CRS Report
R42581, State Small Business Credit Initiative: Implementation and Funding Issues, by Robert Jay Dilger.
32 SBA, Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs, correspondence with the author, January 4, 2010.
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announced the first 20 community lenders which were selected to participate
in the program.33
 authorized $15 million in additional funding for the SBA’s 7(a) loan
guaranty program.
 increased the loan guarantee limits for the SBA’s 7(a) program from $2
million to $5 million, and for the 504/CDC program from $1.5 million to $5
million for “regular” borrowers, from $2 million to $5 million if the loan
proceeds are directed toward one or more specified public policy goals, and
from $4 million to $5.5 million for manufacturers.
 increased the SBA’s Microloan program’s loan limit for borrowers from
$35,000 to $50,000 and for microlender intermediaries after their first year in
the program from $3.5 million to $5 million.34
 temporarily increased for one year the SBA 7(a) Express Program’s loan
limit from $350,000 to $1 million (the temporary increase expired on
September 26, 2011).
 required the SBA to establish an on-line lending platform listing all SBA
lenders and information concerning their loan rates.
 authorized the SBA to temporarily guarantee for two years, under specified
circumstances, 504/CDC loans that refinance existing business debt even if
the project does not involve the expansion of the business.
For additional details concerning the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, see Table A-1 in the
Appendix.
During the 112th Congress, P.L. 112-106, the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act),
established “a regulatory structure for startups and small businesses to raise capital through
securities offerings using the Internet through crowdfunding.”35 The JOBS Act’s crowdfunding
provisions “were intended to help provide startups and small businesses with capital by making
relatively low dollar offerings of securities, featuring relatively low dollar investments by the
‘crowd,’ less costly.”36
On November 16, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published a final rule,
effective May 16, 2016, to implement the JOBS Act’s crowdfunding provisions (e.g., the SEC
established limits on the amount of money an issuer can raise and individual investors can invest
over a 12-month period under the crowdfunding exemption to the securities laws,37 imposed

33 SBA, “Small Businesses Have New Non-Profit Sources for SBA-financed Loans,” August 4, 2011, at
https://www.sba.gov/content/small-businesses-have-new-non-profit-sources-sba-financed-loans.
34 The act also temporarily allowed the SBA to waive, in whole or in part, for successive fiscal years, the nonfederal
share requirement for loans to the Microloan program’s intermediaries and for grants made to Microloan intermediaries
for small business marketing, management, and technical assistance under specified circumstances (e.g., the economic
conditions affecting the intermediary). See, the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, §1401. Matching Requirements
Under Small Business Programs.
35 Securities and Exchange Commission, “Crowdfunding,” 80 Federal Register 71388, November 16, 2015.
36 Ibid.
37 The rule will “... Permit a company to raise a maximum aggregate amount of $1 million through crowdfunding
offerings in a 12-month period; Permit individual investors, over a 12-month period, to invest in the aggregate across
all crowdfunding offerings up to: If either their annual income or net worth is less than $100,000, than the greater of:
$2,000 or 5% of the lesser of their annual income or net worth. If both their annual income and net worth are equal to
or more than $100,000, 10% of the lesser of their annual income or net worth; and During the 12-month period, the
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disclosure requirements on the issuer’s business and securities offering, and created a regulatory
framework for the broker-dealers and funding portals that facilitate the crowdfunding
transactions).38
During the 113th Congress, P.L. 113-76, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014, included a
provision increasing the annual authorization amount for the SBA’s Small Business Investment
Company (SBIC) program to $4 billion from $3 billion. The SBIC program provides privately
owned and managed SBA-licensed SBICs loans at favorable rates (called leverage), and, in
exchange, the SBICs provide equity capital to small businesses in various ways, including by
purchasing small business equity securities (e.g., stock, stock options, warrants), making loans to
small businesses, purchasing debt securities from small businesses, and providing small
businesses, subject to limitations, a guarantee of their monetary obligations to creditors not
associated with the SBIC.39
During the 114th Congress
 P.L. 114-38, the Veterans Entrepreneurship Act of 2015, increased the supply of
7(a) loans by increasing the program’s FY2015 authorization limit of $18.75
billion (on disbursements) to $23.5 billion. The increased authorization amount
was necessary to accommodate an unexpected increase in the demand for SBA
loans.
 P.L. 114-113, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, further increased the
7(a) program’s authorization limit to $26.5 billion for FY2016. The act also
increased the supply of 504/CDC loans by expanding the projects eligible for
refinancing under the program in any fiscal year in which the refinancing
program and the 504/CDC program as a whole do not have credit subsidy costs.
The act generally limited the expanded refinancing to no more than 50% of the
dollars loaned under the 504/CDC program during the previous fiscal year. The
act also increased the supply of SBIC financings by increasing the SBIC
program’s family of funds limit (the maximum amount of outstanding leverage
allowed for two or more SBIC licenses under common control) to $350 million
from $225 million.
During the 115th Congress
 P.L. 115-187, the Small Business Investment Opportunity Act of 2017, increased
the maximum amount of outstanding leverage allowed for individual SBICs to
$175 million from $150 million.
 P.L. 115-31, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017, increased the 7(a)
program’s authorization limit to $27.5 billion for FY2017 from $26.5 billion in
FY2016 and P.L. 115-141, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, increased
the 7(a) program’s authorization limit to $29.0 billion for FY2018.
During the 116th Congress
 P.L. 116-6, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019, increased the 7(a)
program’s authorization limit to $30.0 billion for FY2019; P.L. 116-93, the

aggregate amount of securities sold to an investor through all crowdfunding offerings may not exceed $100,000. See
Securities and Exchange Commission, press release, “SEC Adopts Rules to Permit Crowdfunding,” October 30, 2015,
at http://www.sec.gov/news/pressrelease/2015-249.html.
38 Ibid.
39 13 C.F.R. §107.820.
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Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, maintained the 7(a) program’s
authorization limit at $30.0 billion for FY2020; and P.L. 116-159, the Continuing
Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act, continued the 7(a)
program’s authorization limit at $30 billion in FY2021 (through December 11,
2020).
 P.L. 116-136, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES
Act), among other provisions, provided $349 billion (later increased to $659
billion) to support SBA’s Section 7(a) lending programs and create a new
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). PPP loans have a 100% SBA loan
guarantee, a 10-year maximum term, and a not-to-exceed 4% interest rate to
assist small businesses, small 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, and small
501(c)(19) veterans organizations that have been adversely affected by COVID-
19. Loan deferment and forgiveness are provided under specified conditions. The
loans were originally available through June 30, 2020, and had a two-year term at
1% interest.
 P.L. 116-139, the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement
Act (Enhancement Act), among other provisions, increased the SBA’s Section
7(a) lending programs authorization limit to $659 billion and appropriated an
additional $321.335 billion for the PPP.
 P.L. 116-147, to extend the authority for commitments for the paycheck
protection program, extended the PPP covered loan period from June 30, 2020, to
August 8, 2020, and authorized $659 billion for PPP loan commitments and $30
billion for 7(a) loan commitments.
As of August 8, 2020, when the SBA stopped accepting new PPP loan applications, the SBA had
approved, after cancellations, over 5.2 million PPP loans totaling over $525 billion. For
comparative purposes, that loan approval amount is more than the amount the SBA had approved
in all of its loan programs, including disaster loans, during the previous 29 years (from October 1,
1991, through December 31, 2019; $509.9 billion).40
Recent Laws Designed to Enhance the Demand for
Small Business Loans
ARRA provided the SBA $375 million to subsidize fees for the SBA’s 7(a) and 504/CDC loan
guaranty programs and to increase the 7(a) program’s maximum loan guaranty percentage from
up to 85% of loans of $150,000 or less and up to 75% of loans exceeding $150,000 to 90% for all
regular 7(a) loans through September 30, 2010, or when appropriated funding for the subsidies
and loan modification was exhausted. The fee subsidies were designed to increase the demand for
SBA loans by reducing loan costs.
ARRA’s funding for the fee subsidies and 90% maximum loan guaranty percentage was about to
be exhausted in November 2009, when Congress passed the first of six laws to extend the loan
subsidies and 90% maximum loan guaranty percentage:

40 SBA, “WDS Lending Data File,” October 18, 2019; and SBA, “Small Business Administration loan program
performance: Table 2 - Gross Approval Amount by Program, December 31, 2019,” at https://www.sba.gov/document/
report-small-business-administration-loan-program-performance.
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 P.L. 111-118, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010, provided the
SBA $125 million to continue the fee subsides and 90% maximum loan guaranty
percentage through February 28, 2010.
 P.L. 111-144, the Temporary Extension Act of 2010, provided the SBA $60
million to continue the fee subsides and 90% maximum loan guaranty percentage
through March 28, 2010.
 P.L. 111-150, an act to extend the Small Business Loan Guarantee Program, and
for other purposes, provided the SBA authority to reprogram $40 million in
previously appropriated funds to continue the fee subsides and 90% maximum
loan guaranty percentage through April 30, 2010.
 P.L. 111-157, the Continuing Extension Act of 2010, provided the SBA $80
million to continue the SBA’s fee subsides and 90% maximum loan guaranty
percentage through May 31, 2010.
 P.L. 111-240, the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, provided $505 million (plus
an additional $5 million for administrative expenses) to continue the SBA’s fee
subsides and 90% maximum loan guaranty percentage from the act’s date of
enactment (September 27, 2010) through December 31, 2010.
 P.L. 111-322, the Continuing Appropriations and Surface Transportation
Extensions Act, 2011, authorizes the SBA to use funds provided under the Small
Business Jobs Act of 2010 to continue the SBA’s fee subsides and 90%
maximum loan guaranty percentage through March 4, 2011, or until available
funding is exhausted.
On January 3, 2011, the SBA announced that funding for the fee subsidies and 90% maximum
loan guaranty percentage had been exhausted.41
ARRA also included 11 tax relief provisions that have the potential to benefit small businesses in
a broad range of industries.42 By reducing costs, it could be argued that providing tax relief for
small businesses may lead to increased demand for small business loans because small business
owners have additional resources available to invest in their business. The following five ARRA
tax provisions provided about $5.7 billion in tax relief and were targeted at small businesses,
whereas the other ARRA tax provisions were available to businesses of all sizes:
 allowed businesses with $15 million or less in average annual gross receipts in
the past three years to carry back net operating losses from 2008 for up to five
years instead of two years.
 extended through 2009 the enhanced expensing allowance, which allows
businesses to deduct up to $250,000 of the cost of eligible assets placed in
service in 2009, within certain limits.
 increased the exclusion of the gain on the sale of small business stock to 75%
(instead of 50%) of any gain realized on the sale of eligible small business stock
acquired between February 18, 2009, and December 31, 2010.

41 SBA, “Jobs Act Supported More Than $12 Billion in SBA Lending to Small Businesses in Just Three Months,”
January 3, 2011, at https://www.sba.gov/content/jobs-act-supported-more-12-billion-sba-lending-small-businesses-just-
three-months.
42 For further analysis, see CRS Report R40728, Small Business Tax Benefits and the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009, by Gary Guenther.
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 reduced the recognition period from 10 years to seven years for corporate tax on
sale of appreciated assets in 2009 or 2010 by S corporations that once were
organized as C corporations.
 allowed individuals who had an adjusted gross income in 2008 of less than
$500,000 and can prove that over half their income came from a small business
to base their estimated tax payments for 2009 on 90% of their tax liability for
2008.
P.L. 111-240 was designed to increase the demand for SBA loans by providing $505 million (plus
an additional $5 million for related administrative expenses) to temporarily subsidize SBA’s fees
and increase the 7(a) program’s maximum loan guaranty percentage to 90%. The act also required
the SBA to establish an alternative size standard for the SBA’s 7(a) and 504/CDC loan guaranty
programs that uses maximum net worth and average net income as an alternative to the use of
industry standards. It also established the following interim alternative size standard for both the
7(a) and 504/CDC programs: the business qualifies as small if it does not have a tangible net
worth in excess of $15 million and does not have an average net income after federal taxes
(excluding any carry-over losses) in excess of $5 million for two full fiscal years before the date
of application. These changes were designed to increase the demand for small business loans by
increasing the number of small businesses that are eligible for SBA assistance.43
P.L. 111-240 also provided small businesses with about $12 billion in tax relief. The act
 raised the exclusion of gains on the sale or exchange of qualified small business
stock from the federal income tax to 100%, with the full exclusion applying only
to stock acquired the day after the date of enactment through the end of 2010;
 increased the deduction for qualified start-up expenditures from $5,000 to
$10,000 in 2010, and raised the phaseout threshold from $50,000 to $60,000 for
2010;
 placed limitations on the penalty for failure to disclose reportable transactions
based on resulting tax benefits;
 allowed general business credits of eligible small businesses for 2010 to be
carried back five years;
 exempted general business credits of eligible small businesses in 2010 from the
alternative minimum tax;
 allowed a temporary reduction in the recognition period for built-in gains tax;
 increased expensing limitations for 2010 and 2011 and allowed certain real
property to be treated as Section 179 property;
 allowed additional first-year depreciation for 50% of the basis of certain qualified
property; and
 removed cellular telephones and similar telecommunications equipment from
listed property so their cost can be deducted or depreciated like other business
property.44

43 For further analysis, see CRS Report R40860, Small Business Size Standards: A Historical Analysis of Contemporary
Issues, by Robert Jay Dilger.
44 For further analysis of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010’s, tax provisions, see CRS Report R41385, Small
Business Legislation During the 111th Congress, by Robert Jay Dilger and Gary Guenther (out of print; available to
congressional clients upon request).
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As mentioned earlier, P.L. 114-38 authorized and made permanent the Obama Administration’s
waiver of the up-front, one-time loan guaranty fee for veteran loans under the SBAExpress loan
guaranty program beginning on or after October 1, 2015, except during any upcoming fiscal year
for which the President’s budget, submitted to Congress, includes a credit subsidy cost for the
7(a) program, in its entirety, that is above zero.45 This fee waiver is designed to encourage
veterans to apply for a small business loan.
This fee was waived administratively the latter half of FY2014 and during FY2015, and was
waived statutorily from FY2016 through FY2019. During the 116th Congress, P.L. 116-136 (the
CARES Act), permanently eliminated the zero subsidy requirement.
The CARES Act also encouraged the demand for SBA loans by making PPP loans forgivable,
waiving SBA fees, relaxing PPP and EIDL underwriting standards, deferring PPP and EIDL loan
payments, and approving six months of loan payments for 7(a), 504/CDC, and Microloan
borrowers.46
Discussion
As mentioned, during relatively good economic times, congressional debate concerning the SBA
typically involves the extent to which the SBA should be provided additional resources to assist
small businesses in accessing capital as a means to create jobs and promote national economic
growth. Those opposing these efforts typically worry about the long-term adverse economic
effects of spending programs that increase the federal deficit. They also point to surveys of small
business firms conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), which
suggest that during relatively good economic times small business owners consistently place
financing issues near the bottom of their most pressing concerns.47 Instead of increasing federal
funding for the SBA, opponents tend to advocate for small business tax reduction, reform of
financial credit market regulation, and federal fiscal restraint as the best means to assist small
businesses and foster increased levels of economic growth and job creation.48
As mentioned, during and immediately following recessions, concerns about fiscal restraint are
typically superseded by the perceived need to provide additional SBA assistance as quickly and
efficiently as possible. For example, during the 111th Congress, ARRA and the Small Business
Jobs Act of 2010 were designed to address disruptions to the credit markets during the Great
Recession (2007-2009) and the difficulties small businesses had in recovering from that
recession. During the 116th Congress, the CARES Act was designed to address the widespread
economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which included forced shutdowns of

45 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Small Business, Veterans Entrepreneurship Act of 2015, report to accompany
H.R. 2499, 114th Cong., 1st sess., June 25, 2015, (Washington: GPO, 2015), p. 9.
46 See CRS Report R46284, COVID-19 Relief Assistance to Small Businesses: Issues and Policy Options, by Robert
Jay Dilger, Bruce R. Lindsay, and Sean Lowry; and CRS Report R46397, SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
Loan Forgiveness: In Brief, by Robert Jay Dilger and Sean Lowry.
47 Bruce D. Phillips and Holly Wade, Small Business Problems and Priorities (Washington, DC: NFIB Research
Foundation, June 2008), p. 5, at http://www.nfib.com/Portals/0/ProblemsAndPriorities08.pdf; Holly Wade, Small
Business Problems and Priorities (Washington, DC: NFIB Research Foundation, August 2012), pp. 2, 5, 14, at
https://www.nfib.com/Portals/0/PDF/AllUsers/research/studies/small-business-problems-priorities-2012-nfib.pdf; and
Holly Wade, Small Business Problems and Priorities (Washington, DC: NFIB Research Foundation, August 2016), at
https://www.nfib.com/assets/NFIB-Problems-and-Priorities-2016.pdf.
48 Susan Eckerly, “NFIB Responds to President’s Small Business Lending Initiatives,” Washington, DC, October 21,
2009; and NFIB, “Government Spending,” Washington, DC, at
https://www.nfib.com/content/issues/economy/government-spending-small-businesses-have-a-bottom-line-
government-should-too-49051/.
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many small businesses across the country, disruptions to supply chains, significantly reduced foot
traffic at many firms due to social distancing, and reduced consumer demand as unemployment
levels increased significantly, leading many consumers to reduce spending.
The CARES Act’s PPP lending program is unique in several respects. First, it is, by far, the
largest SBA lending program in the agency’s history. Second, the PPP provides loans to nonprofit
organizations, expanding the SBA’s impact beyond small businesses. Third, by waiving
affiliation rules in specified circumstances (e.g., for NAICS Code 72, accommodation and food
services industries), the PPP assists businesses that otherwise would not be eligible for SBA
assistance because of their size. Fourth, PPP loan payments are not only deferred for up to 16
months, but the loan can be forgiven, in whole or in part, if the borrower uses the proceeds in a
prescribed manner (at least 60% on payroll, with the remainder on mortgage interest, rent or
utilities, subject to reductions based on employment and wage retention over either an eight-week
period or a 24-week period depending on when the loan was originated).
Although Congress, as a whole, has not passed legislation to require the SBA to resume direct
lending for general business purposes, there have been proposals over the years, especially during
and immediately following rescissions, to require the SBA to exercise its statutory authority to
make direct business loans. The SBA limited the eligibility for direct business loans in 1984,
1994, and 1996 as a means to reduce costs. Until October 1, 1985, the SBA provided direct
business loans to qualified small businesses. From October 1, 1985, to September 30, 1994, SBA
direct business loan eligibility was limited to qualified small businesses owned by individuals
with low income or located in an area of high unemployment, owned by Vietnam-era or disabled
veterans, owned by the handicapped or certain organizations employing them, or certified under
the minority small business capital ownership development program. Microloan program
intermediaries were also eligible.49 On October 1, 1994, SBA direct loan eligibility was limited to
Microloan program intermediaries and to small businesses owned by the handicapped. Funding to
support direct loans to the handicapped through the Handicapped Assistance (renamed the
Disabled Assistance) Loan program ended in 1996. The last loan issued under the Disabled
Assistance Loan program took place in FY1998.50 The SBA currently offers direct business loans
only to Microloan program intermediaries.
Advocates for a small business direct lending program have argued that such a program would
provide “rapid access to much-needed capital without having to face the administrative delays
posed by the current Small Business Administration lending process.”51 Advocates of a temporary
SBA direct lending program argued that such a program was necessary during periods of
economic difficulty because
In prosperous times, small businesses are able to shop around to different lenders to find
the best available terms and conditions for a loan. But in times of economic downturns,
those same lenders aren’t as willing to lend to small businesses. More than ever during

49 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Small Business, Summary of Activities, 103rd Cong., 2nd sess., January 2, 1995,
H.Rept. 103-885 (Washington: GPO, 1995), p. 8; and U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Small Business, Hearing
on the Proposed Fiscal Year 1995 Budget for the Small Business Administration, 103rd Cong., 2nd sess., February 22,
1994, S. Hrg. 103-583 (Washington: GPO, 1994), p. 20.
50 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Small Business, Summary of Activities, 105rd Cong., 2nd sess., January 2, 1999,
H.Rept. 105-849 (Washington: GPO, 1999), p. 8.
51 Dan Gerstein, “Big Stimulus For Small Business, A new direct lending program would benefit millions,”
Forbes.com, January 14, 2009; Sharon McLoone, “Landrieu: Small Business to Benefit from Economic Plan,” The
Washington Post, February 6, 2009; George Dooley, “ASTA Renews Call For SBA Direct Lending Program,”
American Society of Travel Agents, Washington, DC, February 18, 2009; and Anne Kim, Ryan McConaghy, and Tess
Stovall, “Federal Direct Loans to Small Businesses,” Third Way Idea Brief, Washington, DC, April 2009.
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these times, it’s the government’s responsibility to step in to help small businesses access
the loans they need to keep their businesses running and workers employed.52
Opponents of a small business direct lending program argue that the SBA’s mission is to augment
the private sector by guaranteeing loans, not compete with it by providing direct loans to small
businesses.53 They also argue that these loans hold greater risk than most; otherwise the private
sector would accept them. They worry that SBA defaults may increase, resulting in added
expense, either to taxpayers in the form of additional appropriations or to other small business
borrowers in the form of higher fees, to cover the defaults.54 They argue that the SBA stopped
offering direct loans in 1995, primarily because the subsidy rate was “10 to 15 times higher than
that of our guaranty programs.”55 They also assert that providing direct loans to small businesses
might invite corruption. They note that the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), the SBA’s
predecessor, made direct loans to business and was accused of awarding loans based on the
applicant’s political connections or personal ties with RFC loan officers.56 Opponents also argue
that the SBA does not have the human, physical, and technical resources to make direct loans.
SBA Funding
As shown in Table 2, the SBA’s appropriations have varied significantly since FY2005, ranging
from $571.8 million in FY2007 to over $761.9 billion in FY2020.57 Much of this volatility is due
to significant variation in supplemental appropriations for (1) disaster assistance, typically to
address damages caused by major hurricanes, and (2) SBA program enhancements to help small
businesses access capital during and immediately following recessions. For example, in FY2020,
the SBA received over $760.9 billion in supplemental funding to assist small businesses adversely
affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. These funds were provided to help small businesses sustain
operations and retain employees.
The SBA’s appropriations are separated into four categories in Table 2 (disaster assistance,
disaster assistance supplemental, business loan credit subsidies, and other programs) because the
need for disaster assistance is largely beyond congressional control and expenditures for business
loan credit subsidies tend to vary with changes in the national economy. As a result, it could be
argued that comparisons of SBA appropriations over time can be made more meaningful if those
comparisons include appropriations for all four categories of spending.

52 Anne Kim, Ryan McConaghy, and Tess Stovall, “Federal Direct Loans to Small Businesses,” Third Way Idea Brief,
Washington, DC, April 2009.
53 Sue Malone, Myth: The SBA will make direct loans under the stimulus bill, Strategies For Small Business, Danville,
CA, March 12, 2009.
54 Representative Jeff Flake, “Providing for Consideration of H.R. 3854, Small Business Financing and Investment Act
of 2009,” House debate, Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 155, no. 159 (October 29, 2009), pp. H12070, H
12072.
55 U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Small Business, Hearing on the Proposed Fiscal Year 1995 Budget for the
Small Business Administration, 103rd Cong., 2nd sess., February 22, 1994, S. Hrg. 103-583 (Washington: GPO, 1994),
p. 20.
56 Representative Jeff Flake, “Providing for Consideration of H.R. 3854, Small Business Financing and Investment Act
of 2009,” House debate, Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 155, no. 159 (October 29, 2009), pp. H12070, H
12072.
57 Program costs and expenditures typically differ from new budget authority provided by appropriations due to the
carryover of budget authority either from the previous fiscal year or into the next fiscal year or to program transfers.
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Table 2. Small Business Administration Appropriations, FY2005-FY2021
(millions of $)
Business
Disaster
Loan
Disaster
Assistance
Credit
Other
Fiscal Year
Assistance Supplemental
Subsidies
Programs
Appropriation
2021 CR
$177.1
$0.0
$20.0
$717.4
$914.5
2020 final
$177.1
$70,582.0
$104.0
$691,177.3
$761,980.5
2020 initial
$177.1
$0.0
$104.0
$717.4
$988.5
2019
$10.0
$0.0
$4.0
$701.4
$715.4
2018
$0.0
$1,659.0
$3.4
$697.4
$2,359.8
2017
$186.0
$450.0
$4.3
$696.5
$1,336.8
2016
$186.9
$0.0
$3.3
$680.8
$871.0
2015
$186.9
$0.0
$47.5
$653.2
$887.6
2014
$191.9
$0.0
$111.6
$625.4
$928.9
2013
$111.2
$740.0
$319.7
$583.6
$1,754.5a
2012
$117.3
$0.0
$210.8
$590.7
$918.8
2011
$45.4
$0.0
$82.8
$601.5
$729.7b
2010
$78.2
$0.0
$83.0
$1,625.3c
$1,786.5
2009
$0.0d
$0.0
$8.5e
$1,336.7f
$1,345.2
2008
$0.0
$1,052.8
$2.0
$579.9
$1,634.7
2007
$114.9
$0.0
$1.3
$455.6
$571.8g
2006
$0.0
$1,700.0
$1.3
$532.1
$2,233.4h
2005
$111.8
$929.0
$1.4
$498.0
$1,540.2i
Sources: P.L. 106-113, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2000; P.L. 106-554, the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2001; P.L. 107-206, the 2002 Supplemental Appropriations Act for Further Recovery From
and Response to Terrorist Attacks on the United States; U.S. Smal Business Administration (SBA),
Congressional Budget Justification, [FY2002-FY2009]; U.S. Small Business Administration, Congressional Budget
Justification, [FY2010-FY2019], at https://www.sba.gov/document/report--congressional-budget-justification-
annual-performance-report; P.L. 115-31, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017; P.L. 115-56, the Continuing
Appropriations Act, 2018 and Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act, 2017; P.L. 115-
123, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018; P.L. 115-141, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018; P.L. 116-6, the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019; P.L. 116-93, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020; P.L. 116-136,
the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act); P.L. 116-139, the Paycheck Protection
Program and Health Care Enhancement Act; and P.L. 116-159, the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and
Other Extensions Act (funding through December 11, 2020).
Notes:
a. Implementation of P.L. 112-25 and P.L. 113-6 imposed a federal government-wide sequestration process and
a required 0.2% across-the-board rescission in FY2013. The SBA’s FY2013 appropriation was reduced by
$92.681 mil ion under sequestration and $2.091 mil ion by the rescission. Prior to these reductions, the
SBA’s FY2013 appropriation was $897.3 mil ion for disaster assistance, $337.3 mil ion for loan credit
subsidies, $615.7 mil ion for other programs, and $1,850.3 mil ion in total.
b. The SBA’s FY2011 appropriation of $731.201 mil ion ($45.5 mil ion for SBA disaster assistance, $83.0
mil ion for business loan subsidies, and $602.7 mil ion for other SBA programs) was reduced to $729.738
mil ion by a 0.2% across-the-board rescission imposed on most appropriations accounts by P.L. 112-10.
c. The initial appropriation for other programs in FY2010 was $662.8 mil ion. An additional $962.5 mil ion was
provided: $775.0 mil ion in temporary funding for 7(a) and 504/Certified Development Company (CDC)
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loan guaranty program fee subsidies and loan modifications and $187.5 mil ion for other SBA programs. P.L.
111-118 provided $125 mil ion; P.L. 111-144 provided $60 mil ion; P.L. 111-157 provided $80 mil ion; and
P.L. 111-240 provided $510 mil ion to provide temporary fee subsidies for the SBA’s 7(a) and 504/CDC
loan guaranty programs and to temporarily increase the 7(a) program’s maximum loan guaranty percentage
from up to 85% of loans of $150,000 or less and up to 75% of loans exceeding $150,000 to 90% for all 7(a)
loans. P.L. 111-240 extended the subsidies and 90% loan guaranty through December 31, 2010, and
provided $187.5 mil ion for other SBA programs that remained available through FY2011. Also, P.L. 111-150
authorized the SBA to use $40 mil ion in previously appropriated funds for fee subsidies and the 7(a) loan
modification.
d. SBA disaster assistance funding in FY2009 was carried over from the previous fiscal year.
e. The initial appropriation for business loan credit subsidies in FY2009 was $2.5 mil ion for direct (Microloan)
lending. P.L. 111-5 provided another $6 mil ion for credit subsidies for the Microloan program to remain
available through September 30, 2010.
f.
The initial appropriation for other programs in FY2009 was $612.7 mil ion. P.L. 111-5 provided $6 mil ion
for Microloan credit subsidies and $724 mil ion for other SBA programs, including $375 mil ion for loan fee
subsidies and loan modifications for the 7(a) and 504/CDC programs and $255 mil ion for a new, temporary
small business stabilization program, later named the America’s Recovery Capital (ARC) Loan program.
g. Includes reductions by P.L. 109-108 and P.L. 110-5, which rescinded $13.5 mil ion of unobligated balances
from the SBA ($6.192 mil ion from unobligated disaster assistance administrative expenses, $5.031 mil ion
from unobligated balances in the (7a) general business loan guaranty program, and $2.323 mil ion from
unobligated balances in the direct loans program).
h. Includes reductions by P.L. 109-148, which imposed a rescission of 1.0% on federal agencies, resulting in a
reduction of $6.992 mil ion from the SBA ($0.017 mil ion from business loan subsidies, $5.160 mil ion from
salaries and expenses, $1.600 from business loan administration, $0.178 mil ion from the OIG, and $0.037
mil ion from the surety bond program).
i.
Includes reductions by P.L. 108-447, which imposed a 0.8% rescission on federal agencies, resulting in a
reduction of $8.277 mil ion from the SBA ($1.395 mil ion from disaster assistance, $0.019 mil ion from
business loan subsidies, $4.951 mil ion from salaries and expenses, $1.692 from business loan administration,
$0.181 mil ion from the OIG, and $0.039 mil ion from the surety bond program).
As shown in Table 2, the SBA, excluding $760.982 billion in FY2020 supplemental
appropriations, received an initial appropriation of $998.463 million in FY2020 and $914.463
million in FY2021 under the continuing resolution (funding for 7(a) loan guaranty credit
subsidies was reduced from $99 million to $15 million).
The SBA’s initial FY2021 appropriation under the continuing resolution (funding through
December 11, 2020) includes
 $270.157 million for salaries and expenses,
 $261.0 million for entrepreneurial development and noncredit programs,
 $155.15 million for business loan administration,
 $20.0 million for business loan credit subsidies ($15.0 million for the 7(a) loan
guaranty program and $5.0 million for the Microloan program),
 $21.9 million for the Office of Inspector General,
 $9.12 million for the Office of Advocacy, and
 $177.136 million for disaster assistance.58

58 P.L. 116-93, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020; P.L. 116-123, the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response
Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020; and P.L. 116-159, the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other
Extensions Act.
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Concluding Observations
Congress continuously monitors the state of small business lending and has passed legislation to
address perceived market failures, typically in an incremental, piecemeal manner during
relatively good economic times and, as mentioned, through major legislative packages during and
immediately following recessions.
In FY2020, Congress provided the SBA unprecedented funding ($760.982 billion in FY2020
supplemental appropriations) to assist small businesses and nonprofit organizations adversely
affected by COVID-19. Now that the PPP has concluded its second and final authorized round of
loans (authorizing a possible third round of PPP loans is currently being considered by
congressional leaders) and the EIDL program continues to approve loans at unprecedented levels,
congressional attention has begun to shift toward the oversight of the SBA’s administration of
these programs, and efforts to deter waste, fraud and abuse.
For example, congressional hearings have been held on the SBA’s administration of the PPP and
EIDL programs and, on July 28, 2020, the SBA OIG issued a “management alert” indicating that
the office had received “more than 5,000 instances of suspected fraud from financial institutions
receiving economic injury loan deposits” and “an additional 1,220 reports of suspected fraudulent
transactions ... from other financial institutions.”59 In addition, the efficacy of the CARES Act’s
SBA programs on small business job retention, job creation, and survivability is also likely to be
an issue of increased congressional attention in the coming months. As mentioned, initial studies
of the PPP’s impact on small business employment have produced mixed results, with some
studies finding a significant positive impact on employment and others finding much smaller
positive impacts.
As the 116th Congress comes to an end, Congress is likely to consider what, if any, additional
action the federal government should take to enhance small business access to capital in the
coming months? A third round of PPP lending is already under consideration. Once that decision
is reached, should Congress decide to take even further action, two not necessarily mutually
exclusive options are readily apparent.
First, Congress could adopt a wait-and-see strategy that focuses on congressional oversight of the
PPP, EIDL, and other programmatic changes to the SBA’s programs that were enacted during the
116th Congress. Advocates of this approach could argue that small business credit markets are
generally stable and, if the COVID-19 pandemic moderates, the demand for SBA’s lending could
return to normal, or near normal. Therefore, it could be argued that evaluating the impact of the
recent expansion of SBA programs and monitoring the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic

59 U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, “Implementation of Title I of the
CARES Act,” 116th Congress, 2nd Session, June 10, 2020, at
https://www.sbc.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/hearings?ID=C0E44E40-CC47-469C-9404-BE3EB4020AA0; U.S.
Congress, House Committee on Small Business, Subcommittee on Innovation and Workforce Development, “Paycheck
Protection Program: An Examination of Loan Forgiveness, SBA Legacy Systems, and Inaccurate Data,” 116th
Congress, 2nd Session, September 24, 2020, at
https://smallbusiness.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=3431; U.S. Congress, House Committee on Small
Business, Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight, and Regulations, “Preventing Fraud and Abuse of PPP and
EIDL: An Update with the SBA Office of Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office,” 116th
Congress, 2nd Session, October 1, 2020, at https://smallbusiness.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=3440;
and SBA, Office of Inspector General (OIG), “Serious Concerns of Potential Fraud in Economic Injury Disaster Loan
Program Pertaining to the Response to COVID-19,” Report Number 20-16, July 28, 2020, p. 2, at
https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/SBA_OIG_Report_20-16_508.1.pdf.
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should take place before taking further congressional action to improve small business access to
capital.
Second, Congress could consider additional changes to the SBA’s programs in an effort to further
enhance small business access to capital, such as considering a direct lending program, providing
additional funding for SBA fee subsidies and loan modifications, modifying and expanding the
Microloan program, or providing additional rounds of PPP lending. Advocates of this approach
could argue that, although small business credit markets have generally remained stable, the
adverse economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been so severe, and could continue for
months, that providing additional assistance for small businesses as soon as possible is necessary
to help create and retain jobs and prevent many small businesses from shutting down
permanently.
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Appendix. Selected Provisions in the Small
Business Jobs Act of 2010 and the CARES Act
Table A-1. Selected Provisions, the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010
Issue/Program
The Small Business Jobs Act of 2010
SBA 7(a) Program
Increased the 7(a) Program’s loan limit from $2 mil ion to
$5 mil ion.
SBA 504 Program
Increased the 504/CDC Program’s loan limits from
$1.5 mil ion to $5 mil ion for “regular” borrowers, from
$2 mil ion to $5 mil ion if the loan proceeds are directed
toward one or more specified public policy goals, and
from $4 mil ion to $5.5 mil ion for manufacturers; and
temporarily expanded for two years the eligibility for low-
interest refinancing under the SBA’s 504/CDC program
for qualified debt.
SBA Express Program
Temporarily increased for one year the Express Program’s
loan limit from $350,000 to $1 mil ion (expired on
September 26, 2011).
SBA Microloan Program
Increased the Microloan Program’s loan limit for
borrowers from $35,000 to $50,000; and increased the
loan limits for Microloan intermediaries after their first
year in the program from $3.5 mil ion to $5 mil ion.
Temporary SBA fee subsidies and loan modifications
Temporarily increased the SBA’s guaranty on 7(a) loans to
90% and provided for the elimination of selected fees on
the SBA’s 7(a) and 504 loans through December 31, 2010.
SBA secondary market
Extended the SBA’s secondary market lending authority
under ARRA from 2 years from enactment to 2 years
from the first sale of a pool of first lien position 504 loans
guaranteed under this authority investor (which took
place on September 24, 2010).
SBA size standards
Authorized the SBA to establish an alternative size
standard for the SBA’s 7(a) and 504 programs that would
use maximum tangible net worth and average net income;
and to established an interim alternative size standard of
not more than $15 mil ion in tangible net worth and not
more than $2 mil ion in average net income for the two
ful fiscal years before the date of the application.
SBA International Trade Finance Program
Increased the International Trade Finance Program’s loan
limit from $1.75 mil ion, of which not more than
$1.25 mil ion may be used for working capital, supplies, or
financings, to $4.5 mil ion.
State Trade and Export Promotion Grant Program
Established an associate administrator for the SBA’s Office
of International Trade and a state trade and export
promotion grant program.
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Issue/Program
The Small Business Jobs Act of 2010
Federal contracting
Imposed contract bundling accountability measures
directing federal agencies to include in each solicitation for
any contract award above the agency’s substantial
bundling threshold a provision soliciting bids by small
business teams and joint ventures;
required federal agencies to publish on its website its
policy on contract bundling and consolidation, as well as a
rationale for any bundled contract solicited or awarded;
repealed the small business competitiveness
demonstration program; and
provided parity among the small business contracting
programs (including striking “shall” and inserting “may” in
15 U.S.C. 657a(b)(2)(B), which refers to the agency’s
discretion to provide contracting preference to HUBZone
small businesses).
Small Business Lending Fund
Authorized the U.S. Treasury to make up to $30 bil ion of
capital investments ($4 bil ion was issued);
CBO estimated the program would raise $1.1 bil ion over
10 years.
State Small Business Credit Initiative Program
authorized $1.5 bil ion for the State Small Business Credit
Initiative Program.
SBA Intermediary Lending Pilot Program
Authorized a three-year Intermediary Lending Pilot
Program to allow the SBA to make direct loans to not
more than 20 eligible nonprofit lending intermediaries
each year totaling not more than $20 mil ion. The
intermediaries, in turn, would be allowed to make loans to
new or growing small businesses, not to exceed $200,000
per business.
Capital gains taxation
Temporarily raised to 100% the exclusion of gains on
certain small business stock from enactment to end of
calendar year.
Limitation on penalties for failure to disclose
Placed limitations on the penalty for failure to disclose
reportable transactions
reportable transactions based on resulting tax benefits.
Deduction for start-up expenditures
Increased the deduction for qualified start-up
expenditures from $5,000 to $10,000 in 2010, and the
phaseout threshold from $50,000 to $60,000 for 2010.
Business carry back
Allowed general business credits of eligible small
businesses for 2010 to be carried back 5 years.
Alternative Minimum Tax
Exempted general business credits of eligible small
businesses in 2010 from the alternative minimum tax.
Recognition period for built-In gains tax
Allowed a temporary reduction in the recognition period
for built-in gains tax.
Expensing and Section 179 property
Increased expensing limitations for 2010 and 2011; and
allowed certain real property to be treated as Section 179
property.
Depreciation
Allowed additional first-year depreciation for 50% of the
basis of certain qualified property.
Deduction for health insurance costs
Allowed the deduction for health insurance costs in
computing self-employment taxes in 2010.
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Issue/Program
The Small Business Jobs Act of 2010
Deduction for cel ular telephones
Removed cellular telephones and similar
telecommunications equipment from listed property so
their cost can be deducted or depreciated like other
business property.
Crude tall oil
Made crude tall oil ineligible for the cellulosic biofuel
producer credit.
Section 561 of the Hiring Incentives to Restore
Increased the percentage under Section 561 of the Hiring
Employment Act
Incentives to Restore Employment Act by 36 percentage
points.
Rental income reporting
Required taxpayers that receive rental income from
leasing real property to file information returns to the IRS
and to service providers that report receiving payments of
$600 or more during the tax year for rental property
expenses (repealed by P.L. 112-9, the Comprehensive
1099 Taxpayer Protection and Repayment of Exchange
Subsidy Overpayments Act of 2011).
Penalties for failing to file information returns to the
Increased the penalties for failing to file information
IRS
returns to the IRS and to payees in a timely manner.
Department of the Treasury authority to apply a
Expanded the Department of the Treasury’s authority to
continuous levy on federal contractors
apply a continuous levy to government payments to
federal contractors that owe the IRS for unpaid taxes to
include payments for property such as a new office
building. Current law allows the levy to be applied to
payments for goods and services only.
Predictive modeling to identify Medicaid waste,
Authorized the use of predictive modeling to identify and
fraud, and abuse
prevent waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicare fee-for-
service program.
Roth Retirement Accounts
Allowed participants in government Section 457 plans to
treat elective deferrals as Roth contributions; and
allowed rol overs from elective deferral plans to
designated Roth accounts.
Nonqualified annuities
Allowed holders of nonqualified annuities (i.e., annuity
contracts held outside of a tax-qualified retirement plan
or IRA) to elect to receive a portion of the contract in the
form of a stream of annuity contracts, leaving the
remainder of the contract to accumulate income on a tax-
deferred basis.
Source: P.L. 111-240, the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010.
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Small Business: Access to Capital and Job Creation

Table A-2. Selected Provisions, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security
Act (CARES Act) as amended
Program
Cares Act (as amended)
Paycheck Protection Program
Provides forgivable 1% loans with a 100% SBA loan
guarantee, relaxed underwriting standards, and a loan
term of two years if approved prior to June 5, 2020, or
five years if approved on or after June 5, 2020, to 7(a)
eligible businesses and any business, 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organization, 501(c)(19) veteran’s organization, or tribal
business not currently 7(a) eligible that has not more
than 500 employees or, if applicable, the SBA’s size
standard in number of employees for the industry in
which they operate. Applicants must certify that they
have been adversely affected by the COVID-19
pandemic. Loan payments are deferred for up to 16
months (initially six months). Loans may be forgiven in
whole or in part depending on the use of the loan
proceeds for payrol (at least 60% for ful forgiveness),
mortgage interest, rent, and utilities and the retention
of employees and employee salaries. PPP loan
applications were accepted starting on April 3, 2020,
and ended on August 8, 2020 (original end date was
June 30, 2020). The maximum loan amount was the
lesser of (1) 2.5 times the average total monthly
payments by the applicant for payrol costs incurred
during the one-year period before the date on which
the loan is made plus the outstanding balance of any
Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) made on or after
January 31, 2020, that was refinanced as part of the PPP
loan, or (2) $10 mil ion. The SBA was authorized to
provide up to $659 bil ion in PPP loans ($349 bil ion
initially). Just over 5.2 mil ion PPP loans, totaling $525
bil ion, were disbursed.
SBA Loan Debt Relief
Appropriated $17 bil ion to pay the principal, interest,
and any associated fees that are owed on an existing
7(a), 504/CDC, or Microloan that is in a regular
servicing status for a six-month period starting on the
next payment due. Loans that are already on deferment
wil receive six months of payment by the SBA
beginning with the first payment after the deferral
period. Loans made up until six months after enactment
(until September 27, 2020) also receive a ful six
months of SBA loan payments.
SBAExpress Veteran’s Fee Waiver
Permanently eliminates the zero subsidy requirement
to waive SBAExpress loan fees for veterans.
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Small Business: Access to Capital and Job Creation

Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL)
From January 31, 2020, through December 31, 2020,
expands EIDL eligibility beyond currently eligible small
businesses, private nonprofit organizations, and small
agricultural cooperatives, to include startups,
cooperatives, and eligible ESOPs (employee stock
ownership plans) with not more than 500 employees,
sole proprietors, and independent contractors.
Authorizes the SBA Administrator to relax
underwriting standards, waive the personal guarantee
requirement on EIDL advances and loans of not more
than $200,000, and waive the requirement that the
applicant needs to be in business for the one-year
period before the disaster declaration, except that no
waiver may be made for a business that was not in
operation on January 31, 2020. An additional $50 bil ion
in EIDL credit subsidy was subsequently provided to
support up to $350 bil ion in EIDL lending. As of
October 18, 2020, more than 3.6 mil ion COVID-19-
related EIDL loans were approved, totaling nearly $192
bil ion.

Source: P.L. 116-136, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), as amended by P.L.
116-139, the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, and P.L. 116-147, to extend the
authority for commitments for the paycheck protection program.

Author Information

Robert Jay Dilger

Senior Specialist in American National Government

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Congressional Research Service
R40985 · VERSION 106 · UPDATED
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