Microloan Seen Through A Different Lens
Oct 19th, 2009 | By Dawn R. Rivers | Category: Politics & PolicyAs you may recall, the Tax and Finance Subcommittee of the House Small Business Committee reported out a package of several bills which, combined, would reauthorize and tweak the SBA’s small business access to capital programs. In the next step in that process, the full Committee heard witness testimony about what various segments of the small business and banking community like and dislike about those bills, preparatory to marking them up. As far as witnesses go, the hearing included most of the usual suspects, not in terms of repeat performances but in terms of the stakeholders included. The only exception to be seen was the Microloan program.
This is not to say there was no one to speak on behalf of Microloan. On the contrary, the program was ably and earnestly defended by Ryan Fochler, of Arlington, VA-based Dog Paws ‘n Cat Claws Pet Care, Inc. What made Mr. Fochler’s appearance interesting was that he is not a microbusiness owner and he does not represent the microenterprise development industry. Rather, his is a non-micro small business that was rescued by the program when the banks were refusing to lend to anybody. Not only that, Fochler pointed out, but the technical assistance is the next best thing since sliced bread. He urged lawmakers to expand the program and raise the loan cap. The support for Microloan is splendid but, if Congress decides to make the program into a tool for folks who lose his pristine credit rating through no fault of their own, will it still serve the needs of microbusinesses?
