Small business lending bill headed for vote

Here's a story by Stephen Ohlemacher of the Associated Press on a big fund to get money to small businesses that need it.

Community banks would be able tap a $30 billion government fund to help them increase lending to small businesses under a bill working its way toward a vote in the Senate.

Democrats say banks should be able to use the lending fund to leverage up to $300 billion in loans to small businesses, helping to loosen tight credit markets. The fund would be available to banks with less than $10 billion in assets.

Democrats and Republicans were negotiating a handful of amendments Wednesday with the goal of scheduling a vote on the bill later in the day. The talks played out as President Barack Obama traveled to Edison, N.J., where during a visit to a sandwich shop he urged the Senate to abandon partisanship long enough to pass the bill.

The measure is part of a bill that would also provide a series of tax breaks aimed at small businesses.

The House passed a bill establishing a similar lending fund in June.

“The bill increases access to much needed capital, encourages entrepreneurship and promotes equity,” said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

Some GOP lawmakers called the lending fund another bank bailout that would do little to increase lending to small businesses. The measure overcame a Republican filibuster in the Senate last week.