WASHINGTON—The short-term funding bill passed by the House late last week includes an appropriation for the Small Business Administration (SBA) that would avert a potential shutdown of the 7(a) program and eliminate the need to raise fees.
Current government funding, including that for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), is set to expire at the end of the month. The House-passed continuing resolution will extend funding until Nov. 21; the legislation must be passed by the Senate and signed by the president by Sept. 30 to avert a government shutdown, NAFCU noted.
Section 130 of the continuing resolution includes the SBA appropriation. Jansen, vice president of business services and operations at Kinecta Federal Credit Union, in April told members of a House Small Business subcommittee that 7(a) fee increases would make it more difficult for small businesses to get loans. Following Jansen's testimony, the House Small Business Committee requested the Government Accountability Office evaluate the SBA's fiscal year 2020 budget estimates for the loan program, NAFCU added.
NFIP authorization would also be extended under the legislation.
In addition, Senate appropriators continue to work through individual, longer-term spending bills. It advanced the 2020 financial services and general government (FSGG) bill last week with funding for credit union programs, including $251 million for the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund.