Congressman Gregory W. Meeks Votes In Favor of the Small Business Lending Fund Act of 2010Bill Will Create Jobs and Strengthen Small Businesses

(WASHINGTON, DC)– Congressman Gregory W. Meeks (NY-6), Senior Member of the House Committee on Financial Services and Chairman of its Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy and Trade, voted in favor of H.R. 5297, the Small Business Lending Fund Act of 2010 that will leverage $300 billion in lending for small businesses and create hundreds of thousands of jobs.

“Small businesses and those on Main Street are the backbone of our economy and make up a large portion of jobs throughout this country and in my district. Too many small businesses have suffered from the recent economic recession and are in the process of recovery. Almost half of the small businesses seeking loans last year were unable to meet their credit needs, which is completely unacceptable. My colleagues in Congress and I voted for this legislation to give small businesses better access to lending and tax incentives while saving American taxpayers $1 billion over the next ten years,” stated Congressman Meeks.

The Small Business Jobs and Credit Act will help small businesses expand through investments in states and small banks that focus on lending to local small businesses. This new $30 billion lending fund, with tough performance-based incentives and safeguards to ensure that funds go to American small business, will spur job creation across America. The bill will also help cultivate American innovation through a new public-private partnership designed to channel early stage investment capital to promising new start-ups.

The Small Business Jobs and Credit Act offers tax incentives to spur immediate investments in America’s small businesses. These reforms will lower the capital gains taxes on small business investments, and increase tax deductions to help entrepreneurs to recover more start-up expenses.

Now serving in his sixth full-term, Meeks was elected to the House on February 3, 1998. Representing New York's Sixth Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives, Meeks' district covers all towns of Southeast Queens, Far Rockaway and Howard Beach. He is a member of the House Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Foreign Affairs. Congressman Meeks is the Chairman of the International Monetary Policy & Trade Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee. He is a Member of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), New Democrats Coalition and the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC). He serves as the Co-chair of the Malaysia Caucus, Services Caucus, Dialogue Caucus, OAS Caucus and the Middle East Economic Partnership Caucus.