Snowe, who has tenaciously pursued an agreement to end the impasse that prevented Congress from reauthorizing the SBA for over a year, hailed the victory, saying it will help promote long-term stability in the small business community and safeguard the vital lending, venture capital and business development programs offered by the SBA, including the 7(a) Loan, 504 Loan, Microloan, SBIC and Surety Bond programs.

"The SBA is a vital resource not only for the 25 million small businesses owners across the country, but for the millions of Americans looking at small business ownership as an alternative to the traditional workplace of corporate America - once a trusted source for life-long employment," Snowe said. "With passage of a new multi-year reauthorization, we have ensured that the SBA will be well-positioned to help entrepreneurs and small businesses owners excel for the next two years."

Snowe led the charge in the Senate to reauthorize the SBA on schedule in 2003, offering a full-scale reauthorization bill, S.1375, "The Small Business Administration 50th Anniversary Reauthorization Act of 2003." S.1375 was crafted to fulfill the needs of small businesses struggling to grow following an economic downturn that resulted in record job losses in the manufacturing sector. Unfortunately, the House blocked consideration of S.1375 and did not succeed in passing an alternative SBA reauthorization bill.

Since 1953, nearly 20 million small business owners have received direct or indirect help from one of the SBA's lending or technical assistance programs, making the agency one of the government's most cost-effective instruments for economic development. The SBA's current loan portfolio of more than 200,000 loans, worth more than $45 billion, makes it the largest single supporter of small businesses in the country.

"Given this record of support for small business, we simply could not afford to leave the SBA's hallmark programs in limbo at the close of the 108th Congress," Snowe added.

In a separate initiative, Snowe's work to save the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) resulted in $109 million in funding for that program, which also is contained in the Omnibus Bill. The MEP is a cost-effective, public-private partnership that helps small and medium-sized American manufacturers modernize to compete in the demanding global marketplace. As Co-Chairs of the Senate Task Force on Manufacturing, Snowe and Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) led numerous bipartisan initiatives to increase funding for the MEP following a severe cut in funding during Fiscal 2004. The funding cuts threatened to severely curtail the MEP's ability to assist the nation's manufacturers at time when they most needed assistance.

Highlights of the SBA programs authorized for two years and adopted by the Senate as part of the Omnibus Bill, H.R. 4818:

• Authorizes SBA program spending levels for FY 2005 and 2006;
• Authorizes Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) and the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE);
• Boosts the maximum 7(a) loan guarantee from $1 million to $1.5 million (maximum loan size remains at $2 million);
• Creates a new 0.25 percent fee for the portion of the newly-authorized $1.5 million 7(a) program guarantee that is greater than $1 million;
• Authorizes the SBA to raise or lower 7(a) lender fees (currently 0.50 percent), up to 0.55 percent. Also, gives the SBA authority to lower 7(a) borrower fees, if possible in the future;
• Boosts the maximum size of 7(a) Express loans from $250,000 to $350,000; Authorizes the Microloan Program's loan and technical assistance components to continue serving populations with the least access to capital;
• Boosts the maximum 504 Loan guarantee, (currently $1 million) as follows: $1.5 million for a general 504 guarantee, and $4 million for a guarantee that supports a manufacturing project. For a 504 loan that supports one of the nine specified public-policy goals the maximum guarantee is increased from $1.3 million to $2 million;
• Revises job-creation requirements for a 504 loan portfolio from one job per every $35,000 to one job per every $50,000 (for generic loans), to $75,000 (for Alaska, Hawaii, enterprise zones, empowerment zones, and other special areas), and to $100,000 (for manufacturing loans);
• Requires that the SBA create a Small Business Manufacturing Task Force, charged with ensuring that the SBA is properly addressing the particular needs of small manufacturers. This component is drawn from S. 1977, the "Small Manufacturers Assistance, Recovery, and Trade (SMART) Act," which Snowe introduced with Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) in November 2003.
• Requires the SBA to accept any finding of injury by the International Trade Commission or the Secretary of Commerce as qualifying criteria for a small business to apply for an International Trade loan within the 7(a) program's International Trade sub-program;
• Permits SBICs to invest excess cash in mutual funds that, in turn, invest in the government-backed obligations already authorized for SBICs;
• Improves the HUBZone (Historically Underutilized Business Zone) Program to address the serious consequences that military base closings pose for local communities by designating military bases that close after the date of the enactment as HUBZones for five years;
• Grants the SBA additional authority to regulate Small Business Lending Companies, which are lending companies that do 100 percent of their business in SBA programs, and which do not have a different primary regulating agency;
• Extends the Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs and its responsibilities through September 30, 2006;
• Extends the authority to provide small business outreach grants to veterans and reservists in addition to service disabled veterans.