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BUSINESS BASICS CHANNELS 
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Press Release PRESIDENT CLINTON ASKS THE SBA TO OFFER ASSISTANCE TO SMALL BUSINESSES AFFECTED BY OIL PRICES 1/4/01 WASHINGTON – President Clinton asked the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to make government-backed loans available to small businesses struggling under the financial burden of rapidly rising oil prices. President Clinton once again urged the SBA to initiate an “aggressive outreach program” to make short and long-term loans available to small businesses. This is the second consecutive winter that President Clinton has called upon the SBA to provide loans and technical assistance for small businesses to combat financial hardship during periods of severe weather and resulting increases in oil prices. Last year, Administrator Alvarez issued instructions to SBA’s field offices to assist small businesses in peril due to the skyrocketing oil prices. Administrator Alvarez is again asking the 70 SBA field offices nationwide to participate in the “aggressive outreach campaign” outlined in the President’s address to ensure that small businesses affected by high oil prices are aware of the assistance available to them. President Clinton also requested that the Secretary of Energy extend an emergency order requiring electricity generators and marketers to make power available to keep lights on in California. Existing
SBA programs like SBAExpress and the revolving credit lines featured
under CAPLines allow SBA to provide guaranties on short-term working
capital loans under favorable terms. There are also other SBA- guaranteed
loans available that will ensure that small businesses have sufficient
cash available to continue to meet their energy needs. Additionally,
these guaranteed loans will allow small business owners to spread
their energy payments over a longer period typically provided by
their vendors. |
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