Microloan Bill Passes House
On Tuesday the House passed my bipartisan bill, H.R. 3496, The Northern Mariana Islands Small Business Access Act, to extend eligibility for the Small Business Administration’s microloan program to the CNMI. The bill corrects a long-standing gap in federal small business law by explicitly including the CNMI in the program, which issues loans of up to $50,000 at affordable interest rates for small businesses that may not qualify for traditional financing. Every other state and territory in the United States is already eligible for the program, other than the CNMI. This bill fixes that omission and gives our local entrepreneurs access to the same tools that small businesses across the country use to grow, create jobs, and survive tough periods. I will continue to push to make sure my bill passes the Senate and becomes law.