SmallBusinessNewz

Remember how, while the bailout bill was under discussion, Minority Leader John Boehner help up thousands of sheets of paper and said absolutely no one had read the whole document?  Well, employees of the Small Business Administration have at least done a little skimming now, and they've found some things that may be of interest to small business owners.

All in all, the SBA will get $730 million thanks to the bill.  Of that, $375 million will go towards "temporary fee reductions or eliminations on SBA loans and increased SBA guaranteed shares," according to a release.  About $255 million will then fund a loan program geared towards resolving existing debt payments.

The SBA's Microloan program is in line to receive $30 million, $20 million should modernize its technology systems, and $15 million will help expand the Surety Bond Guarantee program.  The last $35 million is for staffing and the Office of the Inspector General.

Maybe it would have been nice to see some bigger numbers and a greater number of small business issues taken into consideration.  But Darryl K. Hairston, the SBA's acting administrator, said, "We are going to be part of the solution, and this bill gives us specific tools to make it easier and less expensive for small businesses to get loans, give lenders new incentives to make more loans, and help restore healthy SBA secondary markets to boost liquidity."

Plus, you never know - if the economy continues to sink (the Dow's down 110 points right now), more bailout bills could appear.