Rep. Chu Reintroduces CREED Act to Help Small Business Owners

Recently, Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27) reintroduced the Commercial Real Estate and Economic Development Act (CREED Act). The bill will help small businesses expand their access to capital by extending the Small Business Administration’s 504 Loan Refinancing Program for five years. Rep. Chu released the following statement:

“Small businesses account for two out of every three new jobs created. Which means that the best way to cement the gains of the still fragile economic recovery is to put more capital in the hands of those job creators. And that is exactly what this bill will do. While small businesses continue to face challenges with unreasonable real estate loans, this bill allows businesses to take advantage of low interest rates by refinancing existing loans and locking in long-term, fixed-rate financing so that they can create jobs and boost economic growth. All at zero cost to the taxpayers! This is a smart, bipartisan policy that works, but it has not been reauthorized since the 2012 trial year. At that time, over 2,700 businesses refinanced nearly $7 billion in old, expensive debt. Extending the program for another five years would help an additional 250,000 small businesses, saving each of them up to $20,000 per month.”

The Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 504 Loan Refinancing Program allowed small businesses to refinance their eligible fixed assets, like commercial property, through the SBA’s 504 program. This program pairs government-guaranteed loans made by nonprofit certified development companies with conventional loans. It allowed small businesses to lock in long-term, stable financing, and finance eligible business expenses as well as protect jobs and hire additional workers. The program was enacted in 2011 and expired on September 27, 2012.

There is bipartisan companion legislation introduced in the Senate by Sen. Shaheen, S.966.

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