House votes for $30B small business lending fund

A $30 billion government fund would be available to community banks to increase lending to small businesses under a bill passed by the House Thursday [June 17] as congressional Democrats tried to revive their election-year jobs agenda.

House Democrats projected that banks would use the fund to leverage up to $300 billion in loans to small businesses, helping to loosen tight credit markets. Republicans called the bill another bank bailout that would do little to increase lending to small businesses, according to a June 17 AP report.