The Hill News

Partisanship in Washington has risen to an all-time high and “politics as usual” has come to mean complete gridlock, where the most basic legislation falls flat because of political gamesmanship. That’s why the bipartisan jobs bill headed to the president’s desk for approval is such a breath of fresh air. The Jumpstart our Business Startups (JOBS) Act will do some real good for America’s entrepreneurs â€" our nation’s primary job creators who, with help from laws like the JOBS Act, can pull the country out of its financial stupor.
 
The JOBS Act addresses one of small businesses’ biggest problems: a lack of access to credit. Banks' loan portfolios have been reduced by more than $47 billion since the pre-recession peak -- and that affects business owners across the country. Recent opinion polling Small Business Majority released found 90 percent of small businesses say the availability of credit is a problem, and 60 percent have faced difficulty ! themselves when trying to obtain loans that would grow their business. Another 61 percent of small business owners said it is harder now than it was four years ago to get a loan. And according to National Small Business Association (NSBA) data dating back nearly 20 years, there is a direct correlation between access to capital and job growth â€" when capital flows more freely, small businesses add new jobs.

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