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Tuesday, February 13, 2007
NELSON LEGISLATION PROMOTES RURAL ENTREPRENEURS AND MICROENTERPRISES

Nebraska's Senator Ben Nelson announced today that he is bringing a time-tested Nebraska idea to Washington, DC. Nelson introduced legislation to provide financial and technical assistance to microenterprises and entrepreneurs in rural areas, building on the successful Nebraska Microenterprise Partnership Fund.

Senator Nelson unveiled the Rural Entrepreneur and Microenterprise Assistance Act at a hearing of the Senate Agriculture Committee. Joining Nelson was Chuck Hassebrook of the Center for Rural Affairs, who endorsed the proposal during testimony before the Committee. 

"Small businesses are the backbone of our rural economy. The continued success of these stores, restaurants and service providers are essential to ensuring that rural communities survive," said Senator Nelson. "This legislation will help existing businesses and encourage the creation of new ones." 

Nelson's legislation would assist entrepreneurs and microenterprises by establishing a Rural Entrepreneur and Microenterprise Assistance program at U.S. Department of Agriculture that would: 

Provide low-income individuals and moderate-income individuals with the skills necessary to establish new small businesses in rural areas, as well as providing continuing technical and financial assistance to such individuals and businesses; 

Provide grants to qualified organizations to provide training, operational support or rural capacity building service to assist rural microenterprises, as well as assist in researching and developing the best practices for delivering training, technical assistance and microcredit to rural entrepreneurs; 

Establish a Rural Microloan Program to provide technical and financial assistance to sole proprietorships and small, rural businesses through direct, short-term loans with low interest rates and deferral options; 

Provides automatic eligibility to qualified organizations for an annual grant (in an amount equal to not more than 25% of the outstanding loan balance) to provide marketing, management and technical assistance to small business concerns that are borrowers or potential borrowers. 

The legislation calls for an annual budget of $50 million for the program. 

The Rural Entrepreneur and Microenterprise Assistance Act builds off a successful program Nelson instituted as governor. The Nebraska Microenterprise Partnership Fund, created in 1997, has provided nearly 4500 loans - totaling $6.9 million - to Nebraska small businesses. The Center for Rural Affairs estimated that last year alone the program helped create or save 7500 jobs at a cost of just $330 per job. 

In testimony before the Agriculture Committee, Chuck Hassebrook expressed strong support for the legislation, stating that it would, "tap the rural development potential of small entrepreneurship." 

"This program has been a success in Nebraska, but there is much more to be done and for that, we need federal support," said Nelson. "My legislation will give entrepreneurs and microenterprises a leg up, creating new jobs and new economic opportunities. I've often said that when it comes to rural America, Washington just doesn't get it. My bill will begin to address that problem." 

The legislation is co-sponsored Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO).

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