The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is an unprecedented effort to jump-start our economy, create or save millions of jobs, and ensure our nation can meet the challenges of the 21st century. The Recovery Act assigns a key role in this effort to the U.S. Small Business Administration, providing it with program tools that offer new economic incentives to small businesses and lenders alike, all aimed at growing our economy through job creation, re-starting lending, and investing in small businesses and the entrepreneurial spirit of Americans.
The Recovery Act takes a comprehensive approach to several problems facing small Business today.

The Act:

• Provides entrepreneurs and lenders financial relief from the current economic crisis that will help encourage borrowing and lending to all small businesses, including start-ups
• Offers businesses access to the capital and the tools they need to drive economic recovery and to create and retain jobs
• Helps unlock credit markets for small businesses
• Temporarily eliminates some loan fees for borrowers and lenders

• Temporary Elimination of Loan Fees
• Temporary 90 percent Guarantees
• Secondary Market Liquidity for Section 7(a) loans, SBA’s largest loan guarantee program, which serves a wide variety of small business borrowing needs
• America’s Recovery Capital (ARC) Stabilization Loans
• Expanded Microloans
• Surety Bond Program Expansion
• Secondary Market for First Mortgages associated with Section 504 Certified Development Company loans, which support small business capital-asset and real-property investments
• Expanded Refinancing Project for Section 504 Loans
• Small Business Investment Company Program Expansion

SBA is working to implement these elements with the goal of having the broadest impact on small businesses as rapidly and effectively as possible.