Sheet Metal Stamping Simulation

The National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA) and the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) today called on the U.S. Senate to act immediately on the need to pass the Small Business Lending Fund Act, a bill that would help small and medium sized manufacturers access credit needed to help finance their day-to-day operations, invest in expansion of domestic operations and ensure that a disruption in the critical supply chain does not occur.

The bill, already passed by the House, creates a $30 billion lending pool that community bankers can use for small businesses, and $12 billion in tax incentives.

"In the past week, the Senate has passed bills addressing Wall Street reform and extending unemployment benefits," said PMA President Bill Gaskin. "It's now time for the Senate to focus on helping the backbone of the U.S. economy, small and medium sized manufacturers. We are the engine that will boost employment and lead this country out of the current economic crisis but this can't be done if our members can't access the credit needed to invest in our businesses."

"Small and medium sized manufacturers continue to bear the brunt of the financial crisis - trapped between their customers and creditors," continued Gaskin. "We need this bill passed now because traditional lenders have either drastically reduced lines of credit or denied loans to companies that are healthy or temporarily impaired due to the global economic crisis."

"If Senators want to help our manufacturers, this is the bill to support," added NTMA COO Rob Akers. "The loan facility is critical so that we can gain access to the credit needed to operate our companies. The bill uses already appropriated Treasury funds."

"The time for talk is over," concluded Akers. "Congress talks a good game about supporting manufacturing in this country. It's time for them to show it by passing this bill."