The SBA notified the Iowa senator that 51 counties may apply for federal physicaldisaster and/or economic injury loans.
"The sooner we help storm-weary small businesses to get back up and running, thebetter," said Grassley. "We need to do what we can to jump-start the economic engines of MainStreet and federally-backed low-interest loans will get them on the road to recovery."
In the last fiscal year, the SBA maintained a guaranteed loan portfolio of more than $40billion to 491,000 small businesses that otherwise would not have had access to such capital.
In a letter sent last month, Grassley urged the president to grant Governor Vilsack'srequest for a Presidential Disaster Declaration for the portions of Iowa that have been devastatedby severe weather.
*** Note to editors:
The 51 Iowa counties eligible to apply for SBA disaster assistance are attached. Thedeadline for the physical disaster loans is September 19, 1999. The deadline for economic injuryloans is April 24, 2000.