Delaware’s Congressional Delegation Encourages Small Businesses in Delaware Impacted by 2011 Drought to Apply for SBA Disaster Loans

WASHINGTON – Today, Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons, and Rep. John Carney (all D-Del.) encouraged Delaware small businesses, small agriculture cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private non-profit organizations impacted by the drought and excessive heat the occurred June – August 2011 to apply for U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) economic injury disaster loans.
 
“These loans are vital to the recovery of the small businesses that experienced economic pain due to the devastating conditions this summer,” Sen. Carper said. “The Small Business Administration works hard to ensure that businesses across the country have access to the resources they need to recover from hard times, and these loans reflect that purpose. I encourage Delaware businesses that were affected by this summer’s extreme weather to apply for these loans.”
 
“This summer’s excessive heat and dry conditions negatively impacted many Delaware small businesses,” said Sen. Coons. “These loans are designed to assist folks affected by harsh weather conditions, and I encourage Delaware small business owners who need help repairing damages to take advantage of the loan program.”
 
“This summer’s weather conditions caused businesses that are a critical part of Delaware’s economy to suffer,” said Congressman Carney.  “Small Business Administration Disaster loans will help these businesses maintain jobs for Delaware workers and assist in their recovery process.  I urge eligible Delaware businesses to apply for the loan and take advantage of this important resource.”
 
Under this declaration, the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is available to eligible farm-related and nonfarm-related entities that suffered financial losses as a direct result of this disaster. With the exception of aquacultural enterprises, agricultural producers, farmers and ranchers are not eligible to apply to SBA, but nurseries are eligible to apply for economic injury disaster loans for losses caused by drought conditions.
 
“When the Secretary of Agriculture issues a disaster declaration to help farmers recover from damages and losses to crops, the Small Business Administration issues a declaration to eligible entities affected by the same disaster,” said Frank Skaggs, director of SBA’s Field Operations Center East in Atlanta.
 
The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates of 3 percent for private non-profit organizations of all sizes and 4 percent for small businesses, with terms up to 30 years.  The SBA determines eligibility based on the size of the applicant, type of activity and its financial resources.  Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.  These working capital loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred.  The loans are not intended to replace lost sales or profits.
 
Disaster loan information and application forms may be obtained by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing) Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET or by sending an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Loan applications can be downloaded from www.sba.gov.  Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155. 
 
Those affected by the disaster may also apply for disaster loans electronically from SBA’s website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/.
 
Completed loan applications must be returned to SBA no later than May 30, 2012.
 
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