Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

By Sofia Sanchez- University of New Mexico/ Talk Radio News Service

According to Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), the drop in small business lending is responsible for his state's dismal unemployment rate.

“The reduction in the number of loans going to small businesses is dramatic. In my state of Michigan, it is down 74 percent in the last two years,” said Levin during an appearance before the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Economic Policy. “We’ve got a 15 percent unemployment rate and there is a connection between those two.”

Bank loans and leases have declined for the sixth straight quarter, with total loans to commercial and industrial borrowers declining 4.3 percent and real estate construction and development loans declining by 8.4 percent, according to the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Economic Policy

“It is no secret that roughly two-thirds of the jobs in this country are created by small businesses, and it is clear that we must once again rely on the engine if small business growth is to move us down the path to a full recovery,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who chairs the subcommittee.

$30 billion in TARP funds have been set aside to spur lending. However, a debate has recently opened up between lawmakers over whether the funds should be distributed through banks or through the Small Business Administration.