Senator Warner hosted a roundtable discussion with small business owners and bankers on Friday at Richmond's Consolidated Bank & Trust to discuss his specific ideas to help small businesses get access to credit.

Since last fall, Senator Warner has been working closely with the White House to design new tools to help “unclog” frozen credit lines, and his proposal is now included in legislation that has passed a House committee and will be included in Senate legislation that will come up for a vote sometime in the next two weeks.

Senator Warner’s proposal includes a modest federal investment into existing programs that link community bankers with small businesses, encouraging those banks to approve loans that they otherwise would make if the economy was stronger. The program would use $2 billion in federal funds to more quickly leverage up to $30 billion in bank loans to struggling small businesses.

"Historically, 65 percent of new jobs coming out of a recession are created by our small businesses," Senator Warner said on Friday. "But I have small businesses coming into my office all the time saying, ‘I can't get a loan.’ ... Then I get bankers who say that they can't put the money out because the credit's not as good."

Many of the participants on Friday said their businesses were actually in a position of growth, but were unable to expand or hire new employees because of the limited access to credit.

Susan Milhoan, president of the Virginia Retailers Alliance, said that the 3,000 small business owners she represents have "experienced tremendous problems getting money" and that Senator Warner's proposal would make "a world of difference."

"It's going to keep businesses in business that otherwise would fail. ... It's not a bail-out for small business, it's not a bail-out for retail, but it's an opportunity for them to recover."

Peter Clements, the president of the Bank of Southside Virginia, said that from a bankers' perspective, Senator Warner's proposal would help local banks just as much as small businesses by giving them a chance to make new investments.

"It would provide some more funds for community banks to be able to lend money out to small businesses because that's what we need," he said.

To learn more about Senator Warner's proposal, click here to read an article from Friday's Virginian-Pilot.