US Senators and Small Businesses

Illinois

Dick Durbin – Democratic
Incumbent Since: 1/7/1997
SMB Policies/Laws Passed:

• • Wrote and then fine-tuned the SHOP (Small Business Health Options Program) bill, making health insurance more affordable and predictable for small businesses.

• • As the Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services, he has put forward an extensive effort to make small business credit more accessible. He has also allowed for an increase in the borrowing amount of small businesses and the amount lent by financers as guaranteed by the Small Business Administration, while simultaneously waiving loan fees.

Mark Kirk – Republican
Incumbent Since: 11/29/2010
SMB Policies/Laws Passed: Drafted the “Small Business Bill of Rights”, which can be found here.

Jon Kyl – Republican
Incumbent Since: 1/4/1995
SMB Policies/Laws Passed: Proposed legislation, known as the Small Business Health Relief Act, which repeals provisions of Obama’s healthcare plan, which might have raised the price of health insurance and could have hurt small businesses.

Maryland

Barbara Mikulski – Democratic
Incumbent Since: 1/6/1987
SMB Policies/Laws Passed: Announced with Ben Cardin that Monument Bank in Bethesda, Md., received $11.4 million from the U.S. Department of Treasury as part of the Small Business Lending Fund (SBLF). The SBLF, which was established under the Small Business Jobs Act, encourages community banks to increase their lending to small businesses, helping them to expand their operations and to create new jobs.

Benjamin Cardin – Democratic
Incumbent Since: 1/4/2007
SMB Policies/Laws Passed: Announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development (RD) awarded seven grants totaling $112,562 to help small businesses in rural areas improve their energy efficiency with solar panels.