WASHINGTON – The Small Business Administration is once again disputing claims that its 7(a) loan program numbers are down as a result of supposed higher fees.

On June 12, Rep. Nydia Velzquez, (D-N.Y.) ranking Democrat on the House Small Business Committee, said that figures from SBA show that entrepreneurs received $160 million less through the 7(a) program for the first half of fiscal year 2006 when compared to the same time the previous year. Velzquez said the decrease can be partly blamed on higher fees incurred by lenders and borrowers.

SBA Spokesman Michael Stamler told Credit Union Times "it's important [that].the facts are not deliberately misrepresented." He counters that 7(a) loan volume doubled to a record 88,912 loans last year and as of June 2 the agency had approved 65,814 loans totaling $9.68 billion. The approval figure for the same date a year ago was 65,147 loans for $10 billion.

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