An Open Letter to all the Honorable people who serve in Congress

February 28, 2010

An Open Letter to all the Honorable people who serve in Congress

RE: Help our country accelerate small business growth now by making the Treasury’s annual $5 Billion Dollar New Markets Tax Credit (“NMTC”) Program more specifically apply to small business creation, especially businesses driven by Veterans and Service Disabled Veterans under the SBA Patriot Express Loan Program.

Dear Representatives, Senators and Staffers:

Although I appreciate and applaud the great work the Community Development Financials Institutions have accomplished so far, it’s well past time to begin making the NMTC Program work for small business transactions rather than for a preponderance of larger commercial real estate transactions.

If NMTC are meant to be the extra fuel of a $5,000,000 real estate transaction which eventually creates only five maintenance jobs in a deteriorating commercial real estate market, then I’m against it and Congress should be against it too. If, on the other hand, NMTC are meant to be the extra fuel of a $150,000 SBA Patriot Express Loan for a Veteran or Service Disabled Veteran small business; who then, in turn, will create five jobs in a venture with the potential for growth, then, I’m for them. Congress should honor the Veterans by emphasizing to Treasury and the SBA to support these ventures with the existing NMTC Program. In fact, Congress should support any $150,000 small business transaction trying to create jobs with NMTC!

As you all know, our country now needs to get very good at small business incubation as quickly as possible. One way we can do this with existing resources is to make NMTC more effective and more equitable for small business, especially for Veterans. Congress can accomplish this goal by simply urging Treasury to change their “definition” of small business under the NMTC Program. Congress should urge the adoption of standards which would require that at least 20% of all NMTC allocations be designated for transactions not greater than $1,000,000 and that at least 5% of all NMTC allocations be available to Patriot Express Loans not greater than $150,000, the latter currently being a standard acceptable under other existing SBA Loan Programs but not the SBA Patriot Express Program. These new standards are formally supported by the American Legion Resolution 363, the Veterans Task Force for Entrepreneurship and many Veterans and non-Veterans in small business.

I have written to Treasury asking for their leadership in helping Veterans access the potential opportunities presented by NMTC. If they would simply allocate a portion of 2010 $5 Billion of NMTC to small business as suggested, there will be an Army of Veterans in small business that would then will seek NMTC allocations and use them wisely with their Patriot Express Loans to create jobs. Small business, Veteran or not, isn’t looking for a hand out here, or even a special allocation of NMTC; they simply want an opportunity to compete with the larger players or least get these larger players themselves to entertain smaller transactions. Veterans should simply be eligible for NMTC in conjunction with any SBA Patriot Express Loan, like other SBA Programs.

Times are certainly difficult and even our Veterans Corporation has been forced to live off less resources yet serve more Veterans in need. With commitment and innovation on the part of Service Disabled Veterans partners, we have successfully developed new resources and a better Veteran community development model to serve more Veteran small businesses and create jobs (see attached). Now, we’ll be sharing our story with many others in hopes of encouraging other Veteran small businesses to keep trying.

We appeal to you now to help us help more Veteran small businesses by supporting a change in the direction of the NMTC Program to serve all small businesses. With greater access to the NMTC Program for small business, especially Veterans, we can both accelerate our country’s goals for the economy and help more Veterans. Please help!

Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely,

James F. Mingey
RA 11869427
Combat Veteran, Classified Disabled