FINDINGS.

SEC. 112. FINDINGS. The Congress finds that— (1) nationwide, there are many individuals who possess skills that, with certain short-term assistance, could enable them to become successfully self-employed; (2) many talented and skilled individuals who are employed in low-wage occupations could, with sufficient opportunity, start their own small business concerns, which could provide them with an improved standard of living; (3) most such individuals have little or no savings, a nonexistent or poor credit history, and no access to credit or capital with which to start a business venture; (4) women, minorities, and individuals residing in areas of high unemployment and high levels of poverty have particular difficulty obtaining access to credit or capital; (5) providing such individuals with small-scale, short-term financial assistance in the form of microloans, together with intensive marketing, management, and technical assistance, could enable them to start or maintain small businesses, to become self-sufficient, and to raise their standard of living; (6) banking institutions are reluctant to provide such assistance because of the administrative costs associated with processing and servicing the loans and because they lack experience in providing the type of marketing, management, and technical assistance needed by such borrowers; (7) many organizations that have had successful experiences in providing microloans and marketing, management, and technical assistance to such borrowers exist throughout the Nation; and (8) loans from the Federal Government to intermediaries for the purpose of relending to start-up, newly established and growing small business concerns are an important catalyst to attract private sector participation in microlending.