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Demonstrators rally against a partial government shutdown at a protest hosted by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019.
The Consumer Bankers Association pegged the tally of outstanding loans at about 300 for each day of the shutdown, or about $2 billion in lending, according to a letter it sent to President Donald Trump and Congressional leaders Jan. 22. The partial shutdown began on Dec. 22.
The SBA works with lenders to process and guarantee funding for small businesses. The agency does not loan money directly. It does, however, set guidelines for loans with the aim of reducing risk for lenders and making capital more available to small businesses.
Lawmakers agreed on Jan. 25 to keep the government open for three weeks, or until Feb. 15. Since then, the SBA has been working to catch up.
"The SBA has assigned additional staff to ensure loans are processed as expeditiously as possible," an SBA spokesman said. "In the past week alone, the SBA has processed thousands of loans totaling more than $1 billion dollars for America's small businesses."
It could take some time to reverse the lingering effects of the shutdown.
"Small business is going to be the first place you're going to see the impact, because a lot of these loans stop as soon as the shutdown occurs," said David Pommerehn, associate general counsel and senior vice president at the Consumer Bankers Association.
Some small business owners are still waiting to get checks in their hands.