AUGUSTA – The federal government is putting a rush on loan applications for small businesses that need a hand paying increasing fuel bills.

According to a release from Sen. Olympia Snowe, administrators of the Small Business Administration have been instructed to expedite loan applications for businesses grappling with escalating fuel bills.

“I am hopeful that small businesses in Maine and elsewhere will seek out and use the SBA loan programs, which offer cost-effective ways to access needed funds,” said Snowe. “I know that many small businesses struggle to deal with high heating fuel costs, and these loans can provide an efficient way to satisfy those needs right now.”

Bonnie Erickson, public relations officer for the SBA in Maine, said a completed loan application could be approved in as little as one or two days if the business has supplied all the necessary information. The specific loan is called 7(a), the Business Loan Guaranty Program.

“The secret is getting all the information together for the application,” said Erickson. “But it’s highly doable.”

Typically, a business person seeking SBA assistance would fill out a 7(a) loan application at its own lending institution, such as its bank or credit union. The application is forwarded from the lender to the SBA office in Augusta, where it will receive priority attention. If approved, the funds are released back to the lender to give to the business person.

Erickson said that when fuel costs first started to skyrocket three or four years ago, there was a rush on the 7(a) loans. She said it’s possible the same thing will happen now that fuel oil hovers around $2 a gallon.

“It’s just terrible,” she said.

For more information, small business owners may contact their local lending institutions, or the SBA’s Maine District Office at 622-8274.

– Carol Coultas