Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today announced that the U.S. Small Business Administration is making low-interest loans available to New Mexico small businesses affected by two separate weather related occurrences that took place earlier this year.

"The Small Business Administration fills a very important role of assisting businesses that have suffered from circumstances beyond their control.  I'm very glad the SBA is making loans available to New Mexico small businesses," Bingaman said.

The primary counties of Bernalillo, Lincoln, Taos and the neighboring counties of Chavez, Cibola, Colfax, De Baca, Guadalupe, Mora, Otero, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, Santa Fe, Sierra, Socorro, Torrance and Valencia are now eligible to apply for low-interest federal loans to help small businesses with the economic impacts of the freezing temperatures and natural gas shortage that occurred February 1-11, 2011.

A second designation for the primary counties of Catron, Chaves, De Baca, Doña Ana, Eddy, Hidalgo, Lea, Luna, Otero, Quay, Roosevelt, Sierra and Socorro and the neighboring counties of Cibola, Guadalupe, Harding, Lincoln, San Miguel, Torrance, Union and Valencia was also announced.  Businesses in these counties are now eligible to apply for low-interest loans to offset economic losses relating to drought, high winds and wildfires that occurred beginning January 1, 2011.