WASHINGTON — On Monday, President Barack Obama signed into law the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 in the presence of lawmakers, governors and several small business owners who championed the legislation. The new bill expands upon a Small Business Administration pilot program that made available floorplan financing loans of up to $2 million to U.S. auto dealers. The new bill raises the limit on such loans to $5 million for creditworthy dealers.

"It was critical that we cut taxes and make more loans available to entrepreneurs," Obama said. "Small businesses produce most of the new jobs in this country. They are the anchors of our main streets."

To date, the SBA has loaned $61 million to 61 dealers under the pilot program, which was launched in May 2009 and will expire in September 2013. Among other requirements, a qualifying dealership must be worth $8.5 million or less with annual post-tax earnings of less than $3 million.