Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan (MREIDL)- Funds available to employers affected by military deployments

I’m writing to you in my role as the regional vice chair for the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR).

(Thanks to Tim Solomon for passing this along- Russ)

I am over all the unit reps who are responsible for mitigating problems between soldiers and employers from the Utah border to the Montana border.

As we see more and more deployments, we are seeing more and more problems develop. One of the biggest problems for our small employers is losing key employees. But there is help.

If a critical worker has been called to military duty the SBA can help. The agency offers low-interest, long-term loans up to $1.5 million for operating expenses at companies
that demonstrate an employee’s military-related absence has jeopardized the firm’s future. The MREIDP, begun in August 1999, is not well known.

It has drawn just 18 applications in the past three months. Five have been approved for a total of $426,000.

For information on this program, http://www.sba.gov/disaster/mreidl.html