Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe heard from members of the small business community Wednesday about needed changes to the federal stimulus package.

Snowe, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, was joined at Portland City Hall by Karen Mills, the newly tapped administrator of the Small Business Administration and a Brunswick native, and fellow committee member Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire. The hearing was followed by a similar event in Portsmouth, N.H.

SBA lending is up 50% from just prior to the recession, including 230 loans approved in Maine worth $55 million, but small businesses say credit is still hard to obtain. A panel of small business owners and their representatives provided feedback at the hearing.

Panelist James Donnelly of Machias Savings Bank said the SBA's lowering of lending fees and higher loan guarantee thresholds have helped, but voiced concern that the required paperwork can be cumbersome for small businesses with limited staff. David Clough, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, told Snowe that the stimulus effort has yet to be felt at all on "Main Street," partially because discouraged business owners don't bother to approach government agencies, "kind of like not asking a girl for a date because you're afraid she'll say no."