After considerable delays and a lot of public prodding by President Obama, the Senate passed the small-business aid bill on Thursday, by a vote of 61-38, reported AOL Small Business.

The measure allows for a $30 billion government fund that will significantly boost lending opportunities for small businesses, which have long suffered from the recession-fueled credit crunch. The fund is available to community banks, and by some estimates, could be used to leverage as much as $300 billion in loans to small businesses.

In addition, the legislation provides $12 billion in tax breaks, including an immediate 50 percent write-off for new equipment purchases in 2010, applicable for large and small businesses. The breaks would help retailers and restaurants that build new stores or remodel existing ones. The biggest short-term beneficiaries of this tax cut, however, would likely be large businesses recovering capital improvement costs through depreciation.

The measure also lowers fees for Small Business Administration loan programs while increasing loan guarantee and lending limits, exempts some long-term investors in small business from paying capital gains taxes and allows small-business owners to deduct the costs of health insurance for themselves and their families from self-employment taxes for the 2010 tax year.

"At a time when small-business owners are still struggling to make payroll and they're still holding off hiring, we put together a plan that would give them some tax relief and make it easier for them to take out loans," the president said Wednesday, prior to the bill's passage.

The bill now returns to the House, where it is expected to be approved as early as next week and then sent to Obama's desk.