WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has sent Congress a proposal to create a $30 billion support program to unfreeze credit for the nation's small businesses.

The $30 billion fund would provide support to small and medium-sized banks with assets under $10 billion to encourage them to increase lending to small businesses.

Obama outlined the effort in his State of the Union address in January. Initially the administration planned to obtain the resources by tapping leftover funds in the financial bailout program. Officials said Friday that the new effort has no links to the unpopular Troubled Assets Relief Program.

In remarks to reporters at the White House, Obama said that the program had been expanded to include a new state small business credit that would support efforts by state governments to provide loans to small businesses.

An administration official said many states have their own programs to support loans to small businesses but these programs have faced cutbacks because of severe budget shortfalls in many states because of the recession.

This official said the administration expects that Rep. Nydia Velazquez, head of the House Small Business Committee, and Sen. Mary Landrieu, head of the Senate Small Business Committee, would add their own proposals to the legislation as it moves through Congress.

"Getting capital to small business is going to be critical to sustaining our recovery and continued job growth," Velazquez, D-N.Y., said in a statement. "The committee will work to ensure that whatever Congress moves forward accomplishes that goal."

The administration has faced growing pressure to increase government help for small businesses.

Lawmakers in both parties have complained that while the government created a $700 billion bailout fund that provided help to big financial institutions and two auto companies, small businesses have struggled to get the financing they need to keep operating.