Bipartisan legislation aimed at channeling investment capital to small start-ups
WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords today voted for legislation to support the main engine of our economy – small businesses.
Giffords, a former small business owner, was part of a decisive bipartisan majority in the House to back the Small Business Financing and Investment Act.
“America’s small businesses created 65 percent of all new jobs over the past 15 years,” said Giffords. “They are a driving force in our economy and are absolutely critical to the economic recovery now underway.”
The legislation, which passed today in a 389-to-32 vote, coincides with the announcement by the U.S. Department of Commerce that the economy expanded by 3.5 percent in the third quarter of the year.
“This good news about the economy means little to a small business owner who can’t obtain credit to make payroll or invest in future growth,” Giffords said. “The Small Business Financing and Investment Act would confront this problem head-on by incentivizing $44 billion in new lending.”
The Small Business Financing and Investment Act calls for a series of measures that support small businesses in Arizona and across the nation. They include:
• Supporting public/private partnership aimed at channeling investment capital into small business start-ups;
• Expanding equity investment to low income communities;
• Making microloans more affordable for entrepreneurs;
• Providing greater support by the Small Business Administration to help facilitate small business lending;
• Maintaining fee reductions and increased guarantees on loans that were established through the Recovery Act;
• Taking steps to encourage smaller lenders to participate in SBA programs and to help rural businesses and veteran-owned businesses obtain loans;
• Raising loan amounts for loans to help small businesses access larger amounts of capital; and
• Providing financing options for small health care practitioners to afford new health IT technology.
“These measures will help provide credit-worthy small businesses with the capital they need to not only benefit from the economic recovery, but help drive it,” Giffords said.