Investing in All of America Act of 2025

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2066, the Investing in All of America Act. Small Business Investment Companies, or SBICs, are an essential part of the small business lending ecosystem. Under this program, SBA works with and licenses private institutions to provide financing to small, high-growth companies.

Unfortunately, due to statutory constraints, investors are often limited in their ability to participate in the program when focusing on rural and underserved communities, small manufacturers, or small businesses critical to national security.

Due to their capital-intensive nature and early revenue profile, these small businesses operating in the critical technology sector need institutional investors with longer term time horizons to raise capital.

That is why this bill makes statutory improvements to provide SBICs with access to additional leverage when they invest in these businesses.

Providing SBICs with additional leverage flexibility will ensure the capital needs of small businesses in our critical technology sector are met by the SBIC program. This will enable the SBA and DOD to successfully implement their joint Small Business Investment Company Critical Technology Initiative.

In addition, this bill provides another avenue to extend private investment to small businesses in rural and underserved communities, something that lenders and policymakers have repeatedly fallen short on. This additional bonus leverage will encourage more investment in communities that need it most.

I applaud Representatives Meuser and Scholten for leading this bipartisan effort, and I thank Chairman Williams and his team for their collaboration on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes'', and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. CISNEROS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to close by once again thanking Mr. Meuser and Ms. Scholten for their leadership on this bill and their efforts to extend additional capital to rural and underserved entrepreneurs, as well as the critical technology industry.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support this bill and encourage all of my colleagues to do the same. I yield back the balance of my time.

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