Roger Williams: “Small businesses are the engines of our economy. Over half of the country's payroll is made from small businesses, and…”

“Small businesses are the engines of our economy. Over half of the country's payroll is made from small businesses, and when we work to find solutions to help these entities, we are strengthening the economic foundation of our country. So before we start debating these bills, I thank our leadership team for recognizing the importance of small businesses and bringing these bills to the floor quickly so we can help build up Main Street America. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 400, better known as the Investing in Main Street Act. Last Congress, the Subcommittee on Capital Access held a hearing on the small business investment company program, otherwise known as the SBIC program. During this hearing, our members heard from witnesses about how this program attracts private equity investments to small businesses to hire more people and expand their operations. This is a self-sustaining program that supports our Nation's job creators without costing taxpayers any money. In order to expand on this success, H.R. 400 looks to increase the maximum allowable investments by SBICs from 5 percent to 15 percent of their excess capital to small businesses. This change will allow for greater amounts of private equity dollars to go toward small businesses. Additionally, this will align the SBIC program to other financial regulations coming out of the OCC and will help jumpstart growth of small businesses across this country.…”