Investing in All of America Act

Summary#

This Act amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958. It changes rules about how the Small Business Administration (SBA) counts borrowed funds (leverage) for Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs). The law says funds obtained from federal, state, or local governments generally are not counted toward leverage approval, except certain funds already listed in the statute such as pension plans, foundations, endowments, or college/university trusts. It lowers or adjusts numeric leverage limits and adds new dollar limits for certain companies (for example, numeric changes from 300 to 200 in one limit and new dollar caps such as $250,000,000 and $175,000,000 for certain licensed companies). The law lets SBICs exclude from their leverage calculation investments in smaller enterprises located in low-income or rural areas, firms in specified critical technology categories, and small manufacturers. The excluded amount for such investments cannot exceed the lesser of 50 percent of the private capital of the company or $125,000,000. Only investments made after the date of enactment are eligible for this exclusion.

What it means for you#

• If you run or work at a Small Business Investment Company (SBIC): the SBA will use new rules to count or exclude certain funds and investments when deciding how much leverage the SBIC may use. Some numeric limits in the statute were changed and new dollar caps were added.
• If you run a small business in a low-income or rural area, a covered critical technology area, or are a small manufacturer: investments made by SBICs after the law took effect may be excluded from the SBIC's leverage calculation, subject to limits described above.
• If you are a provider of public funds: most funds obtained from federal, state, or local governments are not to be counted for leverage approval, except for certain pension, foundation, endowment, or university trust funds explicitly allowed by the statute.
• Timing: only investments made after the law was enacted are eligible for the new exclusion.

Expenses#

No publicly available information.

Proponents' View#

The Act's stated purpose is to "exclude from the limit on leverage certain amounts invested in smaller enterprises located in rural or low-income areas and small businesses in critical technology areas," and it makes related technical changes to the Small Business Investment Act of 1958.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.