During a House Small Business Committee hearing prior to the congressional recess, Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) spoke about legislation on the SBIC program.
00:00Are there any other members who wish to be recognized for a statement on the bill?
00:04Seeing none, I would now like to recognize the ranking member to speak on the bill and the amendment.
00:09Thank you, Mr. Stover, and thank you to representatives Muser and Scalton for your bipartisan leadership on this bill.
00:17HR 2066 makes statutory improvements to the SBIC program to provide SBICs with access to additional leverage when they invest in certain sectors.
00:30Due to their often capital-intensive nature and early revenue profile, small businesses operating in America's critical technology sector need institutional investors with longer-term time horizons to raise capital.
00:49Yet, due to statutory constraint, these investors are often limited in their ability to participate in the SBIC program.
00:57By providing SBICs with additional leverage flexibility, HR 2066 more appropriately matches the SBIC program with the capital needs for America's small businesses in critical sectors.
01:13This alignment will enable the SBA and Defense Department to continue to successfully carry out their joint SBIC critical technology initiative.
01:24And by providing SBICs with additional bonus leverage, we are encouraging investment in small businesses in our communities that need it the most.
01:34I again want to thank both representatives Muser and Scalton for their leadership on this issue.
01:41I also want to thank Chairman Williams and his team for their collaboration on technical edits to this bill.
01:47I believe through the effort of all parties, we have gotten this bill to a good place.
01:54I'm proud to support it and encourage members to vote yes and yield back.
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