House passes Small Business Financing and Investment Act of 2009
On October 29, the House passed H.R. 3854 which would
- specifically allow cooperatives to receive Small Business Administration loans
- raise caps on SBA loans
- create the Small Business Early Stage Investment (SBESI) program, which would provide matching grant funding for venture capital investments in early-stage small businesses in targeted industries including agricultural technology, energy technology, environmental technology, life science, information technology, digital media, and clean technology
- make several other changes to SBA programs intended to improve them and make them more accessible.
The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
