WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Small Business Investor Alliance (SBIA), the leading association for lower middle market private equity funds and investors, applauds the House of Representatives today for taking up the vote on H.R. 5405, the Promoting Job Creation and Reducing Small Business Burdens Act, sponsored by Representative Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA). The bill is a compilation of several bipartisan capital formation measures, including the SBIC Advisers Relief Act of 2014, which has garnered strong bipartisan support and was unanimously voted out of the House Financial Services Committee earlier this summer.
“The Fitzpatrick jobs legislation reduces duplicative red tape for investors in domestic small businesses,” said Steven Hobman, a General Partner at NewSpring Mezzanine Capital and Chair of the Small Business Investor Alliance's SBIC Committee. “Fitzpatrick's bill really targets areas in the law that are filled with unnecessary red tape, and Congress needs to pass these provisions to move capital more freely in our financial system.”
Brett Palmer, President of the SBIA, said, “Small business investors are being encumbered by portions of Dodd-Frank. The passage of the SBIC Advisers Relief Act is an important step towards freeing small business investors from double regulation and unnecessary regulatory burdens that distract them from their passion – growing small businesses. As the backbone of America’s economy, a healthy lower middle market is critical to overall economic growth. The SBIA will continue to work with Congress to ensure this bill is passed into law.”
The legislation raises and reforms the triggering thresholds for SEC Investment Adviser Registration for many advisers of SBIC, venture and other small private equity funds.
Following today’s House of Representatives vote on H.R. 5405, the SBIA will work with the Senate to take up the bill with the aim of having it signed it into law this year. An earlier version of the SBIC Advisers Relief Act was reported out of the Financial Services Committee with a unanimous, bipartisan vote. A companion bill has been introduced in the Senate by Senators Kirk (R-IL) and Manchin (D-WV).
SBICs are on pace to invest $5 billion this year in domestic small businesses, a high percentage of which are in manufacturing, low and moderate income areas, and other areas and industries that have difficulty accessing growth capital. This legislation contains commonsense corrections that will enable more small business investment and job creation, rectifying issues faced by investment advisers to SBIC, venture and other private equity funds.
About the Small Business Investor Alliance (SBIA)
The Small Business Investor Alliance (SBIA) is the premier organization of lower middle market private equity funds and investors. SBIA works on behalf of its members as a tireless advocate for policies that promote competitive markets and robust domestic investment for growing small businesses. SBIA has been playing a pivotal role in promoting the growth and vitality of the private equity industry for more than 50 years. For more information, visit www.SBIA.org or call 202-628-5055.