[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 76 (Thursday, May 24, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3638-S3639]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. LANDRIEU (for herself and Ms. Snowe):
  S. 3253. A bill to amend the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to 
enhance the Small Business Investment Company Program, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, as National Small Business Week is 
coming to a close, I come to the floor today to make a strong 
commitment that the Senate Committee on Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship will not lose momentum on our relentless push to help 
America's small businesses grow, thrive, and excel. So today, along 
with the senior senator from Maine, I am introducing the Expanding 
Access to Capital for Entrepreneurial Leaders Act, or the EXCEL Act. 
This legislation will enhance the already successful Small Business 
Investment Company, SBIC, program at the Small Business Administration, 
SBA, that has helped over 100,000 small businesses. The best part of 
our bill is that the EXCEL Act should not cost the taxpayer anything.
  The SBA runs a venture capital program by guaranteeing money borrowed 
by qualified investment funds who invest in small businesses. The 
qualified funds, or Small Business Investment Companies, SBICs, are 
privately owned and operated, but licensed and regulated by the SBA. 
Using a combination of private investments and the loans guaranteed by 
the SBA, typically at a ratio of $2 in guaranteed funds for every $1 of 
private capital, SBICs make long-term investments in American small 
businesses. In order to participate in the program, funds pay licensing 
fees which serve to cover all SBIC program costs. As a result, the core 
SBIC program, Debenture SBICs, not only boasts a strong success rate, 
but also incurs no cost to the U.S. government. Since the program's 
inception, over $50 billion has been invested in over 100,000 small 
businesses.
  The Ranking Member of the Small Business Committee and I conducted a 
roundtable with 14 participants from the SBA, SBICs, investors in 
SBICs, and small businesses to elicit suggestions on enhancing the 
program. Out of that was born the EXCEL Act.
  The EXCEL Act is a bipartisan effort encompassing much-needed changes 
that will allow the SBIC program to meet growing demand and will make 
improvements so that more small businesses can access capital.
  The first thing the EXCEL Act does is raises the SBIC program 
authorization level from $3 billion to $4 billion and pegs it to 
inflation. This change is long overdue--the ceiling has been at $3 for 
some time, despite inflation and the impressive growth in the SBIC 
program. To illustrate: the program grew 50 percent in FY2011 alone. In 
order to meet demand, we need to give the program room to grow.
  Secondly, the EXCEL Act will encourage successful investors by 
raising the limit on ``families of funds.'' Family of funds refers to a 
team of SBIC fund managers who operate several funds. These are 
currently limited to $225 million of SBA-guaranteed debt. However, SBIC 
fund managers who manage more than one fund generally see better 
investment results. The EXCEL Act will encourage that kind of success 
by giving families of funds a higher limit of $350 million, which will 
be indexed to inflation.
  Next, the EXCEL Act improves transparency and accountability in the 
program. The legislation requires that

[[Page S3639]]

the SBA make public how effective individual SBICs are in their small 
business investments, guaranteeing that SBA-backed money is being used 
responsibly.
  Finally, the EXCEL Act promotes outreach, thereby ensuring that the 
maximum possible number of small businesses can benefit from the SBIC 
program. The legislation encourages outreach to community banks and 
other lenders, states and municipalities, and asks the SBA to make 
their SBIC website more user-friendly.
  The EXCEL Act contains a number of common sense provisions supported 
across the aisle, and is sponsored by the Chair and Ranking Member of 
the Small Business Committee. It enhances a program with proven success 
in providing capital to small businesses, and does so with the 
expectation that it will not add a dime to the deficit. Let us get this 
bill passed. Let us help small businesses excel.

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