[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 114 (Tuesday, July 9, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H5285-H5287]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         EXPANDING ACCESS TO CAPITAL FOR RURAL JOB CREATORS ACT

  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2409) to amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to expand 
access to capital for rural-area small businesses, and for other 
purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2409

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Expanding Access to Capital 
     for Rural Job Creators Act''.

     SEC. 2. ACCESS TO CAPITAL FOR RURAL-AREA SMALL BUSINESSES.

       Section 4(j) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 
     U.S.C. 78d(j)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (4)(C), by inserting ``rural-area small 
     businesses,'' after ``women-owned small businesses,''; and
       (2) in paragraph (6)(B)(iii), by inserting ``rural-area 
     small businesses,'' after ``women-owned small businesses,''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Waters) and the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.


                             General Leave

  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Representatives Axne and Mooney 
for working together to put forth this bipartisan piece of legislation 
to require the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation at the 
Securities and Exchange Commission to pay particular attention to the 
unique challenges rural-area small businesses face in accessing the 
funds they need to grow and thrive.
  This important bill has gained broad bipartisan support because it is 
aimed at understanding and addressing real problems faced by Americans 
all across our country: the capital needs of rural startups and 
entrepreneurs.
  When we created the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation we 
recognized that our Nation's small businesses are proven job creators 
which require special attention from the SEC. However, it is also 
important for the advocate to recognize that different types of small 
businesses face unique challenges. For example, as a result of my 
amendment to the legislation creating the position, the advocate is 
required to specifically consider the challenges facing minority-owned 
and women-owned small businesses.
  H.R. 2409 would recognize another important category: small 
businesses in rural areas and require the advocate to pay special 
attention to and report to Congress on the unique challenges and issues 
they face.
  According to a recent survey by the Small Business Majority, roughly 
one in five rural small businesses rated access to capital as one of 
the top three challenges to maintaining or growing their business in 
their community. What is more, these businesses largely get their funds 
from personal savings, and only 13 percent said that they received 
investments or gifts from friends or family. So I think it is time for 
the SEC to look into why that is and see what, if anything, we can be 
doing to encourage capital formation for our Nation's rural small 
businesses.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this important 
bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2409, the Expanding Access to 
Capital for Rural Job Creators Act. As a Member of Congress who 
represents a rural area, I want to commend the work of Congresswoman 
Axne and Congressman Mooney for their bipartisan commitment to help 
rural small businesses access capital.
  In the House Financial Services Committee, we continue to highlight 
the importance of capital formation for individuals in underbanked 
rural communities.
  Small and rural communities in Kentucky and other places are 
extremely vulnerable during recessions and during recovery, and their 
subsequent recoveries are often slower due to a lack of access to 
capital.

[[Page H5286]]

  U.S. counties as a whole saw more business establishments close than 
open during the first 5 years of the most recent financial crisis. This 
decline was felt disproportionately in rural areas, where the 
percentage of business closures was higher. Additionally, as our 
economy recovers, data shows that small businesses and startups are 
much less likely to form in rural areas than urban areas.
  H.R. 2409 is an example of bipartisan legislation that can help solve 
the biggest issue for a number of rural small businesses, and that is 
access to capital.
  H.R. 2409 would amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to direct 
the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation to identify unique 
challenges to rural-area small businesses when identifying problems 
that small businesses have with securing access to capital.
  Small towns across the country are still struggling to recover from 
the post-financial crisis recession. It is imperative that we fully 
understand the challenges facing rural areas so that we can 
reinvigorate economic growth and diversify rural economies in those 
areas that need help the most. This bipartisan bill is an important 
tool for us to better address the capital formation issues facing our 
rural small businesses and job creators.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2409, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the 
gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Axne), who is the sponsor of H.R. 2409.
  Mrs. AXNE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 
2409, the Expanding Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators Act.
  I want to thank my colleagues, Mr. Mooney, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. 
Riggleman, Mr. Pappas, and Mr. Rose for their work and for cosponsoring 
the Expanding Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators Act, and I want 
to thank our chairwoman of the Financial Services Committee to help us 
bring this here today.
  As a small business owner, I know how difficult it can be to access 
the capital you need to succeed, and my friends across the aisle just 
explained that very well. I thank them so much for the bill that they 
have brought to the floor. However, rural entrepreneurs face unique 
challenges when it comes to accessing capital, but far too often their 
voices are left out of the conversation.
  For example, in a recent Federal Reserve survey of small businesses, 
despite more than 70 percent of rural small businesses being a low 
credit risk, less than half received the full amount of funding that 
they were seeking. This restricts growth in rural areas. That same 
survey found that only 35 percent of rural small businesses expected to 
increase employment in the next year compared to 51 percent in urban 
areas. This can create a cycle where younger people leave rural areas 
because there are no jobs, furthering the decline in certain rural 
areas across this country.

  The bipartisan Expanding Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators Act 
will ensure that rural small businesses have a seat at the table as 
Federal policymakers consider new rules that govern investment and 
capital. The Office of the Advocate of Small Business Capital Formation 
at the SEC was established to promote the interests of small businesses 
and help make sure that they have access to capital with a focus on 
supporting women- and minority-owned businesses.
  I would also like to acknowledge the work of Ms. Velazquez and others 
last Congress to include small businesses affected by natural 
disasters, like the recent flooding in Iowa.
  My legislation, H.R. 2409, would expand the focus areas of the 
advocate to include rural-area small businesses. This data will help 
Congress and Federal regulators make better-informed decisions on how 
to best support economic growth in rural America.
  By ensuring that Washington listens to the voices of rural small 
businesses, this legislation will help create jobs in rural Iowa and in 
rural areas across the country contributing not only to their success 
but to the economic success of this entire country's GDP.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairwoman and my colleagues for 
their support and working on this issue, and I ask for a ``yes'' from 
the House.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, as I said before, the gentleman from Virginia 
who is going to speak has personal experience in the private sector, is 
an entrepreneur, and knows a lot about rural America and rural 
America's need for access to capital as an entrepreneur.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Riggleman), who is an outstanding new member of our committee.
  Mr. RIGGLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Representative Mooney, 
and I would like to also thank my colleague, Representative Axne, for 
introducing this legislation.
  I rise today to speak in support of this bill, the Expanding Access 
to Capital for Rural Job Creators Act.
  This bill will expand the mission of the SEC Advocate for Small 
Business Capital Formation to identify the unique challenges facing 
rural small businesses and give them expanded access to the capital 
they need.
  As someone who, along with my wife, started a distillery business in 
the rural part of Virginia, I know many of the challenges faced by 
small business owners in rural areas. These small business owners are 
the backbones of communities across America and pillars of the local 
economies that help these areas thrive.
  According to Census data from 2017, one in five Americans live in a 
rural area. In my district, the Fifth District of Virginia, 
approximately 65 percent of the population resides in a rural area. 
These people deserve the same access to the financial system as urban 
dwellers and urban businesses.
  Running a rural small business is a challenge, and it is important 
for me as the Representative of the Fifth District to advocate for the 
needs of these small business owners. By expanding their access to 
capital, we can help small businesses grow and sustain rural 
communities.
  This bill will allow the SEC to help job creators and improve rural 
economies across the country. I look forward to working with the SEC 
and my colleagues to accomplish this mission.
  For these reasons and many more, Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this 
legislation, and I urge everyone else to do the same.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. John W. Rose), who is another outstanding new member of 
our committee. The gentleman from Tennessee does, in fact, represent a 
rural district and is himself a job creator and someone who knows about 
the need to provide expanded access to credit for rural American 
entrepreneurs.
  Mr. JOHN W. ROSE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 
2409, the Expanding Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators Act. I 
want to thank Representatives Axne and Mooney for their leadership on 
this important issue as well as my colleagues, Representatives 
Velazquez, Pappas, and Riggleman, for their original cosponsorship.
  Small businesses are truly the heart of job growth in rural 
communities. The vast majority of the 19 counties in Tennessee's Sixth 
District are rural, with four being categorized as economically 
distressed counties.
  The workforces in these communities depend on the job opportunities 
provided by entrepreneurs who build their businesses from the ground 
up.
  In my short time in office, I have visited small businesses in rural 
communities of Tennessee's Sixth District. The men and women who run 
and work for these rural small businesses are some of the hardest 
working people I have ever met.
  This bill is simple. It includes rural businesses in the mission of 
the Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation. This 
will allow rural small businesses to receive the capital formation 
assistance they might need and will require the Securities and Exchange 
Commission to consider any adverse effects regulations might have on 
rural small businesses.

                              {time}  1815

  Rural small businesses are often overlooked by their capital 
formation challenges, but their capital formation challenges deserve 
the same attention as any other type of small business.

[[Page H5287]]

  Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this commonsense bill.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I inquire through the Chair if my colleague 
has any remaining speakers on his side.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield myself 
the balance of my time to close.
  Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, as a Representative of a rural 
congressional district and who has tremendous respect for the 
hardworking, small business owners of rural America--and in my case, 
rural, central, and eastern Kentucky--I know how hard it is for folks 
to access the credit that they need to build a business, to grow jobs, 
to create greater and better opportunities for themselves and their 
employees.
  Not every small business in America, Mr. Speaker, can access Silicon 
Valley. Not every small business in middle America can access Wall 
Street. We need the SEC to have greater sensitivity to rural small 
business and their unique challenges in terms of access to capital 
formation.
  So I applaud the leadership of the Members who have brought this 
legislation forward. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. 
Vote in favor of rural small business capital formation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Axne) 
and the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Mooney) for introducing this 
important legislation.
  This bipartisan bill passed the House by a near unanimous vote last 
Congress. It is time for it to become law to help rural businesses 
across this country become even more important job creators.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this 
important piece of legislation, and I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2409.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________