[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 107 (Monday, June 23, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H2873-H2875]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXPANDING ACCESS TO CAPITAL FOR RURAL JOB CREATORS ACT
Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 1190) to amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to expand
access to capital for rural-area small businesses, and for other
purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1190
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
[[Page H2874]]
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
Missouri (Mrs. Wagner) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Missouri.
General Leave
Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on this bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Missouri?
There was no objection.
Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1190, the Expanding Access to
Capital for Rural Job Creators Act. I commend Congressman Downing for
leading this commonsense bipartisan bill.
Too often, the conversation around capital formation is centered on
financial hubs like New York and San Francisco, but the backbone of
America's economy is the local business communities in cities and towns
and rural areas across all 50 States: the family-run manufacturers,
agricultural innovators, entrepreneurs, and small-town tech startups.
These businesses face unique but very real obstacles when trying to
raise capital.
H.R. 1190 ensures that those voices aren't left out. The bill directs
the SEC's Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation
to proactively engage with rural communities, study the structural
funding gaps that they face, and tackle their challenges when crafting
policies.
{time} 1715
This is not about expanding bureaucracy. It is about sharpening the
focus of an office that already exists to ensure that its mission
reflects the incredible variety of businesses that are the engine of
the U.S. economy.
We all have rural counties in our districts where hardworking small
business owners are ready to grow if only they can access the capital
that they need. This bill gives them a seat at the table and a voice in
sharpening the policies that affect their future.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1190, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, up until now, on each of these bills, I have been
speaking fast, but I know that Mr. Rose and Ms. Waters are planning to
get here in just the next few minutes to speak on the next two bills.
Since they are not here yet, it does the House no harm for me to speak
more slowly and perhaps at greater length.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1190, the Expanding Access to
Capital for Rural Job Creators Act, sponsored by my colleague, the
gentleman from Montana (Mr. Downing).
I will point out that I am uniquely unqualified to address this bill
since my entire district is in an urban area, that of the great city of
Los Angeles. Yet, even I recognize the importance of getting capital to
our small businesses in rural areas.
I strongly support this legislation, which would require the SEC's
Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation to report
on capital access issues faced by small, rural businesses.
Currently, the SEC small business advocate reports on small
businesses that are minority owned or women owned or in disaster-
stricken areas. Yet, at present, the law does not report on businesses
in rural areas. The bill simply adds rural businesses to the list
covered by the entities of the small business advocate and the entities
that the small business advocate will report on.
Small businesses, no matter where they are located or who they are
owned by, are the backbone of the American economy. Helping small
businesses should be about as nonpartisan as we can get here in
Congress. Lawmakers and regulators should be doing everything they can
to support them.
Those businesses located in rural areas face unique challenges. We
have had other speakers on other bills talk about how so many of our
financial institutions and business investors are focused on the East
Coast or the West Coast or in New York, Silicon Valley, or some of the
other large cities in our country.
It is important, therefore, that the small business advocate also
reports on the needs of rural small businesses that are seeking to
raise capital. Lawmakers and regulators should be focused on those
businesses.
This is common sense, and I hope my colleagues will support it.
I commend the gentleman from Montana for bringing this bill to the
floor, and I look forward to continuing to discuss this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Montana (Mr. Downing), my friend.
Mr. DOWNING. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chair for yielding me time.
Mr. Speaker, small businesses are the backbone of Montana's Second
District. According to the Small Business Administration, small
businesses employ roughly 67 percent of all Montanans. That is well
above the national average.
These businesses historically have difficulty accessing the funding
they need to grow and create jobs. Their location presents an added
challenge.
According to the Center on Rural Innovation, 12 percent of U.S.
businesses are located within rural areas, yet they receive less than 1
percent of venture capital funding.
Many of the communities that I represent have populations of under
500 people. It places them among this underserved group. These
overlooked people and places have inspired my legislation, H.R. 1190,
the Expanding Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators Act.
As any small business owner can attest, the number one barrier to
growth is access to capital. Through my own experiences, I know how
difficult it can be for businesses to secure the funding that they need
to grow. I have built businesses in technology, manufacturing,
distilling, and real estate, and a primary driver in the success of all
of these businesses was access to capital.
The SEC's Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation
was created for just this reason: to identify capital access problems
that small businesses face. However, rural small businesses are
currently excluded from the required categories of businesses that the
office monitors for these problems.
My legislation simply requires this office to identify and report to
Congress the challenges faced by rural small businesses when trying to
access our capital markets. H.R. 1190 will make it easier for Members
of Congress to do our jobs to make sure rural businesses, like in
Montana, are not left behind.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Bynum for partnering with me on
this legislation. I was happy to see it pass out of the Committee on
Financial Services with unanimous support. I urge my colleagues to
support this commonsense legislation.
Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is
remaining.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from California has 17 minutes
remaining. The gentlewoman from Missouri has 16 minutes remaining.
Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that the House has no further
legislative business after we consider the bills that are before us
today. The authors of the last two bills up for consideration are on
their way, so should I speak slowly, or should we go into recess?
Either way, we are not delaying the House.
Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support H.R. 1190, the Expanding
Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators Act. It is a simple but
important step to directing the SEC's small business advocate to
include small, rural businesses in their reporting.
[[Page H2875]]
As I have noted before, the small business advocate currently reports
on the challenges faced by minority-owned, women-owned, and disaster-
affected small businesses. This would add rural small businesses to the
list.
This is a gap we need to fix. Small businesses in rural communities
face unique hurdles in accessing capital, and they deserve the same
attention as the other types of businesses that the advocate focuses
on.
No matter where they are located and no matter who owns them, small
businesses are the backbone of our economy. They should be and are a
bipartisan priority, and this bill is a step in the right direction.
With the understanding that we will be able to deal with the other
bills that are scheduled to come before us even after a short recess, I
urge a ``yes'' vote on H.R. 1190, and I yield back the balance of my
time.
Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, in closing, the Expanding Access to Capital for Rural
Job Creators Act takes care of our hardworking small business owners
who are ready to grow. They deserve a seat at the table, Mr. Speaker.
I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 1190. I commend the
Representative from Montana (Mr. Downing) for introducing this
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 Missouri (Mrs. Wagner) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1190, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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