I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1491 

To amend the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to reauthorize and 

expand the New Markets Venture Capital Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 12, 2009 

Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin (for herself, Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky, and Ms. 

KAPTUR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business 

A BILL 

To amend the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to 

reauthorize and expand the New Markets Venture Capital Program, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Securing Equity for 

5 the Economic Development of Low Income Areas Act of 

6 2009’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF NEW MARKETS VENTURE CAPITAL 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 (a) SELECTION OF COMPANIES IN EACH GEO4 GRAPHIC REGION.—Section 354 of the Small Business In5 vestment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 689b) is amended by 

6 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(f) GEOGRAPHIC REQUIREMENT.—In selecting com8 panies to participate as New Markets Venture Capital 

9 companies in the program established under this part, the 

10 Administrator shall select, to the extent practicable, from 

11 among companies submitting applications under sub12 section (b), at least one company from each geographic 

13 region of the Small Business Administration.’’ 

14 (b) PARTICIPATION IN NEW MARKETS VENTURE

15 CAPITAL PROGRAM.— 

16 (1) ADMINISTRATION PARTICIPATION RE17 QUIRED.—Section 353 of the Small Business Invest18 ment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 689b) is amended by 

19 striking ‘‘under which the Administrator may’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘under which the Administrator shall’’. 

21 (2) SMALL MANUFACTURER PARTICIPATION

22 AGREEMENTS REQUIRED.—Such section, as amend23 ed by paragraph (1), is further amended, by insert24 ing after ‘‘section 352’’ the following: ‘‘(with at least 

25 one such agreement to be with a company engaged 


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1 primarily in development of and investment in small 

2 manufacturers, to the extent practicable)’’. 

3 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

4 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Adminis5 trator of the Small Business Administration shall submit 

6 to Congress a report evaluating the success of the expan7 sion of the New Markets Venture Capital Program under 

8 this section. 

9 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF NEW MARKETS 

10 VENTURE CAPITAL. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Small Business In12 vestment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 671 et seq.) is amended 

13 by adding at the end the following new section: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 202. OFFICE OF NEW MARKETS VENTURE CAPITAL. 

15 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established 

16 in the Investment Division of the Small Business Adminis17 tration an office to be known as the ‘Office of New Mar18 kets Venture Capital’. 

19 ‘‘(b) DIRECTOR.—The Office of New Markets Ven20 ture Capital shall be headed by a Director who shall be 

21 appointed by the Administrator. 

22 ‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF DIRECTOR.—Subject to 

23 the direction and control of the Administrator, the respon24 sibilities of the Director of the Office of New Markets Ven25 ture Capital are as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(1) To administer the New Markets Venture 

2 Capital Program. 

3 ‘‘(2) To periodically assess the nature and scope 

4 of the New Markets Venture Capital Program and 

5 to advise the Administrator on recommended 

6 changes to the program based on such assessment. 

7 ‘‘(3) To work to expand the number of small 

8 business concerns participating in the New Markets 

9 Venture Capital Program. 

10 ‘‘(4) To encourage investment in small manu11 facturing. 

12 ‘‘(5) To perform such other duties relating to 

13 such responsibilities as the Administrator may pro14 vide.’’. 

15 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

16 authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 to carry out this 

17 section. 

18 SEC. 4. LOW-INCOME GEOGRAPHIC AREAS. 

19 (a) MODIFICATION OF DEFINITION OF LOW-INCOME

20 GEOGRAPHIC AREA FOR PURPOSES OF NEW MARKETS

21 VENTURE CAPITAL PROGRAM.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 351(3)(A)(ii)(I) of 

23 the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 

24 U.S.C. 689(3)(A)(ii)(I)) is amended by striking ‘‘50 

25 percent’’ and all that follows through the end and 


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1 inserting ‘‘the median family income in that tract 

2 does not exceed 80 percent of the greater of the 

3 statewide median family income or the metropolitan 

4 area median family income; or’’. 

5 (2) APPLICATION OF AMENDED DEFINITION TO

6 CAPITAL REQUIREMENT.—The definition of low-in7 come geographic area in section 351(3) of the Small 

8 Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 

9 689(3)), as amended by subsection (a), shall apply 

10 to private capital raised under section 354(d)(1) of 

11 the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 

12 U.S.C. 689c(d)(1)) before, on, or after the effective 

13 date of the amendment made by subsection (a). 

14 (b) STUDY ON AVAILABILITY OF EQUITY CAPITAL.— 

15 (1) STUDY REQUIRED.—Before the expiration 

16 of the 180-day period that begins on the date of the 

17 enactment of this Act, the Chief Counsel for Advo18 cacy of the Small Business Administration shall con19 duct a study on the availability of equity capital in 

20 low-income urban and rural areas. 

21 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the 

22 completion of the study under paragraph (1) the Ad23 ministrator shall submit to Congress a report con24 taining the findings of the study required under 


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1 paragraph (1) and any recommendations of the Ad2 ministrator based on such study. 

3 SEC. 5. CONDITIONALLY APPROVED COMPANIES. 

4 (a) OPERATIONAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS TO CONDI5 TIONALLY APPROVED COMPANIES.—Section 358(a) of the 

6 Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 

7 689(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following 

8 new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(6) GRANTS TO CONDITIONALLY APPROVED

10 COMPANIES.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara12 graphs (A) and (B), upon the request of a com13 pany conditionally approved under section 

14 354(c), the Administrator shall make a grant to 

15 the company under this subsection. 

16 ‘‘(B) REPAYMENT BY COMPANIES NOT AP17 PROVED.—If a company receives a grant under 

18 paragraph (6) and does not enter into a partici19 pation agreement for final approval, the com20 pany shall repay the amount of the grant to the 

21 Administrator. 

22 ‘‘(C) DEDUCTION FROM GRANT TO AP23 PROVED COMPANY.—If a company receives a 

24 grant under paragraph (6) and receives final 

25 approval under section 354(e), the AdminisVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:48 Mar 14, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1491.IH H1491

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1 trator shall deduct the amount of the grant 

2 under that paragraph from the total grant 

3 amount that the company receives for oper4 ational assistance. 

5 ‘‘(D) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—No company 

6 may receive a grant of more than $50,000 

7 under this paragraph.’’. 

8 (b) LIMITATION ON TIME FOR FINAL APPROVAL.— 

9 Section 354(d) of the Small Business Investment Act of 

10 1958 (15 U.S.C. 689c(d)) is amended by striking ‘‘a pe11 riod of time, not to exceed 2 years,’’ and inserting ‘‘2 

12 years’’. 

13 SEC. 6. APPLICATIONS FOR NEW MARKETS VENTURE CAP14 ITAL PROGRAM. 

15 Not later than 60 days after the date of the enact16 ment of this section, the Administrator shall prescribe 

17 standard documents for final New Markets Venture Cap18 ital Company approval application under section 354(e) of 

19 the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 

20 689c(e)). The Administrator shall assure that the stand21 ard documents shall be designed to substantially reduce 

22 the cost burden of the application process on the compa23 nies involved. 


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1 SEC. 7. ELIMINATION OF MATCHING REQUIREMENT. 

2 Section 354(d)(2)(A)(i) of the Small Business Invest3 ment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 689c(d)(2)(A)(i)) is amend4 ed— 

5 (1) in subclause (I) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the 

6 end; 

7 (2) in subclause (II) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

8 end; and 

9 (3) by striking subclause (III). 

10 SEC. 8. OPERATIONAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS. 

11 Section 358(a)(4)(A) of the Small Business Invest12 ment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 689g(a)(4)(A)) is amend13 ed— 

14 (1) by striking ‘‘shall be equal to’’ and all that 

15 follows through the period at the end and by insert16 ing ‘‘shall be equal to the lesser of—’’; and 

17 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(i) 10 percent of the resources (in 

19 cash or in kind) raised by the company 

20 under section 354(d)(2); or 

21 ‘‘(ii) $1,000,000.’’. 

22 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

23 (a) REAUTHORIZATION OF NEW MARKETS VENTURE

24 CAPITAL PROGRAM.—Section 368(a) of the Small Busi25 ness Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 689q(a)) is 

26 amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘fiscal years 2001 through 

2 2006’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2009 through 

3 2011’’; 

4 (2) in paragraph (1), by striking 

5 ‘‘$150,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$100,000,000’’; and 

6 (3) in paragraph (2), by striking 

7 ‘‘$30,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$25,000,000’’. 

8 (b) AUTHORIZATION FOR MANUFACTURING AND RE9 GIONAL NEW MARKETS VENTURE CAPITAL COMPA10 NIES.—There is authorized to be appropriated 

11 $1,000,000, to be available until expended, to carry out 

12 section 354(f) of the Small Business Investment Act of 

13 1958, as added by section 2, and to enter into participa14 tion agreements with companies engaged primarily in de15 velopment of and investment in small manufacturers 

16 under section 353(1) of such Act, as amended by section 

17 2. 

Æ 


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