News

Washington, D.C.  — U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, joined Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) in introducing the Economic Empowerment for Underserved Communities Act, which would ensure underserved communities have access to capital to promote economic revitalization, respond to the unprecedented loss of minority-owned businesses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and further encourage long-term investments in low-income minority communities.
 
This legislation includes Chairman Rubio’s Small Business Growth and Domestic Production Investment Facility, which would enhance access to venture capital dollars for minority-owned small businesses, manufacturing startups, and firms whose revenues were impacted by COVID-19.
 
“Throughout this crisis, we have made it a priority to ensure emergency funding for small businesses is available to under-banked and underserved communities,” Chairman Rubio said. “I am proud of the work we’ve been able to do in this short period of time, but also recognize that as a nation we must do more to help our most vulnerable communities and small businesses recover and rebuild. Senator Loeffler’s bill does exactly that by providing critical funding and resources that would benefit underserved entrepreneurs as well as establish long-term support and investments in low-income communities.” 
 
“As part of the Prosperity Plan, the Economic Empowerment for Underserved Communities Act will expand access to the capital required to support minority-owned businesses, create jobs and promote economic revitalization,” Senator Loeffler said. “With this legislative framework as an anchor, the Prosperity Plan will ensure that the pathways to success opened under the leadership of President Trump do not close – and that every family across our state has the opportunity to prosper for generations to come.”
 
The Economic Empowerment for Underserved Communities Act:
 

• Allocates $7 billion to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund program account. 
• Makes the New Markets Tax Credit permanent. 
• Establishes Opportunity Zones field representatives at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
• Creates an equity based program within the SBA’s Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program.
• Makes the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) permanent and creates the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for the Minority Business Development Agency.
• Prioritizes grant assistance through Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for organizations located in an Opportunity Zone.
• Extends SBA debt relief provisions from the CARES Act, Section 1112.