WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, joined Senators Chris Coons (D-DE), Tim Scott (R-SC), and Cory Gardner (R-CO) in helping to introduce bipartisan legislation to increase investment in American small manufacturers. The Strengthening Investment to Grow Manufacturing in America (SIGMA) Act would support American manufacturers through increasing affordable loans, incentivizing operation growth, and expanding financial resources and education assistance to small manufacturers. A companion bill in the House was introduced by U.S. Representatives Tim Ryan (D-OH) and Tom Reed (R-NY).
“Our nation has a rich and storied history of cutting edge manufacturing and development,” said Senator Rosen. “This legislation will provide small business manufacturers with the resources they need to not only maintain business, but to expand. I will continue working across party lines on legislation that will help create new jobs in Nevada and across our country.”
“Small manufacturers provide an outsized role in growing the U.S. economy and are vital links in the domestic industrial supply chain,” said Senator Coons. “This bill will help our small manufacturers secure adequate lines of credit so that they can expand their businesses, create new jobs, and continue to support U.S. economic growth.”
“Having been a former small business owner and entrepreneur, I understand the challenges that many across our nation face when trying to start a business and build their American Dream,” said Senator Tim Scott. “By investing in, and providing our manufacturers and innovators with access to, necessary resources, we are advancing our communities and creating more jobs for Americans.”
“For the sake of national and economic security, the United States must remain a global leader in manufacturing,” said Senator Gardner. “But small manufacturing can face some of the steepest startup costs. The SIGMA Act will help ensure small manufacturing entrepreneurs have access to capital to start and grow their businesses. This legislation will create jobs, spur investments in our local communities – particularly our rural economies – and strengthen American manufacturing.”
BACKGROUND: Nevada is home to more than 250,000 small businesses.
The SIGMA Act spurs additional investment for small manufacturing businesses in low- or moderate-income areas, rural areas, areas of high unemployment, and those that are veteran-owned, minority-owned, woman-owned, or are important to national security.
The SBA’s 7(a) and 504 loan programs assist small businesses by providing federally guaranteed loans for businesses. These loan programs, along with the SBA’s Small Business Investment Company, provide investment in America’s start-up manufacturers and growing businesses that have limited access to cash reserves. The SIGMA Act spurs additional investment for small manufacturing businesses in low- or moderate-income areas, rural areas, areas of high unemployment, and those that are veteran-owned, minority-owned, woman-owned, or are important to national security.
In April, Rosen filed several appropriations requests to help Nevada’s small businesses, including to increase funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program, which funds Nevada Industry Excellence and indirectly provides assistance to more than 300 manufacturing businesses in the state each year, from Fisher Space Pen to Popcorn Girl. The President’s most recent budget proposes slashing the MEP program by 96 percent. In the House, Rosen co-led a successful effort on the House floor to restore funding for the MEP program that the Administration had tried to cut.
Last Congress, then-Congresswoman Rosen was one of a small group of Democrats to receive the U.S. Chamber’s Spirit of Enterprise Award for her support for pro-growth policies in the first session of the 115th Congress. Rosen was one of only 13 Democrats in Congress to receive the award.
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