Investing in All of America Act of 2025
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The Investing in All of America Act of 2025 amends the Small Business Investment Act to change how much federal-backed leverage a Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) can carry, lowering the base leverage ratio while raising the dollar caps for larger, commonly controlled funds.
It also broadens which SBIC investments — in rural areas, critical technology, and small manufacturers — can be excluded from that leverage limit, and expands what counts as an SBIC's own private capital, reshaping incentives for SBICs to fund underserved and strategic sectors.
What this law does
What it does
The law amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to adjust the leverage rules governing SBICs, which are SBA-licensed private investment funds that use a mix of private capital and SBA-guaranteed debt to invest in small businesses. It reduces the maximum leverage an SBIC may carry from 300% to 200% of its private capital, while raising the dollar cap for commonly controlled SBICs making quarterly or semiannual interest payments from $350 million to $475 million. It also expands the categories of investment excluded from the leverage calculation to include investments in rural areas, certain critical technology categories, and small manufacturers, capping the exclusion at the lesser of $125 million or 50% of private capital. Separately, it broadens the definition of an SBIC's "private capital" to include revenue from additional government-sponsored corporations and funds invested by college or university endowments and trusts, and it specifies that the exclusion applies only to investments made after enactment.
Key provisions
- 1Reduces the maximum outstanding leverage available to an SBIC from 300% to 200% of its private capital.
- 2Raises the maximum financing available to commonly controlled SBICs making quarterly or semiannual interest payments from $350 million to $475 million.
- 3Expands the categories of SBIC investment excluded from the leverage calculation to include rural-area investments, critical technology categories, and small manufacturers.
- 4Sets the cap on excluded investment amounts at the lesser of $125 million or 50% of an SBIC's private capital.
- 5Expands the definition of an SBIC's private capital to include funds from additional government-sponsored corporations and college or university endowments and trusts.
- 6Limits the new leverage exclusion to investments made by an SBIC after the date of enactment.
Who is affected
Small Business Investment Companies licensed by the Small Business Administration, the small businesses and manufacturers they invest in (especially those in rural areas or critical technology fields), institutional investors such as college and university endowments, and the SBA, which administers the leverage program.
Why it matters
The changes reshape how much federally backed debt SBICs can use and which investments count toward that limit, potentially steering more private investment capital toward rural businesses, small manufacturers, and technology firms while tightening the overall leverage ratio for the broader SBIC program.
What changed
Changes to existing law
Amends Small Business Investment Act of 1958, Section 103(9) (15 U.S.C. 662(9)) (Sec. 2(a))
Revises the definition of private capital, adding college/university endowments and trusts and excluding most government-sourced funds from qualifying leverage requests.
Amends Small Business Investment Act of 1958, Section 303(b)(2) (15 U.S.C. 683(b)(2)) (Sec. 2(b))
Lowers the leverage ratio from 300% to 200% of private capital, raises dollar caps, and expands exclusions for rural, technology, and manufacturer investments.
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- The expanded leverage exclusion applies only to SBIC investments made after enactment
Funding and costs
- $475,000,000
Maximum SBA-backed leverage for commonly controlled SBICs making quarterly or semiannual interest payments
- $125,000,000
Cap on the amount of SBIC investment excluded from the leverage calculation
How it works
The SBA, which licenses and oversees SBICs, will apply the revised leverage ratio and dollar caps when approving requests for federally guaranteed leverage. SBICs seeking the expanded exclusion for rural, critical-technology, or small-manufacturer investments must document that investments qualify under the cross-referenced statutory definitions, and only investments made after enactment count toward the exclusion. The SBA continues to enforce the overall leverage ceiling while applying the separate, capped exclusion calculation.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Became Public Law No: 119-92.
Official CRS summary
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This act modifies the limit on the amount of financing available to a Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) from the Small Business Administration (SBA). It also expands the definition of private capital with respect to SBICs.
Specifically, the act reduces the maximum outstanding financing available to an SBIC from 300% to 200% of the SBIC's private capital. The act increases from $350 million to $475 million the maximum financing available to two or more commonly controlled SBICs that make quarterly or semiannual interest payments.
The act also expands the amounts that may be excluded from the calculation of the financing limit to include the amounts an SBIC invests in (1) rural areas, (2) certain technology categories, or (3) small manufacturers. The act revises the cap on such excluded amounts to the lesser of $125 million or the aggregate of 50% of the private capital of the SBIC.
Additionally, the act expands what is considered the private capital of an SBIC to include funds obtained from the business revenue of additional government-sponsored corporations and funds invested by the trust or endowment of a college or university.
Legislative subjects
Business investment and capital; Commerce; Congressional oversight; Inflation and prices; Rural conditions and development; Small business
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-227