American Rescue Plan Signed into Law; SSBCI Included as $10 Billion Program

The State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) was signed into law as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. CDFA hosted a National SSBCI 2.0 Call with interested stakeholders on March 11, 2021, to discuss SSBCI 2.0. During the call, we discussed key SSBCI 2.0 questions and timelines. We also discussed CDFA's plans for SSBCI education and future engagement. Several states spoke about their efforts to re-launch SSBCI programming.

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The State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) was signed into law as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The details can be found in Section 3301 of the American Rescue Plan. Exact Language of SSBCI in Section 3301 View H.R. 1319 on Congress.gov View a Section-by-Section Summary (House Version) View the Full Text (Senate Version)

SSBCI Included in Senate Version of American Rescue Plan

CDFA worked closely with Senators Peters (D-MI) and Stabenow (D-MI) to introduce the bill as well as Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs to ensure that SSBCI reauthorization was included in the Senate's recovery bill. SSBCI cleared its highest hurdle for reauthorization with the Senate voting 50-49 to pass the American Rescue Plan. The bill now goes to the U.S. House of Representatives where it is expected to pass on a party line vote without amendment and be signed into law by President Biden before the March 14 deadline when unemployment benefits are set to expire.

SSBCI Included in House Version of American Rescue Plan

CDFA worked closely with Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) and the House Financial Services Committee to ensure that SSBCI reauthorization was included in the House's recovery bill. The American Rescue Plan builds on SSBCI's initial success by providing $10 billion of new funding split into two categories: $5 billion in formula funds to all states and an additional $5 billion pool of competitive funding.

The Small Business Access to Capital Act – which Peters and Stabenow previously introduced in 2020 – builds on the initial program's success by providing $10 billion into two categories; $5 billion in formula funds to all states and an additional $5 billion pool of competitive funding. View S. 258 on Congress.gov Learn More about SSBCI

The State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) was originally introduced in 2010 to deliver urgently needed capital to small businesses in the United States. The first version of the program was active through 2017 and became one of the most successful federal access to capital delivery mechanisms during its time. SSBCI allowed states the flexibility to design their own small business support programs to accommodate the variation in regional economic conditions. Because of the flexibility and adaptability of SSBCI funds, states were able to deploy over $1.4 billion to support small businesses. That $1.4 billion leveraged well over $8 billion in private small business loans and investments.

The original SSBCI program’s ability to leverage private capital made it an ideal federal program, as it was both incredibly cost-effective and highly impactful: 80 percent of all SSBCI loans and investments went to businesses with 10 or fewer employees, and 42 percent went to businesses in low- and moderate-income communities. More than 16,900 small businesses in the U.S. received financial support from SSBCI, resulting in the creation or retention of 190,000 American jobs.

CDFA worked with our members and partners across the country to encourage Congress to reauthorize funding for SSBCI and recapitalize state programs that had expired in 2017, thereby bringing immediate support to small businesses hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic. In early 2021, CDFA communicated regularly with Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) as they introduced a bill to reauthorize SSBCI in the U.S. Senate as S. 258. CDFA then coordinated with Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) and the House Financial Services Committee to ensure that SSBCI reauthorization was included in the House's version of the recovery bill. Finally, CDFA worked closely with Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs to ensure that SSBCI reauthorization was included in the Senate's version of the American Rescue Plan. SSBCI cleared its highest hurdle for reauthorization with the Senate voting 50-49 to pass the American Rescue Plan, and President Biden signed the bill into law on March 11, 2021.

When the American Rescue Plan was passed, it reauthorized $10 billion in funding for SSBCI 2.0. Pre-existing state programs are ready to immediately deploy capital to businesses in need.