Investing in All of America Act of 2025
The Investing in All of America Act of 2025 would amend the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to change how Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs) calculate leverage limits when they invest in certain targeted businesses. The bill creates an exclusion from the leverage cap for investments in small businesses located in low-income or rural areas, businesses operating in critical technology areas, and small manufacturers. It also revises the leverage thresholds and formulas that apply to SBICs, including lower base leverage limits in some cases, separate limits for commonly controlled companies, and a cap on the amount of excluded investments that can be counted toward the leverage calculation.
The bill further updates the definition of funds eligible for leverage approval, generally excluding government-derived funds from counting toward leverage requests, while preserving certain exceptions for specified institutional investors. It also requires the Small Business Administration to adjust the relevant dollar limits for inflation using the Consumer Price Index, both retroactively to prior enactment dates and annually going forward, with an exception for SBICs authorized to issue accrual debentures.
In practical terms, the bill would alter federal rules governing SBIC financing and could expand the ability of SBICs to support rural, low-income, technology-focused, and manufacturing businesses without those investments fully counting against leverage limits. The affected statutes are sections of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, and the changes would primarily affect SBIC licensees, the SBA Administrator, and small businesses in the designated categories.
The available context suggests generally favorable or bipartisan intent, but there is limited evidence of debate because there are no committee transcripts or recorded votes provided. The bill was introduced by Senators Hickenlooper and Marshall and referred to committee, which indicates initial procedural progress but no documented floor consideration in the materials provided.
The main points of policy focus are the scope of the leverage exclusion, which businesses qualify, and how much excluded investment can be counted outside the leverage cap. Another potential issue is the bill’s inflation-adjustment mechanism and whether the revised leverage limits are sufficient to encourage investment while still maintaining program safeguards against excessive leverage or misuse of government-related funds.
This bill would amend the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 by changing the leverage rules for Small Business Investment Companies. It would create new exclusions from leverage calculations for investments in rural and low-income areas, critical technology sectors, and small manufacturers, while also revising leverage caps, adding inflation indexing, and modifying eligibility rules for certain funding sources. The changes would directly affect SBIC licensees, the SBA’s leverage administration, and small businesses in the covered categories.
No committee transcript or vote record is provided, so there is no direct evidence of controversy or opposition in the supplied materials. The bill’s introduction by Senators from different parties suggests a bipartisan or at least cross-party framing, and the title and structure indicate a pro-investment, pro-small-business policy goal. Overall, the available context points to a generally supportive posture, though only at the introductory and referral stage.
The likely areas of contention are the revised leverage limits, the size of the exclusion allowed for targeted investments, and the treatment of government-derived funds in leverage approvals. Stakeholders focused on program risk or fiscal discipline may question whether the exclusions weaken leverage safeguards, while supporters are likely to argue that the bill is needed to channel more capital into underserved rural, low-income, technology, and manufacturing businesses. The inflation-adjustment provisions and exceptions for accrual debentures could also draw technical scrutiny from SBIC participants and regulators.