U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin introduced her first piece of legislation in the Senate on Thursday with a bill aimed at making more money available for business startups.
“Certainly, my focus as a senator and as a candidate was reinvigorating the Wisconsin economy and trying to grow a strong middle class that has taken its share of hits in recent years,” Baldwin said. “We know the vast majority of new jobs come from small startups.”
One part of the bill would add $1 billion in capital available to private investment companies licensed and regulated by the Small Business Administration.
The 55-year-old program provides government backing to leverage private funds for business operations, growth and modernization and is self-sustaining. Last year, SBICs distributed more than $3 billion in financing to more than 1,000 businesses at no cost to taxpayers, according to the SBA.
Qualifying businesses must have at least half their assets and employees in the United States and typically have a net worth of less than $18 million and after-tax net income of less than $6 million.
None of the more than 300 licensed Small Business Investment Companies licensed are in Wisconsin, though Minnesota has more than a dozen, according to the SBA’s directory.
A second portion of the bill would create a new program for startups in target industries including advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, clean energy, digital and water technologies — industries where Baldwin said Wisconsin is poised to be a leader.
Baldwin said her bill would fund biotech and life science industries, which were excluded from the state’s new venture capital legislation.
There is no set funding attached to the second program, though Baldwin said she would expect to seek about $2 billion should the bill pass. As with the existing program, she said that one-time expenditure would create a revolving loan fund.
“These are public funds that really leverage private investment,” Baldwin said. “They don’t have to be replenished by the taxpayer.”
