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Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As both Chair and Ranking Member of this committee, ensuring small businesses have access to credit and investment opportunities has always been one of my top priorities.

Under the leadership of President Biden, small business growth has proved resilient. Since he took office, 16 million Americans have filed to start new businesses, the strongest stretch on record.
But while economic progress continues to be made, we must do better, and that means ensuring all of America’s small businesses have the capital they need to succeed.

Unfortunately, data published by the Federal Reserve found that minority-owned business were just as likely to apply for credit in 2020, but Black, Asian, and Latino-owned small businesses were less likely than white-owned businesses to report receiving all of the credit that they sought.

And when it comes to venture funding, the disparity is even more staggering. Black and Hispanic female entrepreneurs received less than 1 percent of all venture capital investments in 2020.

SBA’s capital access programs are critical to addressing these disparities. For example, the SBA’s Community Advantage Program has been successful at bridging this market failure—facilitating more than $139 million in micro-financing to underserved small business last year.

Democrats have developed numerous other policies and programs to facilitate financing to women-and minority-owned small businesses, but these ideas have been met with continued opposition from the majority.

The majority recently passed Congressional Review Act legislation seeking to overturn the CFPB’s Section 1071 Rule—which is specifically designed to ensure women- and minority-owned small businesses receive access to financing on terms similar to those as white-owned firms. This legislation was immediately vetoed by President Biden.

Attempts to ensure our banking system is resilient and well capitalized, and capable of supporting businesses in both good economic times and bad, are also being met with stiff opposition from the majority. The proposed joint rulemaking implementing the Basel III: Endgame Agreement is fully consistent with the important aim of enhancing the ability of small businesses to access financing.

Two key points about the proposal must be made from the outset. First, the proposed rule is just that: a proposal. It is not final. And on several occasions, Vice Chair Barr has reiterated his willingness to meet with interested parties and hear feedback. Just last week, at my invitation, Vice Chair Barr meet with Democrats on this Committee to discuss the proposal and answer our questions.

And second, there are more than 4,500 banks in this country and less than 40 of them will be directly affected by the rule.
Community banks, which do approximately 40 percent of the nation’s small business lending, will not be impacted by the proposal.

Small businesses remain the backbone of our nation’s economy and ensuring large banks remain well capitalized, so they don’t create another financial crisis, is critical to ensuring all of main street’s small businesses have access to credit and investment opportunities.