{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://downing.house.gov/media/press-releases/downings-bipartisan-bill-expand-capital-access-rural-job-creators-passes", "DOWNING\u2019S BIPARTISAN BILL TO EXPAND CAPITAL ACCESS FOR RURAL JOB CREATORS PASSES SENATE, HEADS TO PRESIDENT\u2019S DESK", "2026-09-30", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "MT", "Troy Downing", "D000634", "downing.house.gov", "downing", "https://downing.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 This week, the U.S. Senate passed H.R. 1190, Congressman Troy Downing\u2019s bipartisan Expanding Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators Act. The legislation would help rural small businesses overcome barriers to accessing capital.\n\nThe bill updates the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by requiring the SEC\u2019s Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation to report annually on the unique challenges rural businesses face when seeking investment. These reports will give Congress better information as it considers ways to improve access to capital for rural job creators.\n\n\u201cRural small businesses are essential to communities across Montana, but too many still face unnecessary barriers when trying to access capital,\u201d said Congressman Downing. \u201cI\u2019m proud of our legislation, which will help make sure rural businesses are no longer overlooked when Congress considers how to expand access to capital and support job creation.\u201d\n\n\"Rural small businesses shouldn\u2019t have to work twice as hard just because of their ZIP code,\u201d said Congresswoman Janelle Bynum (OR-05), the bill\u2019s co-lead. \u201cThe Senate passing this bill gets us one step closer to changing that. Rural entrepreneurs have the ideas and the hustle. They deserve a fair shot to grow them into something bigger.\"\n\nSenator John Kennedy (R-LA.) led the U.S. Senate companion bill to passage.\n\n\u201cRural small businesses are the backbone of many communities across America, but too many face challenges accessing capital. I\u2019m glad the Senate passed our bill to make sure Congress understands those challenges and help rural job creators grow their businesses, create jobs and serve their communities,\u201d said Senator Kennedy.\n\nRead the bill HERE.\n\nBackground:\n\nThe SEC\u2019s Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation is required to identify problems that small businesses face when securing access to capital and submit an annual report to Congress.\n\nCurrently, the Office\u2019s list of applicable entities are minority-owned, women-owned, and disaster-stricken small businesses.\n\nThis legislation would require the SEC\u2019s Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation to add rural small businesses to its list of applicable entities.", 1, "2026-10-01T11:23:28Z", "2026-10-01T11:25:15Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://downing.house.gov/media/press-releases/downings-bipartisan-bill-expand-capital-access-rural-job-creators-passes"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.96752417832613, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}