Washington, D.C.- (March 14, 2018)- Today marked a great win for cooperative businesses during the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business legislation markup. H.R. 5236, the “Main Street Employee Ownership Act of 2018” was passed with bipartisan support. This bill directs SBA to make the agency's 7(a) loans more accessible to cooperatives and to work with lenders, the cooperative business community, and other relevant federal agencies to develop practical reforms to make their lending programs more accessible to all eligible cooperatives. Thank you to Representative Steve Chabot (Ohio), Representative Nydia M. Velazquez (NY) and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand ( NY) and their respective staff for their support in helping co-op businesses have better access to capital.
