U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., introduced a proposal to help farmers and manufacturers get financing for their businesses.
With the “Modernizing Agriculture and Manufacturing Bonds Act,” (MAMBA) Murphy hopes to “modernize decades-old financing tools used by farmers and manufacturers to grow and create more jobs” by streamlining “private activity bonds to help small manufacturers and first-time farmers grow their businesses, invest in new equipment, and hire more workers.” Murphy insisted the “bonds are a key economic tool for state and local development agencies to help finance small- to mid-sized manufacturers.” U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill., is cosponsoring the proposal.
After introducing the bill last week, Murphy highlighted it on Tuesday.
“Florida farmers and manufacturers deserve to have innovative and updated financing tools to invest in their local community and hire more workers,” said Murphy. “I’m proud to lead this bipartisan bill with Rep. LaHood that will modernize the way farmers and manufacturers across the country acquire capital, providing them with the resources they need to grow, create more jobs, and bring their businesses into the 21st century.”
“Farming and manufacturing are critical to economic success of the constituents I represent in central and west-central Illinois,” said LaHood. “Our legislation will help entrepreneurs and first-time farmers receive the financing they need to grow, create good-paying jobs, and bolster our economy in the Midwest. I am proud to join my Ways and Means colleague Rep. Stephanie Murphy in this bipartisan effort, and I’ll continue to work in Congress to ensure farmers and manufacturers have the necessary tools to be successful in our 21st-century economy.”
The Florida Development Finance Corporation, the Illinois Finance Authority, the Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) and the National Council of State Agricultural Finance Programs endorsed Murphy’s legislation.
“These proposed changes will make a big difference to businesses in Florida. These provisions would help many American small manufacturers and first-time farmers receive the financing they need to grow, create more jobs for Floridians, and build a strong local economy. The Florida Development Finance Corporation supports these proposed amendments and hopes for bi-partisan support to pass these much-needed improvements,” said Bill Spivey, the executive director of the Florida Development Finance Corporation.
“America needs low-cost and efficient 21st-century financing tools to help our small manufacturers and small farmers compete in world markets as well as to grow the number of quality American middle-class jobs that these employers support,” said Illinois Finance Authority Executive Director Chris Meister.
“We’re thrilled that MAMBA has been reintroduced. It’s a vital piece of legislation that will help lower the barriers for small manufacturers and first-time farmers to access affordable capital,” said CDFA President and CEO Toby Rittner. “Representatives Murphy and LaHood have been great champions of private activity bonds and the development finance industry as a whole, and I’m thankful for their commitment to manufacturing and farming, pillars of the American economy.”
The bill was sent to the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, on which Murphy and LaHood sit, last week. So far, there is no companion bill over in the U.S. Senate.
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.
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