Why It Matters
The Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing titled "Hearings To Examine Empowering Main Street By Unlocking Access To Capital" on Thursday, August 6, examining ways to expand small businesses' access to capital. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) chairs the committee, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) serving as Ranking Member.
The Big Picture
Three witnesses are scheduled to testify: Dalia Blass, senior investment management partner at Sullivan & Cromwell; Kenneth Bentsen, president and CEO of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA); and Mike Flood, senior vice president of the Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Small business advocacy groups have kept up lobbying pressure on capital-access issues ahead of the hearing. The National Association of Development Companies lobbied on the Main Street Parity Act (H.R. 5763) throughout the past year, reporting $38,000 in lobbying income in quarter four of 2025, $51,000 in quarter one of 2026, and $51,000 in quarter two of 2026. The organization also lobbied on the 504 Credit Risk Management Improvement Act of 2025 (S. 2659) during that same period, according to its lobbying disclosure.
The Bottom Line
With witnesses from a top law firm, the securities industry's leading trade group, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce set to testify, the hearing signals a broad push from the financial and business sectors to shape how Main Street businesses access capital. Paired with sustained lobbying around the Main Street Parity Act and the 504 Credit Risk Management Improvement Act, the session could set the tone for whether either bill gains traction this Congress.
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