U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-OH) played a key role in introducing bipartisan legislation that would establish new channels for investments in economically distressed communities.
The Investing in Opportunity Act would incentivize investments in small businesses, entrepreneurs, blighted properties and local infrastructure projects in distressed communities across the country through the creation of geographically targeted funds.
Tiberi was joined by U.S. Sens. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), and U.S. Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) in introducing the legislation. It would also create a temporary capital gains deferral in exchange for investments made in distressed communities.
“Too many American communities have been left behind by widening geographic disparities and increasingly uneven economic growth,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement. “We come from different parties and regions, but share the common conviction that all Americans should have access to economic opportunity regardless of their zip code.”
Most parts of the country are now seeing more businesses close than open. Since 2010, just five metro areas have produced the same net increase in businesses as the rest of the country combined, according to a report by the bipartisan public policy organization Economic Innovation Group.
The bill would establish “opportunity funds” that would enable investors across the country to pool resources, and it would establish “opportunity zones” that would be geographically targeted low-income areas designated by governors.
“The Investing in Opportunity Act will unlock new private investment for communities where millions of Americans face the crisis of closing business, lack of access to capital and declining entrepreneurship,” the legislators said. “American ingenuity has never failed us, and with this bill, we will dramatically expand the resources to restore economic opportunity, job growth, and prosperity for those who need it most.”