BUSINESS
House Passes LGBTQ Small Business Loan Data Bill
Initially blocked by Republicans, legislative effort gets approved on second try
BY TAT BELLAMY-WALKER
The House of Representatives
approved a bill on
June 24 that would collect
data on small business
loans given to LGBTQ-owned
businesses.
The LGBTQ Business Equal
Credit Enforcement and Investment
Act, or HR 1443, led by
out gay Bronx Congressmember
Ritchie Torres, passed by a 252-
176 margin. Lawmakers managed
to pass the measure just weeks after
unsuccessfully trying to pass
it through an expedited legislative
procedure called Suspension of the
Rules, which stipulates that twothirds
of the House must approve
it to pass. On the fi rst try on June
15, 177 Republicans voted against
the legislation, effectively blocking
it. However, the latest voting tally
shows that Republican lawmaker
Lee M. Zeldin of Long Island is
now backing the bill after he previously
voted against it.
Republican lawmakers in New
York still opposing the legislation
on the second attempt included
House Representatives Claudia
Tenney of upstate New York; Elise
M. Stefanik, whose northern New
York district borders Canada;
and Chris Jacobs of western New
York.
According to the bill’s text, HR
1443 would amend the Equality
Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to
ban credit discrimination and require
“LGBTQ-owned” businesses
to be included next to “minorityowned”
businesses whenever mentioned
in the ECOA. It would also
require “sexual orientation and
gender identity” to be mentioned
after “sex” in the ECOA.
Torres applauded lawmakers on
both sides of the aisle for approving
the bill, which was fi rst introduced
in February.
“This bill would make credit
more accessible, credit laws more
enforceable, and creditors more accountable,”
Torres said in a written
statement after the vote. “It represents
a triumph of transparency in
the service of economic opportunity
Congressmember Ritchie Torres cheered the passage of his LGBTQ small business bill.
for all, regardless of who you
are and whom you love. We have
a vested interest in sustaining and
strengthening these businesses
with equal access to credit, which
is the beating heart of the American
economy. I am proud to lead
the effort to deliver results for LGBTQ
small business owners as we
continue to rebuild our economy.”
Torres has worked on legislation
pertaining to LGBTQ small businesses
dating back to his time in
the New York City Council. Two
years ago, he spearheaded legislation
requiring New York City’s
Department of Small Business
Services to certify LGBTQ-owned
businesses and publish a directory
of those businesses. This year,
the Department of Small Business
Services announced that queerowned
small enterprises would
begin receiving access to city contracts,
educational programs, and
other benefi ts.
Out gay Representative David
Cicilline of Rhode Island, the lead
sponsor of the Equality Act in the
lower house, said this is a step toward
eliminating anti-LGBTQ bias
in fi nancial institutions.
“The Equality Caucus is proud
to see movement on another of our
legislative priorities, The LGBTQ
Business Equal Credit Enforcement
and Investment Act,” Cicilline
said in a written statement. “For
far too long, programs designed
to assist minority communities
have left LGBTQ people behind.
That is beginning to change following
today’s vote in the House. I
thank Equality Caucus Co-Chair
Ritchie Torres for his tireless efforts
to move this forward. I look
forward to continuing to deliver results
for our community this Pride
Month.”
Justin Nelson and Chance
Mitchell, co-founders of the National
LGBT Chamber of Commerce,
which focuses on the queer
business community, said collecting
LGBTQ-specifi c data is critical
to dismantling unequal lending
EMIL COHEN/NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL
practices.
“We cannot fi x what we do not
track, and so we must pass HR
1443 so America’s economy can
achieve its full potential,” Nelson
and Mitchell said in a statement.
“America’s 1.4 million LGBT business
owners add more than $1.7
trillion dollars and tens of thousands
of new jobs to the US economy
every year, despite the obstacles
they face in access to capital,
contracts, and more.”
Last month, the legislation
cleared the Financial Services
Committee following LGBTQinclusive
changes announced by
the Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau (CFPB). In March, the
CFPB noted that the Equal Credit
Opportunity Act’s ban on sex discrimination
would cover sexual
orientation, gender identity, and
gender expression. This change
came in response to the Supreme
Court’s decision last year prohibiting
LGBTQ employment discrimination.
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