The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote today on a bill opening government coffers to small businesses with plenty of money from venture capital firms.
H.R. 3567, dubbed by its backers as the “Small Business Investment Expansion Act,” allows a small businesses controlled by a venture capital firm or other investment company to qualify for grants under various federal small-business programs.

Supporters contend the bill will help companies that have long product development time frames, such as those in biotech.

Critics say it’s another example of efforts to gut the original intent of the Small Business Administration.

“The bill … will amount to nothing short of a repeal of the Small Business Act,” says the American Small Business League of Petaluma.

The ASBL says the bill, if it makes it into law, “will force the average small business to compete head-to-head with firms owned and controlled by multi-million dollar venture capital firms for even the smallest orders of goods and services purchased by the federal government.”