American Ownership and Resilience Act

Key Points

• This bipartisan bill creates a new facility at the Department of Commerce to provide up to $5 billion per year in government-backed loans (called leverage) to licensed investment companies. These companies must use the money exclusively to help workers buy the businesses where they work through employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) or worker-owned cooperatives.
• At least half of every investment firm's capital must go toward deals where employees buy a majority stake in their company. The other half can finance existing employee-owned businesses. This structure ensures the program actively creates new worker-owned companies, not just supports existing ones.
• To protect workers from unfair deals, the bill requires an independent trustee and an independent financial advisor to review each transaction. It also bars employees from putting up their own money, wages, or retirement savings to fund the purchase of their company.
• The bill includes a mentorship program called the Protege OIC Program, where experienced investment firms guide newer ones through the licensing process and management of employee-ownership deals. Protege firms can receive up to $100 million in government-backed leverage.
• The Commerce Department must begin accepting applications within 540 days of the bill becoming law and approve the first batch of licenses within 2 years. The program has a built-in sunset clause: no new licenses can be issued starting 20 years after the first license is approved.