1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Investing in America’s Small Businesses Act of 2017 . 2. Findings The Congress finds the following: (1) Small businesses in underserved areas have for generations been unable to access affordable credit. (2) A 2013 report commissioned by the U.S. Small Business Administration shows the major constraint limiting the growth, expansion, and wealth creation of small firms—especially women- and minority-owned businesses—is inadequate capital. (3) Small businesses revitalize communities by creating jobs, and also contribute to the local tax base, which helps finance investments in schools, hospitals, infrastructure, and public safety. (4) A 2015 report from the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire found that 79 percent of CDFI loan volume went to borrowers from underserved populations. (5) During the financial crisis, CDFI loan funds expanded their activity to meet increased demand from borrowers that could not access traditional lending. From 2006 to 2009, the median fund deployment ratio grew 3.1 percent annually. (6) After Superstorm Sandy, CDFIs launched disaster recovery loan programs and reached out to affected businesses and organizations to provide credit to help grocery stores and social service organizations re-open to help communities in need. (7) A 2014 report by the Dardin School of Business at the University of Virginia found that despite serving predominately low-income markets, CDFI banks and credit unions had virtually the same level of performance as mainstream financial institutions. 3. Grants to establish loan-loss reserve funds for small business lending (a) In general The Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 ( 12 U.S.C. 4701 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 123. Grants to establish loan-loss reserve funds for small business lending (a) Purposes The purposes of this section are— (1) to make financial assistance available from the Fund in order to help community