JOBS Act 3.0: Representatives Hensarling and Waters Join on Bipartisan Bills to Boost Small Business & Help Entrepreneurs
Washington,
July 17, 2018
By JD Alois
In a profound act of bipartisanship, Representative Jeb Hensarling, Chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, and Representative Maxine Waters, ranking member on the Committee, have joined together on a series of bills that are designed to “help America’s small businesses and entrepreneurs and to protect investors.” The legislation has been dubbed the the “JOBS and Investor Confidence Act of 2018” (or JOBS Act 3.0). These 32 individual bills have each passed the Committee or House with bipartisan support and are thus ready for the Senate. Hensarling stated in a Committee release; “Over the last several months, our Committee has been working hard to put forth a number of capital-formation bills that are designed to breathe new life into markets that are suffocating under aging regulations. Thanks to the efforts of the Ranking Member and Members of the Committee on both sides of the aisle, we have a strong bipartisan package that will play an important role in sustaining long-term economic growth and global competitiveness.” Hensarling said the Senate has committed to take up this important package. In an OpEd published in WSJ.com, Hensarling expressed a truism that highlights the importance of helping small business; “Without a steady stream of small businesses in the pipeline, the U.S. cannot sustain strong long-term economic growth, much less compete with China. Small businesses employ almost half of Americans working in the private economy. They include the Apples, Googles and Amazons of tomorrow. Yet too many startups never make it off the launchpad.” Hensarling pointed to the fact that US startups hit a 40 year low in 2016. Domestic IPOs have tanked in recent years. Last year, China easily topped the US in number of IPOs a – an issue that “has probably cost the US millions of jobs. In a separate statement, the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) voiced its support for the JOBS Act 3.0. SBE Council president & CEO Karen Kerrigan, said the JOBS Act 3.0 comes at a critical time. From clarifying regulations to make sure that startups can connect with investors at “demo days” and networking events to establishing “venture exchanges” and more, Kerrigan urged the Senate to move forward. “Capital is the fuel that drives entrepreneurship and sustainable economic growth. Small businesses and startups need a continuous flow of capital to launch, compete and grow, and JOBS Act 3.0 addresses an array of regulatory barriers and costs – from launching a firm to exit – that impede opportunity and growth. We applaud the resolve of Chairman Hensarling, the support of Ranking Member Waters, and the collaborative bipartisan work of all Financial Services Committee members for their ongoing efforts to see that entrepreneurs and small businesses have the capital they need to succeed.” H.R. 5783, Cooperate with Law Enforcement Agencies and Watch Act of 2018 – Sponsored by Rep. French Hill (R-AR) and cosponsored by Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL), the “Cooperate with Law Enforcement Agencies and Watch Act of 2018” provides a safe harbor for financial institutions that maintain a customer account at the request of a Federal, State, tribal or local law enforcement agency. The bill passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support, 379-4, on June 25, 2018. |
