Tom Emmer: “Small businesses are critical to job creation and sustainable economic growth in America. In my home State of Minnesota…”

“Small businesses are critical to job creation and sustainable economic growth in America. In my home State of Minnesota, 1.2 million workers--nearly half of our State's private workforce--is employed by a small business. When one of the more than 500,000 small businesses in Minnesota contacts our office, it is most often about how well-intended, yet short-sighted, regulations are inhibiting their ability to utilize the financial products they rely on. In order to ensure the creation and growth of small business, it is imperative that we do our job in Washington to make certain they have access to the capital they need. Since 1980, the Securities and Exchange Commission has been required to conduct a government-business forum each year to present and discuss ways to improve small business capital formation. However, the SEC is under no legal obligation, as we have heard several times today, to respond to any of the findings or recommendations that come out of these forums. That is why the Small Business Capital Formation Enhancement Act is so important. The proposed legislation will require the SEC to respond to the findings and recommendations made at these annual government- business forums. This will ensure that the ideas formulated at these government-business forums will be carefully considered at the SEC and possibly even implemented.…”