On the recordNovember 9, 2017
I thank Mr. Emmer for his leadership on this bill. As a small businessman, prior to coming to Congress, I have raised capital for startups, and I can tell you that one option is no option. I can tell you that the regulatory framework, particularly made worse by Dodd-Frank, is crippling access to capital for small- and medium- sized businesses. This is a very important thing. One option is no option, and it is great to have this for small, early-stage companies that are trying to raise capital in private placements. Right now, most of this is done for accredited investors. Effectively, this protects deal flow for people that are already wealthy. It locks people out of access to capital. Importantly, for the entrepreneur, sometimes in disadvantaged communities, they don't have this vast network of accredited investors to go to. They don't know how to access the SEC. They certainly don't have the time or money to spend working with the SEC on regulation. They have a business to grow. They need to have access to their friends and family and this early-stage capital to come in. $500,000 isn't much, but it is a start. I hope that we can not just secure this win, but grow the protections, so that we can raise even more capital in this way. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
