Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise to speak to amendment No. 1884. Specifically, this is the crowdfunding amendment. That might be a term that is new to many, so let me explain. The Internet provides new opportunities for capital to reach small businesses and startup entrepreneurs, and what this crowdfunding amendment does is to say that when the crowd; that is, all of those who are surfing the Internet, goes to a funding portal on the Internet, a Web site, to support a company, to invest in a company, there is an orderly process that adequately facilitates this type of opportunity while providing fundamental investor protections. So this will be an effective instrument of capital formation because, indeed, if crowdfunding becomes a situation where inaccurate information is put forward, where there is no accountability, where there are pump-and-dump schemes, then the reputation of crowdfunding will be deeply damaged and the opportunity for capital formation will be equally affected. This follows on a model that is already on the Internet in some other contexts. For example, you can visit a Web site called kickstarter.com, and you as an individual can look at a host of concepts that are being put forward for social and artistic activities across this country. You can say: Yes, I want to help that artist build that sculpture or so on and so forth. They may say how much money they want to raise, and you would decide what you want to donate. That is a donation model.…”