Joe Pitts: “This week I received a letter from a friend who works for a medical device company that is looking to expand its…”

“This week I received a letter from a friend who works for a medical device company that is looking to expand its business by attracting an angel investor. Who are angel investors? They are wealthy individuals who invest their own money in companies with promise. They are not speculators. They are not brokers. They are individuals with vision who seek out entrepreneurs with creative ideas. New regulations proposed in the Senate financial reform bill would require a 120-day waiting period for startups seeking funds and add more restrictions on the minimum assets or income needed to become an angel investor. Angel investing is not what brought down our economy. In fact, startups funded by such investments provided 10 percent of all new jobs even though they account for less than 1 percent of the new companies. Starbucks, Costco, Facebook, Google, the list of successful angel investment companies is long. In my friend's case, if his company is not able to attract new investment, they will be unable to hire new workers or invest in new equipment. We should not cut short job growth with excessive new regulations.”