Bipartisan legislation would help small-business startups create jobs, get the economy on right track

WASHINGTON – Congressman Leonard Lance (NJ-07) today voted for H.R. 3606, the “Jumpstart Our Business Startups” or JOBS Act.  The legislation wouldmake it easier for small-business startup companies to grow, create jobs and help get the economy back on track.  The bill passed Congress by a bipartisan vote of 390 to 23.

“Red tape, bureaucracy, economic uncertainty and lack of access to capital make it difficult to create new startup businesses in today's economy,” said Lance.  “The JOBS Act will greatly increase the ability of smaller businesses to grow and create jobs, while sending a strong signal to the American people that Congress is serious about fixing our economy."

Specifically, the JOBS Act contains several measures to remove obstacles that prevent small businesses from raising capital they need to grow and create jobs.  They include:  relaxing burdensome regulations that hinder companies trying to raise capital; lifting restrictions on "crowd funding" so entrepreneurs can raise capital from large pools of small investors; easing shareholder threshold regulations that hurt small businesses with costly requirements before they have the capital to comply; and giving small businesses a reprieve from costly federal regulations, allowing them to go public sooner, grow faster and create more jobs.

"The JOBS Act will give New Jersey startup companies the opportunity to begin to access equity capital where bureaucratic hurdles, red tape, and cost burdens have been too high in today's tough economy," Lance concluded.

The bill now moves to the U.S. Senate for its consideration.  The JOBS Act includes policies recommended by the president’s own jobs council, and the president supports this legislation.

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