Improving Access to Small Business Information Act

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the

bill (H.R. 1548) to amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to specify that actions of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation are not a collection of information under the Paperwork Reduction Act, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this bill.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1548, the Improving Access to Small Business Information Act.

I thank my colleagues from both sides of the aisle, the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Kim), the author of this legislation, and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Gottheimer), for working on this commonsense piece of bipartisan legislation that will help ensure America's small businesses and entrepreneurs are heard at the SEC.

H.R. 1548 provides a simple fix that will allow the SEC's Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation, or the Advocate, to become a more impactful voice in support of American entrepreneurs and capital formation.

Each year, the Advocate and its staff host events around the country to support small businesses and to better understand their most pressing issues when it comes to raising capital. Such interactions help the Advocate analyze the potential impact of policy changes likely to affect small businesses and their investors.

Under current law, however, the Advocate may not collect information--such as through surveys or studies--from small businesses and entrepreneurs without triggering the burdensome requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act. This, in turn, introduces a host of bureaucratic hurdles the Advocate must navigate in carrying out its mission.

By clarifying that such actions of the Advocate are not a collection of information under the Paperwork Reduction Act and providing exemptions from the most burdensome aspects of the Paperwork Reduction Act, H.R. 1548 enables the Advocate to engage with American small businesses with less friction.

With fewer hurdles in place, the Advocate will gain a better understanding of the capital formation challenges that small businesses face, which will result in better policymaking decisions here in Washington, D.C.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 1548 is a balanced and thoughtful bill that cuts unnecessary and onerous red tape to allow the SEC's Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation to become a more effective champion in support of American small businesses and capital formation. For this reason, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1548, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Kim), the author of this piece of legislation, and my friend and colleague.

Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, so I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I would simply urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1548, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Wagner for yielding.

I rise in strong support of my bill. This is a bipartisan bill, H.R. 1548, the Improving Access to Small Business Information Act.

H.R. 1548 is very simple. The legislation would amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to specify that certain actions by the Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation are not a collection of information under the Paper Reduction Act.

Currently, the office must adhere to a prolonged process to get approval from OMB on surveys that could help get better information on the capital formation challenges small businesses and their investors face on a daily basis.

Former Director of the SEC's Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation, Martha Miller, told our office, ``The office went through a yearlong process just to collect registration information for our annual forum and ask a few basic questions to understand the audience attending.''

So, by the time her office got a response from OMB, the circumstances of the economy had changed, and some of the survey questions were outdated and did not serve their intended purpose.

Rather than answering these unrelated questions to the difficulties facing small businesses, it would have been so much more effective for small business owners and investors attending the forum to be focused on analyzing the substantive issues and share effective perspectives on capital formation policies.

The SEC's Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation is the primary office that looks to advance the interests of the small businesses and their investors at the SEC and in the capital markets.

With the ever-changing economic and regulatory environment, the office is required to adapt quickly to the needs of the small businesses and gather timely feedback to improve capital raising policy.

H.R. 1548 reduces red tape and streamlines access to tools that the office can utilize to gather more effective and timely data. The better information that the office can gather, the better Congress and the public can identify policy gaps and facilitate small business capital formation.

I thank Chairman James Comer and House Oversight and Accountability Committee staff for working with my staff and Financial Services Committee staff to address standing policy on the PRA and get H.R. 1548 through the finish line.

I also thank my colleague and friend, Mr. Gottheimer of New Jersey, for co-leading H.R. 1548, the Improving Access to Small Business Information Act, with me. I urge my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 1548.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in support of H.R. 1548, the Improving Access to Small Business Information Act, sponsored by Representative Young Kim from the great State of California.

The Paperwork Reduction Act mandates that all Federal agencies receive approval from the Office of Management and Budget before putting forth a paper form or survey that will impose an information collection burden on the general public.

Although this is well-intentioned, the Paperwork Reduction Act may often prevent Federal agencies like the SEC from obtaining data from the public, the very data that assists agencies in carrying out this mission.

This bill streamlines the ability of the SEC's Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation to carry out its mission by exempting it from the requirements of the Act in the same way that a sister agency, the SEC's Investor Advocate, is currently exempted.

In effect, it enables the small business advocate to properly conduct its job, which will strengthen the ability of the SEC to craft regulations that help small businesses raise capital.

I also want to note that as part of the negotiations that resulted in this bipartisan compromise bill, Chairman McHenry and Ranking Member Waters agreed that in the months ahead they will work together on bills to strengthen the independence and capacities of the investor advocate and of the small business advocate at the SEC.

These two offices, both of which are congressionally created, must be given sufficient resources to satisfy their unique roles within the SEC. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close if the gentlewoman from Missouri has no further speakers.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

I commend the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Kim) for her excellent work on this bill.

H.R. 1548 streamlines the ability of the SEC's small business advocate to better support small businesses' efforts to raise capital. I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1548, Improving Access to Small Business Information Act.

The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 regulates transactions of securities in the secondary market.

The act typically governs transactions which take place between parties which are not the original issuer, such as trades that retail investors execute through brokerage companies.

The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 is a federal law designed to reduce the total amount of paperwork burden the federal government imposes on private business and citizens.

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act, agencies must comply with specific procedures when gathering information from the public.

H.R. 1548 will amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to specify that actions of the Advocate Small Business Capital Formation are not a collection of information undue the Paperwork Reduction Act.

In other words, this bill excludes from the Paperwork Reduction Act actions taken by the Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation within the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation does hard work to provide an annual report to the United States House and Senate to ensure that we understand the state of small business capital formation.

The Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation will continue to advocate for solutions to improve the capital raising opportunities for the dreamers, builders, doers, creators, and investors who you don't see in the headlines today.

For this reason, it is vital that we pass H.R. 1548.

Madam Speaker, after a routine doctor's appointment found an important medical issue, I am now scheduled for a minimally invasive surgical procedure this week. This will impede my ability to vote. Had I been present today, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 290, H.R. 1548 and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 291, H.R. 1096.