Improving Access to Small Business Information Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3382) to require the Securities and Exchange Commission to carry out a study and rulemaking on the definition of the term ``small entity'' under the securities laws for purposes of chapter 6 of title 5, United States Code, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. 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 in the Record.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill, H.R. 3382, the Small Entity Update Act.

Small businesses are the backbone of this country. Everyone on both sides of the aisle knows that. They drive innovation and job creation in our districts, but they are often limited from reaching their full capacity or capability because of overregulation.

The bill introduced by our subcommittee chair, Ann Wagner, addresses this challenge by directing the SEC to carry out a study and a rulemaking to modernize the definition of a small entity and ensure that small firms are given tailored, proportional oversight.

Mr. Speaker, years ago I had the privilege of serving as a nonexecutive chairman for a small-cap public company board of directors. I know firsthand the critical need for attention for what we are dealing with here today.

The bipartisan bill of the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Wagner) will empower our small businesses to focus on growth, hiring, and innovation, rather than unnecessary red tape.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the CBO estimate on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Wagner), the chairwoman of our Subcommittee on Capital Markets and the author of this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in full support of Mrs. Wagner's work. This is exactly the kind of commonsense, bipartisan legislation that our constituents expect us to pass. To lower costs and encourage companies to be public is a good thing for our Nation. It will grow the economy faster. Companies can go public sooner in their growth period.

Mr. Speaker, for all the reasons I have explained, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3351) 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.

Mr. 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.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3351, the Improving Access to Small Business Information Act.

The SEC's Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation is a vital tool for small businesses and entrepreneurs. The advocate hears firsthand from businessowners about the real-world issues that they are facing when raising capital.

Outdated regulations make it more difficult than it needs to be. Our current laws can trigger the full weight of the Paperwork Reduction Act when the advocate's intention is to simply collect feedback from these small businesses. That is simply bureaucratic overreach run amok.

Mrs. Kim's bill provides a simple and practical fix. It clarifies that the advocate's outreach activities are not subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act's requirements. Removing these unnecessary burdens will strengthen the advocate's ability to shape policy based on real-world business experience.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the CBO estimate for this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Kim), a distinguished Member from California and the author of this important legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, for the reasons I have explained, I support Mrs. Kim's commonsense bill. I think it makes it better for everyone involved if we have easier access to the information we need to streamline policy and make it easier for our small businesses to raise the capital that they need to be successful.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3351, the Improving Access to Small Business Information Act.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, Representatives Kim and Gottheimer, for their work on this commonsense, bipartisan piece of legislation that will give Americans, small businesses, and entrepreneurs a stronger voice at the SEC.

H.R. 3351 offers a straightforward solution to empower the SEC's Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation, the advocate, making it a more effective champion for American entrepreneurs.

Mr. Speaker, I also rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 3382, the Small Entity Update Act. I thank my colleagues across the aisle, Congressmen Casten, Himes, Scott, and Torres, for their support of this impactful bipartisan legislation. It ensures that the SEC fairly weighs in its rulemaking the regulatory burdens faced by small businesses.

This bipartisan bill would direct the SEC to assess the costs of compliance for small and growing businesses, ensuring that regulations placed on these businesses are not overly burdensome.

Specifically, the bill would direct the Commission to conduct a study, followed by a rulemaking consistent with the results of such study every 5 years, including defining the term ``small entity'' under the Regulatory Flexibility Act.

Simply put, small businesses can't afford the extensive legal and regulatory expertise that large, multinational firms employ to comply with every regulation while still managing their operating costs.

Recognizing that company sizes and market dynamics constantly evolve, my bill requires the SEC to update its definition of ``small entity'' every 5 years.

For our economy to flourish, Congress and regulators must ensure that all policies consider their impact on America's millions of small businesses.

Mr. Speaker, by creating a more focused regulatory approach for small entities, the Small Entity Update Act will make it easier for entrepreneurs across the country to achieve the American Dream.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to vote for this bill, H.R. 3382.

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

Mr. Speaker, if appropriate, this bill directs the SEC to carry out a study in rulemaking on its definitions of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility Act. This study in rulemaking would ensure that the commission more carefully accounts for impacts on small businesses when engaging in rulemaking.

The Regulatory Flexibility Act provides small entities with a greater opportunity to participate in the development of certain regulations and will result in more small businesses being included in the definition of small entities under the act. In effect, it gives them a louder voice when it comes to development of SEC regulations that directly apply to them.

Democrats worked to secure important language, ensuring investor protection remains a key focus of the bill. It balances the needs of facilitating capital formation and, of course, protecting our small businesses, which are so critical and are the lifeblood of our country and the jobs in our country.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Wagner) for agreeing to these changes when this bill was marked up in committee.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Again, I thank the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Wagner) for her leadership. I also thank the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill), the chairman, for his leadership and friendship. I am very grateful.

Small businesses make up the backbone of our Nation's economy. Congress and the SEC should do everything within their power to support small businesses and to ensure that the laws and rules they draft adequately take their capital needs into consideration.

This bill gives small businesses a bigger say in how SEC rules and regulations impact them and will allow them to continue to thrive.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 3351, the Improving Access to Small Business Information Act.

Orange County, which I am proud to represent, is home to over 100,000 small businesses. It takes grit, perseverance, and commitment for entrepreneurs to make an idea into a reality.

To help with some of those challenges facing small businesses, the Securities and Exchange Commission created an Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation.

Each year, the Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation hosts events across the country, including California.

These events aim to support small businesses and better understand the issues that they face in raising funds. Unfortunately, burdensome regulations often prevent the advocate from asking the right type of questions.

The former director of the Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation, Ms. Martha Miller, said that: 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.

The unfortunate truth is that regulations handicap us from understanding the needs of small businesses.

My bill is very simple. The legislation would specify that activities like conducting field surveys carried out by the Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation are not a collection of information under the Paperwork Reduction Act.

Currently, OMB's approval process is prolonged and bureaucratic, which delays feedback collection from small businesses and their investors. Preventing these delays will enable the advocate to gather more effective and timely data.

The better information that the advocate can gather, the better the