Robert Hurt

Mr. Speaker, I submit these remarks to commemorate the life of Codie Carter Peters who passed away January 25, 2015.

Mrs. Peters was a pillar in the Charlottesville community. She was a successful actress and small business owner and a loving mother and grandmother. Active and passionate about politics, she served for six years in the Albemarle-Charlottesville Republican Women's League, two of them as its president.

Codie Peters lived her life with an intense dedication to the persons and causes she loved. Whether she was asserting her opinion on an issue of national importance or speaking of her beautiful family, the twinkle in her eyes was always present. Codie relished sharing with all what she had in abundance: a love of family, a love of life, and a love of country. Her delight in her commitment to her husband, Steve, was infectious; they were partners in everything, from tending to their family to their public service in politics.

Codie Peters will long be remembered for her dedication and her passion. She was predeceased by her parents and is survived and fondly remembered by her husband, Steven L. Peters; her daughter, Katherine J. Peters; her son-in-law, William A. Finn; and her two grandchildren, Bennett Grace and William Patrick Finn.

My thoughts remain with the Peters family, and I am grateful for the opportunity to have known Codie Peters and to remember the wonderful life she led.

Article IV, section 1:

``Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, records and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Promoting Job Creation and Reducing Small Business Burdens Act. I would like to thank Mr. Fitzpatrick and Chairmen Hensarling and Garrett for their leadership on increasing access to capital for small businesses.

As we begin a new Congress, I am glad to see that the House will continue its laser focus on enacting policies to help spur job creation throughout the country. Even though we have seen modest economic growth, I continue to hear from my constituents about the impacts of unnecessary and overly burdensome regulations on job creation, especially regulations that disproportionately affect smaller public companies and those considering accessing capital in the public markets.

One such requirement is related to the use of eXtensible Business Reporting Language, XBRL, which was mandated by the SEC in 2009. While the SEC's rule is well intended, this requirement has become another example of a regulation where the costs outweigh the potential benefits. These small companies expend tens of thousands of dollars or more complying with the regulation, yet there is evidence that less than 10 percent of investors actually use XBRL, further diminishing its potential benefits.

That is why last Congress, the gentlewoman from Alabama, Representative Sewell, and I authored the bipartisan Small Company Disclosure Simplification Act, which is incorporated into title VII of H.R. 37. I would like to thank Representative Sewell for her diligent work on this legislation, which passed the Financial Services Committee last Congress with bipartisan support.

This provision will provide an optional exemption for emerging growth companies and smaller public companies from the requirement to file their information in XBRL with the SEC, in addition to the information that they already file.

Additionally, this title requires the SEC to perform a cost-benefit analysis on the rule's impact on smaller public companies, something it failed to adequately address in the original rule, and also to provide additional information to Congress on how the SEC and the market are using XBRL.

Whether a supporter or a sceptic of XBRL, these provisions will help provide a pathway for the SEC to focus on developing a system of disclosure for smaller companies that eliminates unnecessary costs while achieving greater benefits.

I believe H.R. 37 offers a practical step forward on these regulatory requirements in line with the intent of the original JOBS Act, ensuring that our regulatory structure is not disproportionately burdening smaller companies and disincentivizing innovative startups from accessing the public markets.

I ask my colleagues to join me in voting ``yes'' on H.R. 37 so that we can continue to promote capital access in the public markets and spur job growth in communities all across this great country.