AFR and CFA sent a letter to the Senate, urging their support of the Reed-Landrieu-Levin amendment which addresses many of the concerns that we have with the House JOBS Act, which the Senate has taken up.
INVEST in America Act (S.A. 1833) vs. JOBS Act (H.R. 3606) Reed-Landrieu-Levin Amendment Mar. 15, 2012 Seven Essential Fixes to the House Bill The House bill would allow companies to advertise risky, less-regulated, unregistered private offerings to the general public using billboards along the highway,
Fund Democracy sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Reid, and Minority Leader McConnell supporting the CROWDFUND Act.
Mary Schapiro, Chairman of the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) sent a letter to Senators Johnson and Shelby voicing her concerns over the JOBS Act.
Read the letter here.
“It’s hard to believe that Democrats, who brought you the Dodd-Frank financial regulation act and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, are solidly backing a bill that would weaken or obliterate many regulations designed to safeguard investors. The bill, HR3606, sailed through the House Thursday with 222 Republicans and 168 Democrats voting for it. Only 23 members, all Democrats, voted against it. President Obama has endorsed the bill. The Senate is fast-tracking its own version, which could come to the floor Monday night. …AARP, Americans for Financial Reform, the North American Securities Administrators Association and the Council of Institutional Investors have strongly opposed all or some parts of the bill.”
“House Republicans, Senate Democrats and President Obama have found something they can all support: a terrible package of bills that would undo essential investor protections, reduce market transparency and distort the efficient allocation of capital. …Dozens of legal experts and advocates for investors and consumers have written to Senate leaders warning that extensive revisions must be made to the House legislation for it to be even minimally acceptable.”
As the House takes up consideration of the JOBS Act, AFR and Consumer Federation of America wrote to members of the House in support of a handful of amendments that would make modest, incremental improvements in the legislation’s investor protections. The amendments cannot overcome the bill’s fundamental flaws, however. So, even if the amendments are adopted, CFA and AFR urged opposition to the overall bill.
As the U.S. House of Representatives prepares to vote this week on the JOBS Act, consumer and investor groups from around the country wrote to urge the House not to adopt this anti-investor bill. The legislation would roll back important investor protections, undermine market transparency, and, as a result, drive up the cost of capital for the small companies it purports to benefit. The groups warned that it is more likely to harm the economy than to produce sustainable jobs growth.
Last week, Senate Majority Harry Reid announced that the Senate would be developing its own jobs bill based on reducing barriers to capital formation. CFA and AFR wrote to the Senate detailing their concerns about the various “capital formation” bills. They warned that the bills, as drafted, threaten to undermine regulations vital to protecting investors and the integrity of the capital markets, and they urged the Senate to revise the bill to restore important protections.