Giving Small Businesses a Voice at the SEC

U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05) urged his colleagues on the Hour Floor to support his SEC Small Business Advocate Act, which passed the House by a voice vote.

Below is a video and transcript of the speech.

Mr. Chairman,

Given that small businesses account for over sixty percent of the net new jobs created since the end of the recession, we should be doing more to simplify regulatory compliance so that small business can direct their resources to what they do best -- innovating and growing our economy.

Small businesses and small business investors were not the cause of the financial crisis and do not pose a significant risk to the rest of the economy.

Yet, regulators like the SEC. which oversee the financial markets too often craft regulations where the cost to small businesses far outweigh the minimal benefits they have on our economy.

We need our regulators to take the concerns of small businesses seriously and make small business growth a top priority.

That's why I was proud to co-author the SEC Small Business Advocate Act, which will establish an office of the advocate for small business capital formation within the SEC.

This office will open a clear avenue of communication to the SEC leadership on issues affecting small businesses by maintaining a designated representative to advocate on their needs.

This advocate will be responsible for helping small businesses resolve problems with the SEC, analyzing the potential impact of proposed rules and regulations on small businesses and reaching out to small businesses to understand issues related to capital formation.

In addition, this bill formalizes the advisory committee on small and emerging companies which provides members of the small business community with another mechanism to communicate its concerns with the SEC.

This legislation will not only improve the regulatory process for small business owners, but also for the everyday investors and consumers that depend on them.

This legislation has widespread support from representatives of the business community and was passed unanimously out of committee.

I urge my colleagues to empower small business owners and entrepreneurs and support this commonsense bipartisan legislation.

Thank you and I yield back the remainder of my time.