Washington, D.C.
TechNet, the national,
bipartisan network of innovation economy CEOs and senior executives, today
applauded the House passage of two pieces of legislation that provide much
needed reforms to the laws governing early stage financing of dynamic startups.

On
Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Supporting America’s Innovators Act of 2016 (H.R. 4854) and the Fix Crowdfunding Act (H.R. 4855).

“The most significant step our
nation can take to drive economic growth and job creation is to make it easier
for small startups to grow into large ones,”
said Linda Moore, TechNet president and CEO. “This
legislation will make it easier for dynamic startups to access financing and
clarify the rules around crowdfunding.
Taken together, these bills will expand access to early-stage funding,
improving the process by which innovators scale their companies and create
American jobs.”

Background on legislation
The Supporting America’s Innovators Act will
expand the pool of investors eligible to participate in venture capital funds,
creating a more robust venture funding marketplace and increasing the amount of
capital startups can potentially raise.

The Fix Crowdfunding Act contains a number
of sensible and timely reforms to the recently finalized Title III crowdfunding
rules of the JOBS Act. In particular, the legislation defines the
requirements and authority by which intermediaries can disqualify issuers who
make untrue statements or engage in fraud.
The legislation also makes important reforms that will allow more companies
to “test the waters” and solicit non-binding commitments from potential
crowdfunding investors without filing with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Finally, the legislation
creates a powerful incentive for more crowdfunding portals to enter the
marketplace by providing a 5-year grace period for portals to make a good faith
effort to comply with all crowdfunding rules.

TechNet Startup Agenda
Over
the last year, TechNet has been advocating for policies that boost the creation
and development of dynamic startups. The
agenda includes:

Immigration Reform

The world’s most talented
innovators and entrepreneurs should be able to stay in the U.S. and contribute
to the economy, rather than be forced out to start competitor businesses in competitor
nations. TechNet supports: