Today, the U.S. Senate passed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act), H.R. 3606, which includes a package of critical capital formation and access measures that will aid cash-starved small businesses and entrepreneurs.  The Senate passed the measure 73-26. The U.S. House passed a separate version of the bill on March 8, with strong bipartisan support (390-23) and with President Barack Obama's backing.

Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) president & CEO Karen Kerrigan issued the following statement upon U.S. Senate passage of the JOBS Act:

"Startups and high-potential businesses have been plagued by a capital chasm since the financial crises, and the JOBS Act offers several reforms to help entrepreneurial firms at their various stages of growth and development.  We would have preferred that crowdfunding provision to be less onerous and complex for small businesses, and feel the Securities and Exchange Commission has been given too much rein from a regulatory perspective.  Still, the Merkley amendment to H.R. 3606 was an improved measure from the original Senate bills   We applaud President Obama for his support of this initiative, as well as the bipartisan collaboration in Congress that made this legislation possible," said Kerrigan.

According to Kerrigan, the final product will be a powerful package with significant benefits for the small business community. Other reforms contained within the JOBS Act will help small businesses access and accelerate their growth in the public markets.  Inflexible and costly rules impeding the growth of promising enterprises are properly addressed in H.R. 3606, allowing these firms to more efficiently scale up while freeing up more resources for investment and job creation.

"A strong entrepreneurial ecosystem depends on access to capital.  Freeing up new sources of capital – as the JOBS Act will do – will strengthen our nation's small business sector, and add to their job creating capacity," added Kerrigan.