U.S. Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) recently called on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to continue implementation of bipartisan law he led in December to give small businesses a voice in capital formation policies.
The SEC Small Business Advocate Act, which Heller and U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) introduced and which was signed into law last December by President Obama, established an Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation within the SEC. In a letter to SEC Chairman Jay Clayton, the senators called for the newly created position to be filled by a qualified candidate.
“Despite the huge importance of small businesses to the U.S. economy, collectively, they continue to face challenges being heard here in Washington,” the letter states. “Small businesses, especially those in areas outside of the coasts, are at times underrepresented in many facets of the lawmaking and regulatory process. This lack of attention doesn’t just harm small business; it also adversely impacts investors and the public at large.”
Small businesses help drive the U.S. economy, and historically they have created roughly two-thirds of the nation’s net new jobs, the letter noted.
Heller and Heitkamp called on Clayton to seek candidates for the Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation that have records on small business advocacy and understanding of regulatory and capital formation challenges that face small businesses.
“Once the Small Business Advocate position is filled, we urge the commission to move quickly to establish the new Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee,” the letter continues.