Washington, March 26, 2025
Yesterday, the House Financial Services Committee, led by Chairman French Hill (AR-02), held a hearing entitled, "Beyond Silicon Valley: Expanding Access to Capital Across America."The hearing highlighted legislative and regulatory solutions to make our public markets more attractive, ensuring a more viable means of capital formation for companies that wish to grow. Members also assessed proposed policies designed to address the challenges faced by small businesses and entrepreneurs when trying to secure funding.
Watch the hearing onlineHERE.
View Chairman Hill’s opening statementHEREor below.
As part of the hearing, the Committee reviewed several bills that would help expand access to capital across America. A full list of the attached bills can be foundHERE.
The deadline for public feedback on the Committee’s legislative proposals is March 31, 2025. Interested members of the public may send their comments to:fsc119@mail.house.gov.
On expanding access to capital:
- “Our capital markets should work for everyone. That means reducing barriers for startups to access funding, incentivizing investment in regional businesses, and reforming outdated regulations that improve access to growth capital to ensure a public offering is a more viable option again,”said Chairman Hill.
- "Talent and innovation aren't confined to the coasts, and investment shouldn't be either. This hearing is about giving hard-working, everyday Americans access to the kinds of high-growth opportunities that for too long have been reserved for the wealthy,"said Rep. Ann Wagner (MO-02).
- "While venture capital plays a vital role in fueling innovation and economic growth, the reality is that most VC funding is concentrated in just a few states, leaving many promising entrepreneurs across the country struggling to secure the capital they need to scale,"said Rep. William Timmons (SC-04).
On expanding the definition of an accredited investor:
- "According to the SEC, 19% of U.S. households qualify under the definition of an accredited investor in 2022. That's locking out 81% of our population from ever having the opportunity to invest in those small businesses,"said Rep. Bill Huizenga (MI-04).
On the diminishing number of public companies in the U.S.:
- "When I came to Congress, there were over 8,000 public company listings in the United States. Today, there are fewer than 4,000. Healthy public markets allow companies to receive lower cost funding while giving investors opportunities to deploy their capital and seek return,"said Rep. Frank Lucas (OK-03).
Witnesses echoed their support for the work of the Committee.
- Steve Case, Chairman and CEO, Revolution LLC,stated,"I want to start by acknowledging that, for decades, despite party differences, legislation to encourage entrepreneurship and expand access to capital for entrepreneurs has largely received bipartisan support. ...Today’s hearing underscores this committee’s commitment to prioritizing entrepreneurship and innovation and I thank you for your leadership in making this a shared national effort. ...I often say that America was once a startup—and a fragile one at that. Our nation became the global economic leader it is today because of the countless entrepreneurs who had transformative ideas and found fertile ground--fertile, in part, because of policymakers who cultivated an environment for innovation—to bring them to life."
- Bill Newell, Senior Business Advisor & Former CEO, Sutro Biopharma,added,"In the last few years and even more so recently raising new funding for research and development of new medicines has been more challenging as investors have a more risk-off mentality. Bringing a new medicine to approval is very, very expensive and risky. In this environment many companies in our industry have had to downsize and end programs because of limited capital availability. ...Private markets play a crucial role in the growth and success of small biotech firms. These markets provide essential funding for early-stage companies that are pre-revenue. ...The JOBS Act rightsized regulations for smaller and emerging growth companies. We need to build off the success of the JOBS Act and ensure that American innovators have efficient access to broad pools of capital, that all pools of capital are liquid with various exit opportunities, and that reporting standards are updated to reflect current market standards."
