CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS – BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICES
March 15, 2012 – 1:49 p.m.
Reid Files Cloture on Business Capital Bill, Amendments
By Emily Holden, CQ Staff
Moving along legislation to loosen securities regulations on smaller businesses, Senate Majority Leader
The move sets up votes for March 20 on the motion to invoke cloture on amendments involving investor protections and reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank, and on the bill (
A substitute amendment by Rhode Island Democrat
The substitute amendment, cosponsored by
Majority Whip
The Senate also is expected to vote on the motion to invoke cloture on another amendment, by Washington Democrat
The small export financing agency has become a point of controversy this election year, providing Democrats an opportunity to highlight GOP divisions while bolstering their manufacturing platform with a measure strongly supported by business groups.
Cantwell’s state is home to aircraft manufacturing giant Boeing Corp., the largest U.S. exporter by value and long the biggest beneficiary of the Ex-Im Bank’s export-financing activities.
House Majority Leader
Reid, D-Nev., also filed cloture on the underlying bill and filled the remainder of the amendment tree, suggesting these two offerings will be the only substantive amendments considered.
The bill would ease access to capital for some smaller companies and make it easier for them to make initial stock offerings.
Under current rules, if a company wants to make stock offerings of more than $5 million available to the public, it must comply with all SEC registration requirements. The bill would raise that threshold to $50 million.
The bill also would increase the shareholder threshold that would trigger mandatory SEC registration from 500 shareholders to 2,000.
Reid Files Cloture on Business Capital Bill, Amendments
Joseph J. Schatz, Benton Ives, Ben Weyl and Niels Lesniewski contributed to this story.