groundwork that all interstate security offerings have to be registered with the s.e.c. it's cumbersome, it's expensive and so that congress made some exceptions. regulation a allowed unlimited amount of offerings for main street investors. regulation d allowed unlimited offerings for accredited investors. this bill is working at regulation a. over time those limits have gone up prdically. the last time it was -- periodically. the last time it was lifted was 2015. it was raised to $50 million, and it's been helpful. it's created growth. it's created new jobs. this bill is a modest improvement, raising that $50 million to $75 million. this was contemplated in the original jobs act where we raised it to $50 million. in that law, the s.e.c. was required to either increase the $50 million or to explain to us

why they weren't doing it. their deadline for doing that expired at the end of 2017, and so this is an overdue increase and i think it's high time that we do it. i could offer a lot of antidotes of how this benefits companies. i thought i would offer the one that's closest to home, my own story. i was fortunate enough to buy a fairly small business in 2002. i did three capital raises in the years that followed. the first was for $12 million. the second was for $75 million. the third was for $500 million. and those capital raises continued during my period of ownership of the company. i can tell you without any question, the smallest capital raises were the hardest for me. it's much harder, it's much harder to raise this much money than it is to raise this much.

when i was raising a lot of money, i had a lot of interested parties. when i was raising the smaller amount, it was difficult. and what this bill does is allows growing companies to have another point in the market where they can raise money. it's not just banks or private equity funds. it's regular main street investors, and i can tell you, i heard the remarks this creates risks. i can tell you there are dozens of people in my old company who became shareholders who are living a better life today, them and their families, because they had an opportunity to buy stock in that growing company. mr. speaker, this bill is good for businesses. it's good for employees. it's good for main street investors. it is a win-win-win, and ultimately it's good for the american economy. i urge my colleagues to support it. let's not be afraid of making a

commonsense change. i urge my colleagues to support it, and i yield back. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentlelady from california is recognized. ms. waters: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. hensarling: mr. speaker, i am very, very happy to yield three minutes to the gentleman from michigan, mr. huizenga, who is the chairman of the capital markets subcommittee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognized for three minutes. mr. huizenga: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to commend my friend from new jersey and the work he has put into this and i rise today in support of this much-needed legislation that would increase the limit that small companies looking for additional investments and investors can solicit under reg a+. these deals would increase from $50 million to $75 million. and this will enhance capital formation for growing small companies that are exploring crowdfunding as a method to raise capital. you know, the jobs act has proven to be wildly successful,

and this program has proven itself successful as well. yet, it can be even more so with this modest increase. so specifically, the legislation further strengthens e ability for small, mid-sized companies to attract more underwriters and more sophisticated underwriters into the reg a+ process. reg a+ has been termed a mini i.p.o. or i.p.o. to go and for good reason. while the cost of doing a full-blown i.p.o. has skyrocketed and the crowdfunding industry has been adopting reg a+ and leveraging it to raise growth capital for a fraction of what a traditional full-blown i.p.o. would be -- would cost while still having access to the capital markets. i, like the chairman and many others on the committee, have been concerned about the decrease in these initial public offerings, or i.p.o.'s, over the last number of years.

reg a+ has been able to step in and help fill that gap. while it provides much greater flexibility and marketing to potential investors, both accredited and nonaccredited while maintaining important consumer protections that everybody agrees needs to be there. despite reg a+ being cheaper and faster, however, major underwriters and broker-dealers have been slow to fully adopt reg a+ because the size of the increase up to that $50 million has really been minimal compared to a traditional i.p.o. raising the reg a+ limit to $75 million is certainly a step in the right direction to alleviate this problem and as it opens reg a+ to larger companies who may be considering doing a full-blown traditional i.p.o. this increase in limit will have a positive impact for smaller companies because it can attract some of the more traditional underwriters to the process. so, again, i want to congratulate my friend from new jersey on his work on this and the chairman for really trying to push this issue forward.

it's an important piece that we have been dealing with on the capital markets as we are trying to maintain and make sure our markets are the most liquid and deep in the world and that they maintain that. i urge my colleagues to support this important bill and reserve the balance of the time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentlelady from california is recognized. ms. waters: i continue to reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. hensarling: mr. speaker, i am now pleased to yield three minutes to the gentleman from illinois, who is the vice chairman of the financial services subcommittee on capital markets, securities, and investments, mr. hultgren. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois is recognized for three minutes. mr. hultgren: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, this is an exciting and important debate. i rise today to speak in support of h.r. 4263, the regulation a+ improvement act. congressman macarthur's legislation would increase the offering amount what companies can offer under tier 2 in reg a from $50 million to $75 million

adjusted by the s.e.c. every two years. this type of legislation, modeled by the bipartisan jobs act, typically enjoys bipartisan support in congress and i hope that will be the case again today. title 4 of the jobs act directed the s.e.c. to issue rules to update reg a within a 12-month period from federal regulation. the updated exemption now known as reg a+ increased the amount companies can offer from $5 million to $50 million within a 12-month period of time and preempts state registration and qualification requirements to make it easier for small and medium-sized businesses to undertake reg a+ offerings by avoiding the oftentimes expensive complexities of complying up to 50 state regulators, all providing different regulations. some opponents of this legislation have argued it's unnecessary because the s.e.c. requires -- is required to review this threshold and has the authority to increase it. on april 5, 2016, s.e.c. staff

informed the financial services committee that the $50 million threshold would remain in place throughout 2018 because of a lack of information available on reg a+ offerings since the rule was finalized in 2015. however, during the comment period for implementing reg a+, the s.e.c. received a significant number of comments that reg a+ should be expanded beyond the $50 million threshold. furthermore, since the amendment to reg a became effective, the rate of reg a+ offerings have increased. this legislation, and i quote, is a way to help make it easier for a small business to access capital to get deals done. to do that even with the bump up to $50 million, people are still finding their sea legs, but in terms of driving liquidity, we thought the $75 million number was important, end quote. former s.e.c. commissioner gallagher has stated, and i quote, the s.e.c. should have exercised our clear authority under the jobs act to raise the

offering limit to $75 million, end quote. an s.e.c. commissioner testified during the hearing of the financial services committee, and i quote, prior to the jobs act, changes to regulation a, that provision language wished, unused by companies so it's important to revisit different avenues for raising capital frequently to ensure their continued usefulness, end quote. congressman macarthur's legislation will ensure the s.e.c. focuses on its mission of capital formation. especially for small businesses. this is vital if we're going to continue on the course of economic growth. and at the end of the day, after all of our debate on the merits of this legislation, let's make sure we remember it's simply ain flakes adjustment for the amount of shares at that can be issued under this exemption. congressman macarthur is simply proposing to make this financing tool available to more startup companies and their investors. this should not be controversial. i urge support for congressman macarthur's bipartisan legislation, and i yield back

the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentlelady from california reserves? ms. waters: i continue to reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. hensarling: mr. speaker, i am now happy to yield three minutes to the majority whip of the committee, the gentleman from arkansas, mr. hill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arkansas is recognized. mr. hill: i thank the speaker. i thank our chairman. i, too, want to add my congratulations to mr. macarthur for continuing to find ways to improve mr. obama and this committee's excellent work on the jobs act from some eight years ago. we've learned a lot. we've seen the benefits of the jobs act, and today we have a chance to make it even better by improving reg a+. so i appreciate mr. macarthur's personal story about entrepreneurialship and how this is an opportunity for more investors in our country and more capital for our entrepreneurs. you know, this week i attended a meeting, mr. speaker, where

people said, why do we need more public companies? and gosh, that's an easy rhetorical question because we have the half of public companies than we had during the regan administration, mr. speaker, and we need them for our young people to invest in. we need them for our union workers to have an earning asset in their pension fund. so we need more companies public in this nation to share the growth and prosperity of this nation and that's what this legislation is all about. and i thank mr. macarthur for his very straightforward, bipartisan, commonsense increase in the authority from $50 million to $75 million for young growing companies to raise money under reg a+. former s.e.c. commissioner dan gallagher advocated the increase in the offering threshold to even $100 million before the s.e.c. adopted their final rule. and mr. gallagher expressed his

disappointment this offering threshold was not raised in the final rule from that original statutory cap of $50 million. so we have support through the commission and through the staff for raising this amount, mr. speaker, to help our entrepreneurs. . expanding this will allow private companies to consider a mini i.p.o. under reg a+. this will give us more competition for capital, driving down the cost of capital, driving up the number of opportunities for people to take advantage of going public, growing a prosperous company, and sharing that equity with their rs through exchange traded fund. through their pension plan. through their 401-k plan. we want more opportunities to prosperity.tion's i thank my friend, mr.

macarthur, for his thoughtful work. i thank my chairman for his leadership on the committee. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: prospe gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentlelady from california is recognized. ms. waters: i continue to reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. hensarling: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield three minutes to the gentleman from the land of moose and maple syrup, also known as maine, a hardworking member of the financial services committee, mr. poliquin. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maine is recognized for three minutes. mr. poliquin: thank you, mr. speaker. i appreciate it very much. those that do not live in the great state of maine are very envious of those that do. i take full advantage. moose, bear, and other critters. right now today, mr. speaker, i'm talking about h.r. 4263, the regulation a+ improvement act. i want to congratulate mr. tom macarthur from new jersey for his work and chairman hensarling for bringing this bill to the floor. it is very important for all of us to consider this.

now, mr. speaker, we all know what we want in in country, which is more opportunities and more jobs for our kids. better opportunities for our ds so they have better lives and more freedom. but this cannot happen, mr. speaker, unless our businesses are able to grow and hire more individuals and pay them more. that mostly can only happen, mr. speaker, if businesses are able to more easily borrow money. mr. chairman, you and i both know that government's job is to help our economy grow not get in the way. that's why reg a+ and more freedom. but this cannot happen, mr. speaker, cuts through the red tape such that more small and medium-sized businesses are able to access capital, grow their operations and hire more people. it was implemented, mr. speaker, billions of dollars of new financing has led economically growth and small to medium businesses to grow and present more opportunities for their workers.

reg a+ works. we know that. plus the evidence is there. with that, mr. chairman, mr. speaker, i'd like to close by is g mr. macarthur's bill common sense technical adjustment that works. it simply increases the amount that companies are able to borrow under this rule that works. everybody, republicans and democrats, support mr. mackar a their's bill. thank you very much. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. e gentleman from texas everybs reserves. the gentlelady from california wish to reserve? ms. waters: i continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. hensarling: now i am most pleased to yield three minutes to another hardworking member of the financial services committee, the gentleman from ohio, mr. davidson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio is recognized for three minutes. mr. davidson: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to offer my support for h.r. 4263, the

regulation a+ improvement act. i greatly appreciate my colleague, representative macarthur, for this bill. and for our chairman for moving it through our committee, and frankly my colleagues from across the aisle that came together to recognize the need for this bill. as has already been stated, this has broad implications for small capital companies. i spent the past 15 years prior to coming to congress growing small manufacturing companies can. i can greatly appreciate the challenge of raising capital. this is another means of doing that. i want to highlight another area that might be suitable. with approximately $4 billion of capital raised worldwide in 2017, it's fair to say that initial coin official are just another great way for start-ups to raise capital and grow their businesses. i.c.o.'s and regulation a+ could work great together. they carthur's bill

could work better. an example of this harmonization is the investor base reg a+ allows any investors of any wealth to participate. this democratic process is a pillar for i.c.o.'s in terms of the premise behind distributed ledger technology. another provision is anti-money laundering. reg a+ requires the validation of investors as well as background checks on the principles of offering companies. this goes hand in hand with improving the credibility of i.c.o. business practices, introducing the risk of loss. compliance with reg a+ would mean a tiss closure memorandum not just a white paper. reg a+ provides i.c.o. entrepreneurs and their start-ups with a viable path to compliance with s.e.c. security regulation. it's important that we have guardrails established in this explosive new industry while not hampering the ability to grow the business.

i urge my colleagues to support this vital legislation, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentlelady from california is recognized. ms. waters: thank you very much, mr. speaker and members. i have extensive information here about what is happening with regulation a+. at first i decided that some of this information i wouldn't share because i'm so anxious for these small businesses to be able to access capital, but i think that some of my earlier concerns may have been justified. h.r. 4263, the so-called regulation a+ improvement act, is opposed by consumer and investor advocates. i would like to take a moment to read some of their statements in opposition to this bill. consumer federation of america, quote, this bill would increase the offering limit despite the fact that the s.e.c. already has unlimited authority to

raise the cap can as it deems appropriate. moreover, the s.e.c. is required to review the offering limit every two years with this next analysis expected to be released next month. a vote for this bill before the s.e.c. has a chance to complete its analysis is a vote against evidence-based policymaking. if congress were to take the time to consider the research that the s.e.c. has conducted on the regulation a markets since the regulation a+ rules were adopted, it would find that there currently is no need to raise the limit. the data suggests that issues generally are not glamoring for more capital than is currently allowed to them under the rules. the markets tepid reaction to regulation a official is surely also related to the large yes abysmal performance of regulation a official to date.

a recent barron's article provided an in-depth review of the regulation a market describing, quote, the woeful performance, quote-unquote, of the few dozen companies that are currently exchange listed and the difficulty trading or getting a price quote for the vast majority of companies that aren't exchange listed. the barron's article further describes how most reg a+ businesses haven't gotten the start-up phase, known as the pipe dream, quote-unquote. some examples that the article cites include the start-up phys seeking capital for canny bass paraphernalia, flying cars, studying u.f.o.'s and light speed travel. we wonder why the backers of this legislation would spend so much time and effort seeking to

artificially prop up businesses of this sort. d while regulation a's supporters have touted regulation a's job creating potential, the barron's article states that the only people a clearly has created jobs for are regulation a underwriters and promoters on wall street, many of whom have, created jobs for quote, checkered stock market histories, quote-unquote. --are these --are these really the sort of jobs congress is intending to promote? in conclusion because of this bill, arbitrarily increases the evidence imit without that doing so is either necessary or beneficial and in face of evidence that regulation a official to date largely have been market failures, we urge you to vote no. let me just continue to quote. americans for financial reform,

their quote is, this is an unwarranted increase in the threshold. most fundamentally congress should not be undermining public securities markets by expanding the ability of larger companies to make official exempt from core disclosure and investor protection requirements, private official were designed to exempt permit early stage ca raising from sophisticated investors by small companies. but the current cap of 50 million per year in private capital raising already permits fairly large companies to take advantage of this root. additionally, the securities and exchange commission already has regulatory authority to increase the current threshold which they exam on a biannual basis. seven of the eight companies with regulation a+ official in 2017 are down 42% from their offer prices as compared to

conventional official made during the same period. which are 22% from offer prices. this is to be expected given that regulation a+ permits companies to avoid requirements such as disclosure that are designed to protect investors. if it expanded such exemptions, congress would facilitate increased harm to investors. members should also take notice that with the block change and crip toe currency fever, s.e.c. --crypto currency fever s.e.c. filing and disclosure exemptions like regulation a+ are becoming a popular avenue for initial coin official, that is i.c.o.'s. in the middle of this s.e.c. crackdown on fraudulent i.c.o.'s, h.r. 4263 would potentially expose a larger number of investors, including nonaccredited and sophisticated investors to shady companies, ponzi schemes, and exit scams.

the widespread use of private official reduces transparency and investor protections in capital markets, raising capital under reg a+ should be used as an on ramp to a true public offering and not as an end in itself for larger insurers. increasing the annual threshold for exempted regulation a offerings goes in the opposite direction. public sift zen had this to say. this to itizen had say. quote, evidence shows little demand for this measure. a stud wry by the s.e.c. of regulation a+ official found that the average issuer sought only $18 million. moreover, these firms pose risk for investors as the issuers are only an average of $50,000 in cash. no property. plants and equipment. no revenues and no net income increasing access to capital with no additional investor

protections exacerbates the problem. yes, i do oppose the bill. let me just say this. i would like small businesses to do well. i would like our small businesses to have access to the capital that they need to support good ideas that have been given the kind of research that's necessary to determine the potential for some of these businesses. but you just heard this information from the barron report. this is serious. and what we have seen despite the fact what we want to happen is that it is not happening. the fact that we would like very much and we have done everything that we could do with the jobs act to give support to our small businesses because we want them to thrive. we believe that they are job i tensive -- intensive. it is not happening. and what we're doing is we're

exposing these little mom and pop investors to situations where, you know, they are going to lose a what small amounts of money they are investing. so let's just be cool. let's be calm. let's give the s.e.c. the opportunity to do an analysis. no reason to push this now. i would ask my members on the opposite side of the aisle to rethink and to join with me, oppose the bill so that we can give the s.e.c. the opportunity, again, to do the kind of analysis it needs to do and let's think about what else can we do to help small businesses rather than continue down the road of failure, because this is exactly what is being exposed. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. speaker, i g: mr. think now that i am pleased to yield two minutes to the gentlelady from new york, a hardworking member of the financial services committee,

miss tenney. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york is recognized. mitts tenney: thank you, mr. speaker and mr. chairman. i rise to support this bipartisan legislation, h.r. 4263, the regulation a+ improvement act, interdutiesed by my colleague from new jersey. congratulate igses -- congratulations to mr. macarthur anti-chairman for bringing this legislation to the floor. it would increase from 50 million to 75 million the exemption amount that companies can offer under the securities and exchange commission's, s.e.c., tier 2 regulation exemption amount tha the 2012 jobs afpblgt at the owner of a small business, i understand firsthand the vital importance of making our nation's business climate competitive at all levels. yet small businesses are only starting to see a resurge from the struggling ecosystem. thanks to the recent tax and regulatory changes that we have seen continued growth.

this would be the next step towards helping small companies to raise necessary equity capital to grow and compete in a changing and dynamic marketplace. this will result in more jobs and more opportunities. this would expand the regulation a+ and allow companies to consider many i.p.o.'s at a less costly alternative to raising capital. in my district it is difficult to raise capital for developing and sustaining small businesses. i have experienced this very difficulty and struggle with clients i have represented in my own legal practice. this bill would help tremendously to improve capital for small companies that ultimately are the drivers of job growth in new york and across the nation. thank mr. macarthur and the bipartisan co-sponsors and i urge my colleagues to support this legislation and i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields. the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. waters: i have no further requests for time and i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is prepared to close. ms. waters: i yield myself the remainder of my time. h.r. 4263 is just another reckless partisan bill that could harm mom and pop investors and weaken the integrity of the u.s. capital markets. it continues the efforts to repeal or weaken important regulatory protections under the guise of supporting jobs. not only have my republican colleagues failed to come up with analysis to support this claim, but they completely substitute their own judgment than that of the s.e.c., the agency with the expertise over these issues. we only have to wait a few more weeks to see if the s.e.c. decides to expand the regulation a+ regulation.

but i suppose a few weeks is a few weeks too long for my friends on the opposite side of the aisle who are currently pushing for as many of these kinds of bills as possible to be included in the dodd-frank senate roll back. those bad deals would cause further harm to investors by allowing newly public companies avoid audits, hampering investors' ability to get reliable information ahead of a share holder meeting, by making easier to swindle unsophisticated investors and buy stock in failing companies. it should come as no surprise these harmful provisions show up in the choice act, which is 10 times worst than the senate's deregulatory bill. we want to help small businesses grow jobs, but we also have the

responsibility to protect investors particularly retail investors who are looking to save for retirement, to buy a house or to support our children's education. as i have repeatedly said, any regulation must strike the right balance between capital formation and our securities markets and investor protection. this bill fails to do that and that's why it is opposed by consumer and investor advocates, and so, i would urge all members to join me in standing up for investors and vote no on h.r. 4263 and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields the balance of her time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. hensarling: may i inquire how much time i have remaining? the speaker pro tempore: 5 1/2 minutes. mr. hensarling: i want to thank the gentleman from new jersey,

mr. macarthur, an entrepreneur, someone who brings years and years of experience. capital formation, building a business to help grow jobs in our economy. in an 63 again is part expansion of the jobs act, something that was signed into law by president obama. i didn't agree with that president on many occasions but this is something good for the american economy. but what i feerl is, is that if we don't go forward, we end up going backwards and what we hear from our friends on the other side of the aisle is let's keep the status quo. mr. speaker, the status quo is what brought us a 1.6% economy. it is what brought paychecks to become stagnant.

the status quo ensured that americans did not recover their savings from the great financial crisis and now we have the tax cuts and jobs act and throw 3% economic job growth and lowest unemployment rate in 17 years and seen the greatest growth in paychecks in almost a decade and seeing 90%, 90% of wage earners seeing a bigger paycheck, better take-home pay because of the economic policies of this republic karen congress and of the trump administration. so the gentleman from new jersey has brought us in really some respects an important but modest proposition that we ought to increase the threshold for reg a+ to $75 million. we don't know where the next uber is coming from or next

apple is coming from, but we all know they need capital. alley, is a valuable chain, path, in order to bring capital into our startup businesses. the constant theme we hear from our other side of the aisle is consumer protection. you know what, back in the 1980's, the commonwealth of massachusetts decided to protect their people from this fly-by-night company called apple, which now is looking at almost a trillion market cap valuation and had you invested t the i.p.o., you would have a 45,000% rate of return. you could buy a home and children could buy a home. you could achieve your american dream. but a government decided, no, you were too stupid to make this

investment decision on your own, we must protect you. nothing, nothing in the bill in the bill atlantaers the vast, vast array of consumer protection laws that are already on the books. nothing in h.r. 4263 prevents the department of justice to pursue criminal prosecutions of fraud. nothing in the bill impacts the s.e.c.'s ability to pursue civil actions for those who engage in fraud, negligent misrepresentations, negligent transactions. nothing prevents the s.e.c. to enter into cease and desist orders and impose penalties for those who violate s.e.c. rules. they get to pursue civil actions for those who defraud them and make untrue statements. so there are plenty of very important laws that are on our books. what we shouldn't do, though, is

protect our hardworking constituents from the ability to make decisions for themselves and participate in these early growth companies that now are only restricted to accredited investors. only the westiest get to make these decisions. in the land of the fee, maybe a few more should and maybe we should have a few more apples and ubers. i thank the gentleman from new jersey who is a great leader and members toi want all adopt h.r. 4263 and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: all time for debate has expired. pursuant to house resolution 773, the previous question is ordered on the bill as amended. the question is on engrossment and third reading of the bill. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. third reading. the clerk: a bill to amend the

securities act of 1933 wrap to small company formation and for ther purposes. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from ohio seek recognition? mrs. beatty: i have a motion to recommit at the desk. the speaker pro tempore: is the gentlewoman opposed to the bill? mrs. beatty: i'm opposed to it. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: mrs. beatty of ohio -- mrs. beatty: i ask unanimous consent to disburse with reading of the motion. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from ohio is recognized for five minutes in support of her motion. mrs. beatty: this is the final amendment to the bill, which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. if adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to the final passage as amended. mr. speaker, this motion to recommit is simple and should be

able to garner the support of every member of this body who seeks to enhance our robust public and private markets while at the same time ensure there are adequate safeguards in place for the benefit of main street investors. specifically, this motion will accomplish two simple things, one, it will strike the increase in the offering limit to $75 million. and two, it will require the s.e.c. to review and revise their bad actors disqualification regulations prior to future increases in the offering threshold. unfortunately as currently written with all due respect to my republican colleagues, raising the offering threshold is a solution in search of a problem. congress designated the s.e.c. with regulating the offering. congress decided the s.e.c.

would administer the offering. the s.e.c. is the expert on regulation a+ and should be the one to raise the offering threshold assuming the data supports such an increase. under the law, the s.e.c. will be reporting to congress whether or not they will raise the threshold just next month. this bill is premature. and for the lawyers in the room, it's not right -- ripe for review. so why wouldn't we wait? right now there is zero data that suggests that congress needs to raise the threshold and seems prudent to wait to hear what the s.e.c. says. the majority argues that this bill will allow companies to raise more money. i say this bill is a solution in search of a problem because only less than a handful of companies have ever actually raised the

current maximum amount of $50 million. with regard to updating the bad actors' disqualification regulations, bloomberg published an article on regulation a+ and the companies using the offering and found one executive of a company was convicted of filing false returns and another, obstructed justice and another accused of selling unregistered stock and these are just a few examples. are these really the type of individuals we want selling securities to main street, mom and pop investors? another article studied the hundreds of companies that have used regulation a+ to raise funds and i quote them. we were supposed to get new jobs, new industry. nstead we have gotten gofundme

web sites and professional wrestlers selling shares on tv. they highlighted some of the companies and the product, availing themselves of the lightly regulation a+ offering, which included companies trying to flying cars, guns and my personal favorite, founder of a rock band seeking to raise money to study u.f.o.'s and light-speed travel. now i'm not trying to persuade members that all companies seeking to raise money through regulation a+ for u.f.o. chasers, because back in my home district, a scottish-based company successfully used regulation a+ to open their first brewery and restaurant in the united states. that is what congress had in

mind when it called for the creation of regulation a+ and it is precisely the opportunity for investors that the law was intended to create. that is why we need to ensure that we maintain the integrity of the regulation a+ offering and we prevent bad actors from using it in a way to rip off and scam all of our constituents. i require and urge the congress to adopt this motion. stand up for strong public and private markets. wait the 30 days when the s.e.c. can come back to us and stand up for strong protections for main street investors. i yield back. . the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. hensarling: i rise to claim time in opposition. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hensarling: thank you, mr. speaker. when i said something incorrect,

i wish to correct myself in front of my colleagues and the public. i earlier said that my colleagues were trying to give us status quo. i wish to correct myself. this motion to recommit is worse than status quo. it would take us back even further. and the gentlelady from ohio should admit when she is wrong and she is wrong when she says this will not kill the bill. this will kill it. it will gut it. it will bury it six feet under. and i think she knows that. so she's entitled to her opinion about what reg a+ should be. but she eviscerates the bill that's before the house. the bipartisan bill that is before the house. so i want to again, because many who are watching this may somehow think, oh, my lord, there are no consumer protections for reg a+

offerings. well, the basic requirements that are applicable to both tear one and tear -- tier one and tier offerings include bad actor disqualification requirements, issuer disclosure requirements, ongoing reporting requirements. and then for tier two offerings, additional requirements. providing audited financial statements, requirement to file annual, semiannual and current event reports. limitation on the amount of securities nonaccredited investors can purchase. and then those that are offered on an exchange have to adhere to the exchanges' listing standards, including corporate governance requirement, background checks on the management and board, shareholder approval of certain corporate actions, and the list goes on. i think there is a good case, mr. speaker, here. anybody who picks up a newspaper recently would find out that yesterday the s.e.c. charged the -- with raising more than $700

million from investors through exaggerated and false statements about the company's technology. and guess what, in announcing the enforcement decision, here's what the s.e.c. noted. and i quote, the charges made clear that there is no exemption, no exemption from the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities law, simply because a company is nonpublic, development stage, or the subject of exuberant media attention. in other words, the s.e.c. was thoroughly able to do their job and they were ready, willing to invest -- investigate and bring enforcement actions as they will should. this is part of their job. investor protection. but guess what, so is capital formation. so is capital formation, part of the mission of the s.e.c. and that's why it's so important that we not protect our

constituents against great investment opportunities like apple, like uber, like spotify. and so when we have so many americans who are still living paycheck to paycheck, when they finally get a little savings together, shouldn't they be able to invest in great opportunities of early growth companies? shouldn't these early growth companies have access to capital? i think so. you can't have capitalism without capital. let's get more capital circulating in the system, the tax cut and jobs act has done so much good, but we need so much more. we need capital circulating in the system. particularly for our startups, our early growth stage companies, and so we need to reject the m.t.r. and we need to vote in support of h.r. 4263 and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. without objection, the previous question sworded on the motion to recommit. the question is on the motion. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no.

in the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. the motion is not agreed to. >> mr. speaker, i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a 15-minute vote. this is 15-minute vote on the motion -- this is a 15-minute vote on the motion to recommit. this will be followed by five-minute votes on h.r. 4263 if ordered, adoption of the amendment to h.r. 4545, a motion to recommit on h.r. 4545, if ordered. passage of h.r. 4545 if ordered. the ordering of the previous question on house resolution 780 and adoption of the house resolution 780, if ordered. this is a 15-minute vote.

[captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 181, the nays are 235.

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 182, the nays are 235. the motion is not adopted. the question son the passage of the bill. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. -- is on the passage of the bill. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the bill is passed. >> mr. speaker. mr. speaker. on that i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested.

all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this te the yeas are -- the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 246, the nays are 170. the bill is passed. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. the unfinished business is the question agreeing to the amendment, number 1, printed ins part b of house report 115-59 5

offered by ms. maxine waters of california, on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 1 printed in part b of house report 115-595 offered by ms. maxine waters of california. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on agreeing to the amendment. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 184, the nays 233. he amendment is not adopted. the question is on engosement and third reading of the bill. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. third reading. the clerk: a bill to amend the federal financial institutions examination act of 19 8 to improve the examination of depository intention and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the passage of the bill. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. >> mr. speaker, on that i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested.

those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having risen, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 283rk the nays are 133. the bill is passed. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. the unfinished business is the vote on ordering the previous

question on house resolution 780 on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 780, providing for consideration of the bill h.r. 4061 to amend the financial stability act of 2010 to improve the transparaphernalia soif the financial stability oversight council, to improve the sifi designation process, and for other purposes, and providing for cofferings the bill h.r. 4293, to reform the conference capital analysis and review process, the dodd-frank act test process and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on ordering the previous question. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 232. the nays are 182. the previous question is ordered. the question is on the adoption of the resolution. all those in favor say aye. any opposed? he ayes have it.

mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i ask for a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a recorded vote has been requested. those favoring a recorded vote will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 235. the nays are 177. the resolution is adopted. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that when the house adjourns today it adjourn to meet on monday, march 19, when it shall convene at noon for morning hour debate and 2k p.m. for legislative business. -- 2:00 p.m. for legislative business. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. >> i ask unanimous consent that mr. culberson be removed as a co-sponsor of h.r. 774. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection. without objection, so ordered. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that be considered the primary co-sponsor of h.r. 138 a bill originally introduced by

representative conyers of michigan for purposes of adding co-sponsors and requesting reprint pursuant to clause 7 of rule 12. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the chair will now entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from kentucky seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from kentucky is recognized. the house will be in order. please remove your onversations from the floor. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to recognize mr. james moynihan and mr. steve thurman for their contributions to simpson county and the first congressional district of kentucky. r. comer: these two not only

served azzam bass dors throughout their careers and collectively witnessed over 33 years of sports history but have contributed to the economic development and well-being of their fellow citizens during their careers in public service. all fair, steve thurman is executive director of the franklin simpson chamber of commerce and james moynihan served as simpson county jailer. from state championship titles to their own children's successes, their commentary continually showcase the federal reservent pride simpson countyians hold. this results with the unique blend of their personalities will be extremely difficult to replace and their retirement remarks, the end of an era for this storied program. i join with the entire community to thank them for the laughs and unforgettable memories they have provided over the last 25 years and i look forward to seeing these

wildcat fans on the sideline for years to come. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the ouse will be in order. the chair lays before the house the following enrolled bill. the clerk: senate 324, an act to amend title 38 united states code to improve the provisions of adult day health care services for veterans. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island seek recognition? without objection. he house will be in order. the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. langevin: mr. speaker, i rise to strongly condemn the

chemical attacks conducted by the kremlin against former russian intelligence officer and his daughter. detective sergeant nick bailey has also been hospitalized. mr. speaker, vladimir putin continues to display a pattern of interfering with and undermining the democratic processes and institutions in convention of the rules based international order. we have seen that in russia's frequent destructive cyber operations and now chemical warfare. how far will they push things? mr. speaker, that's why i along with representative meeks, wilson, cole, holding and sires introduced a resolution this afternoon condemning this attack, calling for accountability for this and all chemical and biological attacks and standing in firm partnerships with our friends in the united kingdom. i hope my colleagues will

support this in -- also praying for the health of sergei and nick. thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? mr. thompson: mr. speaker, request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. thompson: mr. speaker, i rise today to thank penn state students for their fight against pediatric cancer. thon, a dance marathon, took place february 16 through 18 and for the raised $251,663 four diamonds fund at penn state hospital. four diamonds ensures that families with children undergoing treatment don't have

to worry about any cost. t hombings n began in 1973 by a group of excitement looking to add excitement to a dreary february in central pennsylvania and a way to give back to the community. today it engages in more than 15,000 students each year and has inspired other universities, high school, middle schools and elementary school students across the nation to start dance marathons of their own, all in hopes of conquering pediatric cancer. i am in awe of the power of the penn state students and their care and concern for others and i thank them for this outstanding contribution to the community. thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. please take your conversations outside. for what purpose does the gentleman from massachusetts seek recognition? without objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, today the brutal conflict in syria enters its eighth year. as we meet safe and secure in this chamber, the syrian regime

with the support of its principal ally, russia, is polarizing eastern guta. mr. mcgovern: the u.n. passed a resolution demanding a 30-day cease fire, supposed to permit a durable humanitarian pause so aid could be delivered and people who were sick and wounded could be removed from the area. instead the air strikes and shell having intensified, popular areas remain under siege and hundreds of more men, women and children have been killed. in the words of the u.n. secretary general, syria is bleeding inside and out. mr. speaker, our failure to stop this terrible slauther is shameful, it is unacceptable, we must urgency -- urgently work with our allies, put an end to this nightmare and find a path forward. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? without objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute.

>> i want to congratulate johnstown's environmental tank and container company for being named manufacturer of the year at the sixth annual northeast 2018 ill and gas awards. mr. rothfus: the manufacturer of the year award recognizes the outstanding contributions a manufacturer has made in a region such as innovation, stewardship, community leadership, health and safety. i'm proud of etc's achievements. manufacturing is a key to our nation's prosperity and drives the american economy. as america competes on a global scale it's critical this industry continues to grow, creating a wealth of job opportunities for all americans. over 500,000 people in pennsylvania rely on the strength of the manufacturing sector. before the tax cuts and jobs act, the united states had the highest piss tax rate in the industrialized world. now this -- now they're moving this economic choke hold, putting foreign