The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee and the House Financial Services Committee have jurisdiction over the nation’s banking industry, housing industry, Wall Street, consumer finance, international issues relating to monetary policy, and a wide variety of related issues.

“I am humbled by the support and trust of my colleagues, and I look forward to serving as Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee next Congress.” said Hensarling. “I am grateful for the opportunity to lead this committee, and I look forward to working alongside my colleagues to foster the deepest, most liquid, competitive, efficient, innovative, and transparent capital markets the world has ever known.”

Under Tim Johnson’s leadership, the Senate Banking Committee’s work over the past two years yielded overwhelming approval of four major pieces of legislation in the Senate with at least 75% of Republican and Democratic Senators voting in favor of each bill. These bipartisan measures – the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the transit title of the Surface Transportation bill, and the Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Human Rights Act - have all been signed into law.  Additionally, the Committee favorably reported out and cleared 34 of the President’s nominees, with the full Senate confirming 30 of those nominees. Chairman Johnson and the Senate Banking Committee were also instrumental in passing the JOBS Act on the floor of the Senate and getting it signed into law. Chairman Johnson has indicated he will continue working with colleagues from both parties on critical legislation over the next two years as Chairman.

Tim Johnson and Jeb Hensarling are expecting a very busy 113th Congress and D.C. Strategies is uniquely positioned to work with both Chairmen in a bipartisan manner.

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you. Hello, everybody.  Please, please have a seat.  Good afternoon.  I want to thank all of you for coming, and in particular, I want to thank the members of Congress who are here today from both parties, whose leadership and hard work made this bill a reality.

One of the great things about America is that we are a nation of doers — not just talkers, but doers.  We think big.  We take risks.  And we believe that anyone with a solid plan and a willingness to work hard can turn even the most improbable idea into a successful business.  So ours is a legacy of Edisons and Graham Bells, Fords and Boeings, of Googles and of Twitters.  This is a country that’s always been on the cutting edge.  And the reason is that America has always had the most daring entrepreneurs in the world.

Some of them are standing with me today.  When their ideas take root, we get inventions that can change the way we live.  And when their businesses take off, more people become employed because, overall, new businesses account for almost every new job that’s created in America.

Now, because we’re still recovering from one of the worst recessions in our history, the last few years have been pretty tough on entrepreneurs.  Credit has been tight.  And no matter how good their ideas are, if an entrepreneur can’t get a loan from a bank or backing from investors, it’s almost impossible to get their businesses off the ground.  And that’s why back in September, and again in my State of the Union, I called on Congress to remove a number of barriers that were preventing aspiring entrepreneurs from getting funding.  And this is one useful and important step along that journey.

Here’s what’s going to happen because of this bill.  For business owners who want to take their companies to the next level, this bill will make it easier for you to go public.  And that’s a big deal because going public is a major step towards expanding and hiring more workers.  It’s a big deal for investors as well, because public companies operate with greater oversight and greater transparency.

And for start-ups and small businesses, this bill is a potential game changer.  Right now, you can only turn to a limited group of investors — including banks and wealthy individuals — to get funding.  Laws that are nearly eight decades old make it impossible for others to invest.  But a lot has changed in 80 years, and it’s time our laws did as well.  Because of this bill, start-ups and small business will now have access to a big, new pool of potential investors — namely, the American people.  For the first time, ordinary Americans will be able to go online and invest in entrepreneurs that they believe in.

Of course, to make sure Americans don’t get taken advantage of, the websites where folks will go to fund all these start-ups and small businesses will be subject to rigorous oversight.  The SEC is going to play an important role in implementing this bill.  And I’ve directed my administration to keep a close eye as this law goes into effect and to provide me with regular updates.

It also means that, to all the members of Congress who are here today, I want to say publicly before I sign this bill, it’s going to be important that we continue to make sure that the SEC is properly funded, just like all our other regulatory agencies, so that they can do the job and make sure that our investors get adequate protections.

This bill represents exactly the kind of bipartisan action we should be taking in Washington to help our economy.  I’ve always said that the true engine of job creation in this country is the private sector, not the government.  Our job is to help our companies grow and hire.  That’s why I pushed for this bill.  That’s why I know that the bipartisan group of legislators here pushed for this bill.  That’s why I’ve cut taxes for small businesses over 17 times.  That’s why every day I’m fighting to make sure America is the best place on Earth to do business.

Our economy has begun to turn a corner, but we’ve still got a long way to go.  We’ve still got a lot of Americans out there who are looking for a job or looking for a job that pays better than the one that they’ve got.  And we’re going to have to keep working together so that we can keep moving the economy forward.

But I’ve never been more confident about our future.  And the reason is because of the American people.  Some of the folks beside me here today are a testimony to that.  Day after day, they’re out there pitching investors.  Some meetings go well; some meetings don’t go so well.  That’s true for me, too.  (Laughter.)  But no matter what, they keep at it.  And who knows, maybe one of them or one of the folks in the audience here today will be the next Bill Gates or Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg.  And one of them may be the next entrepreneur to turn a big idea into an entire new industry.  That’s the promise of America.  That’s what this country is all about.

So if these entrepreneurs are willing to keep giving their all, the least Washington can do is to help them succeed.  I plan to do that now by proudly signing this bill.

Thank you very much, everybody.

The vote was 380-41.

Backed by the Obama administration and the Democrat-controlled Senate, the bill reflects a desire by both parties during an election year to show they are doing all they can to eliminate red-tape for startups and small businesses.

But regulators, investor groups and a small number of Democrats have charged that the Jumpstart Our Business Startups, or JOBS act, is unlikely to succeed in boosting employment and would likely lead to more financial fraud.

Specifically, the bill eases corporate governance and financial reporting requirements for initial public offerings, while also loosening a variety of other rules designed to make it easier for private companies to raise capital without an IPO.

Newly public companies with annual revenues of as much as $1 billion — a threshold that covers the bulk of recent IPOs — would be excused from new or revised national accounting and auditing standards and wouldn’t have to hire an auditor to make sure systems are up to snuff for up to five years.

The bill also would allow research analysts to write reports about companies just before an IPO even if bankers at their firm are underwriting the offering, which currently isn’t allowed. The rules were put in place to prevent investment bankers from promising potential clients favorable research in return for underwriting assignments.

The changes represent one of the biggest rollbacks of the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley law, the revamp of accounting rules enacted in response to the Enron and WorldCom scandals, and the first major slackening of securities laws since the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul.

The House had already signed off on an earlier version of the jobs bill earlier this month, by a vote of 390-23, but had to vote on it again after the Senate amended the bill. The Senate’s additions are aimed at protecting investors in start-ups that use so-called crowdfunding techniques, in which entrepreneurs tap thousands of investors who are given very small shares of stock.

Specifically, the Senate changes would require more thorough disclosure to investors of crowdfunding initiatives — including the risks of such investments — as well as scaled annual limitations on the overall amount of money individuals can invest in such startups based on their income. The SEC also would oversee crowdfunding websites that function as “funding portals” for such startups.

The bill also would make it easier for startups to pitch investments to wealthy individuals and would quadruple to 2,000 the number of shareholders closely held companies and community banks can have before they must open their books to the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/2012/03/27/house-passes-small-business-investment-legislation/#ixzz1qLn9uECX

WASHINGTON – March 6, 2011 –

Below is Chairman Johnson’s statement as prepared for delivery:

Today we will have our second full Committee hearing on “Spurring Job Growth through Capital Formation While Protecting Investors.”

It is our fourth hearing overall on capital formation, following Senators Reed and Crapo’s Securities Subcommittee hearing on “Examining Investor Risks in Capital Raising” and Senators Tester and Vitter’s Economic Policy Subcommittee hearing on “Access to Capital: Fostering Job Creation and Innovation Through High Growth Startups.”

Growing small businesses is critical to building a stronger American economy, and today we meet to consider how to help small business and entrepreneurs access the capital they need through stock markets.  The intent is to help them grow and create new jobs, while having suitable protections so investors are assured they will not be taken advantage of if they put their money at risk.

Businesses may attempt to raise more capital if the process of selling stock is made easier and less costly.  At the same time, investors are more likely to buy stock when they have adequate reliable information and fair trading markets.  Last week in the Committee, in response to my question, Fed Chairman Bernanke said, “Startup companies – companies under 5 years old – create a very substantial part of jobs added to the economy,” and he encouraged assisting startups. SEC Chairman Schapiro has said, “Companies seeking access to capital should not be overburdened by unnecessary or superfluous regulations. At the same time . . . we must balance that responsibility with our obligation to protect investors and our markets.”

In previous hearings, witnesses have discussed how public markets allocate capital and help create jobs, SEC requirements for a company to go public, why some firms prefer to remain private, how investors may be solicited to buy stock, how institutional investors decide whether to buy a company’s IPO shares, the importance of  liquidity in the secondary markets, the importance of investor protections, measures to reduce the cost of selling stock and their potential impact on the cost of capital and other considerations.

Today, we will hear testimony from experts analyzing the history and state of the IPO market, the needs of start-up and small businesses, why investors buy IPOs, the role of accounting and other disclosures, analyst conflicts of interest and other matters.

Members of this Committee on both sides of the aisle including Senators Schumer, Crapo, Tester, Reed, Vitter, Merkley, Toomey, Bennet and Johanns have been working hard on bipartisan proposals and I welcome our witnesses to provide their insights on these measures and others on the topic.

I look forward to working with the entire Committee and with Senate Leadership to quickly move bipartisan legislation forward.

WASHINGTON –

Below is Chairman Johnson’s statement as prepared for delivery:

“Today’s hearing is a continuation of our in-depth look at housing finance reform that we started last year in a bipartisan fashion. Many of our previous hearings have examined the long-term structure of the nation’s housing finance system. In this hearing, we will focus on the current state of the housing market and its effect on the larger economy.

“In January, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System released a white paper entitled “The U.S. Housing Market: Current Conditions and Policy Considerations.” In this paper, the Board stated that “continued weakness in the housing market poses a significant barrier to a more vigorous economic recovery.”

“The white paper documents the problems that so many families and communities are facing, such as:

• Declining home prices and the loss of $7 trillion in home equity since 2006;
• Millions of responsible homeowners are underwater on their homes through no fault of their own;
• Excess supply of homes for sale at the same time that rents are rising;
• Obstacles to refinancing at today’s record low mortgage rates.

“The paper also discussed policy options for addressing what it identified as impediments to a housing – and ultimately economic – recovery. Such impediments include: the excess supply of homes for sale, tightened mortgage credit, and the flow of additional homes entering the foreclosure pipeline under current conditions.

“Many potential solutions are being offered by a wide range of interested parties. In recent weeks, the Administration has outlined administrative steps and legislative proposals for overcoming barriers to housing market recovery. An interagency group led by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has begun taking steps to address the large volume of Real Estate Owned properties held by the Government Sponsored Enterprises and federal agencies, including pilot projects converting some of these properties to rentals. I look forward to hearing more from the Administration and FHFA about their proposals.

“Finally, this morning, we are expecting an announcement in the long-anticipated mortgage servicing settlement. I look forward to carefully reviewing the details of these agreements as part of the Banking Committee’s continued oversight efforts to hold servicers accountable for their failures and protect homeowners from abuse.

“I agree with the Fed’s assessment. Without an improvement in the housing market, the economic recovery will also continue to drag. We must do everything we can to help with economic recovery – this is important to me and my constituents. This means we must find ways to improve the housing market.

“Today, we explore potential solutions with three highly respected economists. I have invited our witnesses to share their insights on barriers to and solutions for housing market recovery. These witnesses have extensive experience analyzing the housing market and broader economy. I hope to learn from them practical solutions to improve the housing market, the economy, and lives of millions of Americans.”

“On February 2, we intend to move forward with a markup of two bipartisan bills we have been working on together for the past few months.  We have worked closely with our colleagues on the Committee to incorporate many of their proposals, and we are hopeful these two bills will clear the Committee with overwhelming bipartisan support and be taken up by the full Senate quickly.

“The two-year surface transportation bill will reflect our commitment to preserving current funding levels and focusing investments in the nation’s aging transit infrastructure.  Additionally, we will improve public transportation through much needed reforms such as improving safety oversight, eliminating earmarks, as well as speeding the construction of public transportation projects.

“We must continue to do all we can – diplomatically, politically, and economically – to counter the growing threat from Iran’s illicit nuclear program. Our sanctions legislation will complement and reinforce ongoing international efforts led by the US and send another very clear signal to Iran’s government of what’s in store if they continue to defy the will of the international community.”

“With Richard Cordray leading the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Americans will finally get the consumer protections they deserve. Mr. Cordray is eminently qualified for the job, as even my Senate Republican colleagues have acknowledged. As Banking Committee Chairman I look forward to working with Mr. Cordray and the CFPB as he moves forward on implementing long-overdue consumer financial protections for all Americans.”

“It’s disappointing that Senate Republicans denied him an up-or-down vote, especially when it’s clear he had the support of a majority of the Senate.”

“There are a number of bipartisan proposals introduced to ensure small businesses have adequate access to capital.  On December 1st, I will hold a hearing in the Banking Committee where we will take a closer look at potential solutions to ensure businesses have the ability to grow and create jobs while at the same time ensuring that investors have appropriate levels of protection.”

“I want to commend Senators Tester and Pryor for their hard work and attention to this important issue. In addition, members of the Banking Committee have a number of insightful ideas on this issue. We are committed to help spur job growth, and we intend to take legislative action as quickly as possible on bipartisan solutions after our hearing.”

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac own or guarantee more than $5 trillion in mortgages, and together with the Federal Housing Administration they guarantee roughly 90% of all new mortgages. Their critical role in the housing market and the broader American economy makes it vital for Fannie and Freddie to have effective oversight. FHFA was created by Congress in 2008 to provide strong regulatory oversight of Fannie and Freddie and the Federal Home Loan Banks, and to help stabilize the nation’s housing market.

As Acting Director of FHFA, Edward DeMarco is responsible for approving and overseeing day-to-day operations at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as well as regulatory supervision of the Federal Home Loan Banks.

Hearings are webcast live at: http://banking.senate.gov.

Testimony and archived videos will be posted at: http://banking.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Home

FULL COMMITTEE HEARING:  Oversight of the Federal Housing Finance Agency

WITNESS:

Mr. Edward DeMarco

Acting Director, Federal Housing Finance Agency.

DATE: Tuesday, November 15, 2011

TIME:                        10:00 A.M.

LOCATION:             Room SD-538, Dirksen Senate Office Building