Job Seeker Blog - Spark Hire

Jobs Bill Passed in Congress

**UPDATE
Per Spark News’ recent article last Friday on a Jobs bill, it was reported today that the bill did in fact pass through Congress. The bill is set to make it easier for small businesses and start-ups in this country raise the capital needed in order for them to hire more workers and expand.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) stated last week that Congress would work hard to get this bill passed through by this week, and as promised, they succeeded. The bill is now set to go onto to the Senate where Democrats said they too would devise a small business plan, reports the Huffington Post. Sen. Charles Schumer, (D-NY.) was quoted saying, “the Senate version could even go a little further than the House version, and I would also hope that we take some needed precautions on investor protection.”

As stated in the previous article, the act that passed through Congress included four bills that were previously voted on and passed. This made it much easier for the overall act to be passed. Essentially, the bills make it much easier for small businesses to emerge and expand by restricting and removing many Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations that are in effect. Furthermore, it increases the amount of shares a “private company can sell as part of a public offering before having to register with the SEC” from $5 million to $50 million. It also increases the number of shareholders from 1,000 to 5,000. and increases the number of investors a company can have from 500 to 2,000.

While Republicans are touting that Congress can work together to bring change and growth to the job market, Democrats are still skeptical. House leader Cantor was quoted saying, “it is a welcome sign that we can put our differences aside and work together to produce results to help boost the economy and get people back to work.” On the other hand, Democratic representative Jared Polis (D-Colo.) stated that the bill is “not a jobs solution for our country, it’s not a jobs bill.” Many Democrats believed that the bill deserved an affirmative vote but also thought that it was a “modest” effort by Republicans to prove that they can in fact get things done in Congress.

Either way, it seems as though the bill will pass through the Senate making it much easier for small businesses to grow and prosper, and ultimately create more jobs for our country.

SOURCE: The Huffington Post
IMAGE: Courtesy of Jim Abrams of the Associated Press via The Huffington Post

Nicole Nicholson

Nicole is the Content Editor for Spark Hire and mainly writes for and edits the work for the Spark News blog. She graduated in 2010 with a BA in Journalism from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. She has a passion for writing, editing, and pretty much anything to do with content. In her free time she frequents the Chicago music scene and writes reviews on shows for her own personal blog. Connect with Nicole and Spark Hire on Facebook and Twitter

335 comments