Today, the House of Representatives in a bipartisan vote passed the JOBS Act, a package of bills to help small businesses and startups raise capital:

The bills would make it easier for small companies to go public by providing them a temporary reprieve from Securities and Exchange Commission regulations; remove SEC restrictions preventing small businesses from using advertisements to solicit investors; and remove SEC restrictions on "crowdfunding" so entrepreneurs can raise equity capital from a large pool of small investors. 

They also raise from $5 million to $50 million the ceiling for shares a private company can sell as part of a public offering before having to register with the SEC, raise the SEC registration threshold from 500 to 1,000 shareholders and increase the number of shareholders permitted to invest in a community bank from 500 to 2,000. 

"Crowdfunding" is a term for using the Internet to find donors and investors to fund startups and creative projects. Kickstarter and Sprowd are two crowdfunding websites.

Bruce Josten, the Chamber's Executive Vice President for Government Affairs, was pleased with this job-creating legislation:

The House today took a strong bi-partisan step to allow America’s entrepreneurs to lead the way for sustained economic growth and job creation. Small businesses and emerging growth companies have always been at the heart of dynamic growth. The JOBS Act provides important reforms and lessens regulatory burdens that will remove obstacles that have prevented business formation in the numbers we have come to expect. We urge the Senate to take up the JOBS Act expeditiously so Americans can get back to work.

The White House supports the JOBS Act, so I hope the Senate works on this soon to help small businesses and startup create jobs.