The U.S. House Committee on Financial Services met last week and passed the Main Street Growth Act (H.R. 5877), a bill that aims at providing liquidity for small companies through venture exchanges. The bill goes to the Senate next for consideration, before it could be signed into law by the President.

The Main Street Growth Act, sponsored by Congressman Tom Emmer of Minnesota, is to amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to allow for the registration of venture exchanges tailored to the needs of small and emerging companies.

“Today, the House took an important step to add to this economy’s growing momentum by passing the Main Street Growth Act,” said Congressman Emmer.

According to Emmer, a 2012 study found that for nearly 2,800 companies that participated in an IPO between 1996–2010, total employment across these businesses increased by 2.2 million jobs, while total revenue increased by over $1 trillion. However, participation in the IPO process has slowed over the years. Today the U.S. has half of the number of publicly listed companies than it had two decades ago.

“It is critical that the current market structure meets the need for all types of companies to encourage more to go public which generates millions of jobs and trillions of dollars in revenue for the economy. This bill, which I was thrilled to see pass unanimously out of committee, will do just that by facilitating the creation of venture exchanges to embolden more early stage IPOs and improve capital formation for businesses in Minnesota and across the United States. As it heads to the Senate, I look forward to both sides of the aisle coming together to ensure that American entrepreneurs and workers can continue to succeed,” concluded Emmer.

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