Rep. Meuser Introduces Bill to Promote Access to Capital for Small Businesses

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman Dan Meuser (PA-09) introduced H.R. 6825, the Amendment for Crowdfunding Capital Enhancement and Small-business Support (ACCESS) Act. The legislation seeks to increase access to capital for small businesses and startups by raising the crowdfunding exemption from $100,000 to $250,000.

Regulation Crowdfunding, commonly referred to as Reg CF, is a way for small businesses and startups to raise money from the general public by selling small amounts of their equity, like shares in their company, or debt, similar to loans that need to be paid back with interest, to the public.

Currently, issuers using the crowdfunding exemption must file financial statements reviewed by an independent public accountant when the offering amount is over $100,000. This requirement can be cost-prohibitive for smaller issuers, as the average cost to file these statements is around $10,000, representing a significant expense relative to the amount raised.

The bill seeks to increase this threshold to $250,000, a level temporarily adopted by the SEC during the COVID-19 pandemic. During that period, the crowdfunding program continued to work as designed, suggesting that a higher threshold could support small businesses without compromising investor protection.

Rep. Meuser said, “Access to capital remains one of the greatest challenges facing small businesses. By raising the crowdfunding exemption, we can provide entrepreneurs with a cost-effective method to raise capital and grow new businesses across the country. This legislation is a win for small businesses and keeps America as a competitive destination for small business growth and development.”

Original cosponsors of the bill are Reps. Bill Huizenga (MI-04), Pete Sessions (TX-17), and Zach Nunn (IA-03).

Text of the legislation can be found here.

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