The House today overwhelmingly passed Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s JOBS Act in a rare moment of bipartisanship.
The Virginia Republican’s bill, which had been modified by the Senate last week, passed on a 380-41 vote, with 145 Democrats joining all voting Republicans in supporting it. The measure would remove some regulatory hurdles for small businesses to raise capital.
In a statement following the vote, Cantor hailed its passage: “Both parties in Congress, the President and entrepreneurs like Steve Case came together on this bill that will increase capital formation and pave the way for more small-scale businesses to go public and create jobs. The bipartisan JOBS Act represents an increasingly rare legislative victory in Washington where both sides seized the opportunity to work together, improved the bill and passed it with strong bipartisan support.”
Cantor is hoping to translate today’s bipartisan success into other smaller victories, including with a small-business tax package the House is expected to take up next month.
“We should build on this momentum going forward and use the opportunity provided by the Small Business Tax Cut in April, so we can continue to help small businesses and job creators in this country to grow and hire,” Cantor said.
Lois Lerner, director of exempt organizations for the IRS, arrives for a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the investigation of the IRS' targeting of political groups. Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment right to not testify and caused a protest from some committee members when she offered an opening statement and engaged in dialogue with members before invoking the right.
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