President Signs Bill Backed by McLean Resident Steve Case

Well-known entrepreneur and McLean neighbor Steve Case beamed Thursday as he stood behind President Obama who signed into law his long-sought after JOBS* Act.

Reuters reported that the President signed the bipartisan bill to kickstart small business growth, and promised rigorous oversight to make sure the measure does not harm investors, as critics have warned.

Case said on his website the law was needed to help small startup businesses beause ". . .  the vast majority of American high growth companies are not tech companies - and are not in Silicon Valley.   And many of those entrepreneurs struggle to raise capital; they are "off the beaten path" for the traditional venture capital investors, but not yet stable enough to get a bank to lend them money. 

"The goal of the JOBS Act is to provide better access to capital for a wide range of companies, in a variety of sectors and regions - and provide new options for accessing capital at each stage of a company's lifecycle."

According to the White House website: As the President said at today’s signing, “this bill is a potential gamechanger” for America’s entrepreneurs. For the first time, Americans will be able to go online and invest in small businesses and entrepreneurs. Not only will this help small businesses and high-growth enterprises raise capital more efficiently, but it will also allow small and young firms to expand and hire faster.  

C-SPAN reported, the House voted last month to send the final version of the the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act to President Obama after the Senate added additional restrictions on crowd funding.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Senator Scott Brown (R-MA) attended the signing along with members of both parties from the House and Senate, C-SPAN reported.