<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"The U.S. Senate has sent an amended version of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act back to the House on a vote of 73-26.\nThe bill, introduced by House Republicans, is intended to spark investments in small and medium-sized startups, partially through crowdfunding \u2014 similar to the way entrepreneurs raise money on Kickstarter. \nThe JOBS Act would create a new type of business known as \"emerging growth companies,\" which would be allowed to raise funds online and enjoy less strict rules under the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). \nSupporters say the JOBS Act would help small business grow and hire more workers. Detractors, however, argue that it encourages risky investments \u2014 and its deregulations go too far. \n\u201CThe JOBS Act gives small businesses the tools they need to expand and create jobs,\u201D says Rep. McHenry (R-N.C.), a contributor to the #FixYoungAmerica entrepreneurship campaign. \n\u201CReducing red tape and helping entrepreneurs is more important than partisan politics. Economists predict the legislation will lead to a ten percent increase in new business startups, helping to create at least 170,000 jobs in the next five years.\u201D\nThe JOBS Act survived some fierce opposition and multiple attempts by senators to gut its core essence.\nSen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), a vocal opponent of the JOBS Act, called the bill a plan to change \"disclosure, accounting and auditing standards and to exempt many firms and corporations from the Securities and Exchange Commission oversight.\"\nThe Senate's changes restrict the amount that a company could raise through online crowdfunding. While the House version of the bill allowed crowdfunding investors to pitch in up to $10,000 or 10% of their annual income, the amended Senate version limits investors to $2,000 or 5% of annual income or net worth, depending on which is less than $100,000.\nAdditionally, the House bill allows companies to raise up to $1 million without providing any kind of financial information to investors. The Senate version would require startups to present investors with the company's tax returns or financial statements before they buy a stake in the company.\nSens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Scott Brown (R-Mass.) introduced the amendment adopted by the Senate.\nThe altered version of the JOBS Act will now head back to the House, where the difference between the two bills must be reconciled if the legislation is to reach President Obama's desk. The president has previously expressed his support for the JOBS Act.\nThe JOBS Act originally sailed through the House on a vote of 390-23.\nImage courtesy of iStockphoto, franckreporter"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2012/03/22/jobs-act/>