WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), a member of the Senate Banking and Finance committees, released this statement following today’s approval by the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission of final rules for Title III of The JOBS Act, which authorizes crowdfunding of up to $1 million in non-equity fundraising in a 12-month period. These Title III regulations are expected to take effect early next year:

“As someone who has pushed the SEC since 2012 to move forward these rules, I applaud the Commission’s vote to allow more smaller investors to participate in America’s entrepreneurial economy,” Sen. Warner said. “Crowdfunding promises to democratize startup activity and entrepreneurial innovation across the country, and offers exciting, even game-changing opportunities for rural areas, which often have limited access to capital.  This is a promising new marketplace for investment and growth, but small investors should do their homework: even good business plans can fail, and there is risk involved in crowdfunding. Nevertheless, I am very pleased the SEC has moved forward in this significant way.”

Sen. Warner, an early investor in the wireless telephone industry, a cofounder of Nextel, and an investor in hundreds of companies which have created thousands of jobs, has been a leading Congressional voice for moving forward on the crowdfunding opportunities authorized in The JOBS Act. In 2012, Sen. Warner held a series of roundtables around Virginia to introduce this new tool to entrepreneurs and investors. During Banking Committee hearings in 2013, Sen. Warner pushed SEC Chair Mary Jo White to move forward on the rules, followed by additional letters to the SEC urging action both in 2013 and 2014.