ASA Supports Financial Services Committee Action on Capital Formation Bills

WASHINGTON – The American Securities Association (ASA) today sent a letter to the House Financial Services Committee in support of its markup to advance legislation that helps small American companies raise capital and provide every American investor with more opportunity to create wealth. 

"ASA applauds Chairman French Hill's leadership in advancing legislation to help America's small businesses raise capital, grow, and create jobs," said ASA President and CEO Chris Iacovella. “The bills being marked up today strike an appropriate balance between easing the compliance burden on public companies and protecting America’s savers, retirees, and working families.”

In its letter to the Committee, ASA outlined its support for the following bills:

H.R. 7085, a bill to amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to repeal certain disclosure requirements related to conflict minerals 

This bill would repeal a disclosure mandate under Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act, commonly known as the “conflict minerals” rule. The conflict minerals rule is a costly, burdensome, and poorly conceived requirement that has done nothing to solve the human rights abuses and violence on the ground in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Since Congress first mandated the conflict minerals rule 15 years ago, the SEC has been bombarded with demands that it promulgate new disclosure requirements on a myriad of social or political topics that have little to do with investor protection or the performance of public companies. Congress can protect American investors and take a meaningful step toward ending the injection of politics into the U.S. capital markets by repealing Section 1502. 

H.R. 5877, the Combatting Money Laundering in Cyber Crime Act of 2025 

ASA commends this Committee, and especially Congressman Barr, for its work to combat the various threats that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) poses to the U.S. capital markets. Our organization has repeatedly called, for example, to eliminate the collection of personal information under the SEC’s consolidated audit trail and to prevent fraudulent CCP-backed companies from listing on U.S. exchanges or being included in passive index funds. This legislation would empower U.S. authorities to thwart CCP-backed cyberattacks on U.S. institutions and individuals. 

H.R. 7127, the Restoring Secondary Market Trading Act 

This legislation from Rep. Meuser would protect investors from a patchwork of state laws that has led to regulatory uncertainty for smaller companies whose shares are publicly traded. The bill would promote a national market ecosystem for small companies’ stocks. This will improve national liquidity and allow more Americans to invest in small or newly formed public companies that will grow substantially over time, while requiring companies to maintain regular public financial disclosures.

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The American Securities Association (ASA) represents the retail and institutional capital markets interests of regional financial services firms who provide Main Street businesses with access to capital and advise hardworking Americans how to create and preserve wealth. ASA’s mission is to promote trust and confidence among investors, facilitate capital formation, and support efficient and competitively balanced capital markets. This mission advances financial independence, stimulates job creation, and increases prosperity. The ASA has a geographically diverse membership of almost one hundred members that spans the Heartland, Southwest, Southeast, Atlantic, and Pacific Northwest regions of the United States.