House makes quick work of SEC bills

The House on Wednesday afternoon approved four noncontroversial bills under a suspension of the rules, including two aimed at easing rules for small companies under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In a 420-2 vote, the House approved H.R. 1965, which would ease the current requirement that banks and bank holding companies must register with the SEC once they have more than 500 shareholders. The bill would allow banks to delay the decision to register until there are 2,000 shareholders, which supporters said would give small community banks more leeway in when they undertake the complex registration process.

The House also approved H.R. 1070, the Small Company Capital Formation Act, in a 421-1 vote. This will would let small companies sell up to $50 million in securities without first registering with the SEC. The current threshold of $5 million has not been adjusted for nearly 20 years.

Also on Wednesday afternoon, the House approved H.R. 2061, the Civilian Service Recognition Act, by a 425-0 vote. That bill would authorize the presentation of a U.S. flag at the funeral of federal civilian employees.

And by voice vote, the House approved S. 894, which would allow for a cost-of-living adjustment in payments made to veterans with disability compensation and other payments made to veterans and their families. The increase would equal the increase given to Social Security recipients, which is expected to be a little more than 1 percent.

That bill passed the Senate in mid-October, and House passage sends the bill to the White House for President Obama's signature.

All four votes were suspension bills that required a two-thirds majority for passage. Votes on these bills concluded the House's legislative work for the day, and members moved to general speeches.

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