House passes INVEST Acto to ease investment standards, boost capital
U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, DC, USA on Thursday, December 11, 2025.
Daniel Heuer | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Capital and investors may flow into private markets under legislation approved by the House of Representatives on Thursday.
The capital formation bill package called the INVESTMENT Law was passed by the Parliament from 302 to 123. Eighty-seven Democrats joined every Republican in the House in supporting the bill.
The far-reaching legislative package will allow more investors to access private markets. Lawmakers say the measure would help more companies go public and increase capital formation for startups.
Rather than wealth or income alone determining who can become an accredited investor, investors can become accredited by taking an exam approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
House Financial Services Chairman French Hill, R-Ark., said the bill is necessary in part because of the shrinking number of publicly traded companies in America.
“We’re making it easier to be a public company in America,” Hill said on the House floor during debate of the bill. “
“If you have a great idea, we make it easy for you to crowdsource it, raise money from friends and family. And if you’re an individual investor, we make it easy for you to have other opportunities to invest in.”
The bill would also remove caps on how much venture capital firms can raise and how many people can invest before they become subject to stricter disclosure and compliance regulations.
The bill increases the number of investors from 250 to 500 and the funds from $10 million to $50 million.
It will also become easier for venture capital companies to invest in each other; Lawmakers say the change would help bring more funds to companies in places like the Midwest and South.
Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., said unicorns (private ventures valued at $1 billion or more) used to be rare. He said there were now “herds of unicorns” limiting the public’s investment opportunities.
“We’re trying to make sure that this is open and accessible to people, and I think that will be a healthier approach for both public markets and private markets,” Huizenga said.
The bill now goes to the Senate; facilitating capital formation here is on Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott’s to-do list.
It’s unclear whether the Senate will take up the House package, move its individual pieces or try to craft its own bill.
