WASHINGTON — The Senate postponed action Tuesday on legislation to ease the ability of small and startup companies to raise money from investors after Democrats failed in two tries to make changes to the bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced that a vote on whether to bring the JOBS bill to the Senate floor for final action would be delayed until this morning. The Jumpstart Our Business Startups legislation, approved by the House this month, would significantly loosen the disclosure requirements on companies trying to raise money from public investors.
New rules on student loans urged
WASHINGTON — A top Senate Democrat took aim at the private student-loan industry Tuesday, calling for new rules that would allow educational debts to be wiped away during bankruptcy. Majority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill., convened a Senate judiciary subcommittee hearing Tuesday to address what one consumer group has called the nation’s next potential “debt bomb.” Research by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that Americans owe about $870 billion in student loans, surpassing the amount of outstanding credit-card debt or auto loans. More than a quarter of borrowers had past-due balances, a figure higher than previously reported, the study found. The Associated Press
