The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (HR 3606) (“Act”) was passed with massive bipartisan support by both the House and Senate. Referred to as the "Jobs Act of 2012", former Chief Accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission Lynn E. Turner warns this bill would destroy small investor protections dating back as far as the creation of the SEC itself. "It WON'T create jobs, but it WILL simplify fraud," Turner said in an interview last week. "This would be better known as the Bucket-Shop and Penny-Stock Fraud Reauthorization Act of 2012." SEC Commissioner Aguilar agrees and sets out his concerns in this speech which highlights the need for increased investor protection.  He states that in its current form, the Act “weakens or eliminates many regulations designed to safeguard investors”. His concerns cover two areas: (i) the Act reduces transparency and investor protection, making securities enforcement more difficult; and (ii) the Act rests on the premise that by reducing the regulatory burden on capital raising, capital formation in the US would be improved. However, Commissioner Aguilar notes that there is significant research to support the opposing viewpoint, that disclosure requirements and other capital markets regulations enhance, rather than impede, capital formation and that regulatory compliance costs are not the cause of decline in IPO activity in the past decade. The speech concludes with a list of questions that must be addressed by Congress to ensure that investors are adequately protected. The Act was sent back to the House to approve some Senate changes on 22 March 2012.