U.S. Senators Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) and Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), both members of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, today introduced the Expanding WKSI Eligibility Act, bipartisan legislation designed to help mid-sized public companies access capital more efficiently so they can compete, grow, and create jobs. 

Under current law, a public company must have at least $700 million in publicly traded shares or has sold at least $1 billion in aggregate debt to qualify as Well-Known Seasoned Issuers (WKSI). WKSI status is a key designation in securities regulation that offers issuers significant benefits in accessing capital markets, include allowing companies to raise capital more quickly by filing registration statements that become effective immediately without delay. The Expanding WKSI Eligibility Act would modernize this threshold by lowering it from $700 million to $400 million in publicly traded shares, extending these streamlined capital-raising benefits to hundreds of additional established, mid-sized companies. 

For states like Pennsylvania and Delaware — home to many growing public companies across manufacturing, energy, healthcare, financial services, and technology — this change will expand the pool of businesses that stand to benefit. Pennsylvania companies with significant amounts of capital raised and traded in the U.S. benefit from the efficient and flexibility of WKSI status.

“As we look to the future, it’s critical that we keep our economy among the strongest in the world,” said Senator Blunt Rochester, a member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. “That means ensuring companies have responsible access to public capital markets – benefiting both businesses and investors. I thank Senator McCormick for his bipartisan partnership on the Expanding WKSI Eligibility Act, and look forward to working with our colleagues to get this passed.”

“This legislation recognizes that the benefits of WKSI designation should be broadened, which will create more efficiency and flexibility for public firms, investors, and the SEC,”said Senator McCormick,a member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. “This revision will allow additional Pennsylvania companies to save time and money when they go to the public markets to raise capital.” 

The companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives is sponsored by Congressman Bryan Steil (R-WI) and Congressman Cleo Fields (D-LA).

Full text of the legislation can be found here.