The Consumer Federation of America  strongly supports strengthened protections for investors in private offerings under Rule 506 of Regulation D. We have previously voiced our strong opposition to the Commission’s decision to permit general solicitation without taking any meaningful steps to ensure that investors are adequately protected. So we welcome the Commission’s proposal to address those concerns, albeit belatedly, through new filing and content requirements for Form D and new warnings on solicitation materials. Unfortunately, the reforms put forward in this release are far too weak to effectively counter the increased risk of fraud caused by lifting the general solicitation ban, to prevent misleading private fund advertising practices, or even to alert investors to the risks of investing such offerings. If the Commission is to fulfill its investor protection mission, it must first significantly strengthen these proposals and then adopt them without further delay.