Waters' Closing Statement on HR. 1062 "SEC Regulatory Accountability Act"

Video Description

This is the final amendment to the bill which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage as amended. This motion ensures the ability of the SEC to continue to protect investors and enforce the securities laws. I want to emphasize that this motion does not stop the bill, but it does flag the very important ways in which we need to let the SEC act. The motion would ensure that the SEC can protect investors and enforce the securities laws in two specific areas: First the motion will ensure that this bill does not reduce the ability of the SEC to protect the pension plans of our firefighters and police, the people on whom we rely as our first responders, as well as the pension plans of teachers and other retirees, against fraudulent and deceptive practices. Protecting investors is a core element of the SEC's mission and one that we ignore at our peril. This week is police officers week, do we really want to honor our men and women in service by stripping them of protections for their hard earned earnings. Mr. Speaker these protections become ever more crucial as we rely increasingly on the securities markets for our retirement savings, these protections become ever more crucial. Second, the motion to recommit focuses on protecting investors by ensuring that the SEC can protect against the takeover of American firms by foreign companies, particularly Chinese companies that are using such mergers to access the investor funds in our capital markets without going through the SEC registration process. The SEC has had numerous enforcement actions against such companies, which purchase a small company and merger it with a larger, often fraudulent, foreign company. It has worked hard to protect the savings of hard working Americans including: union pension holders and other pensioners from being disadvantaged by these Chinese firms that don’t play by the same rules. Both of these areas highlight the importance of SEC action to protect investors, particularly those preparing for retirement. With Americans increasingly dependent on the securities markets to protect their retirement savings, it is more critical than ever to ensure that we preserve the ability of the SEC to act. Just yesterday, we heard from the SEC’s new Chairwoman, Mary Jo White. When we asked her about this bill, she said that she found it “very troubling.” I don’t imagine that a former prosecutor who took on the mob and terrorists is easily troubled. Indeed, she said that she had already needed at least 45 new economists to meet the need for an expanded economic analysis under the SEC standards, but that she couldn’t hire them due to the sequester. This is troubling indeed. Rather than helping the SEC do its job better, we are cutting its budget and throwing up new roadblocks, like this bill. It is a mistake, and I urge my colleagues to support this motion. I yield back the balance of my time.