Political Quotes

“This amendment sponsored by Mr. Lawler codifies a controversial Trump-era SEC rule that is opposed by many investor advocates. The amendment allows high-risk startups to tout their businesses in front of retail investors. This is currently prohibited in part because roughly 75 percent of VC-backed startups fail. The amendment would specifically allow angel investors and issuers to market their startup ventures to prospective investors at colleges and nonprofits, including churches. Broadly marketing your securities to the public in this fashion-- known as a general solicitation--is usually prohibited for private offerings like these because the public nature of the market effectively makes the offering itself public, and therefore, requires registration with the SEC. At universities and churches, students and congregants gather to learn, and they generally trust the information they receive. I don't believe these are spaces where it is appropriate to market highly risky investment opportunities. In my own district, a church was the victim of an investment scheme in which an issuer conned the church out of nearly $6 million. I previously offered an amendment during our committee's markup last year that would prevent future frauds like this from happening again--frauds that would be further enabled by this amendment. As such, I urge my colleagues to oppose Mr. Lawler's amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.”