John Tierney: “I thought we might take a minute this morning to talk about the fact that while our economy struggles and while families…”

“I thought we might take a minute this morning to talk about the fact that while our economy struggles and while families across America watch helplessly as their retirement savings dwindle away as a result of corporate greed and mismanagement, while health care costs soar to ever-higher rates, and while prescription drug prices rise at 5 times the rate of inflation, the leadership in this House can still be counted on to protect the interests of corporate moguls and wealthy special interests at the expense of hard-working American families. A case in point. With the startling news that 401(k) and other defined contribution plans lost $210 billion last year, and IRAs lost $230 billion, the majority in this House still thinks it perfectly all right for companies to provide conflicted investment advice to their employees, advice from analysts who have a stake in the very stocks that they are touting, analysts who receive financial benefits from promoting certain stocks, even if they know they are of questionable value. Some of us tried to do something about that and correct the inequity when we considered the so-called pension reform bill last spring. My amendment would have provided truly unconflicted advice to investors, and that is the direction we ought to go. The bills that are in front of the House later on today, Mr. Speaker, do not move in that direction, and we need to stand up for the American people whose investments are dwindling and do the right thing.”