Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 5424, the so- called ``Investment Advisers Modernization Act of 2016.'' Regrettably, instead of modernizing the regulation of investment advisors, as the bill's title suggests, the legislation under consideration today would take us back to a time when there was minimal transparency and reporting requirements for private firms such as private equity and hedge funds. Over the past few months, I have been following the New York Times investigative series that exposed abuses by the private equity industry that impact our daily lives. I am concerned that private equity firms are now overtaking our fire departments, our ambulance services, our public water services, and our mortgage market. The influence of these private firms in services that traditionally have been provided by our government is resulting in slower reaction times for emergency services, aggressive collection practices, and the type of foreclosure abuse that we saw before the 2008 financial crisis. Given the increased influence of these firms in our daily lives, it is critical that we do not roll back crucial oversight and transparency requirements through this legislation. I served on the Financial Services Committee during the 2008 financial crisis. I witnessed the harmful impact that the lack of regulation had on hard-working families around our nation.…”