Gregory Meeks: “Today, I am especially proud to rise in support of a bill that has been worked on very hard. I want to first thank…”

“Today, I am especially proud to rise in support of a bill that has been worked on very hard. I want to first thank Chairwoman Waters and Ranking Member McHenry; of course, my colleague, the chair of the Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets, Carolyn Maloney; Chairwoman Beatty; and, of course, the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Wagner) for all of their support in working to pull this bill together, the Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act of 2019. This legislation is the culmination of years of methodical work and the continuation of priorities dating back to our Wall Street reform work following the financial crisis. Indeed, as my colleagues who were here in Congress in 2009 and 2010 will remember well, many of us, in the wake of the financial crisis, were vocal about how the lack of diversity and inclusion across corporate America and, in particular, at senior levels and on boards of financial institutions helped contribute to the financial crisis. Corporate America should reflect the diversity of the markets they seek to serve. This is the right thing to do and the smart business decision to make. H.R. 5084, the Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act, focuses on disclosures and transparency. I firmly believe that transparency is the first step to accountability. Specifically, the bill does the following.…”