Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, which will protect retirement savings from political interference by activists and their proxy adviser allies. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for including my legislation in this comprehensive package. My bill, the Protecting Americans' Retirement Savings from Politics Act, reins in proxy advisers and puts a stop to the political takeover of retirement investments. Names like ISS and Glass Lewis may not make the headlines every day, but these two firms constitute a powerful proxy adviser duopoly. They are fueling a movement to weaponize Americans' retirement funds to push their political agenda. This hurts workers, our economy, and the returns on Americans' hard-earned retirement savings. Under Chairman Gensler, the Biden SEC gutted safeguards that were meant to provide proxy advisers with accountability and transparency. The SEC has also given a green light to activists to inject politics into the boardroom by changing the rules and empowering unaccountable SEC staff. This has predictably led to a huge spike in politically motivated shareholder proposals. ISS and Glass Lewis control 97 percent of the proxy adviser market, advising virtually all professional investors. ISS offers companies consulting services to address the same activist proposals they make recommendations on, which is an obvious conflict of interest. My bill prevents this conflict and enforces the disclosure of other potential conflicts of interest.…”