Providing For Consideration of H.R. 1090, Retail Investor Protection Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased today to bring
forward this rule on behalf of the Rules Committee and the hundreds of
thousands of young men and women who one day hope to retire.

The rule provides for consideration of H.R. 1090, the Retail Investor
Protection Act. The Rules Committee met on this measure yesterday
evening and heard testimony from both the chairman and ranking member
of the Financial Services Committee.

The rule brought forward by the committee is a structured rule. There
was only one amendment submitted to the Rules Committee on this bill,
and the House will have the opportunity to debate and vote on the
amendment offered by the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch) later
today.

This legislation went through regular order in the Financial Services
Committee and was also passed by the House in the 113th Congress by a
vote of 254-166 with a number of my friends from the other side of the
aisle voting for the legislation. I hope we can put aside our political
differences and vote in a similar bipartisan fashion here today.

This rule provides for 1 hour of general debate equally divided and
controlled by the chairman and ranking member of the Financial Services
Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to hearing the stories that Members will
share highlighting the desperate need for H.R. 1090 to become law.

I also have heard firsthand from men and women in my district who are
scared about their financial future. Navigating retirement planning can
be a difficult task, especially for young men and women just entering
the workforce. They often rely on financial planners to offer advice on
the steps they need to take today so one day they can retire.

I had the opportunity to meet with one of those financial planners in
my office just a few months ago. Beth Baldwin is a financial planner
who works for Edward Jones in my hometown of Gainesville, Georgia. She
took the time to come to Washington to meet with me and other elected
officials because she was scared about the impact that the fiduciary
rule would have on her ability to do her job. She told me that the
administration's fiduciary rule prevents her from helping people.

Beth told me that financial advisers should always provide advice
that is in their client's best interest, but the rule places
unnecessary and burdensome requirements on both advisers and clients.

That is not what we are about as a country, Mr. Speaker. We are the
world's greatest economic engine, the land of hope and opportunity,
because we believe in the ingenuity and hard work of people. Our
founders believed in people. They were on their team, and they created
a governmental structure that is for the people and by the people.
Frankly, Mr. Speaker, that is what this Republican majority stands for:
the people who get up every day looking to how they can make it better.

The Republican majority is for people. We believe in their hopes, we
believe in their dreams, and we want them to succeed. When my son gets
a little older and starts thinking about retirement, I want him to be
able to go to a professional and get some advice and seek good
information.

If H.R. 1090 isn't signed into law, then financial advisers like Beth
Baldwin won't be able to help him. In fact, they won't be able to help
others who have helped my family, like Wayne Parrish, who is a dear
friend of our family, but is also someone who advises us in our
financial decisions. This is something that is threatening not only his
livelihood, but many teachers that work with my wife. This is about
people, Mr. Speaker.

Across the Nation today, there are 9 million households that rely on
small business retirement plans. And there are 3 million small-saver
households. These are the people who need Congress now, more than ever,
to be on their team.

To them, this debate isn't over definitions and enhanced coordination
and studies. It is over their future. It is over their ability to make
informed decisions, to find somebody like Beth or Wayne or a number of
others all across this country who can help them plan for the future.

Financial advisers should be free to offer advice to their clients
based on what is best for them as individuals and small businesses, not
based on what advice most limits their liability.

Saving for retirement is already difficult. It requires tough
decisions. But the one thing that can keep a devastating financial
decision from being made is advice from a qualified professional.

I in no way believe we should model our policies after other
countries. We have talked about that before here. However, when we can
learn from their mistakes, we should.

The United Kingdom implemented a similar rule in 2013. Two years
later we can see the negative effects. The rule has created an advice
gap in which 60,000 investors are unable to receive financial advice
because their accounts are too small.

Mr. Speaker, I know some stories that have been told on the floor and
from many Members here. I remember when I and my wife were just
starting out. To tell me what little bit that I had saved was too small
is an affront to the very free enterprise system that helps people
climb to where they want to go and fulfill their dreams. We should
never be satisfied with when we tell people they can't get advice
because their pot, so to speak, is too small.

Several of my constituents from northeast Georgia recently wrote to
me about the administration's fiduciary rule. Here is what they said:

``The rule as proposed is not workable and would have numerous
unintended consequences for American workers and retirement savers,
particularly those who are middle class. The requirements in the rule
would drive the market to fee-based arrangements that are used only for
wealthier clients and are not the best fit for many investors. As a
result, middle-class savers would be forced into low-service, do-it-
yourself accounts, depriving them of meaningful, personalized planning
advice.''

Let me repeat that: ``depriving them of meaningful, personalized
planning advice.''

We are here today as the Republican majority, advancing H.R. 1090,
because we are for the middle class. Because we refuse to accept any
rule from this administration that would deprive the middle class of
the tools they need to make good financial decisions.

One of my constituents also wrote: ``The time to act is now before
Americans are deprived of consumer choice on how to plan for retirement
and invest their savings.''

Another said: ``Recently, I became aware of a proposed rule that
would undermine my ability to plan for my retirement in ways I believe
best for me.''

It is the very heart of why we are here, Mr. Speaker. It is taking up
for those who need someone to say: Government, it is time to let the
free enterprise, time to let the middle class, the hardworking folks of
our country, have advice and be able to access that.

I cannot understand why some of my friends on the other side of the
aisle support a rule that would undermine anyone's ability to plan for
their retirement in ways that are best for them. This isn't a political
issue. It is about people and their future. It is as simple as that.

Financial planning isn't one size fits all. It is customized,
individualized, based on the need of a particular family or small
business. ObamaCare is a perfect example of what happens when the
administration takes over an industry without regard to the needs of
the middle and lower class.

Another constituent wrote to me and said: ``With this rule, it seems
the government has determined that I am not smart enough to make my own
informed investment decisions. I do not agree. Saving for retirement is
difficult enough. Why add more obstacles and complexity? I urge you to
please preserve the freedoms investors currently enjoy to choose how we
invest in our retirement accounts and plan for a better financial
tomorrow.''

This administration, Mr. Speaker, is already costing families jobs,
constitutional liberties, affordable quality health care, and a strong
national defense. Let's not also take away from them the ability to
plan for retirement.

I remember when, just a little over 27 years ago, my wife and I
walked down the aisle and we said, ``I do,'' for better, for worse, for
richer, for poorer. And, Mr. Speaker, we have been through all of that.

But, at times, we had people who came into our lives, investment
advice that would help us with her teacher retirement, help us with
advice that I didn't have the time or really the understanding to work
on.

If we take that away from folks like myself and families in my
district and families in your district and families all over the
country, then what are we saying to the American people? We are saying:
the government knows better than you.

I am a firm believer that this government was started and will stand
both for the people and of the people, and that is what this Republican
majority is doing today. That is why this rule is important, and that
is why this bill is important.
I reserve the balance of my time.

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