Retail Investor Protection Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, in a chamber where we have no shortage of hyperbole and sanctimony, certainly this bill is no exception as I listen to the opposition.

Today I rise in strong support of H.R. 1090, the Retail Investor Protection Act. I want to thank Representative Wagner for her leadership and the chairman for this time.

We are down to the bottom of the barrel if we are quoting NPR as a source of economic research. There is no credible research that justifies what the Department of Labor is doing.

Having worked in this industry for three decades, I can speak to this on a very personal basis.

Instead of working in harmony and complying with Dodd-Frank, the DOL is preempting the SEC and the FINRA and moving ahead with its own agenda.

As we have said today, there is broad consensus that financial advisers should act in the best interest of their customers, and they do. Any bad actors should be punished. There are existing rules and requirements for broker-dealers and investment managers to deal fairly and provide recommendations that are suitable for their customers and disclose conflicts of interest.

We have left the appearance in this room hanging that prices are skewed. In fact, most retail investment products are sold by a prospectus with fixed prices that are fully disclosed to retail investors.

We have heard today that this reproposal is an improvement over previous efforts by the Department of Labor. In fact, that is not true, Mr. Speaker. This pending rule is not an improvement.

It turns its back on best practices of new account openings and includes a dispute resolution that turns its back on dispute resolution practices in the industry that will increase litigation and hurt retail investors and brokers alike.

Representative Scott of Georgia calls this proposal a straightjacket for modest investors. I could not summarize it better.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 1090 and protecting sound retirement advice for retail investors.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source