News Release: House Financial Services Committee Should Vote Against Bills That Would Weaken Dodd-Frank and Endanger the Retirements of Public School Teachers

by team in Statements and Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 24, 2023

CONTACT
Carter Dougherty
carter@ourfinancialsecurity.org
(202) 251-6700

House Financial Services Committee Should Vote Against Bills That Would Weaken Dodd-Frank and Endanger the Retirements of Public School Teachers

Washington, D.C. – The House Financial Services Committee faces a critical decision as it prepares to vote on a series of bills in today’s markup. These proposed bills, if passed, would undermine the financial system, families saving for retirement, and everyday investors.

The six bills being marked up would undermine the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s (FSOC) to effectively monitor systemic risk, allow unregistered–and thus unregulated–offerings to be sold to public-sector retirees, further expose retail investors to opaque and illiquid private markets, and make it harder for middle-class borrowers to obtain affordable mortgages.  

“The combined effect of these bills would be to further weaken the rules we have in place to protect borrowers, investors, and retirees,” said Renita Marcellin, legislative and advocacy director at Americans for Financial Reform. 

Private funds (which include both hedge funds and private equity funds) have grown exponentially since the 2008 financial crisis reaching $21 trillion. Yet despite that growth, private funds still do not provide their investors with a basic and adequate set of information about their investments. The majority of bills in this package would increase exposure of the average investors to these riskier funds. 

“If enacted, many of these bills will line the pockets of insurance companies and fund managers, while putting retirement plans at risk,” Marcellin added. “The remaining legislative proposals would reverse the progress made towards increasing access to affordable mortgages and effectively monitoring systemic risk–a particularly reckless notion to propose right after the failure of multiple banks.”

Lastly, the draft bill would increase loan fees on many middle class home buyers, especially at a time when millions of households, especially home buyers of color, are already struggling with the high cost of housing. 

A copy of the letters the Americans for Financial Reform submitted to the House Financial Services Committee on these bills are here:

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