Category Archives: Letters to Congress

Letters to Congress: Letter in Support of Taking Action to Prevent Additional Bank Failures and Safeguard Consumers

Ranking Member Waters announced today the passage of two key bills in response to the Silicon Valley Bank and other bank failures in 2023. These Democratic-led, bipartisan bills, passed during yesterday’s full committee markup, are “aimed at safeguarding consumers and taking steps to prevent additional bank failures following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, First Republic, and Signature Bank last year,” according to today’s announcement.

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Letters to Congress: Letter in Opposition to H.R. 2799, the Expanding Access to Capital Act

AFREF led a sign-on letter in opposition to H.R. 2799, the Expanding Access to Capital Act of 2024, along with the 10 undersigned organizations. Fundamentally, H.R. 2799 weakens regulation of both the public markets and the private markets, making it a bad deal for investors of all types, and a boon to issuers interested in raising capital with the lowest possible degree of disclosure, compliance, accountability, and overall economic inefficiency.

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SEC Building

Letters to Congress: Urging Action on $5 Trillion Exempt Offerings/Private Markets

Americans for Financial Reform today wrote to the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions urging members to rely on existing authority by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in order to gain more transparency into the $5 trillion private markets (“exempt offerings” under SEC Rule 144A and Reg D) to address national security concerns.

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Letters to Congress: AFR Letter for the Record in Opposition to a House Ways & Means Committee Anti-ESG Hearing

AFR wrote in opposition to the premise of the House Ways and Means Committee hearing titled “Ensuring what ‘Woke’ Doesn’t Leave Americans Broke: Protecting Seniors and Savers from ESG Activism.” This hearing is part of a much broader, unpopular campaign against common sense investment practices that seeks to force financial actors to ignore a slew of financial risks to the detriment of workers’ retirement security.

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Letters to Congress: Letter in Support of the RECOUP Act

Americans for Financial Reform led a coalition letter to Majority Leader Schumer and Minority Leader McConnell urging them to pass S. 2190, the Recovering Executive Compensation from Unaccountable Practices (RECOUP) Act.  This legislation would make it easier to hold executives accountable — and prevent the excessive risk-taking that leads to bank failures in the first place.

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Letters to Congress: Letter of Opposition to Four Anti-ESG Legislative Proposals

AFR sent a letter in opposition to four legislative proposals that the House Committee on Education and the Workforce is scheduled to consider at its September 14th Full Committee Markup. These bills’ amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) would undermine workers’ retirement security and are part of a broader political campaign against common sense investment practices. The campaign seeks to force financial actors to ignore a slew of financial risks regardless of the consequences for workers’ retirement security and the integrity of our financial system.

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