View or download a PDF of the statement here.
AFR submitted a Statement for the Record for the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Development hearing on “Empowering Main Street by Unlocking Access to Capital” with grave concerns about the direction of capital markets regulation and some of the legislation that has been raised by the Committee and its Members. The size, liquidity, and strength of U.S. capital markets—and their contribution to economic growth—have been built on, not despite, a robust framework of federal and state securities laws that protects investors and sustains confidence in the markets. Congress intentionally centered investor protections as a focal point of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) mission. Yet at this moment, we are witnessing a concerted effort to weaken federal securities laws and expand exemptions, which threaten to undermine the stability and health of the capital markets, imperiling the retirement security of millions of people.