AFREF led a letter to President Biden calling on him to adopt contracting standards to: 1) narrow the gaps between CEO and worker pay; 2) reduce wasteful spending on stock buybacks; and 3) support workers’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
This morning, the Biden administration unveiled its annual budget, which includes a tax on households with wealth over $100 million, a 1% tax on stock buybacks, and a proposal for a three-year freeze on corporate executives selling their shares after a buyback.
Healthcare has become a nightmare: rising costs, denied care, and mounting patient debt, all while Wall Street rakes in massive profits. On February 24, 2025, Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund (AFREF) and the Health and Political Economy Project (HPEP) hosted a webinar featuring physician and researcher Dr. Victor Roy, economist Lenore Palladino, and longtime physician and healthcare policy expert Dr. Donald Berwick.
Nike makes some of the most popular and expensive shoes — many pairs are around $300 — but behind the brand, thousands of women in South and Southeast Asia work for low pay to make Nike’s flagship sneakers. On July 16th, we joined women labor leaders in the U.S. who responded to the call from Asian garment workers, Global Labor Justice, and the Asia Floor Wage Alliance to demand justice for workers in Nike’s supply chain.
Today’s Supreme Court ruling in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo will give judges who are already concocting ridiculous reasons to strike down sensible protections, particularly in the notoriously pro-industry Fifth Circuit, greater leeway to strike down common-sense measures that protect people and communities. With Loper Bright in hand, judges are required to “exercise their independent judgment” when deciding whether an agency has acted within its statutory authority, even if judges lack the necessary expertise, and even if that judge might prefer deference to agency decisions.
We should be clear about the motives of the banks’ strong opposition to the bank capital proposals released by federal regulators on July 27. The proposals will make it harder for bank executives to pursue riskier short-term financial gains and mobilize capital for their own benefit by paying excessive dividends and buying back shares. It is that simple, and any debate that does not include this fact is disingenuous.
As the Federal Reserve prepares new capital rules for American banks, Wall Street is rolling out its misdirection and bad arguments – as it has for much of the past decade – about why they should not be required to steel themselves against a crisis or downturn. And once again, regulators and Congress must be prepared to ignore their histrionics and strengthen capital requirements.
The SEC’s regulatory agenda is under attack, and Chair Gary Gensler is appearing before the Senate Banking Committee tomorrow. This memo for the media addresses the SEC’s work across eight different areas.
AFREF sent a comment to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) supporting the SEC’s proposals to modernize the reporting of beneficial ownership by including cash-settled derivatives in large position reports over Schedules 13D and 13G. We also urge the SEC to clarify its definition of who should constitute a “group” under the proposal as it should only apply to the sharing of material nonpublic information related to not yet disclosed large positions instead of efforts to improve the long-term corporate governance of companies.
Americans for Financial Reform is encouraged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposals to address several long-standing loopholes exploited by financial market participants and provide greater transparency to investors and address issues of safety and soundness across the financial system.