Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today released the following statement regarding her opposition to H.R. 2374, the Retail Investor Protection Act. Waters led opposition on the House Floor and expressed her concerns about how the deceptively-titled legislation would undermine protections for those trying to save for retirement. Waters stated:

“This legislation is overly broad and would prevent our regulators from protecting Americans trying to save for retirement. The Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform Act put new federal protections in place to ensure that financial advisors recommending products like 401(k)s and IRAs only do so with their customers’ best interests in mind – not their own profit margins. And it ensures those that do not are held liable.

The Retail Investor Protection Act undermines those needed protections, putting obstacles in the way of efforts to stop this common practice, known as ‘self-dealing.’ While some Members of Congress have expressed concern that the process of finalizing these protections has been challenging, this bill is not the solution.”

 

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