Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, delivered the following statement during a Capital Markets Subcommittee hearing entitled, “The Future of American Capital: Strengthening Public and Private Markets by Increasing Investor Access and Facilitating Capital Formation.”

Thank you very much, Chair Wagner. Democrats have always championed small businesses. In the 117^th Congress, we passed landmark laws—the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPs Act, and the American Rescue Plan—that bolster small business and economic growth. We know that when markets are fair, disclosures are honest, financial intermediaries act in investors’ best interests, and the SEC enforces the law, business confidence and investments flourish. But Trump and un-elected co-President Elon Musk are looking to defang, defund, and defame Wall Street’s cop on the block – the Securities and Exchange Commission. Fiddling with requirements in our securities laws seems to miss the mark when the arbiter of those laws is on the chopping block. I yield back.

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