Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, delivered the following statement during a full Committee hearing entitled, “Proxy Power and Proposal Abuse: Reforming Rule 14a-8 to Protect Shareholder Value.”
“Good morning. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
For years, this Committee has proudly championed the values of capitalism and the free market. But Donald Trump’s actions with companies like NVIDIA, Intel, and U.S. Steel is not capitalism by any definition of the word.
To be clear, I do think it is appropriate for the taxpayers and the citizens of this country to have an upside when taxpayer investments generate profit for corporations and their shareholders. If we appropriately taxed corporations, especially those that receive substantial government subsidies, we, the taxpayers, would benefit—but we don’t.
Yet, what Trump is doing is NOT growing the economy or protecting workers—his chaotic interference in private markets, and the misuse of government tools, is only to give Trump more ways to bully the American people.
He’s used the government to attack cities like Los Angeles and Washington; universities like Harvard, Columbia, and Brown; non-profits like the National Endowment for the Arts; news organizations like NPR and PBS; former government officials; and, law firms.
Now he’s attacking corporations. And by the way, Trump promised that tariffs would bring American manufacturing back. But the latest job numbers show that the U.S. lost 42,000 manufacturing jobs since April, and businesses continue to pass off the cost of tariffs to consumers.
This is the kind of sweeping authoritarian-style, communist takeover that China’s leadership would applaud. And just like in China, Trump isn’t doing this to help working-class families, it’s simply about control, consolidating power, punishing his enemies, rewarding political loyalty, and retaliating against those who refuse to bend to his will.
As Trump tramples on American capitalism and our democracy, I’m absolutely appalled as I look at Republicans who claim to be strong capitalists and tout the businesses they own. For example, Mr. Huizenga—are you ready to hand over 10% of your gravel business to Trump? Of course not.
Instead of speaking out in defense of capitalism and democracy, Republicans are working with Trump’s SEC to advance legislation that will further his anti-capitalist agenda by silencing the voice of shareholders. They want companies to ignore legitimate concerns from shareholders about climate change and other risks, simply because those concerns don’t align with Trump’s political agenda.
And if you want a case study in why shareholder rights matter, look at Tesla. After Delaware’s Chancery Court voided Mr. Musk’s $56 billion award for a flawed process, the company re-incorporated in Texas and is now proposing to award Mr. Musk with the obscene and outrageous pay package that will exceed one trillion dollars. If Republicans get their way by silencing investors and remaking their boards to no longer be independent, public companies may experience a fate similar to that of Enron or WorldCom, and we all know what happened to them.
As Trump operates as a communist and uses his government to control the economy, Democrats will fight to ensure that workers—not just the corporate elite—see and feel the benefits. We will also fight to ensure Congress, and not the President, determines how the government spends taxpayer resources on things that truly benefit taxpayers, like building housing, supporting healthcare and caring for those in need.
Anything less is unacceptable.
I yield back.”
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