The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs (the "Senate Banking Committee") considered legislative proposals on capital formation and corporate governance.
Chair Senator Mike Crapo (R-IA) stated that the Banking Committee has held three hearings in 2018 on legislative proposals - (i) the Helping Angels Lead Our Startups Act, (ii) the Fair Investment Opportunities for Professional Experts Act and (iii) the JOBS and Investors Confidence Act of 2018 - with respect to capital formation, corporate governance and the proxy process. Mr. Crapo said the purpose of the hearing is to address these bills again "in the context of identifying areas where we can find bipartisan consensus in the new Congress." Mr. Crapo described the importance of unified legislative action, and added that it is "time to re-examine the standards of inclusion" for proposals that pursue environmental, social or political agendas.
In a separate statement, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) touched on the importance of putting workers before Wall Street when considering these bills. He criticized the notion that it was a necessity for bills that facilitate capital formation, stating that time is better spent making sure that workers at companies such as Uber are receiving the wages and benefits they have earned, rather than "letting companies cut corners on their accounting controls." Mr. Brown emphasized the importance of protecting ordinary American investors, noting that support for American companies should put employees first.
Commentary / Steven Lofchie
It is disappointing that Senator Brown thinks it productive to attack the supposed "shortsighted obsession" of Wall Street. If he believes that the private sector is particularly cursed by an inability to think into the future, he should suggest a cure, rather than merely rehearse a cliché. Or is he suggesting that everything would be better if only elected officials made decisions as to capital allocation? That seems unlikely on its face, but if he believes it to be so, he should try to make the case for it. To what government - federal, state, or city - would he point as a model of long range investment planning?
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