Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, if appropriate, this bill directs the SEC to carry out a study in rulemaking on its definitions of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility Act. This study in rulemaking would ensure that the commission more carefully accounts for impacts on small businesses when engaging in rulemaking.

The Regulatory Flexibility Act provides small entities with a greater opportunity to participate in the development of certain regulations and will result in more small businesses being included in the definition of small entities under the act. In effect, it gives them a louder voice when it comes to development of SEC regulations that directly apply to them.

Democrats worked to secure important language, ensuring investor protection remains a key focus of the bill. It balances the needs of facilitating capital formation and, of course, protecting our small businesses, which are so critical and are the lifeblood of our country and the jobs in our country.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Wagner) for agreeing to these changes when this bill was marked up in committee.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Again, I thank the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Wagner) for her leadership. I also thank the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill), the chairman, for his leadership and friendship. I am very grateful.

Small businesses make up the backbone of our Nation's economy. Congress and the SEC should do everything within their power to support small businesses and to ensure that the laws and rules they draft adequately take their capital needs into consideration.

This bill gives small businesses a bigger say in how SEC rules and regulations impact them and will allow them to continue to thrive.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the Paperwork Reduction Act mandates all Federal agencies receive approval before putting forth a paper form or survey that will impose an information collection burden on the general public.

Although well-intentioned, the Paperwork Reduction Act often prevents Federal agencies like the SEC from obtaining data from the public. This is the very data that assists the agencies in carrying out their missions.

This bill streamlines the ability of the SEC's Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation to carry out its mission by exempting it from the requirements of the act in the same way the SEC's Office of the Investor Advocate is exempted. In effect, it enables the small business advocate to properly do its job by providing it with the information and data it needs to draft regulations that actually help small businesses raise capital without imposing costly demands.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Kim) for her bipartisan leadership, her friendship, and all she does. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this important bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I again urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation, which will reduce the paperwork burden on SEC staff and, therefore, their ability to advocate for the needs of small businesses within the agency's rulemaking and regulatory process.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, as a special accommodation for their smaller size and to reduce their regulatory burden, emerging growth companies, known as EGCs, are typically only required to provide 2 years of audited financials when they first go public. Other public companies, on the other hand, are required to provide 3 years of audited financials when they go public. In some situations, an EGC must provide 3 years of financials, such as an EGC acquiring another company or conducting a follow-on offering after its IPO.

This bill will eliminate this regulatory hurdle by ensuring EGCs only need to provide 2 years, not 3, of audited financials across the board, whether for an IPO, an acquisition, or a follow-on offering.

This bipartisan legislation will further reduce the burden on EGCs trying to raise capital, cutting red tape and burdensome regulations to help unleash economic growth.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bipartisan bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, when emerging growth companies were created during the bipartisan JOBS Act nearly a decade ago, the goal was to make it easier for new companies to access capital with less red tape while still ensuring their investors have critical disclosures.

This bill ensures that EGCs are treated consistently by balancing the need for financial transparency while also ensuring burdensome regulations are not so high that it stifles innovation and hinders growth.

I thank Mr. Haridopolos for his bipartisan leadership on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, again, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, in this Congress, as in previous Congresses, I introduced the Senior Security Act to protect vulnerable seniors from fraudsters who seek to take financial advantage of them. We are bringing it again this Congress and working very closely with Mrs. Wagner. I am grateful for her leadership, as well as the chairman's leadership, and as well as the ranking member who has been very supportive.

Millions of seniors across the country, including my own mother-- blessed memory--have been the victims of financial scams, and far too many have been cheated out of their retirement savings. It is appalling. It is offensive, and it is unacceptable.

Senior scams have more than doubled since 2020. These senior scams cost older Americans more than $36 billion a year, with the average victim losing $34,000 from these crimes annually, not to mention the pain you can't put a dollar amount on. What is worse is that the majority of cases of elder exploitation are not reported.

We are here today to do something about it by passing my Senior Security Act to help protect American seniors from these shameless criminals.

This bipartisan legislation will create a senior investor task force in the Securities and Exchange Commission that will be a cop on the beat ensuring we do everything possible to stop hucksters from scamming our seniors. Every 2 years the task force will also submit a report to Congress outlining trends and innovations, including robocalls and voice spoofing and all the developments in artificial intelligence that are impacting seniors to help us stay ahead of changes in financial scams.

We must protect our seniors from having their hard-earned retirement savings stolen right out from under them, as the chairman just mentioned, in his own State.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense, bipartisan legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Senior scams, as we have discussed, and as Mrs. Wagner just pointed out, have exploded over the last decades. With new technologies like artificial intelligence, these scams are becoming and will continue to be ever more prevalent in the years ahead.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleague to support this bill which will allow the Securities and Exchange Commission to better understand and respond to this growing crisis.

I thank Mrs. Wagner for her partnership on this bipartisan legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Craig for her excellent leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bipartisan CLARITY Act. This bill was made possible through a bipartisan effort that I was very proud to help lead with Chairman Hill and Congressman Steil. It is an important one because one-fifth of Americans own crypto. My State, New Jersey, proportionally ranks second nationwide in ownership of cryptocurrency.

While cryptocurrency has tremendous economic potential, we desperately need rules of the road to protect consumers, ensure the success of American entrepreneurs, and ensure that America leads the way, not other nations around the world, but that America leads the way in this growing space.

The CLARITY Act takes commonsense steps to make crypto work for everyday users, including measures to stop snake oil salesmen, fraudsters, and hucksters, and puts the Trump family's coins under regulation.

This legislation supports American-led innovation by encouraging developers and entrepreneurs to build, invest, and create jobs in our country.

Finally, this bill gives clarity to the SEC's and CFTC's roles in crypto to work together efficiently and to crack down on scammers and criminal activity. After years of uncertainty, it finally says who should oversee what, so that people in this space understand the direction it is going in and understand who is going to oversee what, so that consumers can be protected. I can't say that enough.

Do we want this to continue to be the Wild West with uncertainty, or do we want to have clear rules of the road to protect consumers? Do we want to do something or nothing? Is it perfect? As you have heard today, no, it is not perfect. Few pieces of legislation we bring here are.

The questions are: Will it do good? Will it make sure that we look after people who are involved in this space? Will it ensure that America succeeds and grows? Those are the questions.

To do nothing means that we will ensure that Trump's coin has no oversight. Why would we want that? We will ensure that no consumer is protected if we do nothing. We want to protect American consumers. That is our job. This legislation does that.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this critical commonsense, bipartisan legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bipartisan GENIUS Act. This legislation builds on the bicameral negotiations that Chairman Hill, former Chairman McHenry, Chairman Steil, and I, and so many others, have worked so hard on for the past years.

The GENIUS Act is smart bipartisan legislation that backs stablecoins through the U.S. dollar on a 1-to-1 basis and allows States to make future safeguards to further protect consumers.

The GENIUS Act, as I said, protects consumers and gives clear rules of the road to allow America to lead the way in a space that is key to our economy. It cracks down on illicit finance, helps counter bad actors, and reinforces the global strength of the dollar, all while lowering the cost of payments and making transactions happen in just seconds.

The bill has already passed the Senate in a strong bipartisan way. Now, it is time for us to clarify rules for stablecoins, protect consumers, and promote American innovation.

As I said before, when we were talking about the CLARITY Act, the question is: Do we want some rules of the road or no rules of the road? To vote against this bill and to vote against the CLARITY Act is irresponsible if you want to make sure that the Trump coin has oversight and that consumers are protected.

Mr. Speaker, to not pass this legislation is deeply irresponsible. It will allow the Wild West to continue.

This will protect consumers and ensure that the Trump coin and others are overseen, with protection and oversight from the CFTC. It is critically important for protecting consumers and protecting our country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to celebrate the safe return of New Jersey native Edan Alexander. This was a moment of profound relief and gratitude for his family, our community, and our Nation.

My constituent Edan Alexander, from Tenafly, New Jersey, is an all- American kid who graduated from Tenafly High School and swam on the swim team. He could be anyone's son.

After being kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on October 7 and held for 584 days, I am thrilled to announce that Edan has finally come home.

Through it all, the strength of the Alexander family and the New Jersey community has been a guiding light in an incredibly dark period. The family never gave up hope and neither did we.

We must not rest until every last hostage is returned, including the remains of the two Americans who were murdered by Hamas terrorists.

In America and New Jersey, we never leave anyone behind.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of the en bloc package which includes three amendments I offered to the FY 2026 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill.

My first amendment requires a resident advocate in every veterans home across the country. This advocate will be a direct line of contact for our veterans and their families, ensuring that they have someone who can immediately help with any concerns and respond without delay.

In my home State of New Jersey, 190 veterans tragically lost their lives because of the COVID outbreak at the veterans homes in Paramus, New Jersey, and Menlo Park. This tragedy was preventable and unacceptable. My amendment will help ensure catastrophes like that never happen again.

My second amendment will help VA hospitals provide kosher meal options for Jewish veterans. Right now, many Jewish inpatient veterans are only served frozen, prepackaged kosher meals that severely lack quality nutrition.

We must ensure that no veteran has to choose between their religion and their health.

Finally, my third amendment will encourage continued funding for the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program, which has delivered millions in grants for mental health services to help prevent veteran suicide. Without additional funding, this critical program will expire later this year. We cannot and must not let that happen.

After sacrificing so much, our great veterans should never struggle to get the care, recognition, and respect they have rightfully earned. That is why I strongly urge my colleagues to support the en bloc package.

Mr. Speaker, I missed the following votes. Had I been present, I would have voted: YES on Roll Call 150, and YES on Roll Call 151.

Mr. Speaker, I missed the following votes. Had I been present, I would have voted: YES on Roll Call No. 103, and YES on Roll Call No. 104.

Mr. Speaker, I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted: YES on Roll Call No. 72, and YES on Roll Call No. 73.

Mr. Speaker, I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted: YEA on Roll Call No. 74, NAY on Roll Call No. 75, and NO on Roll Call No. 76.

Mr. Speaker, I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted: YEA on Roll Call No. 63; YEA on Roll Call No. 64; and YEA on Roll Call No. 65.

Mr. Speaker, I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 56, and NAY on Roll Call No. 57.

Mr. Speaker, I missed the following votes, but had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 40 and NAY on Roll Call No. 41.