For Immediate Release
Release Date:
October 31, 2024
“Consumer and Investor Advocates, former Senior SEC Officials, warn Congress against flawed e-delivery bill”
Washington, D.C. – In a letter on Thursday, October 31, a coalition of consumer advocates, investor protection organizations and former SEC officials warned the Senate against passage of industry-favored legislation that would permit financial firms to override investor preferences and push them toward receiving investment disclosures electronically.
The legislation, which has been aggressively pushed for nearly two years by the brokerage industry and associations representing the largest Wall Street firms, passed the House of Representatives largely along party lines earlier this year after the House voted to add it as an amendment to a much larger Republican authored securities bill known as the Expanding Access to Capital Act. The House e-delivery bill was subsequently introduced in the Senate and has been pending in the Senate Banking Committee for several months.
“[A]s presently constituted, the bill would make it much harder for many investors to find and review important information on their investments, including the fees that they pay. Should it be enacted, it would override choices investors have already made, opening the door for many investors to be pushed into a disclosure system that investors did not choose, depriving them of information in a format that works for them.”, the letter states.
“[T]hose who have not elected e-delivery have made their choice and their choice should be respected – they should not be forced to jump through new hoops to reverse the self-serving decisions of Wall Street firms seeking to save relatively minor administrative costs. Firms should not be allowed to force investors into a disclosure system that investors did not choose, as S. 3815 proposes. Instead, investor’s choices should be respected, and H.R. 1807 should be rejected.”, the letter further states.
The coalition letter reflects a broadening of opposition to the aggressive industry measure, which passed the House despite opposition from several prominent consumer protection organizations, including AARP and Consumer Federation of America (CFA).
With Congress poised to reconvene in two weeks for a lame duck session following the election, backers of the bill have been ratcheting up lobbying efforts aimed at pressuring the Senate Banking Committee to allow the bill to be included in one of the must-pass bills Congress is expected to consider prior to adjourning in advance of the inauguration.
Also signing the letter are a number of law and policy professors with expertise in securities laws, disclosures, and consumer rights, including former members of the Biden Administration.
A complete list of signers appears below.
Organizations signing the letter.
Americans for Financial Reform
Better Markets
Consumer Federation of America
Consumer Reports
Institute for Agriculture and Technology Policy
National Association of Consumer Advocates
National Consumer Law Center
National Consumers League
Pension Rights Center
Public Citizen
Public Investors Advocate Bar Association
Center for American Progress
Maine People’s Alliance
Individuals signing the letter.
The Honorable Allison H. Lee, Former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Acting Chair and Commissioner
Renee Jones, Former SEC Corporation Finance Division Director, and Professor and, Distinguished Scholar, Boston College School of Law
Arthur E. Wilmarth, Jr, Professor Emeritus of Law, George Washington University Law School
Norman I. Silberman, Professor, Maurice A. Deane School of Law, Hofstra University
Irene Leech, Associate Professor of Consumer Studies, Virginia Tech University
Adam Levitin, Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Law and Finance, Georgetown University School of Law
Rosemary Batt, Alice H. Cool Professor of Women and Work, ILR School, Cornell University
Andrew M. Boas, Mark L. Claster Distinguished Professor, Maurice A Deane School of Law. Hofstra University
