Jeb Hensarling

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 30 seconds just to say, with regard to the gentlewoman's anecdote, if the gentleman engaged in fraud, apparently, he went to prison. Fraud is against the law, and people who perpetrate it should be in prison. Apparently, they are, and nothing in this bill changes that. I was also struck by the previous speaker from the Democratic side who cited all of these constituent priorities and who didn't once mention the plight of middle-income workers, who are falling behind, whose paychecks are stagnant, and whose savings have been decimated. The National Small Business Association has found that 20 percent of small businesses had to reduce the number of employees as a result of tight credit. That is why we are working to get access to capital for small businesses. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Garrett), the chairman of the Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises Subcommittee of the Financial Services Committee, and who also happens to be the author of H.R. 4852, the Private Placement Improvement Act.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Loudermilk).

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Chairman, the American people continue to suffer in this lackluster economy. I don't care what happy talk there is from Washington politicians, the American people know the economy is not working for them. They have anxiety about how they are going to pay their bills. Their paychecks are stagnant. Their savings have been decimated. And they look around, and where is the economic opportunity? Small business has been decimated in America. The job engine of America has been decimated. As one of my constituents from Henderson County told me, when regulations get out of control, they put many small businesses out of business. And that is what we are seeing today, Mr. Chairman. People aren't getting ahead. We need to unlock capital for our innovators, for our entrepreneurs, for our small businesses. We have three modest bills today that are doing just that. And yet we are being fought tooth and nail by those who want to grow Washington's economy and not the Main Street economy; those who believe that Washington bureaucrats always know what is best. This House must enact the Accelerating Access to Capital Act. You can't have capitalism without capital. Small businesses can't get it, innovators can't get it, entrepreneurs can't get it. So it is time that we move forward. And there is great news for the minority, who must not realize--I wish they would study and see this-- we still have the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Investment Company Act of 1940, and it goes on. You can't have an effective market without consumer protection. But guess what? We also must have capital formation if we are going to have a healthy economy for working families that are falling behind after 8 years of Obamanomics. We must pass H.R. 2357, the Accelerating Access to Capital Act. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I have some good news for my colleague from Washington. The Financial Services Committee has already passed a robust cybersecurity bill, and passed it on a strong bipartisan basis: 46-9. We look forward to working with all of our colleagues in the House to forwarding this bill, working with our colleagues on House Energy and Commerce Committee and others. It is a serious topic. But I would also point out, Mr. Speaker, with respect to this extra disclosure, if cybersecurity is material, it already must be disclosed under current law. And I would add that, yet again, this is just one more burden, the subject matter of the motion to recommit, when we are trying to ease burdens on capital formation. I would remind all of my colleagues again that a recent report from the National Small Business Association released just this week showed that 41 percent of small businesses said that the lack of capital is hindering their ability to grow their business. If they can't grow their business, they can't give raises, they can't expand, they can't promote. Twenty percent said they had to reduce--actually lay off employees--as a result of tighter credit. That is the whole purpose, Mr. Speaker, of why we are passing this bill today. It is to grant greater access to capital. We have heard from so many small businesses and angel investors across the Nation about the need for capital formation for our entrepreneurs, for our small businesses, for our innovators. We have heard from the cofounder and CEO of NextSeed: ``Obtaining traditional financing from banks is still a tall order for many small businesses, especially for smaller amounts.'' Well, we want to respond to that. We don't need yet one more hurdle from the motion to recommit to get in the way of small businesses' end capital. It is also one more out- of-pocket cost. We heard from the senior partner at Centerfield Capital: ``These out-of-pocket costs and time spent by our professionals on SEC registration and compliance detract from our mission of empowering small businesses to grow.'' We want to empower small businesses on Main Street to grow, yet the motion to recommit would do just the opposite. Nothing could be more obvious than a quote from the gentleman, the CEO of Wilde & Company: ``When corporations access capital, they hire people.'' We want people hired. We want people promoted. We want people on good career tracks. We want middle-income people to rise. We want the working poor to become members of middle-income America, and they can't do that unless we access capital. The choice again is: Are we going to have another top-down, Washington-grown economy, or are we going to build our economy from Main Street up? House Republicans say it is time to build it from Main Street up. So it is time that we reject the motion to recommit and assure that our small businesses can access capital so that we can grow this economy, grow the family economy, and have a better America. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McCarthy), the Republican leader and the leader of our Innovation Initiative.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Hurt), vice chairman of our Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I claim the time in opposition.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, our Constitution is under assault, so I rise today in support of H.R. 5063, the Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act. A nearly 2- year-long investigation jointly conducted by the Financial Services Committee, which I have the privilege of chairing, and the Judiciary Committee, chaired by Mr. Goodlatte, the sponsor of this legislation, has shockingly revealed that the so-called Justice Department is not only pushing, but even requiring some defendants in settlements to send the fines not to victims, not to the U.S. Treasury, but, instead, to political allies of the Obama administration. As one commentator wrote: ``Imagine if the President of the United States forced America's biggest banks to funnel hundreds of millions-- and potentially billions--of dollars to the corporations and lobbyists who supported his agenda.'' Mr. Chairman, there is nothing to imagine. It is real. It is happening. Mr. Chairman, our committees' investigation uncovered that the Obama Justice Department has done exactly this. They have used mandatory--mandatory--donations to direct as much as $880 million to political organizations that just so happen to be allies of the Obama administration. Now, I might expect to see such a corrupt practice in a place like Russia, but in the United States of America? How can this possibly be legal? These payments occur entirely outside of the transparent and accountable congressional appropriations and oversight process--a clear violation of Congress' Article I power of the purse, according to Article I, section 9 of our Constitution. By allowing for direct payments to nonvictim, third-party political organizations, the Justice Department is trampling upon the Constitution, threatening due process, threatening separation of powers, and threatening checks and balances. Mr. Chairman, there is simply no justice to be found in the Obama Justice Department. I also note the sheer hypocrisy of what the Obama administration is doing while self-righteously claiming to be ``tough on the big banks'' and all for ``protecting consumers,'' the Obama Justice Department's special deals for big banks actually give the big banks double credit or more toward their penalties for each ``donation'' made to political allies. This means these big banks could erase, potentially, hundreds of millions of dollars in Federal penalties this way, not to mention avoid giving the money to actual victims. Using cash to reward your political allies instead of helping victims who have been genuinely wronged is the epitome of what is unfair and wrong about this administration. Mr. Chairman, I urge all Members--all Members--to protect the Constitution and to vote for H.R. 5063, the Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I rise as a proud and sad citizen of Dallas, Texas. I am so proud of that thin blue line that keeps all of our citizens safe, including my wife, my son, my daughter. I am so sad for the fallen, their families, their sons, their daughters, their spouses. It is a time of mourning; it is a time of prayer; but it is also a time of justice--swift and sure justice--for anyone who engaged in this act of evil. Mr. Speaker, it is also a time for healing, and it is a time to remember Martin Luther King's dream, which should be America's dream, that, one day, our children will grow up to be judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin. I dream also that, one day, we may decide that it is not a controversial statement to say that all lives matter, because it is not a time for us, it is not a time for them. It is only a time for we, the people, to treasure all life and respect the dignity of all of God's children. It is time to look into our hearts and ask the fundamental question: Today, will I promote a color-conscious society, or will I promote a colorblind society? Today, will I exploit the wound, or, today, will I attempt to heal the wound? May the God who gave us life and liberty heal the wounded of our Nation, heal the wounded of the city of Dallas, lift up the families of the fallen, and bless our land with greater peace and greater understanding.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to recognize Mr. Douglas Wayne Satterfield for his courageous service to our country. A resident of Palestine, Texas, Corporal Douglas Wayne Satterfield was honorably discharged from the United States Marine Corps on May 3, 1968. Corporal Satterfield enlisted in the USMC out of high school and served in at least a dozen operations in the unfamiliar terrain of South Vietnam. Corporal Satterfield participated in one of the first major offensive campaigns, Operation Hickory, by the Marines in ``Leatherneck Square.'' Satterfield was badly injured in combat during the assault at Con Thien as he crawled along the ground to their targets. Quick response and actions from his squadron leader and corpsman probably saved his life as they stabilized him before he was taken by Chinook to a medevac station to undergo emergency surgery. Corporal Satterfield received decorations that included the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal with device, M-14 Rifle Sharpshooter Badge and the Purple Heart Medal. Humbly, I echo the words of President Ronald Reagan, ``We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we will always be free.'' And humbly, I offer my sincere gratitude to Corporal Douglas Wayne Satterfield for his service and acts of bravery that allow us the freedoms we enjoy today.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to recognize Mr. Mike Sugrue for his service to our country. Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Mike Sugrue served at Bethesda National Medical Center in the early to mid 1960s. As a Hospital Corpsman, Mike Sugrue was an enlisted medical specialist in the United States Navy/Marine Corps who also trained for battlefield conditions. During Corpsman Sugrue's tenure he became an instructor in the Cardio Pulmonary Lab where he trained numerous other corpsmen and doctors in arterial blood gas studies, bronchograms, bronchoscopers, as well as pulmonary blood gas studies. Corpsman Sugrue's service no doubt saved countless lives and prepared others to do the same. Humbly, I echo the words of President Ronald Reagan, ``We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we will always be free.'' And humbly, I offer my sincere gratitude to Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Mike Sugrue for his service and dedication that allow us the freedoms we enjoy today.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to recognize Mr. Gary Harrison Freer for his courageous service to our country. Commander Gary Harrison Freer joined the United States Navy on March 12, 1967 after graduating from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. After completing Aviation Officer Candidate School and earning the Navy ``Wings of Gold,'' Commander Freer was designated a naval aviator and qualified pilot of military aircraft. He requested training in the A-4 Skyhawk and in August of 1969 joined the attack squadron, VA-22, also known as the Fighting Redcocks aboard the aircraft carrier USS Bonhomme Richard. Commander Freer had an impressive flight record that logged 2,397 hours of military flight, carried out 103 missions in Vietnam and recorded 212 day and night carrier takeoffs and landings. Commander Freer finished his active duty in April of 1972, but served fifteen more years in the Reserves before transferring to Retired Reserves in December of 1989. Commander Freer was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Vietnam Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Korea) and the Vietnam Campaign Air Medal S/F-9. Humbly, I echo the words of President Ronald Reagan, ``We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we will always be free.'' And humbly, I offer my sincere gratitude to Commander Gary Harrison Freer for his service and acts of bravery that allow us the freedoms we enjoy today.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in somber tone. I wanted to take a moment to remember six lives that were recently lost in Texas' 5th Congressional District. On April 29th, East Texas experienced a storm system that swept through during the latter part of the day into the evening and night. During the early Saturday morning hours, the city of Palestine in Anderson County, Texas had reports of 7.5 inches of rain that fell in less than an hour. Several homes were destroyed in the neighborhoods, businesses flooded and ultimately lives were changed forever. I would like to take a moment to remember Lenda Asberry and her great-grandchildren: Jamonicka Johnson, 6, Von Anthony Johnson Jr., 7, Devonte Asberry, 8, and Venetia Asberry, 9. Also, Giovani Olivas, 30, who leaves behind a wife and two children. Spouses, children, parents, aunts, uncles, friends, neighbors, teachers, all left to grieve for these loved ones. Let us all remember in our thoughts and prayers these families, businesses and the city of Palestine's people as they rebuild their property and lives.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor and congratulate a dear friend, Mayor Hal Richards of Terrell, Texas. Hal is an outstanding community leader and servant for the people of Kaufman County. Hal was born in 1953 in El Paso while his father served in the Army at Fort Bliss. After the military, his father's job as a petroleum engineer took him across Texas to wherever the next oil boom struck. The Richards family even lived in Venezuela for a period of time. Ultimately, the family settled in Garland, Texas where he was an active musician in the Garland High School band and even played in a slightly lesser known garage band, The Monotones. After graduating high school, Hal took his talents to Texas A&M where he served as the drum major in the Fighting Texas Aggie Band. He graduated in 1975 with a degree in political science, and later he earned his MBA. Hal met his wife Christi while at A&M and they married in 1976. They found their way to Terrell in 1981 where he opened a tractor distributorship and raised his family. The folks of Terrell are glad they did. In 2001, Hal sold the tractor dealership and took over his father's manufacturing company, Catco, where he continues to oversee operations. Hal decided to give back to his adopted town and ran for city council, and served for one term before being elected Mayor of Terrell in 2007. As mayor, he has been instrumental in the growth of ``Terrell America,'' the adopted slogan. Hal has served his community in a number of other capacities including: Chairman of the Terrell Chamber of Commerce, Assistant Scout Master, member and past president of the Rotary Club, and his church's vestry. Not surprisingly, Hal was also recently named Citizen of the Year. And if he wasn't busy enough, Hal finally realized a lifelong dream of becoming a pilot in 2003. Hal and Christi have three sons, Jason, Travis and Chad. Like their dad, they are all proud Texas A&M graduates as well. It is truly an honor to represent Hal Richards in the United States House of Representatives. On behalf of the Fifth District of Texas I would like to congratulate Hal for a job well done as Mayor, and thank him for his tireless commitment to his family and community.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, longtime East Dallas constituent, Bill L. ``Bulldog'' Cunningham passed away on April 24, 2016, after a courageous fight with prostate cancer. Born on May 3, 1921, Bulldog grew up in East Dallas. He graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1949 and was a star on the football team. He went to play football at Midwestern State University, but withdrew after one year to join the United States Marine Corps. During his service, he was wounded three times. And awarded the Purple Heart. After leaving Korea, he served the rest of his time as a drill instructor at Camp Pendleton. After returning to Dallas, he married his sweetheart, Mina, in 1954. They were blessed with four boys, Gregory, Vickers, William, and Michael. He is survived by Mina, his four sons, eight grandchildren and one great-grandson. It was rare to see Bulldog or Mina separately. Their marriage of over 60 years was an example of a life-long love. The Cunninghams are a very close-knit family. Bulldog made a life-long passion out of his chosen profession of insurance. He based his insurance company in East Dallas. He was a member of the Million Dollar Round Table. In the last year of his life, he was still a national top 10 percent producer for Safeco Insurance. Bulldog was an active political volunteer, along with his wife, Mina. He was very active in the Dallas community, including the Greater East Dallas Chamber of Commerce, in which he was instrumental in their annual Economic Summit, investing a lot of time in building the event, Habitat for Humanity, City of Dallas Planning & Zoning Commission, and numerous other organizations and city boards and commissions. He was inducted into the Woodrow Wilson High School Hall of Fame in 2004. Mr. Cunningham will be sorely missed by his family, friends, and the East Dallas community. We have lost a patriotic, hard-working businessman who was the example of who we should all strive to be. My condolences to Mina and the rest of the Cunningham family. Melissa and I are praying for God's comfort on you during this time of loss.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McCarthy), the distinguished Republican leader and a leader in the JOBS Act and in innovation.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot), who is the chief sponsor of the HALOS Act and is the chairman of our Small Business Committee.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support today of H.R. 4498, the Helping Angels Lead Our Startups Act, known as the HALOS Act. This is yet another bipartisan bill that has been passed out of the Financial Services Committee that I know will help create jobs and grow our economy. We all know from listening to our constituents that jobs and the economy continue to be the number one issue of concern because this economy is still not working for working Americans. After many years, they still see their paychecks have stagnated. They have seen their savings evaporate. They are losing hope. We see entrepreneurship is at a generational low. The HALOS Act is a step in the right direction. It is one of many solutions that we need to enact in this body. I commend the bipartisan sponsor of the bill, Mr. Chabot, the chairman of the Small Business Committee; Mr. Hurt of Virginia and Ms. Sinema of Arizona, the latter two who serve with me on the Financial Services Committee. I want to thank all of my colleagues on the Financial Services Committee for voting overwhelmingly in favor of this bill. Almost 80 percent of the membership of the committee voted to advance it to the floor. I am proud that our committee has a strong record of bipartisanship. Since the beginning of the 114th Congress, Mr. Speaker, the House has passed 56 of our measures--30 have been signed into law--and each one of these measures received bipartisan support. In an era of divided government, that is not a bad record. I believe that most Americans also believe that our economy works better for all Americans when small businesses can focus on creating jobs rather than navigating meaningless bureaucratic red tape. The HALOS Act provides an important fix to regulations so it will be easier for our small businesses to attract investments. Again, Mr. Speaker, so critical when entrepreneurship is at a generational low and our economy limps along at even less than 2 percent of economic growth. The HALOS Act provides a clearer path for startup businesses to connect with angel investors and allows investors to make their own informed decisions. Angel investors play an incredibly active role in helping small businesses open their doors and grow so they can open their doors even wider and hire more workers. We should remember--and many of our colleagues are now aware--that companies like Amazon, Costco, Google, Facebook, and Starbucks were all first funded by angel investors. Now, today, not only the services they provide in our economy, but approximately 600,000 employees earn their paychecks and provide for their families working for companies that were started with angel investors. Unfortunately, as so often happens, when Washington regulators get out of control, they step into the picture and we have yet more unintended consequences. Four years ago, Congress passed a bipartisan JOBS Act to make it easier for business startups to gain access to capital, but the Securities and Exchange Commission issued misguided regulations on angel investors that had exactly the opposite effect. By inappropriately classifying events where entrepreneurs showcased their business models to angel investors as general solicitations, the SEC regulations are causing innovative startups to lose access to capital, which means our economy loses jobs. This is counter to Congress' intent when we passed the JOBS Act, and it is certainly counter to what our economy needs now. Mr. Speaker, what is so ironic is that the practice was legal and proper before the passage of the JOBS Act. It should remain legal and proper after the passage of the JOBS Act. This is a problem that Congress can easily fix by approving the HALOS Act. It is not a complicated bill, Mr. Speaker. It is four pages long. It simply ensures that funding from angel investors remains available to business startups. The bipartisan bill makes sure that events where entrepreneurs and angel investors get together are not classified as general solicitations because they are not. Instead of onerous bureaucratic red tape that deters investors from backing new business startups, the four-page HALOS Act will help new businesses gain investor support when they need it most. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, this bill sailed through the House Financial Services Committee with strong bipartisan support. Out of 57 members voting in committee that day, only 13 opposed the bill. In other words, 80 percent of the committee voted in favor of the HALOS Act. The bill has strong bipartisan support because it is common sense. It is about jobs; it is about helping small businesses overcome misguided regulation; and it is about making sure that Congress makes the law-- not the regulators, who are unelected and who are unaccountable. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Costello).

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 701, I call up the bill (H.R. 4498) to clarify the definition of general solicitation under Federal securities law, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Hurt), a sponsor of the bill.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, how much time do I have remaining?

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and submit extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, the amendment from the ranking member of the Financial Services Committee effectively repeals the HALOS Act. We are having the same debate that we just had. It would effectively outlaw demo days as they are currently practiced. The whole idea of the HALOS Act is to ensure that demo days, which existed prior to this SEC rule, will continue and that startups can continue to have access to capital without the additional burden of having to screen those who actually come in to demo days. Mr. Speaker, again, a private offering. The security can only be purchased by an accredited investor. Those are the existing rules. So there is almost a mythical group that the ranking member is attempting to protect. At the end of the day, these are millionaire investors who are the angel investors, who are the accredited investors whom we need to help fund these startups. What the gentlewoman from California's amendment does, again, is guts the bill. It basically just simply codifies this SEC rule, and that absolutely overturns the congressional intent to make sure that we have greater access to capital. In addition, there is an entire new defined term of ``issuer'' in her amendment, notwithstanding the fact that this is already defined in section 3(aa) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. So we have undefined, vague terms that are being introduced here. I would also remind the gentlewoman from California and all that the HALOS Act already prohibits a sponsor from engaging in investment negotiations between the issuer and investors, charging event attendees any fees other than administrative fees, and receiving any compensation that would require the sponsor to register with the SEC as a broker- dealer or investment adviser. So these are ill-placed concerns that at the end of the day put up yet another hurdle for angel investors funding the next new Facebook, the next new Costco, the next new Starbucks, and putting tens of thousands of Americans back to work. It is time that we affirm the JOBS bill, not gut the JOBS bill, and I would urge all Members to reject the amendment of the gentlewoman from California. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.