J. Hill

Mr. HILL of Arkansas

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3339) to require certification examinations for accredited investors, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3339, the Equal Opportunity for All Investors Act. The accredited investor definition is severely outdated. While its intention is to protect investors, its overly broad definition excludes millions of Americans who are experienced and knowledgeable enough to invest in private markets. Wealth alone should not be the sole determinant as to who can invest in these markets. My friend from Nebraska, Representative Flood's bill, provides a merit-based alternative by the establishment of an exam that allows individuals to qualify as accredited investors by demonstrating their understanding of investments and private markets. This is a smart, commonsense modernization of these outdated rules that provides a meaningful step towards making private markets more accessible. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in supporting this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I include in the record the CBO estimate for this bill.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Flood), the author of this important bill.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, for all the reasons that I have identified, changes need to be made in the credit investor rule. After 40 years, I think the changes proposed by the gentleman from Nebraska are solid. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3357) to amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require issuers with a multi-class stock structure to make certain disclosures in any proxy or consent solicitation material, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this bill.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3357, the Enhancing Multi-Class Share Disclosures Act. Mr. Speaker, multiclass structures have existed in American capital markets for many decades, helping founders retain control of their companies without holding a majority of the economic interest. These structures are important for certain business models, like family businesses, but they also raise questions about transparency and shareholder rights. Since this information is not required to be disclosed, shareholders might not always understand how control is concentrated within a public company. Mr. Meeks' bill rightsizes this issue by requiring companies to provide clear information about voting power, especially where insiders or significant shareholders hold outsized influence. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the CBO estimate for this bill.

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

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I rise, as I said, in support of this bill. I agree with the ranking member of the full committee. It deserves strong bipartisan support, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2384) to establish an Independent Financial Technology Working Group to Combat Terrorism and Illicit Financing, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this bill.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in strong support of H.R. 2384, the Financial Technology Protection Act. Last week, the House passed critical digital asset legislation, setting the stage for the United States to reclaim our global leadership position in financial technology on digital assets. This week, we build on that momentum to further strengthen our role in global finance. As our technological world evolves, so must the tools that we use to combat the potential new threats associated with it. The Financial Technology Protection Act creates a forum to ensure that our law enforcement can keep pace with illicit actors seeking to exploit these technological developments for their own gain. Mr. Nunn's and Mr. Himes' bill establishes an Independent Financial Technology Working Group to combat terrorism, money laundering, and other illicit finance through the use of financial technologies, including digital assets. The group will conduct independent research on the illicit use of new financial technologies and develop legislative and regulatory proposals to improve anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing efforts here in the United States. This commonsense bill also requires private sector stakeholders to be members of the working group, bridging a gap between law enforcement and the private sector and allowing individuals with boots-on-the- ground experience to inform law enforcement's efforts and strategies. Because of that, I urge all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in supporting this good bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the CBO estimate for this bill.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Nunn), the author of this bill.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I rise again in strong support of this bill. Mr. Nunn is doing good work here, and I appreciate his leadership as a former counterintelligence officer, someone who has brought that expertise to his work here in the House. I appreciate my friend from Connecticut, our distinguished ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, lending his expertise to this bill. For years we have talked about how do we fuse private-sector information, like in our financial services sector, with law enforcement to come up with better strategies to counter illicit finance, whether it is in trade-based money laundering, the use of cash, hawala, now digital assets, or just the plain old banking system. So I thank my friend from Iowa and urge strong bipartisan support on both sides of the aisle. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3395) to require the Comptroller General of the United States to carry out a study of the costs associated with small- and medium-sized companies to undertake initial public offerings, as amended.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this bill.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3395, the Middle Market IPO Cost Act. Currently, companies have two options for raising capital: an initial public offering, an IPO, or a private offering. Fewer companies are choosing to take the IPO path because of the up-front costs of going public, as well as the high operating costs public companies experience due to SEC reporting rules. Before a company files for an IPO, they often spend tens of millions of dollars to gather and compile information to submit to the SEC. These mandatory information requirements exclude or dissuade many companies from even considering an initial public offering. The study required by Mr. Himes' bill will help Congress and the market better understand the costs associated with small- and medium- sized companies going public through the IPO process. I urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the CBO estimate for this bill.

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