House Rejects Dodd-Frank Regulation That Puts American Energy Companies at a Disadvantage with Foreign Competitors
Washington, DC – (RealEstateRama) — The House of Representatives today voted 235-187 to repeal a controversial Dodd-Frank Act regulation that puts American public companies at a disadvantage against many foreign competitors like state-owned companies in China and Russia.
It will cost American public companies nearly $600 million each year to comply with the regulation, according to estimates from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) – diverting funds from more productive uses like creating jobs and investing in American workers.
In arguing for the regulation’s rejection, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) said, “The economic opportunities of millions of struggling Americans aren’t helped by top-down, political regulations that give foreign companies an advantage over American public companies, but that’s exactly what this SEC regulation does.”
The regulation was re-issued by the SEC over the summer after an earlier version was struck down by a federal court. The SEC’s rule forces publicly-traded American energy companies to disclose proprietary information, giving their foreign competitors access to valuable information.
Acting SEC Chairman Michael Piwowar stated during the re-proposal of the SEC’s rule that it “neither reforms Wall Street nor provides consumer protection and it is wholly unrelated, and largely contrary, to the Commission’s core mission.”
The legislation to disapprove the rule was sponsored by Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI), the Chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Securities and Investment.
“Today’s vote helps reset the regulatory process. For too long, regulators have saddled U.S. companies with burdensome regulation that provide little to no benefit while putting them at a competitive disadvantage on the global stage,” said Chairman Huizenga. “By having Congress send the SEC back to the drawing board it demonstrates that Congress is serious about strengthening the economy, boosting private sector job creation, and helping American workers.”
