In Midst of Congressional Sit-In, Congressman Poliquin Votes to Let Wall Street Swindle Seniors

Statement

Throughout this evening Democrats have held a Congressional sit-in to draw attention to the need to prevent terrorists from getting their hands on firearms. That issue has not yet come up for a vote in the House, and Congressman Poliquin has -- as usual -- steadfastly refused to take any solid position, preferring to play both sides and see where the political winds take him.

But as captivating as the scene is, don't forget that Congress actually did vote on something tonight, and Congressman Poliquin for once took a strong stance. In the midst of the demonstration, the House of Representatives held a vote to once again try to override new rules that protect Mainers from financial industry scams. Congressman Poliquin again voted on the behalf of his Wall Street donors and against Mainers.

The Fiduciary Rule protects Mainers from being scammed out of their retirements by requiring that when we receive advice from financial advisors, that advice has to be in our best interest -- not the best interest of the financial advisor. Currently, those advisors can lie to us, and American families lose a quarter of their retirement savings when we believe those lies. Seniors are the most at-risk from these scams.

At stake is $17 billion in ill-gotten Wall Street gains -- quite the incentive for Congressman Poliquin, who relies on those same profits to bankroll his campaign.

It was bizarre that House Republicans would bring up this issue tonight, with the entire country watching. Perhaps they hoped that everyone would be too distracted by the sit-in to notice. Even though the attempt failed, this was one vote they really should have tried to hide.

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