Military Personnel Financial Services Protection Act
MILITARY PERSONNEL FINANCIAL SERVICES PROTECTION ACT -- (House of Representatives - September 20, 2006)
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Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 418, the Military Personnel Financial Services Protection Act, which protects the men and women serving in our Nation's military from deceptive financial practices and unsuitable financial products.
I want to pay a particular tribute to the sponsor of the House legislation that came through the Financial Services Committee. This bill that we have before us is almost identical to the bill that passed out of our committee. Mr. Davis, a veteran and West Point graduate, led the way in protecting our military men and women on this issue early last year. Early last year he secured a bipartisan voice vote in committee and a resounding 405-2 bipartisan victory in the House.
Congratulations also go to former Congressman Max Burns of Georgia who led the charge protecting our military personnel in the 108th Congress.
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We are pleased with giving the Senate credit for their bill number if we get to enact the protections for our military as envisioned by Mr. Davis and Max Burns.
Mr. Speaker, since the tragic day of September 11, 2001, our country has been at war with terrorism around the world. In the prosecution of that war, our armed services have performed heroically. Many have made the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of freedom, and all have worried about the safety and security of their loved ones as they leave to serve our country.
Unfortunately, there are a few bad actors in the financial services industry who have been taking financial advantage of our soldiers. These unscrupulous companies and their sales teams infiltrate our military installations and use aggressive, misleading, and often illegal sales tactics to sell high-cost products of dubious value that are unsuitable for any investor, and are particularly unsuitable for most military personnel.
The Pentagon has issued directives intended to prevent these abuses. But with the ongoing confusion over regulatory jurisdiction, the lack of communication among government agencies, and the lack of sufficient investor protection standards for certain financial products, it is clear that our military personnel can never be adequately protected unless Congress enacts this bill.
The Davis bill bans bad financial products and coercive sales practices on military bases, including obscure and high-cost ``contractual plans.'' It clarifies the regulatory jurisdiction on military installations within the U.S. and abroad, adds appropriate consumer protections and disclosures for financial products sold on military bases, and ensures proper reporting systems between our military and the financial regulators to catch bad actors before they can do more harm.
It also makes the process of selecting a financial adviser more transparent for all investors by providing online access to background information on broker-dealers, including disciplinary actions. This last provision was taken from legislation introduced by the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Shadegg) that passed the House in April 2005.
The overwhelmingly bipartisan support for this bill within Congress and the military is the result of strong leadership by the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Davis) as well as former Member Max Burns, as well as the chairman of the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Mr. Baker, who led our committee's investigation into abusive practices and bad products, Congressman Jim Ryun and Congressman Steve Israel. Mr. Ryun and Mr. Israel worked closely together on the reporting requirements of this bill, and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite) for ensuring appropriate SEC review of broker-dealer sales practices on military installations.
Their hard work and passion for protecting our military personnel is well reflected on this legislation. I urge my colleagues in the full House to vote ``yes'' on S. 418.
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