Congressman Vito Fossella (R-NY13) today announced that Boston will be the site for the next field meeting of his Task Force on ways to enhance the competitiveness of the U.S. capital markets. Fossella will meet with top financial leaders on Monday, September 24, 2007.
Fossella, who serves as Chairman of the “Capital Markets, Economic and Information Security” Task Force under the House Republican Policy Committee, will discuss issues ranging from regulatory reform to the tax code to retirement security during meetings with several asset management firms in the Boston area.
“In Boston, I will have the opportunity to meet with leaders from the buy-side of our capital markets – seven of the leading asset management firms in Boston and the United States. I hope to gain their input on the condition of the regulatory and legal environment in the U.S and the implications that may have for their future success in a global marketplace. The ability for these firms to best serve their clients not only strengthens our markets, but it also equates to financial stability and retirement security for thousands of Americans."
Fossella is reaching out to a broad spectrum of market participants throughout the U.S. to build upon the findings and recommendations included in several reports released on the issue over the past year. The Task Force is using these recommendations as a starting point and is focusing on legislative remedies that would more effectively strike a balance between upholding investor protections and promoting competitive markets.
A decline in U.S. economic competitiveness would have a significant negative impact on our national economy. One recent study predicted an annual loss of $30 billion in revenue from the financial services sector alone over the next five years, along with the 30,000 to 60,000 domestic jobs this money would have created. In addition, the report said that capital markets in European and Asian economies may have significantly more room to grow than in the U.S. due to lower capital markets penetration.
Since May, Fossella has held Task Force meetings in Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Jose.
Fossella has been active in addressing concerns over U.S. competitiveness. In 2005, Fossella introduced legislation to make structural and procedural improvements to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in an effort to enhance communication between the policy-making and the enforcement and examination divisions of the agency. The SEC implemented several recommendations contained in the Fossella bill less than six months later.
