House Passes Bill Expanding Whistleblower Protections

Speaking on the House floor, House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said "The primary mission of both state securities regulators and NASAA is to protect and advocate for the protection of investors, especially the most vulnerable investors, like our nation's seniors, who may lack the expertise, experience, and resources to protect their own interests. These grassroots regulators are often the first line of defense against investment fraud and often respond to emerging frauds and investment scams before they are detected at the federal level."

The House also passed on Tuesday H.R. 2919, the Improving Investment Research for Small and Emerging Issuers Act, which requires the SEC to report on investment research regarding small issuers, including emerging growth companies and companies considering initial public offerings.

The Expanding Investment in Small Businesses Act of 2019, H.R. 3050, also passed by a 417-2 vote. It directs the SEC to report on topics such as the availability of such research and potential conflicts of interest relating to its production and distribution, and to make recommendations for increasing small-issuer investment research.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, the House Financial Services Committee passed a package of credit reporting bills.

H.R. 3622, the Restoring Unfairly Impaired Credit and Protecting Consumers Act, would shorten the time period in which adverse information would stay on a consumer report from seven years to four.

H.R. 3642, the Improving Credit Reporting for All Consumers Act, is designed to improve the process for consumers to resolve credit report inaccuracies, including creating a new right to appeal credit reporting decisions; it also directs the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to develop minimum standards for the credit reporting agencies.