Scott PowersThe U.S. Senate campaign of U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson blasted his opponent U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy for crossing the aisle to vote in favor of a bill that would ease reporting restrictions on securities sales.
Murphy was one of 24 Democrats (along with U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham, D-Tallahassee) to vote yea on H.B. 1675, which was approved by the House of Representatives 265-159 Wednesday. Grayson voted nay.
The bill, entitled “Encouraging Employee Ownership Act of 2015,” would double, to $10 million annually, the minimum threshold for disclosure reporting on annual aggregate sales of a security.
Grayson’s campaign used the occasion to blast Murphy for joining Republicans in allowing financial institutions to avoid oversight.
“Congressman Murphy is offering Big Business his voting card,” Grayson’s political director Mario Piscatella stated in a news release issued by the campaign. “Patrick Murphy can’t help himself. Whenever House Republicans throw special breaks at Wall Street or the Chamber of Commerce, Murphy forgets he’s a Democrat who should be fighting for Main Street.”
According to Consumer Action, a group which opposed HR 1675, the bill would “soften regulatory oversight on the companies selling you investment opportunities.”
“This one really hits below the belt because it would take one of the least expensive and easiest to understand investments—exchange-traded funds—and make it more difficult to get the information you need to invest wisely,” the consumer advocacy group stated.
