ASA Hails Passage of Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act

Applauds leadership of Sens. Kennedy and Van Hollen to kick fraudulent Chinese companies off U.S. exchanges

WASHINGTON – American Securities Association (ASA) CEO Chris Iacovella today released the following statement after the House passed the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, sponsored by Senator Kennedy (R-LA) and Senator Van Hollen (D-MD), to kick fraudulent Chinese companies off U.S. exchanges. The bill heads to the President’s desk after unanimous support in both chambers of Congress.

“ASA applauds Senators Kennedy and Van Hollen, and congressional leaders on both sides of the aisles, for coming together to protect American investors and retirement savers from fraudulent companies controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). For far too long, the CCP has exploited American investors to finance its cyber army, its technology-driven elimination of civil liberties, its human rights abuses, and its destruction of the environment. With unanimous support in Congress, this strong bipartisan bill will head to the President’s desk and is a major step toward ending China’s fraud on America’s capital markets. ASA is proud to have partnered with leaders in the Senate and House, for over a year, to move this much-needed bill across the finish line.

“Washington can take additional action and come together to prioritize our economic and national security while leveling the playing field for American companies competing for capital. We once again urge the SEC to use its authority to force U.S. exchanges to delist Chinese companies that fail to comply with U.S. audit requirements by June 2021, and heed the recent suggestion from members of the Senate Appropriations Committee urging the Commission to further crackdown on fraudulent Chinese companies.”

ASA has been a leading trade association advocating in support of the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act and urging Washington to end China’s fraud on our markets. Last month, ASA called on Congress to use the lame duck session to pass the bill.

ASA also recently welcomed recommendations from the President’s Working Group and sent a letter to the SEC highlighting the risks to American investors from Chinese companies, including calling for the end of the 2013 agreement. Additionally, ASA sent a letter to the Senate Banking Committee outlining these same policies recommendations. To read ASA CEO Iacovella’s op-ed in RealClearPolitics, click here.

###

ASA’s regional financial services companies work in communities across the country to create jobs, grow the economy, and increase prosperity for all Americans. The ASA exclusively represents the capital market and private client interests of its members and seeks to promote free market principles making it easier to access financial advice and capital. ASA members help Americans save for retirement, provide Main Street businesses with capital to grow, and advise hardworking Americans how to create and preserve wealth. For the latest updates follow @AmerSecurities and learn more at http://americansecurities.org/.