ICYMI: 22 Members of Congress File Bicameral Amicus Brief Opposing SEC’s Consolidated Audit Trail

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Securities Association (ASA) today applauded U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), along with 21 Members of Congress, including Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Tim Scott (R-SC) and House Financial Services Committee Vice Chairman French Hill (R-AR), for filing an amicus brief in American Securities Association and Citadel Securities v. SEC in the Eleventh Circuit of Appeals, challenging the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval of a Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) Order.

“The SEC never brought this proposal before Congress to request funds because the Biden administration knows the program is a gross overreach that would suck up the personal data of millions of law-abiding Americans. More than that, the SEC has shown it is incapable of safely storing sensitive data. This program needs to be killed before it begins,” said U.S. Senator Tom Cotton.

Members of Congress signing the amicus brief include Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), Sen. John Boozman (R-Arkansas), Sen. Mike Braun (R-Indiana), Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota), Sen. Steve Daines (R-Montana), Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tennessee), Sen. John Kennedy (R-Louisiana), Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Nebraska), Sen. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina), Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO), Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI), Rep. French Hill (R-AR), Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), Rep. Alex X. Mooney (R-WV), Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), Rep. John Rose (R-TN), Rep. Keith Self (R-TX), Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX), Rep. Steve Womack (R-AR).

Read the Members of Congress’ amicus brief here.

Financial services trade associations, civil liberty organizations, and Members of Congress continue to raise concerns regarding the SEC’s implementation of a massive, unprecedented government surveillance system that will collect personal information on every American who trades in the U.S. securities markets—all without the approval of, or any funding from, Congress.

Additionally, ASA welcomes the filing of amicus briefs by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), the Managed Funds Association (MFA), the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), and the Cato Institute & Investor Choice Advocates Network.

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About the American Securities Association

American Securities Association, based in Washington, DC, represents the retail and institutional capital markets interests of regional financial services firms who provide Main Street businesses with access to capital and advise hardworking Americans how to create and preserve wealth. ASA’s mission is to promote trust and confidence among investors, facilitate capital formation, and support efficient and competitively balanced capital markets. This mission advances financial independence, stimulates job creation, and increases prosperity. The ASA has a geographically diverse membership of almost one hundred members that spans the Heartland, Southwest, Southeast, Atlantic, and Pacific Northwest regions of the United States.

www.americansecurities.org