[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 8 (Friday, January 16, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E76]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     PROMOTING JOB CREATION AND REDUCING SMALL BUSINESS BURDENS ACT

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                               speech of

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 13, 2015

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, the legislation we are being asked to 
vote on today is identical to legislation that failed on the suspension 
calendar last week--and so is now being brought back to the floor under 
a closed rule, without possibility of amendment. I opposed this bill on 
both policy and procedural grounds last week, and because nothing has 
fundamentally changed on either score, I will do so again today.
  Mr. Speaker, this unwieldy legislation is comprised of eleven, mostly 
unrelated titles--a few of which I have supported in the past, some of 
which I probably could support on a freestanding basis in the future 
and several of which either need a lot more work or simply should not 
be supported. In particular, as an advocate of the Dodd-Frank Wall 
Street Reform Act, I think we should tread very carefully before 
modifying or weakening something as central to financial reform as the 
Volcker Rule, which Title VIII of this legislation would do with 
respect to collateralized debt obligations. Additionally, while I am 
strongly in favor of giving employees more ownership opportunities in 
the companies they work for, I also believe those employees deserve to 
know the value of the stock they are being offered, and that is 
something Title XI of this bill fails to do.
  For these reasons, I urge a no vote.

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