Dear Friend –
We came away from the Kanjorski Capital Markets Subcommittee Hearings on September 23 with a guarded sense of optimism. Key members of the Subcommittee – Kanjorski, Ackerman, Garrett, King – appear to be outraged by the behavior of SIPC and the Trustee, describing SIPC and the Trustee’s behavior “immoral”, “the worst possible behavior at the worst possible time” in terms of investor confidence, treating investors like “criminals” and “conspirators” not following the “spirit of the law”. Panelists were largely supportive of major changes to SIPC (even Professor Coffee, who proposed a potentially feasible solution to clawback). I can also say that the briefing session of staff that preceded the Hearings conducted by me and attorney David Bernfeld went extremely well, and the extensive work done behind the scenes I believe bore fruit. Still, I was surprised (and pleased) by how much time key members were focused on the current plight of Madoff victims. A few of my observations are bullet-pointed below.
Our big concern is that the Subcommittee may get bogged down in some of the more complicated issues regarding the distribution of customer property in lieu of taking immediate action to help Madoff victims.
What’s pressing now is the need to stage a final press for Congressional action during the current legislative break, but in time for the lame duck session that begins right after the election. Frankly, we are running out of time for this year to pass SIPC and tax changes. Simply put: we need to radically ramp up our grassroots letter writing campaign in a big way, and fast! We’re going to post directions for two grassroots mail efforts – first on SIPC and HR5032, the next on Tax — S3166 and HR5058.
Direct and indirect investors alike need to participate in this effort. Please look to the coming grass roots announcement and help out. Time is running out.
Thanks,
Ron Stein
Summary of Observations About the 9/23 Hearings:
To access a video replay of the hearings, written transcripts of the testimonies and more, click here.
For more information, please contact NIAP at admin@investoraction.org or by calling (631) 425-0770.