Having read in the Washington, D.C., roll call (July 31, The Columbian) that U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, voted to deprive small investors of the right to sue financial providers for breach of fiduciary duty, I feel the public needs to know how she thinks of us.
This comes at the time when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is being pilloried by those same companies and the Trump Administration as they attempt to escape their fiduciary responsibilities. The bureau, designed to provide protection for all of us, was created during the 2008-2010 financial crash where banks, mortgage companies and a vast number of other scams found it easy to cheat citizens out of their homes, savings and investments.
The entire issue is: Do you prefer to take your case into arbitration or sue the provider in a regular court of law? Frankly, I would prefer the court route because the judges who sit on many arbitration cases are chosen by the financial provider. How will small investors who depend on retirement income from the marketplace be protected by Herrera Beutler? This bill, HJ Resolution 111, passed the House 231 to 190 and now goes to the Senate.
