“Louisiana’s airports and natural gas pipelines help keep our state’s economy moving, and these grants will fund vital projects to promote safe transportation and infrastructure.”

MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $34,741,958 in federal grants from the Department of Transportation to support airport improvements and pipeline projects around Louisiana.

“Louisiana’s airports and natural gas pipelines help keep our state’s economy moving, and these grants will fund vital projects to promote safe transportation and infrastructure,” said Kennedy.

Louisiana airport projects include:

• $10,526,064 to extend taxiways at Lafayette Regional Airport.

• $15,000,000 to improve runway safety at Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport.

• $7,000,000 to extend taxiways at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.

Pipeline projects include:

• $2,175,518 to support state pipeline safety programs through the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources.

• $40,376 to support the inspection and enforcement of underground natural gas storage regulations through the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources.

“The SIPC Board of Directors should not include a current employee of an entity that is fighting tooth and nail against returning assets to victims of investment fraud. On behalf of the many Louisianians that SocGen is choosing not to help, I oppose Mr. Finkel’s nomination and respectfully urge the President to consider a new nominee.”

MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, wrote today to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows urging the administration to withdraw its nomination of Michael Finkel to be a Director of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC).

Finkel currently works at Société Générale (SocGen) as Director and Senior Counsel. SocGen controls $210 million that belongs to victims of Robert Allen Stanford’s $7 billion Ponzi scheme.

“Nominating a SIPC Director from SocGen sends the wrong signal to investors across America. The SIPC Board of Directors should not include a current employee of an entity that is fighting tooth and nail against returning assets to victims of investment fraud. On behalf of the many Louisianians that SocGen is choosing not to help, I oppose Mr. Finkel’s nomination and respectfully urge the President to consider a new nominee,” wrote Kennedy.

More than 1,000 Louisianians from Baton Rouge, Covington and Lafayette lost significant amounts of their life savings from Stanford’s fraud, but SocGen refuses to return these funds to victims of the second largest securities fraud in U.S. history.

Kennedy’s letter is available here.

“The SEC, CFTC, Treasury, Federal Reserve and entire Senate are on the same page. Now, it’s time for the House to enshrine this policy in law. Short of that, we cannot ensure that firms beholden to Communist China will let U.S. regulators examine their books, which means we can’t protect American retirement and college savings from being exploited.”

 WASHINGTON – President Trump’s Working Group on Financial Markets, tasked with examining risks to investors posed by the Chinese companies listed on U.S. exchanges, today issued recommendations inspired by the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) issued the following statement in response to the working group’s decision:

“We’re thankful the president’s working group is committed to holding fraudulent Chinese companies accountable. The SEC, CFTC, Treasury, Federal Reserve and entire Senate are on the same page. Now, it’s time for the House to enshrine this policy in law. Short of that, we cannot ensure that firms beholden to Communist China will let U.S. regulators examine their books, which means we can’t protect American retirement and college savings from being exploited,” said Kennedy.

Background:

The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act passed the Senate unanimously this May.

Kennedy introduced the legislation to protect American investors and their retirement savings from foreign companies that have been operating on U.S. stock exchanges while flouting SEC oversight.

On June 4, the Trump Administration issued a presidential memorandum on protecting American investors from the risks posed by Chinese companies that list on U.S. exchanges. 

“We must take firm, orderly action to end the Chinese practice of flouting American transparency requirements without negatively affecting American investors and financial markets. We must ensure that laws providing protections for investors in American financial markets are fully enforced for companies listed on United States stock exchanges,” said the memorandum.

The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act prohibits securities of a company from being listed on any of the U.S. securities exchanges if the company has failed to comply with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s (PCAOB) audits for three years in a row.

The bill would also require public companies to disclose whether they are owned or controlled by a foreign government, including China’s communist government. 

Many Americans invest in U.S. stock exchanges as part of their retirement savings, and dishonest companies operating on the exchanges put Americans at risk. This legislation protects the interest of American investors by ensuring that foreign companies traded in America are subject to the same independent audit requirements that apply to American companies.

Congress established the PCAOB to inspect audits of public companies, ensuring the information companies provide to the public is accurate, independent and trustworthy.

Currently, China’s communist government refuses to allow the PCAOB to inspect audits of companies registered in China and Hong Kong. Such companies represent a keen risk to American investors as nearly 11 percent of all securities class action lawsuits in 2011 were brought against Chinese-owned companies accused of misrepresenting themselves in financial documents.

According to the SEC, 224 U.S.-listed companies are located in countries where there are obstacles to PCAOB inspections. These companies have a combined market capitalization of more than $1.8 trillion.

In the last 10 years, the number of Chinese companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges has increased significantly, as those firms take advantage of the capital available in America.

“Louisiana shrimpers and their families produce the best seafood in the world. . . . The USDA’s decision is a win-win for Louisiana shrimpers and Americans who need a little help to persevere through hard times.”

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today welcomed the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) decision to purchase $30 million of shrimp to help alleviate food insecurity in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. The USDA made the purchase under the Agriculture Act of 1935, which provides for national food assistance during emergencies.

“Louisiana shrimpers and their families produce the best seafood in the world. Season after season, Louisiana shrimpers have faithfully put food on the table for millions of Americans, and I admire their hard work and dedication during this crisis. The USDA’s decision is a win-win for Louisiana shrimpers and Americans who need a little help to persevere through hard times,” said Kennedy.