{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/news/press-releases/baldwin-introduces-bill-to-protect-wisconsinites-from-predatory-wall-street-investors", "Baldwin Introduces Bill to Protect Wisconsinites from Predatory Wall Street Investors", "2024-10-15", "2024", "2024-10", "Democrat", "Senate", "WI", "Tammy Baldwin", "B001230", "www.baldwin.senate.gov", "baldwin", "https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced the Stop Wall Street Looting Act, comprehensive legislation to fundamentally reform the private equity industry and level the playing field by forcing private investment firms to take responsibility for the outcomes of companies they take over, empowering workers and protecting investors.\n\nSince 2020, private equity fund assets have grown exponentially, reaching nearly $8 trillion in 2023 compared to $4.5 trillion in 2020. Private equity funds have purchased companies in nearly every sector of the economy \u2014 from nursing homes, to newspapers, to grocery stores \u2014 laying off hundreds of thousands of workers and ruining thousands of companies in the process.\n\n\u201cWhen out-of-state investors buy Wisconsin companies only to turn a quick profit and shutter their doors, it\u2019s Wisconsin workers and communities that suffer. I\u2019m committed to ensuring that when Wisconsin businesses are purchased, Wisconsin families are protected and not left high and dry like we\u2019ve seen in places like Janesville, Green Bay, and Waukesha,\u201d said Senator Baldwin. \u201cOur legislation will help put workers and our community first \u2013 protecting them from predatory practices that too often result in devastating job losses for Wisconsin\u2019s working families.\u201d\n\nThe private equity industry claims to invest in companies while also earning high returns for investors by using their management expertise to make the companies\u2019 operations more efficient, and then selling the companies at a profit. In reality, private equity funds often load mountains of debt on the companies they buy, strip them of their assets, and extract exorbitant fees and dividends, guaranteeing payouts for themselves regardless of how the investment performs. When their debt-ridden investments go belly-up, private equity funds walk away with no responsibility for the mess they create, leaving workers in the lurch and forcing communities to clean up their mess.\n\nThis bill would level the playing field, protect workers, consumers, and investors, and force private equity firms to take responsibility for the companies they control by closing the loopholes that allow private equity to capture all the rewards of their investments while insulating themselves from risk and liability. The Stop Wall Street Looting Act will:\n\nRequire Private Investment Funds to Have Skin in the Game: Private equity firms, the firm\u2019s general partners, and their insiders will all be on the hook for the liabilities of companies under their control \u2014 including debt, legal judgments, and pension-related obligations \u2014 to better align the incentives of private equity firms and the companies they own. Liability would not extend to the fund\u2019s limited partners, ensuring that only those that control portfolio firms are on the hook. In order to encourage more responsible use of debt, the bill ends the tax subsidy for excessive leverage and closes the carried interest loophole.\n\nEnd Looting of Portfolio Companies. To give portfolio companies a shot at success, the bill limits how much money private equity firms can extract from companies and closes the loophole that private equity firms have used to hide certain assets from bankruptcy courts.\n\nProtect Workers, Customers and Communities. This proposal prevents private equity firms from walking away when a company fails and protects workers and communities by:\n\nPrioritizing workers\u2019 pay in the bankruptcy process and amending the laws to increase the priority claims for unpaid earnings and other benefits from $10,000 to $20,000 per worker.\n\nCreating incentives for job retention so that workers can benefit from a company\u2019s second chance.\n\nEnding the immunity of private equity firms from legal liability when their portfolio companies break the law, including the WARN Act. When workers at a plant are shortchanged or residents at a nursing home are hurt because private equity firms force portfolio companies to cut corners, the firm should be liable.\n\nExpanding protections for striking workers by clarifying unfair labor practices and the employer duty to bargain.\n\nEmpower Investors by Increasing Transparency. Private equity managers will be required to disclose fees, returns, and other information about their funds and the corporate loans they make so that investors can monitor their investments.\n\nPut Guardrails Around Accessing Public Funds. Firms receiving any funds from a federal or state agency must publicly disclose how the funds are used and will be prohibited from acquiring any company or making a distribution to investors for two years after receipt.\n\nDrives REITS out of Health Care. Payments from federal health programs to entities that sell assets or use assets for a loan collateral made to a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) are prohibited; repeal a rule in the Tax Code that allows taxable REIT subsidiaries to exert influence on the operations of health care entities; and remove the 20 percent pass-through deduction, passed in the 2017 Trump tax cuts, for all REIT investors.\n\nThe bill is led by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and also co-sponsored by Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Ed Markey (D-MA) in the Senate.\n\nThe bill is supported by Action Center on Race and the Economy, AFL-CIO, American Economic Liberties Project, American Federation of Teachers, Americans for Financial Reform, Center for Popular Democracy, Communication Workers of America, Community Catalyst, Economic Policy Institute, Indivisible, National Employment Law Project, National Women\u2019s Law Center, Private Equity Stakeholder Project, People\u2019s Action, SEIU, Strong for All, Take on Wall Street, United for Respect, Working Families Party, and Worth Rises.\n\n\u201cPrivate equity has an immense impact on the U.S. economy, touching virtually every aspect of life from healthcare to housing to technology to retail and more. Private equity\u2019s extractive playbook harms workers and communities, diminishes access to quality affordable health care, worsens the housing crisis and the climate crisis, and perpetuates systemic racism. Without major changes, a handful of ultra wealthy Wall Street executives will continue getting richer at everyone else\u2019s expense. The Stop Wall Street Looting Act takes important, much needed steps to reign in Wall Street predatory practices and promote a just and sustainable economy,\u201d said Lisa Donner, Executive Director, Americans for Financial Reform.\n\n\u201cUnion busting, pollution, and bankruptcy aren\u2019t side effects of the private equity model: they are the model,\u201d said Porter McConnell, Take on Wall Street. \u201cIt\u2019s a smash-and-grab, plain and simple. That\u2019s why we are so pleased to see comprehensive legislation like the Stop Wall Street Looting Act introduced in Congress today. We created the loopholes in the law that allowed the private equity industry to thrive, and we can end them. Our communities, our economy, and our democracy are depending on it.\"\n\n\u201cAs we fight for more public investment in the child care sector, we must also rein in private equity\u2019s ability to enrich themselves at the expense of the public. Building guardrails \u2013 such as those in the Stop Wall Street Looting Act \u2013 will help put the wellbeing of children and families ahead of private equity\u2019s profits,\u201d said Melissa Boteach, Vice President, Income Security and Child Care/Early Learning, National Women\u2019s Law Center.\n\n\u201cPrivate equity firms, which control nearly $15 trillion in assets, routinely prioritize quick, outsized profits, at the expense of workers, patients, renters, and local economies as part of their business model,\u201d said Chris Noble, Policy Director for the Private Equity Stakeholder Project. \u201cThe Stop Wall Street Looting Act provides an essential check on this opaque industry. By addressing the systemic risks tied to debt-laden private equity buyouts, this legislation prioritizes the long-term health of businesses and communities over short-term profits for wealthy private equity executives.\u201d\n\n\u201cPrivate equity should have no influence over medical treatment decisions made jointly by independent physicians and their patients. The Stop Wall Street Looting Act goes a long way towards ensuring physicians, in consultation with their patients, are able to deliver quality, patient-centered, cost-efficient care without corporate interference,\u201d said Dr. Stephen M. McCollam, Chair, Coalition for Patient-Centered Care.\n\n\u201cWall Street private equity firms have proven themselves to be a parasite on workers, our economy, and American retailers by gutting companies for profit and driving mass layoffs. Holding billionaire profiteers accountable for the damage they do to our working families and communities is imperative to addressing growing economic inequality,\u201d said United for Respect Co-Executive Directors Bianca Agustin and Terrysa Guerra in a joint statement. \u201cThe Stop Wall Street Looting Act will help close loopholes in our laws that for too long have allowed private equity to pillage companies and amass huge profits while workers lose their jobs and are left with nothing. United For Respect is proud to support this bill \u2014 and we need all legislators to join us in protecting workers and putting Wall Street on the hook for the havoc they reap.\u201d\n\nFull text of this legislation is available here. A one-pager on this legislation is available here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:57:20Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/news/press-releases/baldwin-introduces-bill-to-protect-wisconsinites-from-predatory-wall-street-investors"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.8294330220669508, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}