Dear Chairwoman Waters and Ranking Member McHenry:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce writes regarding the hearing planned for November 19, 2019 titled “America for Sale? An Examination of the Practices of Private Funds” and to oppose H.R. 3848.
Private equity firms perform a vital role in the economy by making long-term investments in companies poised for growth as well as in undervalued or underperforming businesses. In addition, private equity funds are often backed by capital from institutional investors, including public pension funds. H.R. 3848 would impose significant restrictions, liabilities, and tax increases on the industry, which would ultimately harm jobs at companies backed by private-equity and investors, particularly public pension funds, which rely on private-equity firms to deliver competitive returns.
The Chamber recently released a report titled, “Economic Impact Analysis of the Stop Wall Street Looting Act,” which found that if H.R. 3848 were enacted it would result in:
- The loss of between 6.2 million to 26.3 million jobs across the U.S.
- The loss of a combined $109 billion to $475 billion annually in tax revenues across federal, state, and local governments.
- The loss by public pension funds of at least $329 million (and possibly up to $1.65 billion) annually that would be caused by switching to lower-yielding investments.
- The loss for investors of $671 million to $3.36 billion per year.
- The potential elimination of all of the private equity industry as a result of increased risk, taxes, and restrictions.
- The failure or downsizing of many firms which normally seek private equity financing that would now be unable to find financing.
We thank you for considering our feedback and we look forward to working with the Committee on these issues.
Sincerely,
Neil L. Bradley
cc: Members of the Committee on Financial Services
