[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7923 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7923
To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to establish a grant
program to fund qualified investor advocacy clinics, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 31, 2022
Mr. Quigley introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to establish a grant
program to fund qualified investor advocacy clinics, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Investor Justice Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. GRANTS TO QUALIFIED INVESTOR ADVOCACY CLINICS.
Section 4(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C.
78d(g)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(9) Grants to qualified investor advocacy clinics.--
``(A) Grant authority.--The Commission, acting
through the Investor Advocate, may make grants, on a
competitive basis, to qualified investor advocacy
clinics in accordance with this paragraph.
``(B) Applications.--To be eligible for a grant
under subparagraph (A), a qualified investor advocacy
clinic shall submit to the Commission an application at
such time, in such form, and containing such
information as the Commission may require, including
information with respect to--
``(i) the number of investors in the
geographical area served by the clinic;
``(ii) other similar entities serving the
same population;
``(iii) the quality of the program offered
by the clinic, including--
``(I) the qualifications of the
administrators and qualified
representatives of the clinic; and
``(II) the record of the clinic, if
any, in providing legal and educational
services to investors with low dollar
value claims in arbitrations and
mediations; and
``(iv) funding sources available to the
clinic, including--
``(I) amounts received from other
grants and contributions; and
``(II) the endowment and resources
of any institution sponsoring the
clinic.
``(C) Grant uses.--A qualified investor advocacy
clinic awarded a grant under subparagraph (A) may only
use grant funds for the development, expansion, or
continuation of the qualified investor advocacy clinic.
``(D) Detail of executive agency employees.--Upon
the request of the Commission, the head of any Federal
agency may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the
personnel of that Federal agency to the Commission to
assist it in carrying out its functions under this
section. The detail of any such personnel shall be
without interruption or loss of civil service status or
privilege.
``(E) Transparency.--A qualified investor advocacy
clinic awarded a grant under subparagraph (A) shall
submit to the Commission a detailed accounting of the
use of grant funds at such time, in such form, and
containing such information as the Commission may
require.
``(F) Limitations.--
``(i) Aggregate limitation.--The aggregate
amount of grants made under subparagraph (A)
during a fiscal year may not exceed $5,000,000
(as such amount is annually adjusted by the
Investor Advocate to reflect the percentage
change in the Consumer Price Index for All
Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor).
``(ii) Single clinic limitation.--In making
grants under subparagraph (A), the Commission
may not award, during a fiscal year, more than
$150,000 (as such amount is annually adjusted
to reflect the percentage change in the
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers
published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of
the Department of Labor) to any single
qualified investor advocacy clinic.
``(iii) Federal share.--The Federal share
of the cost of activities carried out using
grant funds made available under subparagraph
(A) may not exceed 50 percent.
``(iv) Multi-year grants.--
``(I) In general.--In making grants
under subparagraph (A), the Commission
may award multi-year grants.
``(II) Limitation.--Multi-year
grants awarded under this clause may
not be made for a period exceeding
three years.
``(G) Authorization of appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be
necessary to carry out this paragraph.
``(H) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
``(i) Qualified investor advocacy clinic.--
The term `qualified investor advocacy clinic'
means an entity--
``(I) that provides or will provide
free representation to investors with
claims of less than $100,000 (as such
amount is annually adjusted by the
Investor Advocate to reflect the
percentage change in the Consumer Price
Index for All Urban Consumers published
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of
the Department of Labor) in securities
arbitrations and mediations before a
registered national securities
association (with exceptions to the
requirements of this subclause
authorized to be made by the Investor
Advocate on a case-by-case basis); and
``(II) that is or will be
sponsored, offered, or run by--
``(aa) a clinical program
at or partnering with an
American Bar Association
accredited law school; or
``(bb) an organization
described in section 501(c) of
the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 and exempt from tax under
section 501(a) of such Code.
``(ii) Qualified representative.--The term
`qualified representative' means any individual
authorized to represent investors before a
registered national securities association.''.
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