Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Andy Barr (KY-06) urged caution and restraint today as the House Financial Services Committee (FSC) conducted a hearing on the sudden surges in GameStop stock during the month of January. Robinhood Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Vlad Tenev and Reddit CEO Steven Huffman, Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, Melvin Capital CEO Gabe Plotkin, Reddit user Keith Gill and Jennifer Schulp of the Cato Institute testified in the FSC hearing about the recent stock market volatility. Congressman Barr discussed the hearing during a slew of interviews both locally and nationally ahead of the hearing.
Appearing on Squawk Alley on CNBC Television, Rep. Barr said:
“I hope that this hearing is more an impartial fact-finding exercise as opposed to political grandstanding. What happened with GameStop should not be a justification for excessive government interventions and regulations on the market. I also hope the scrutiny of payment-for-order-flow doesn’t lead to the overreaction by regulators to undermine access to capital markets.”
Appearing on his monthly timeslot on the Jack Pattie Show on WVLK this morning, Rep. Barr said:
“I am afraid that some of my Democrat colleagues will use this hearing as an excuse to advance overregulation of the capital markets. Retail investors have had unprecedented access to the market because of technological advances and modernizations that are very positive. I fear some of these new regulations could increase costs and shutout access to the markets.”
Appearing on the David Webb Show on SiriusXM Patriot Radio, Rep. Barr responded to David Webb’s question: “For the average person listening out there, driving along sitting in an office, what does this Committee hearing mean to them today?”
“The average American, because of technology and innovation in the free enterprise system, now have access to low cost or zero-commission trades in ways never possible before. This is because of advancements in technology and innovations like payment-for-order-flow. What the average American should worry about is Congress and the Biden Administration overreacting to this controversy in a way that would hurt retail investors by increasing their costs and diminishing their ability to invest and save in the stock market.”