Port Security Amendment to Screen All Cargo to be Offered
Reps. Urge Labor Department, SEC Action Against Conflicts of Interest in Pension Consulting Industry
Representative Edward Markey (D-MA), a senior Democratic Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Rep. George Miller, the Ranking Democratic Member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, today issued the following statements in response to confirmation that Wilshire Associates received a subpoena from the Department of Labor (DOL) in connection with DOL's investigation of conflicts of interest among investment consulting firms.
Rep. Markey said, "The subpoena of Wilshire Associates, which also provides consulting services to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), raises questions about whether pension funds under the control of the Federal Government are being properly managed. Rep. Miller and I intend to seek further information about Wilshire's work for the PBGC. Last year, Rep. Miller and I asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate problems with government regulation and enforcement of pension statutes, including whether the PBGC currently, or in the past, employs any consultants the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has identified as having potential conflicts of interest. The GAO investigation is ongoing, and I look forward to the results."
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Rep. Markey concluded, "The SEC report released in May 2005 exposed a disturbing pattern of conflicts of interest in the pension consulting industry. For many workers and retirees across the country, the promised pension benefits they earned over the course of their careers have been substantially reduced or eliminated. I am hopeful that the Labor Department's subpoena of Wilshire Associates will signal the start of a sweeping, systematic movement by the Department and SEC to bring enforcement actions across the pension consulting industry whenever it is determined that advice provided by consultants is colored by conflicts of interest, rather than provided objectively in fulfillment of fiduciary duties. "
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