WASHINGTON – Congressman Byron Donalds (R-FL) joined the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services for a full committee hearing entitled “Proxy Power and Proposal Abuse: Reforming Rule 14a-8 to Protect Shareholder Value”to discuss recent efforts by leftwing activists to politicize corporate boards, New York City's proposal to implement government-run supermarkets, and the phrase "Globalize the Intifada."

Mr. James Copland–Senior Fellow and Director of Legal Policy at the Manhattan Institute; Mrs. Ferrell Keel–Partner at Jones Day; Mr. Ron Mueller–Partner at Gibson Dunn and Crutcher LLP; and Mr. Brad Lander–Comptroller for the City of New York joined the committee to testify as witnesses.

Watch the Congressman's full remarks here.

"These grocery stores have less product available. The food is not nearly as good. Some of them shut down. Standards in them are frankly disgusting":

DONALDS: "This hearing got really interesting a little bit ago with my colleague from New Jersey, so, Mr. Lander, I have to come to you. You're the Comptroller of the City of New York. You talked about the proposal by Mr. Mamdani for government-run grocery stores. Do you think that is a viable proposal for the people of the City of New York?" LANDER: "All around the country there are quite a few places where publicly-owned grocery stores designed to offer healthy, nutritious, affordable food in food deserts where people have no other options. That is working in red and blue states around the ocuntry." DONALDS: "Mr. Lander, you do realize that these grocery stores have less product available. The food is not nearly as good. Some of them shut down. Standards in them are frankly disgusting. Do you think it's in the interest of the people of New York to open this up? And by the way, I'm from Brooklyn, New York, so I've grown up in the city, I know where food is." LANDER: "I'm so glad to hear it but if you grew up in low-income neighborhoods in Brooklyn, you would see that you had...you would see that many of the privately-owned stores nearby had low quality and high prices." DONALDS: "The City of New York got out of the business of distributing food when I was a kid. The City of New York used to distribute food. They got out of that business. They did. When I was a kid. You think it's ok to go back."

"This is why the City of New York is going down the toilet":

DONALDS: "Can you condemn the phrase 'Global Intifada'? LANDER: "I made real clear if you mean I don't think people should say it, I condemn it. If you want to make it against the law and send people to jail for saying it then I don't." DONALDS: "So you won't condemn it. So you won't condemn the phrase? You won't condemn the phrase. This is why the City of New York is going down the toilet."

###