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New York Times
18-04-2025
- Business
- New York Times
John J. LaFalce, Congressman Who Fought Financial Fraud, Dies at 85
John J. LaFalce, a 14-term former congressman from Western New York who mentored the state's first female governor and sponsored sweeping legislation to mitigate the Love Canal toxic waste disaster and to protect consumers from financial fraud, died on April 11 in Lockport, N.Y., near Niagara Falls. He was 85. His death, in a hospice facility, was from kidney failure, his son, Martin J. LaFalce, said. First elected to the House of Representatives in 1974 as part of a nationwide post-Watergate rebuff to Republican incumbents, Mr. LaFalce (pronounced la-FALSE) was the first Democrat to win his district's seat since 1912. During his 28 years on Capitol Hill, he was chairman of the Small Business Committee, from 1987 to 1995, and the ranking Democrat on the Committee on Banking (now the Financial Services Committee). He played pivotal roles in the bipartisan passage of two far-reaching bills: the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 (officially known as the Financial Services Act), which eliminated legal boundaries between investment banking and commercial banking, and, in 2002, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which targeted corporate financial fraud. Before the collapse of the savings and loan industry in the late 1980s, Mr. LaFalce was a fierce critic of so-called subprime homeowner loans and payday loans by companies that preyed on consumers. One of his most effective actions as a House member was his response to the environmental calamity at Love Canal, a neighborhood of Niagara Falls, N.Y. By the late 1970s, a chemical dump there was contaminating ground water that was leaching into backyards, swimming pools and school playgrounds, causing severe health effects among residents there. Mr. LaFalce and Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Democrat of New York, devised the legal basis for the federal government to clean up the site. Love Canal was the first site to be designated an environmental hazard under the legislation, which created the federal Superfund to mitigate such threats. Lois Gibbs, a homeowner and civic leader in Love Canal, was quoted in 1991 as saying that Mr. LaFalce 'was one of the front-runners in getting things done' there. Mr. LaFalce was regarded as a progressive in Congress (getting an F rating from the National Rifle Association). He voted against American participation in both the Persian Gulf war and the Iraq war and dissented from President Bill Clinton's welfare reforms because, he said, they would punish the poor. As a practicing Roman Catholic, however, he opposed any extension of abortion rights. In the early 1970s, as a member of the New York State Legislature, Mr. LaFalce bucked popular sentiment by objecting to the harsh penalties imposed by what became known as the Rockefeller drug laws, signed by Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller. And he objected to casino gambling in New York State on the grounds that it would exploit lower-income people. Kathy Hochul, who as lieutenant governor became the state's governor in 2021 when Andrew M. Cuomo resigned, was Mr. LaFalce's legislative counsel in Washington in the 1980s. With his support, eight years after he left the House, she won a special election in 2011 to become the first Democrat to represent her Western New York district in four decades. Mr. LaFalce 'had a profound influence on my early career,' Governor Hochul said in a statement this week, 'recruiting me from a large D.C. firm' and 'putting me on the path to a lifetime of public service.' 'I always credited him with getting me the recognition I needed,' she said. Under her direction, flags at state buildings were flown at half-staff on Monday in his honor. John Joseph LaFalce was born in Buffalo on Oct. 6, 1939. His father, Dominic, worked in a grain mill and was a union steward. His mother, Katherine (Stasio) LaFalce, worked in a bakery. He was the first member of his family to graduate from high school. Mr. LaFalce received a bachelor's degree in history from Canisius College (now Canisius University) in Buffalo in 1961 and a law degree from Villanova University in 1964. He served in the U.S. Army from 1965 to 1967, leaving with the rank of captain. In addition to his son, Martin, a professor at St. John's University School of Law in Queens, Mr. LaFalce is survived by his wife, Patricia (Fisher) LaFalce; and a sister, Lorraine Kenny. He and his wife had lived in Latham, N.Y., north of Albany. Mr. LaFalce served in the State Senate from 1971 to 1972 and in the Assembly from 1973 to 1974, when he ran for Congress, to succeed Henry P. Smith III, who had announced his retirement. His congressional district encompassed Niagara Falls and northern Buffalo and stretched east to the western suburbs of Rochester. As a result of the 2000 census, the district was merged with a neighboring one represented by a fellow Democrat, Louise M. Slaughter. Rather than engage in a hotly-contested primary in the newly created district, he decided not to seek a 15th term in 2002. Ms. Slaughter was re-elected. After leaving office, Mr. LaFalce practiced law and was a director of State Bancorp (now National Valley Bancorp), a member of the New York State Banking Board and chairman of the Erie County Industrial Development Agency. In Congress, he was one of the dwindling exponents of bipartisanship. In 1983, he cited Senator Edward M. Kennedy's appearance at Liberty Baptist College (now Liberty University), a private evangelical Christian institution, as an example of 'how important tolerance is when diverse and opposing world views compete in the free marketplace of ideas which is America.'
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Democrats demand Senate GOP chair hold hearing on Trump tariff ‘chaos'
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and other Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee are demanding that the panel's chair, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), hold a hearing on President Trump's authority to impose tariffs on more than 180 countries, citing the 'economic chaos' caused by Trump's 'lack of a coherent strategy.' 'Tariffs can be critical to grow American industry and promote good manufacturing jobs. But many of the president's tariffs lack a coherent strategy, generating economic chaos and giving giant corporations an excuse to raise prices on Americans,' the Democratic senators wrote in a Sunday letter to Scott. They noted the Republican-controlled Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs has jurisdiction over key aspects of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which Trump has cited as his authority to impose sweeping tariffs. Warren and her colleagues also warned that Trump may grant tariff exemptions to allied business leaders and industry. 'The president's tariffs also raise concerns about whether he will repeat mistakes from his first term in handing out exceptions to well-connected friends or companies at the expense of everyone else,' they wrote. A study by researchers from the State University of New York at Buffalo, Fordham University, University of Oklahoma and Lehigh University published in The Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis found that companies that made political contributions and investments to help Republicans before and during Trump's first term were more likely to win tariff exemptions. Meanwhile, companies that supported Democrats were less likely to secure tariff exemptions. Senate Democrats said a hearing in the Banking Committee would help shed more light on Trump's tariff policies. 'We urge you to hold a hearing so the American people can understand the president's plan and how it will affect their economic futures,' they wrote. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
07-04-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Democrats demand Senate GOP chairman hold hearing on Trump tariff ‘chaos'
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and other Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee are demanding that the panel's chairman, Republican Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), hold a hearing on President Trump's authority to impose tariffs on more than 180 countries, citing the 'economic chaos' caused by Trump's 'lack of a coherent strategy.' 'Tariffs can be critical to grow American industry and promote good manufacturing jobs. But many of the president's tariffs lack a coherent strategy, generating economic chaos and giving giant corporations an excuse to raise prices on Americans,' the Democratic senators wrote in an April 6 letter to Scott. The Democrats noted that the Republican-controlled Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs has jurisdiction over key aspects of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which Trump has cited as his authority to impose sweeping tariffs. Warren and her colleagues also warned that Trump may grant tariff exemptions to allied business leaders and industry. 'The president's tariffs also raise concerns about whether he will repeat mistakes from his first term in handing out exceptions to well-connected friends or companies at the expense of everyone else,' they wrote. A study by researchers from the SUNY Buffalo, Fordham University, University of Oklahoma and Lehigh University published in The Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis found that companies that made political contributions and investments to help Republicans before and during Trump's first term were more likely to win tariff exemptions. Meanwhile, companies that supported Democrats were less likely to secure tariff exemptions. Senate Democrats said a hearing in the Banking Committee would help shed more light on Trump's tariff policies. 'We urge you to hold a hearing so the American people can understand the president's plan and how it will affect their economic futures,' they wrote.
