Statement by the Honorable Bobby L. Rush, Chairman Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection
at the Hearing:  H.R. 6149, the Coin and Precious Metal Disclosure Act

WASHINGTON -- "Good afternoon. The Subcommittee is holding today's hearing on H.R. 6149, the Coin and Precious Metal Disclosure Act. The bill, which was introduced by Mr. Weiner of  New York, would cover the sale of gold bullion, collectable coins made from other precious metals, and certain coins for investment purposes.

"H.R. 6149 requires dealers, prior to selling these items, to make clear and conspicuous disclosures, in writing and orally, of all fees that consumers could incur in association with the sale of these covered items.
"The required disclosures would extend to the purchase price, the melt value of the covered items, and the reasonable resale price of the covered items to other dealers.

"Many of us have seen at least one of the television advertisements placed by Goldline International and other dealers that tell consumers to strongly consider purchasing precious coins in order to preserve, or protect, the value of consumers' investments in precious metals.

"One of the risks that these advertisements and commercials cite repeatedly and consistently is that the U.S. government could potentially confiscate gold bullion.  This is just one example, but I think it is one to which many of you can relate.

"These advertisements, and the reported sales practices of these dealers, concerned  Congressman Weiner and me enough that we sent a letter to Goldline asking that company to respond to a number of questions.  Today, the CEO of Goldline is with us as one of our six witnesses.

"In our letter, we asked Goldline to reveal more to us about:

• the company's sales staff training;
• its sales staff compensation, commission, and incentive structures;
• the average differential in value between the sales prices of gold bullion, gold coins, and how much Goldline would pay to purchase those items back from consumers.

"We also asked Goldline to tell us the following:

• whether it encourages its sales staff, through training or in sales discussions, to refer to government confiscation of gold when they speak to consumers;
• whether sales staff receives different  commission percentages for selling bullion than for selling collectible coins and what is that difference; and
• finally, we asked Goldline to tell us whether Goldline is required to be licensed or is qualified, in any jurisdiction, to act as an investment adviser.

"Please send my thanks, Mr. Carter, to your President and CEO for promptly getting back to us in a letter—a gold-embossed letter I might add—that was dated August 12, 2010. 

"That letter was useful to me and my staff as it better defined some of the terms and words that Goldline uses in its existing disclosures to consumers.

"I would like to request unanimous consent for the entry of both letters, mine and Mr. Weiner's letter to Goldline and Goldline's response, into the hearing record.  I would also like to take this opportunity to request unanimous consent for the entry of four more documents into the hearing record:

(i) A letter addressed to me from the National Consumers League, dated September 21, 2010, supporting H.R. 6149.
(ii)    A Statement for the Record on behalf of The Industry Council for Tangible Assets, dated today, September 23, 2010.
(iii) A letter from the Professional Numismatists Guild, dated September 20, 2010; and
(iv) A letter from the American Numismatic Association, dated September 21, 2010, addressed to myself and Ranking Member Whitfield.

"I am very thankful to all of the witnesses who have agreed to share their valuable time with us in the interests of examining this bill and making it better.

"With that, I yield back the balance of my time."

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