Hon. John J. Lafalce

 

Hon.John J. LaFalce concluded 32 years of elected public service in January 2003, having served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives since 1975 and previously serving as a New York State Senator and a New York State Assemblyman.

In addition to an eight-year tenure as Chairman of the House Small Business Committee, he was elected in 1998 as Ranking Member of the Banking and Financial Services Committee.  An advocate of financial services modernization, LaFalce was Chairman of the Task Force on The International Competitiveness of U.S. Financial Institutions.

He crafted legislation that led to enactment of the Financial Services Act of 1999, referred to by The New York Times as “landmark legislation…  the pre-eminent legislative accomplishment of the year.”  Congress Daily called him the Administration’s “point man on financial issues.”

In March 2001, he introduced a series of bills to expand the protections in the then-current law for consumers of financial services.  The legislation was authored to help consumers confront unfair and deceptive practices in connection with daily financial decisions in areas such as using credit cards, obtaining a mortgage, leasing a car, and writing checks.

Recognizing his consumer financial advocacy, the Consumer Federation of America indicated, “No one in Congress has fought harder for everyday consumers and investors than John LaFalce.  He combines a bedrock commitment to consumer protection with a savvy awareness of how to move important legislation through Congress in the face of special interest opposition.”

LaFalce was honored throughout his career for his leadership on international financial, trade, and development issues.  At the end of the 1980s, he worked closely with Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady to devise and implement a regime for debt restructuring, eventually known as the “Brady Plan,” a plan based in large part on an essay LaFalce wrote for the “Journal on the International Economy.”

Other policy areas in which he had leading roles and/or introduced legislation during his years as a Congressman were the environment, trade and competitiveness, Canadian-American relations, corporate accountability, and terrorism response.

Among his awards, he was a recipient of the American Economic Leadership Council’s first Legislative Leadership Award for his work in promoting jobs and the economy, and the Congressional Award from the Small Business Council of America.

LaFalce currently serves on a variety of boards and advisory boards, he is a Distinguished University Professor at Canisius College, and he is a Distinguished University Fellow at Niagara University.