[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 13 (Thursday, February 10, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 10, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                           RTC FOOT-DRAGGING

  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, last month, I joined with my distinguished 
colleague from New York, Senator D'Amato, in asking both Attorney 
General Reno and the interim chief executive officer of the Resolution 
Trust Corporation, Roger Altman, to enter into agreements tolling the 
civil statute of limitations with respect to Madison Guaranty Savings & 
Loan. We have already taken action on this bill, so maybe that will not 
be necessary if it is left in the conference report.
  As Senator D'Amato has explained, the RTC has a 5-year period in 
which to bring a civil suit for fraud, starting from the date it 
becomes the conservator or receiver of a failed institution. Since 
Madison Guaranty was taken over by Federal regulators in February 1989, 
it appears that the statute of limitations will expire later this 
month. Once the statute expires, the RTC--and the American people--are 
out of luck.

  Unfortunately, Mr. Altman's response to our request was evasive at 
best. According to Mr. Altman:

       The RTC will vigorously pursue all appropriate remedies 
     using standard procedures in such cases, which could include 
     seeking agreements to toll the statute of limitations.

  Notice the choice of words: It is not ``would'' seek these tolling 
agreements. It is ``could'' seek the agreements. Nothing firm. No 
commitments.
  Mr. Altman's unwillingness to state unequivocally that the RTC will 
enter into tolling agreements waiving the civil statute of limitations 
cannot be explained by saying that the RTC needs more time to 
investigate Madison. The RTC took over Madison in 1989, nearly 5 years 
ago. In fact, the RTC knows enough about Madison that it made a 
criminal referral to the Justice Department as early as October 1992.
  Yesterday, the Senate tried to sidestep Mr. Altman's stonewall by 
passing legislation extending the limitations period. While this 
extension may help remove some of the legal obstacles to a full 
investigation of Madison, it does not resolve the political problem 
created by Mr. Altman's evasiveness. I do not know his reason for not 
being more forthcoming, but I am glad the Senate has taken this action.

  In addition to his responsibilities at the RTC, Mr. Altman is also 
the Deputy Secretary of Treasury, the No. 2 person in the Treasury 
Department and a political appointee. While the Senate has confirmed 
Mr. Altman for the Treasury post, he has not received Senate 
confirmation for the top job at the RTC. In fact, Mr. Altman has not 
been officially nominated, even though he has held the RTC post for 
almost a full year.
  Mr. Altman's tenure at the RTC was lengthened last December when 
Stanley Tate, who had been nominated to head the RTC, withdrew his name 
from consideration. In explaining his withdrawal, Mr. Tate claimed that 
he had discovered examples of RTC mismanagement, but had been told by 
Senior Treasury officials that ``if I revealed too much, or put people 
in high places on the defensive, I had better be prepared for a barrage 
of new allegations and accusations about me and even about my family. I 
was further advised that these accusations would be made up, even 
outright lies.''
  Now, Mr. President, I do not know whether Mr. Tate's charges are in 
fact true. But I do know that the RTC should act with independence, 
insulated from the rough-and-tumble of politics. With a multibillion-
dollar budget and with its law enforcement responsibilities, this 
insulation is critical. And that is why the Senate confirmation process 
is critical too--to ask the tough questions and to get assurances from 
the nominee that political considerations will take a back seat in his 
or her decisionmaking.

  Unfortunately, Mr. Altman has given none of these assurances. And, in 
fact, it is fair to speculate that politics may be the driving force 
behind his statute-of-limitations stonewall.
  Mr. Altman is a longtime friend of the President, a former classmate 
of the President at Georgetown University, and a significant fundraiser 
during the 1992 campaign.
  Whether Mr. Altman can separate his personal friendship with the 
President from his RTC responsibilities is still an open question. But 
what is not an open question is that Mr. Altman should step aside and 
let someone else do the RTC job, if he is unwilling to do the job 
himself. And I do not see why he ought to be permitted to do so, why we 
should wait a full year--I can see why we wait a full year. It seems to 
me it ought to be filled.
  And if Mr. Altman wants to keep the RTC position, he should now 
recuse himself from any matter related to the Whitewater/Madison 
guaranty affair.
  Mr. President, I have one final comment: According to a story 
appearing in yesterdays' Washington Times, the shredding machines are 
working overtime down in Little Rock. the Washington Times states that 
employees of the Rose law firm--the former law firm of the First Lady, 
associate attorney general Webster Hubbell, and the late Vince Foster--
have admitted shredding--that is right, shredding--documents relating 
to the Whitewater matter. If this shocking story is true, and it has 
been denied by the Rose law firm, we have gone beyond simple 
bureaucratic foot-dragging and moved into the realm of obstruction of 
justice.
  I am pleased that independent counsel Robert Fiske has publicly 
stated that he will investigate the alleged shredding incident. It is 
my hope Mr. Fiske will act promptly and take whatever legal steps may 
be necessary to ensure that the integrity of the Whitewater documents 
are not compromised.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.

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