[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.
____________________