[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 186 (Thursday, December 6, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2514]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INCLUDING ALL BANKING AGENCIES WITHIN THE EXISTING REGULATORY AUTHORITY 
                 UNDER THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ACT

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                          HON. JOHN D. DINGELL

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 6, 2007

  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this 
legislation, and am proud to join my colleague, the gentleman from 
Massachusetts and Chairman of the Committee on Financial Services, Rep. 
Frank, in sponsoring this bill. It represents an important first step 
in improving the protection of consumers of depository institutions. 
H.R. 3526 was referred to both of our Committees (Energy and Commerce 
has Rule X jurisdiction over consumer protection and consumer affairs) 
and reported unanimously by both. I urge its adoption by the House.
  The Supreme Court's ruling earlier this year in Watters v. Wachovia 
Bank N.A. upheld a regulation by the Department of Treasury's Office of 
the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) that permits operating 
subsidiaries of national banks to violate State laws with impunity. The 
Court ruled that the bank's operating subsidiary is subject to OCC 
superintendence, even if there effectively is none, and not the 
licensing, reporting, and visitorial regimes of the States in which the 
subsidiary operates. The practical effect of the OCC's far-reaching 
preemption authority as interpreted and blessed by the courts is that 
it prevents States from using their historical authority to protect 
consumers and communities in large parts of the financial services 
marketplace, a huge consumer protection gap that evildoers have 
exploited and the Federal banking regulators have not shown an 
inclination or an ability to fill.
  As explained more fully in our respective Committee reports, banks 
are covered by the Federal Trade Commission Act's prohibition against 
``unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce,'' but 
the rule writer for them is not the Federal Trade Commission, the 
expert agency who implements and enforces this provision across the 
vast majority of the U.S. economy, but rather the Board of Governors of 
the Federal Reserve. It has done very little. Given the tide of 
complaints about abusive practices with respect to loans, credit cards, 
checking accounts, and other products, this is clearly unacceptable. 
H.R. 3526 therefore includes all Federal baking regulators, and not 
just the Federal Reserve, within the existing mandate under Section 
18(f) of the FTC Act to adopt rules identifying and prohibiting unfair 
or deceptive acts or practices by depository institutions.
  The Committee on Energy and Commerce was pleased to adopt 
improvements to this legislation. We amended it to require the banking 
regulators to consult with the FTC when promulgating any such rules, to 
allow the FTC to use the notice and comment procedures of the 
Administrative Procedure Act in concurrent rulemakings with the bank 
regulators, and to require GAO to report on the status of bank rules 
under these authorities.
  I want to assure Members that the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
and its Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection intend 
to engage in vigorous oversight, in consultation with the Committee on 
Financial Services, to make sure that this authority is aggressively 
used. The public will greatly benefit from it.

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