[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 176 (Wednesday, November 19, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S10663]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. SNOWE (for herself and Mr. Whitehouse):
  S. 3704. A bill to authorize additional Federal Bureau of 
Investigation field agents to investigate financial crimes; to the 
Committee on the Judiciary.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise to introduce legislation with 
Senator WHITEHOUSE to extend the reach of the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation into financial crimes that may have helped precipitate 
the economic meltdown of the past several months.
  We must investigate and scrutinize this financial crisis as we would 
a terrorist attack in order to determine its causes and how to preempt 
another economic collapse in the United States.
  Following the September 11th attacks, the FBI re-directed 
approximately 1,000 agents to counterterrorism and counterintelligence 
activities. Without a doubt, there is no argument that our country has 
benefitted from the dedicated efforts of the men and women of the FBI 
who are performing this valuable work.
  Over a 10-year period, from fiscal year 1999 to fiscal year 2008, 
Congress has increased direct appropriations for the FBI from $2.993 
billion and 26,693 positions to $6.658 billion, 122 percent increase, 
and 30,211 positions, 13 percent increase. Most of these new resources 
were provided in the wake of the September llth terrorist attacks, as 
the FBI redirected its resources toward combating domestic and 
international terrorism by improving its intelligence gathering and 
processing capabilities. As a consequence, for fiscal year 2008, about 
60 percent of FBI funding and staffing is allocated to national 
security programs, including counterterrorism and counterintelligence.
  In view of the breadth and severity of the economic crisis brought on 
by events in U.S. financial markets, however, I am very concerned that 
criminal wrongdoing may have played a significant role in crippling 
some of America's largest companies. Criminal activity, such as fraud, 
misrepresentation, self-dealing, and insider trading may have 
instigated or exacerbated the financial industry upheaval of 2008.
  In order to augment FBI investigations of financial crimes, the FBI 
Priorities Act of 2008 authorizes $150 million for each of the fiscal 
years 2009 through 2013 to fund approximately 1,000 Federal Bureau of 
Investigation field agents in addition to the number of field agents 
serving on the date of enactment. It is my hope that this extra 
manpower will enable the FBI to develop leads on unlawful actions, dig 
deeply into those leads, and bring responsible parties to justice. The 
American public deserves no less.
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