[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 33 (Wednesday, February 25, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S2484]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. SNOWE (for herself and Mr. Whitehouse):
  S. 481. 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 a bill with Senator 
Whitehouse to extend the reach of the Federal Bureau of Investigation 
into financial crimes that may have helped precipitate last year's 
economic meltdown.
  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 11 attacks, the FBI redirected 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 11 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 2008-2009.
  In order to augment FBI investigations of financial crimes, the FBI 
Priorities Act of 2009 authorizes $150 million for each of the fiscal 
years 2010 through 2014 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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