[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 76 (Monday, May 18, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H5686-H5688]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               FRAUD ENFORCEMENT AND RECOVERY ACT OF 2009

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
concur in the Senate amendment to the House amendments to the Senate 
bill (S. 386) to improve enforcement of mortgage fraud, securities 
fraud, financial institution fraud, and other frauds related to federal 
assistance and relief programs, for the recovery of funds lost to these 
frauds, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
  The text of the Senate amendment to the House amendments is as 
follows:

       Senate amendment to House amendments:
       On page 31, line 13, after ``the Commission'' insert: ``, 
     including an affirmative vote of at least one member 
     appointed under subparagraph (C) or (D) of subsection 
     (b)(1)''
       Resolved further, That the Senate agree to the amendment of 
     the House of Representatives to the title of the aforesaid 
     bill.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Scott) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, the bill, S. 386, the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery 
Act of 2009, is a bill crafted to combat the financial fraud that 
contributed to causing, and worsening, our Nation's mortgage crisis, as 
well as other financial schemes such as securities fraud, ID theft, and 
organized retail theft. Not only does the bill clarify certain Criminal 
Code sections, but more importantly, it provides resources to law 
enforcement agencies to enforce present antifraud statutes.
  This is essentially the same bill the House passed 2 weeks ago, with 
a minor amendment that the Senate added before it approved the House-
amended bill last week, by unanimous consent.
  It also keeps the independent bipartisan commission proposed by the 
gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson) to examine more broadly the 
circumstances giving rise to the current financial crisis.
  The Senate has clarified the subpoena power of the commission to 
specify that at least one Republican-appointed commissioner must 
approve the issuance of any subpoena.
  I would like to thank, once again, the chairman of the full Judiciary 
Committee, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers); the ranking 
member of the full committee, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith); the 
ranking member of the Crime Subcommittee, Mr. Gohmert; and other 
Members of the committee, such as the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) as 
well as the gentlelady from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert), and our colleagues 
in the other body for their help in making this such a strong 
bipartisan bill.
  I urge my colleagues to support the bill and to send it to the 
President.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, S. 386, the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 
improves current criminal and civil fraud statutes to help the Federal 
Government bring predatory lenders and unscrupulous financial 
institutions to justice.
  Judiciary Chairman Conyers and Ranking Member Smith sponsored the 
companion legislation in the House, H.R. 1748, the Fight Fraud Act of 
2009. S. 386, as amended, merges these two important pieces of 
legislation together to provide comprehensive and effective solutions 
to combating mortgage fraud, securities fraud, and other financial 
crimes.
  The House passed this legislation in early May with overwhelming 
bipartisan support.

                              {time}  1515

  The Senate has returned the bill to us with one important change. 
Section

[[Page H5687]]

5 of the bill creates a Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission within the 
legislative branch. This commission is charged with examining the 
causes, both domestic and global, of the current financial and economic 
crisis in the United States and reporting its findings to Congress.
  The bill grants the commission the authority to issue subpoenas, as 
necessary, to conduct its investigation and meet its obligation to 
Congress. A subpoena may be issued only by the agreement of the 
chairperson and vice chairperson or by approval from a majority of the 
commission's members.
  The Senate amendment clarifies that a majority vote must include the 
vote of at least one Member appointed by either the minority leader of 
the House or the minority leader of the Senate.
  This provides additional assurance that the examination undertaken by 
the commission, and in its exercise of subpoena authority, will not be 
politicized. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. POE of Texas. I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Burgess.)
  Mr. BURGESS. I thank the gentleman for yielding. My concern today 
involves just that creation of a financial commission. I spoke on this 
when the bill passed this House earlier this month.
  Madam Speaker, I'm generally not in favor of commissions. I think 
Congress needs to do the work that the people sent us here to do. But 
if we have to create a commission then, please, let us create that 
commission so it is above reproach, so that it does not appear to have 
a political agenda.
  The 9/11 Commission really should be the model that this body uses 
for the creation of this financial commission. After all, the events we 
saw in September of 2008 have been very devastating to this country, 
even as the events of September 2001 were devastating to this country.
  We have not looked back into the causes of this crisis. We have not 
held anyone accountable. Most importantly, since we don't know what 
went wrong, we don't know how to keep it from happening again.
  Congressman Brady from Texas and myself introduced a bill earlier 
this year for just such a commission, H.R. 2111, but it differs 
substantially from the bill under consideration today. The bill we are 
considering again creates a 10-member commission, but composed of 6 
Democrats and 4 Republicans.
  The 9/11 Commission was split 50-50. So why would we unbalance this 
commission and, quite frankly, if there's guilt on one side, there's 
guilt on the other. And why would we tip the scale in one direction or 
the other?
  S. 386 allows the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee to select 
a commissioner. The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee may have 
been part of the problem.
  This bill allows the chairman of the House Financial Services 
Committee to appoint a representative to the commission. The chairman 
of the House Financial Services Committee may have been part of the 
problem.
  S. 386 creates an accountability commission focused on protecting not 
the people, but the government. H.R. 2111, however, creates an 
accountability commission focused on protecting taxpayers and restoring 
public confidence, something that is missing at this critical juncture.
  This commission that we are authorizing today is little more than a 
fig leaf to provide some measure of congressional cover. And, Madam 
Speaker, when do we get the report? December of 2010. Conveniently 
timed a month after the next election. If we are so serious about doing 
this, what is to prevent us from wrapping this work up within a year's 
time, or September of 2010 at the latest, so that the American people 
would have this information before they go to the polls next fall?
  Now, I just want to close by quoting a few lines from Investors 
Business Daily, an article entitled: ``Probe Yourselves, from April 16, 
2009.'' The article says: ``Regulators also deserve blame for lowering 
lending standards that then contributed to riskier home ownership and 
the housing bubble.'' Exactly correct.
  Continuing to quote: ``As such, the proposed commission will be 
little more than a fig leaf to cover Congress' own multitude of sins.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. POE of Texas. I yield the gentleman 1 additional minute.
  Mr. BURGESS. I thank the gentleman. ``Letting Members, the true 
creators of this financial mess, to bash business leaders as they pose 
as populist saviors of Main Street from Wall Street.''
  Continuing to quote: ``On NPR Thursday,'' back in April, ``a reporter 
confronted Representative Frank, the chairman of the Financial Services 
Committee, with the fact that his $300 billion Hope for Homeowners 
program passed with much fanfare a year ago that has so far helped one 
homeowner.'' One. One homeowner. And the response was: ``It was the 
fault of the right. And Bush.''
  Quoting again: ``Truth is, the chairman's party has been in charge 
since 2006. And during that time, Democrats have presided over one of 
the most disgraceful and least accomplished Congresses in history. This 
financial mess began on their watch, yet they pretend otherwise.''
  Further quoting from the Investors Business Daily, the commission 
that is outlined ``won't get to the bottom of our financial crisis; it 
will carefully select scapegoats to be ritually shamed by the liberal 
media, stripped of their wealth, and exiled. Then new rules will be 
imposed that will no doubt make things worse. And the cycle will begin 
again.''
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has again expired.
  Mr. POE of Texas. I yield the gentleman an additional 2 minutes.
  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, quoting again: ``Wall Street didn't 
create this subprime mess. Congress, through repeated interventions in 
healthy markets, did. And when the whole thing failed, it was Congress' 
fault.''
  Investors Business Daily concludes by saying: ``We'd be happy to 
support a 9/11-style commission to look into the causes of the 
financial meltdown. But only if Congress agrees to put itself under the 
microscope. Anything less would be a sham.''
  Madam Speaker, they're exactly correct. It will be a sham. The 
American people will see through this. We should do this correctly. If 
we're going to have a commission, it should be a 50-50 bipartisan 
split.
  Let's investigate. Let's figure out what went wrong. Most 
importantly, rather than just assigning blame, let us create an 
environment where this never is able to happen again.
  Mr. POE of Texas. I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, the bill as it's before us 
passed the Senate by unanimous consent. I urge my colleagues to concur 
in the Senate amendment, thereby passing the bill so it can go to the 
President so that resources can be made available to law enforcement 
and those who are guilty of fraudulent schemes can be held accountable. 
I would urge us to pass the bill.
  Mr. DINGELL. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 386, the 
Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act. This legislation provides the 
Department of Justice with the tools it needs to fight fraud in the use 
of funds under TARP and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. S. 
386 has a number of provisions that seek to protect Americans by 
ensuring the agencies tasked with investigating and prosecuting 
mortgage and financial fraud have the funding and personnel they need 
to do so. I am also pleased the House recognizes the need for increased 
accountability for mortgage lending businesses not directly regulated 
or insured by the Federal Government, an industry responsible for 
nearly half the residential mortgage market before the housing crash.
  I am more hesitant to support other provisions of S. 386. This bill 
includes an amendment to establish a special commission to investigate 
the causes of the current financial crisis. I believe that any such 
commission should be comprised of members of this body, who are 
furthermore from the committees of jurisdiction relevant to the matter. 
I have introduced a resolution, H. Res. 345, to do precisely that. It 
is my long-held belief that the Congress should, contrary to the 
prevailing fashion of the times, conduct, its own oversight work. For 
the simple fact that members of this body will ultimately write the 
legislation to re-impose a strict regulatory framework

[[Page H5688]]

upon the financial services industry, they should be personally 
involved in vigorous efforts to expose the many and sundry causes of 
this country's recent economic collapse. In brief, well-informed 
members of Congress write more effective legislation.
  With this in mind, I voice my support for aggressive oversight of the 
financial services industry, but respectfully object to the manner in 
which S. 386, as amended, mandates it be performed.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) that the House suspend the rules 
and concur in the Senate amendment to the House amendments to the 
Senate bill, S. 386.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

                          ____________________