[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 100 (Wednesday, June 30, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H5212-H5222]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
WAIVING REQUIREMENT OF CLAUSE 6(a) OF RULE XIII WITH RESPECT TO
CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN RESOLUTIONS
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I
call up House Resolution 1487 and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
H. Res. 1487
Resolved, That the requirement of clause 6(a) of rule XIII
for a two-thirds vote to consider a report from the Committee
on Rules on the same day it is presented to the House is
waived with respect to any resolution reported through the
legislative day of July 3, 2010, providing for consideration
or disposition of any of the following:
(1) A conference report to accompany the bill (H.R. 4173)
to provide for financial regulatory reform, to protect
consumers and investors, to enhance Federal understanding of
insurance issues, to regulate the over-the-counter
derivatives markets, and for other purposes.
(2) A measure that includes a subject matter addressed by
H.R. 4213 or any amendment pertaining thereto.
Sec. 2. It shall be in order at any time through the
legislative day of July 3, 2010, for the Speaker to entertain
motions that the House suspend the rules. The Speaker or her
designee shall consult with the Minority Leader or his
designee on the designation of any matter for consideration
pursuant to this section.
Sec. 3. It shall be in order without intervention of any
point of order to consider concurrent resolutions providing
for adjournment during the month of July.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Massachusetts is
recognized for 1 hour.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, for the purposes of debate only, I yield
the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sessions).
All time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only.
General Leave
Mr. McGOVERN. I also ask unanimous consent that all Members be given
5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on House
Resolution 1487.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Massachusetts?
There was no objection.
Mr. McGOVERN. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 1487 provides for consideration of a rule that
allows for the same-day consideration of a conference report to
accompany H.R. 4173 and a measure that includes the subject matter
addressed by H.R. 4213. Additionally, this rule allows for legislation
to be considered under suspension of the rules through July 3, 2010,
and allows for the consideration of concurrent resolutions providing
for adjournment during the month of July.
Mr. Speaker, this is a simple and straightforward rule. It allows the
rules for the Wall Street reform conference report in either the tax
extenders jobs bill or subject matters related to the jobs bill, such
as unemployment insurance, to be considered on the same legislative day
that they report it out of the Rules Committee. This is an important
step that must be taken if we are to pass these bills before the Senate
adjourns for the funeral of Senator Byrd.
This bill allows for clear actions, up-or-down votes on the
conference report to prevent Wall Street from melting down like it did
2 years ago and a bill to provide unemployment compensation to people
who have lost their jobs who cannot find work in this economy.
{time} 1140
Mr. Speaker, these are clear-cut choices. Either you support fixing
Wall Street or you don't. Do you believe unemployed Americans looking
for work should receive unemployment benefits to help them pay for
their mortgages,
[[Page H5213]]
utilities, and food for their families or do you not?
So far my Republican friends have been on the wrong side of these
issues. I can only hope that they change their minds and decide to put
everyday Americans first instead of continuing to play politics with
these issues.
I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the rule, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from
Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) for yielding me time, and I yield myself
such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the rule we are discussing today allows for martial law
authority for any bill pertaining to the extenders package as well as
what is called the Dodd-Frank bill, which is a 2,300-page government
takeover of the financial sector.
Mr. Speaker, this is as much about saving the financial industry as
the health care bill was about health care, and it's as much about jobs
as the jobs bill supposedly was. It was about the diminishment of jobs,
and this is about the diminishment of the financial sector of this
country.
Additionally, this rule gives suspension authority through the end of
the week for the fifth straight legislative week. Mr. Speaker, it seems
like every time I come to the House floor that I point out that my
Democratic colleagues are using an unprecedented restrictive and closed
process. I think the American people want and need transparency,
accountability, and solutions.
I remember just a few short years ago when our Speaker said that she
would run a House that was the most honest, open, and ethical Congress.
I have yet to see evidence of that these last few years. As a matter of
fact, week after week after week I see closed rules, unprecedented
shenanigans related to bringing legislation to the floor, and a closed
process. I know where it is. Democrats left it out on the campaign
trail. It was an empty promise when they made it, and the emptiness of
this promise has been fulfilled the past few years by an unprecedented
amount of restrictive rules.
Since this Congress has managed to rack up a record $1.4 trillion
deficit since 2009, more than three times the size of the deficit in
2008, and are on target to once again hit a $1.3 trillion deficit again
this year, my Republican colleagues and I are going to use this time to
talk about excessive borrowing, excessive spending, and excessive
taxation that seems to be the Democrat majority's agenda.
Mr. Speaker, in an effort to address some of this wasteful government
spending that's happening here in Washington, Republicans created
something called YouCut. This is an online voting tool for Americans to
vote on what wasteful government spending programs they would review,
and they can make the decision on what to eliminate.
Today, I have the opportunity to call for a vote on the previous
question for this week's YouCut winner, which, of course, I am proud to
cosponsor. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have voted this week
alone.
Mr. Speaker, I believe the American people are looking for people who
can come to Washington, D.C., to make tough choices, and this Democrat
majority is not even bringing a budget to the floor of the House of
Representatives for the 2011 budget.
Mr. Speaker, I've worked in business, small business, been around
lots of people who, every single organization I've ever been a part of,
started their year with a budget. I'm shocked and dismayed that this
Democrat majority will not bring a budget to the floor, so Republicans
will spend their time talking about how we believe we can better the
circumstance we're in, talking about YouCut and the American people
being engaged in helping to move this country forward.
Mr. Speaker, I encourage all my colleagues to eliminate this wasteful
spending by voting against the rule and previous question.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, my Republican friends have consistently
been against reining in the excesses of Wall Street. I'm not shocked
that they have that view because they've always had that view. I am
dismayed.
But the American people want us to pass a regulatory reform bill.
They also want us to extend unemployment benefits to those who are out
of work. Unfortunately, my Republican colleagues have been blocking
that. So that's what this rule does, allows us to actually do
something, and do many things, quite frankly, that the American people
want us to do.
I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).
Mr. DOGGETT. As one who has repeatedly and vigorously opposed all
bank bailouts, whichever President proposed them, I view this bill as
modest but very important progress. I'm voting ``yes'' because I stand
with working families against big banks, for transparency in the
financial markets, with small businesses and family farmers and
ranchers for tougher Wall Street oversight, and for progress toward
preventing future bank bailouts.
The AARP said, this bill offers ``new tools to combat investment
scams targeted at older adults'' and will hold ``scam artists
accountable.'' The Consumer Federation of America says these reforms
will ``improve the marketplace for consumers and investors.''
If you're mugged on the street, you could lose your wallet. But if
you're mugged by Wall Street, as too many Americans have been, you can
lose a lifetime of savings.
This bill arms families with more ways to protect themselves with the
information that they need for informed financial decisions. It
addresses protections for questionable, often outrageous, financial
industry practices, preventing onerous hidden fees that have plagued
credit card holders and borrowers, and it creates a new hotline to
report misconduct.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will offer help against
unscrupulous mortgage promoters, foreclosure scam operators, and payday
and student lenders.
This bill should have done more, much more about those Wall Street
interests that are paid too much, taxed too little, and whose immense
power continues to threaten our economic stability. But with stubborn
opposition from Republicans, both here and especially over in the
Senate, as well as rejection of some reform by the Treasury Department,
we lack the more complete reforms, but we are making significant
strides forward in offering consumer protection that Americans really
deserve.
Restoring discipline, supervision, accountability, and transparency
will only be opposed by those who unfairly profit at the expense of
working and retired Americans. Whether it's savings for a soon-to-be
college student, or an investment in a home or a retirement nest egg,
this bill will provide greater security and peace of mind. Let us adopt
it promptly.
{time} 1150
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the Republican whip,
the gentleman from Virginia, the favorite son (Mr. Cantor).
Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, today I rise in opposition to this question of the
previous question because today we should be voting and will be voting
on the sixth YouCut proposal. And well over 1 million Americans have
sent a clear message to Washington: Stop the wasteful spending.
I say, Mr. Speaker, to the American people, Republicans hear you. And
today I hope that our colleagues on the other side of the aisle will
listen as well and join us. This week's YouCut proposal addresses one
of the most egregious yet underreported sources of government waste.
Taxpayers are on the hook for the salaries and benefits of Federal
workers who simultaneously work for their public employee unions to the
tune of $120 million per year. By the way, these are the same unions
that spend millions on political activities and lobbying, often for
causes that hamper economic growth and private-sector job creation.
Specifically, Mr. Speaker, the National Labor Relations Board union
billed the taxpayers for an average of 12.18 hours for each of its
1,104 employees. Since each hour costs $42, taxpayers are paying each
worker $700 per year on official union duties.
America is at a crossroads. We are not under any illusions. This cut
alone may not erase the deficit overnight. But this cut is a reflection
of the symptom of the virus that has put our country's economy on life
support. Only by
[[Page H5214]]
finally drawing a firm line on wasteful spending can we begin to kill
the virus and preserve American prosperity for generations to come.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I find it interesting that the previous
speaker didn't talk about the Wall Street regulatory reform bill that
my friends on the Republican side of the aisle have been trying to
block.
The minority leader in a recent interview said that the bill that we
are bringing forth in Congress, this is killing an ant with a nuclear
weapon. I find it disturbing that anyone would characterize this
financial crisis that was brought on by Wall Street as an ant. I mean
it impacted millions and millions of our citizens.
I will ask to put this interview that appeared in the Pittsburgh
Tribune-Review in the Record.
In that same interview, and I think it's important for my colleagues
to know, the minority leader talked about his belief that we should
raise the retirement age for Social Security to 70. Clearly, we need to
talk about how we keep Social Security solvent. But he then went
further to say that we should take that money and not put it into
Social Security but pay for the war. So our senior citizens should pay
for this war, the rest of us don't, but the burden once again falls on
our senior citizens.
We know what they're about. We know what their beliefs are. And given
an opportunity to take back control of the House, we know that they
will try to undo Wall Street regulatory reform and try to undercut
Social Security.
Mr. Speaker, I would appreciate it if I were not interrupted while I
am speaking. And we know what they believe. And it is in this interview
which we will put in the Record.
[From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 29, 2010]
Obama's Good for GOP, Boehner Says
(By Mike Wereschagin and Salena Zito)
House Republican Leader John Boehner, the Ohio Republican
with his eye on Speaker Nancy Pelosi's gavel, said the tide
is turning the GOP's way.
``The American people have written off the Democrats,''
Boehner said Monday in an interview with Tribune-Review
editors and reporters. ``They're willing to look at us
again.''
Boehner stopped short of predicting Republicans would gain
the 39 seats they need to retake control of Congress, but he
said a backlash against President Obama's policies has
energized Republican voters more than Democrats. Boehner said
voters are angry at a government they believe is overreaching
and indifferent.
University of Virginia political scientist Isaac Wood said
excitement among tea party protesters might not carry over to
the electorate as a whole.
``While the enthusiasm of tea party types may drive them to
the polls and boost Republicans, it does not yet seem that
huge waves of new voters will be flocking to the polls,''
Wood said.
Boehner said the protests are emblematic of deep voter
anger against Washington's leaders.
``They're snuffing out the America that I grew up in,''
Boehner said. ``Right now, we've got more Americans engaged
in their government than at any time in our history. There's
a political rebellion brewing, and I don't think we've seen
anything like it since 1776.''
The health care law passed in March ``pushed most Americans
over the edge,'' Boehner said.
If Republicans retake control of the House, Boehner
promised a vote on a bill repealing the health care law and
replacing it with a scaled-down package of tax breaks and
court reforms. Democrats likely would maintain control of the
Senate, and Obama could veto the proposal, all but
eliminating its chances of succeeding.
``We are going to do everything we can to make sure that
this law and this program never really takes effect,''
Boehner said. One option would be to repeal the $534 billion
in Medicare cuts, which pay for more than half of the law's
provisions. ``They're going to need money from the Congress
to hire these 20,000-plus bureaucrats they need to hire to
make this program work. They're not going to get one dime
from us.''
Boehner criticized the financial regulatory overhaul
compromise reached last week between House and Senate
negotiators as an overreaction to the financial crisis that
triggered the recession. The bill would tighten restrictions
on lending, create a consumer protection agency with broad
oversight power and give the government an orderly way to
dissolve the largest financial institutions if they run out
of money.
``This is killing an ant with a nuclear weapon,'' Boehner
said. What's most needed is more transparency and better
enforcement by regulators, he said.
Allan H. Meltzer, a political economy professor at Carnegie
Mellon University, said the financial bill ``does nothing to
restore integrity to the mortgage market by correcting Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac, and the bill does not eliminate `too big
to fail.' ''
Boehner said Obama overreacted to the BP oil spill in the
Gulf of Mexico. The spill might warrant a ``pause'' in
deepwater drilling, but Obama's blanket ban on drilling in
the gulf--which a judge overturned last week--could devastate
the region's economy, he said. Louisiana State University
scientists estimate the ban could have affected more than
10,000 jobs.
Boehner had praise, however, for Obama's troop surge in
Afghanistan and stepped-up drone attacks in Pakistan. He
declined to list any benchmarks he has for measuring progress
in the nine-year war, at a time of increasing violence and
Obama's replacement of Gen. Stanley McChrystal with Gen.
David Petraeus.
Ensuring there's enough money to pay for the war will
require reforming the country's entitlement system, Boehner
said. He said he'd favor increasing the Social Security
retirement age to 70 for people who have at least 20 years
until retirement, tying cost-of-living increases to the
consumer price index rather than wage inflation and limiting
payments to those who need them.
``We need to look at the American people and explain to
them that we're broke,'' Boehner said. ``If you have
substantial non-Social Security income while you're retired,
why are we paying you at a time when we're broke? We just
need to be honest with people.''
At this point I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms.
Castor).
Ms. CASTOR of Florida. I thank Congressman McGovern from the Rules
Committee for yielding time.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of reforming Wall Street and
this rule. Under this new Wall Street reform, consumers and middle
class families win, and the big banks on Wall Street lose. The Wall
Street reform bill is the toughest regulation of Wall Street in
generations. And it comes after years of recklessness that led to the
financial meltdown and the worst recession in our life times. That
economy was built on a house of cards.
Wall Street reform will provide a new foundation for our economy to
go, one that inspires confidence and will spur new jobs. Under the new
law, consumers and middle class families will benefit from a new
consumer financial protection agency, a new independent watchdog that
will be on the side of American families and consumers, because there
always seems to be hidden charges and fees when you are applying for a
credit card or a mortgage or some transaction. The new consumer agency
will root out the deceptive practices. Its mission will be to protect
homeowners and small businesses rather than the big banks on Wall
Street.
We will have new cops on the beat on Wall Street, new enforcement,
transparency, and oversight. The reform measure rightfully outlaws
future bank bailouts by taxpayers. I voted against the Wall Street
bailout, known as TARP, because it focused entirely on Wall Street
rather than middle class families, and it did not include safeguards on
executive pay, bonuses, and transparency.
The Wall Street reform bill that we will pass today now levels the
playing field despite the opposition from the big banks and my
colleagues on the other side of the aisle. The reform bill is also
designed to protect consumers from predatory lending.
I strongly agree with the new requirements for mortgage lenders that
they must ensure that a person has an ability to repay a loan rather
than what happened in the subprime market, where they peddled the
loans, flipped them, and then pocketed the cash and left us all with
the mess.
So thank you, Chairman Frank, and all of my colleagues on the
Financial Services Committee. This is a great day in Washington and all
across America because consumers and middle class families win.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, to balance out this argument just a little
bit, I know we have those that want to characterize what Republicans
stand for, but I would like to also address the statements that have
been made here on the floor and balance out the attacks against
Republicans.
The gentleman Mr. Hoyer on June 22 said this in regards to what our
leader Mr. Boehner said, and I quote: ``On the spending side, we could
and should consider a higher retirement age, or one pegged to lifespan;
more progressive Social Security and Medicare benefits . . . ''
Mr. Speaker, you know, just the unrelenting liberal attacks on this
country that have diminished this country's
[[Page H5215]]
ability to have a free enterprise system have brought us higher taxes,
incredible debt, and a future that diminishes our ability for our
children and grandchildren.
I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier).
Mr. DREIER. I thank my friend for yielding.
And, Mr. Speaker, I do so because unfortunately the manager on the
other side of the aisle wouldn't yield to me. And I am happy within my
2-minute time frame to yield to him at any time when he would like to
ask me to yield.
Let me just say that the notion of saying that because Mr. Boehner
argued that this bill is itself killing an ant with a nuclear weapon is
designed to say this bill puts into place permanent bailout authority.
Now, the American people are virulently opposed to going down this path
that we already seem to be on of establishing bailout after bailout.
And they know that it's a mistake. And so Mr. Boehner simply was
arguing that while we all want to deal with the issue of regulatory
reform to ensure that what we went through in the last 2 years will not
confront us again, the idea of putting your hand up and saying, we know
what they're all about--there is no one who wants to maintain the
status quo. We all want to take steps to ensure that we don't have to
suffer as we have for the past 2 years. But this bill establishing
permanent bailout authority will in fact undermine our ability to get
this economy back on track, and, as Mr. Bachus pointed out in his
testimony upstairs in the Rules Committee a few minutes ago, will cost
jobs. That's the reason we have great concerns about it.
And on the issue of Social Security, the notion that somehow we are
saying to someone who is on Social Security today that you are going to
end up seeing the age increase to 70 is preposterous. We know full well
that what's going to happen is we are talking about young workers today
in their twenties and thirties who want to make sure that there is
something there for Social Security. If we don't tackle the issue of
entitlements, we won't be able to do what the American people have said
this Congress should be doing, and that is reining in the kind of
spending the likes of which--we have seen an 84 percent increase in
nondefense spending in the last 17 months. We need to make sure we rein
that in. And these kinds of proposals will do just that.
{time} 1200
Mr. SESSIONS. I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, my objection about Mr. Boehner's
statements with regard to Social Security was that he wanted to take
the money from Social Security and pay for the war. Not put it into a
Social Security trust fund, not to shore-up Social Security. That's
what bothers me, is their continued determination to undermine the
Social Security system.
Mr. Boehner said in his interview that we should raise the retirement
age to 70, take their money, and put it towards the war. For 8 years,
they abdicated their responsibility to pay for the war. Now they want
to pay for it on the backs of senior citizens. That's what I object to.
That's what I object to.
And the other thing, Mr. Speaker, is that we hear time and time
again, Well, we all want to deal with the excesses in Wall Street. We
all want to do this; we all want to do that. But when it comes time to
do anything meaningful, they are missing in action.
So this is an opportunity for us to get something done, and I urge my
colleague to support the bill.
At this time I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California
(Ms. Linda T. Sanchez).
Ms. LINDA T. SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on
behalf of taxpayers in California who will no longer be on the hook
when Wall Street fails. This body has spent the last 3 years dealing
with the fallout from the financial crisis. In my district in southern
California, we've seen lost jobs, homes, businesses, and shattered
dreams of financial security.
These challenges were in large part the result of an ineffective, and
in some places, nonexistent regulatory system. This encouraged risk and
allowed financial institutions to operate in a lawless environment
where there were no consequences for their actions.
The legislation that we put forth today seeks to fix those failures
and provide families nationwide with the security of knowing that
future financial challenges will be the result of honest markets, not
crooked traders. Honesty is what this bill is about. We all support a
free market and the ability of each business to succeed or fail on its
own merits. This landmark legislation allows that competition to take
place on a level playing field. It will help prevent another crisis
like the one we're still recovering from.
I'm surprised that there's opposition to this legislation. After what
our country has been through, how can anyone oppose bringing credit
default swaps out into the sunshine? How can anyone oppose allowing
shareholders a say on executive compensation? Or a framework that
prevents future bailouts by allowing companies that deserve to fail
because they're engaging in risky practices to fail?
Families in the 39th District of California will be more secure
because of the action that we are taking today.
I thank our leadership, Chairman Frank, and the conferees for their
hard work and urge my colleagues to pass this legislation.
Mr. SESSIONS. Madam Speaker, at this time I yield 3 minutes to the
gentleman from Marietta, Georgia, Dr. Phil Gingrey.
Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. Madam Speaker, all across the country,
Americans are asking Congress to get our fiscal house in order. This
desire for change and fiscal responsibility can be seen in the 1.1
million votes for House Republican Whip Cantor's YouCut initiatives.
Each vote is a vote to cut spending and to cut that spending now. I can
think of no clearer message to the Democratic leadership who,
unfortunately to date, have kept their earplugs in and they have
refused to listen.
Their solution instead has been more borrowing, more spending, and
more bailouts. Indeed, that's what they recommended at the recent G-8/
G-20 conference in Toronto which was totally rejected by the other
participating nations.
Madam Speaker, this week, week six of the YouCut program, Americans
chose my proposal to address the waste associated with Federal employee
unions. In 2008, the Office of Personnel Management, OPM, reported in a
sample of 61 Federal agencies that approximately three million official
time hours, taxpayer time hours, were used in union activities by
Federal employees for a cost to the taxpayer of $120 million.
Currently, some Federal employees spend up to a hundred percent--
that's right, a hundred percent--of their work day paid by taxpayers
doing work for their unions. My proposal prevents Federal employees
from using taxpayer-funded time to participate in union activities and
would save $1.2 billion over the next 10 years and 30 million hours of
taxpayer time--$1.2 billion and 30 million hours.
So Madam Speaker, every American knows that Congress has a spending
problem. Our national debt is simply unsustainable, and tough choices
need to be made now to get our debt and our budget deficits under
control. I urge you to listen to Americans across the country, to
Republicans on this side of the aisle, and to act now. And this
proposal is a first step.
A worthy second step would be actually passing a budget this year,
because as every American family knows, you can't begin to cut spending
until you actually come up with a budget.
Madam Speaker, the American people are tired of this reckless
spending addiction that has resulted in a record national debt and
record budget deficits. Like every addict knows, the first step to
recovery is admitting that you have a problem.
I urge my Democratic colleagues to take that step and start
addressing the problems by saving taxpayers over $1 billion to date.
Vote to defeat the previous question so we can amend the rule to
include this YouCut provision of fiscal responsibility submitted by the
American people.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, my friend from Georgia's proposal
represents less than one-tenth of 1 percent of what was borrowed to pay
for the Iraq and Afghanistan war. Let's get serious here. And when I
see that poster that says ``YouCut,'' what they don't
[[Page H5216]]
show you is what they're cutting and what they want to cut is Social
Security, and the minority leader made that very clear in his
interview, that they're going to basically take money out of Social
Security to pay for the wars. Our senior citizens who have fought in
wars, who have worked in our factories, who have raised our families
are being told to pay for the wars.
I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee.)
Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, this is a very emotional
time for many Americans as they look at pending unemployment, long
months of addressing the question of how they pay their mortgage, and
reflecting on how we got to this place.
That is why I stand today to support the underlying rule and this
financial accountability complex legislation that has taken many, many
hours and days and weeks for us to come up with a way to say to
America, We heard you.
And so the first point of this bill is that there will be no
taxpayer-paid bailouts. And then for the first time the consumers of
America will have their own personal advocacy. They will have the
Consumer Protection Board that will look at credit card increases and
outlandish interest rates. They will have an oversight board that will
look at how they address the question of banking loans. Small
businesses will be able to access credit. There will be transparency
and accountability. What is there to be opposed to?
Those who happen to be included in minority- and women-owned
businesses will for the first time not be stopped at the door to access
credit.
Then of course we'll be able to have an oversight board that will
forever eliminate the words ``too big to fail.'' Experts who will
continuously look at the infrastructure of this financial system.
We know that capitalism is strong, but it must be a strong system
that has a heart, that can withstand the scrutiny of those who are
seeking to find the weaknesses. We have to stand with the consumer so
that the consumer does not fall victim to the too big to fail who were
willing to take risks because they were padding their pockets.
This is the right decision that is now being made, and this bill will
provide you with the oversight and the protective coverage for the
banking consumer. Support the underlying rule and this bill. Stand with
the American people and make a difference.
{time} 1210
Mr. SESSIONS. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from
Topeka, Kansas, Congresswoman Jenkins.
Ms. JENKINS. Madam Speaker, over the past 6 weeks, more than 1
million Americans have demanded action, and House Republicans have
listened. Unfortunately, the majority in the House has not. While there
are many issues that these people in this body disagree on, there are
some issues that we should all agree on.
We should agree that skyrocketing debt is a priority. We should agree
that we cannot continue spending money that we don't have. We should
agree that it is wrong for taxpayers to pay for the salaries of
employees who answer to unions instead of to the American people, and
we should agree on this very simple bill that says union activities
should be funded by unions.
I urge my colleagues to stand with the American people, to vote to
save $1.2 billion and to end the abuse of taxpayer money.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I hope we all can agree that we
shouldn't be cutting Social Security. I hope the minority leader will
get on the floor and will retract his statement that we should be
cutting Social Security to pay for this war. They have abdicated their
responsibility for 8 years, and now they want the senior citizens of
this country to pay for this war. I think that's wrong.
I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Carson).
Mr. CARSON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, I would like to ask the
gentleman from Massachusetts to engage in a short colloquy.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to confirm that all insurance companies,
specifically mutual insurance holding companies, are included in the
definition of ``insurance company'' that appears in the Resolution
Authority title of the conference report.
Further, I would like to confirm my understanding that, under title
II of the conference report, all insurance companies, specifically
including mutual insurance holding companies, remain subject to
resolution under the existing State insurance insolvency and
liquidation regimes.
Will the chairman confirm my understanding on this point?
I yield to Chairman Frank.
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. I thank the gentleman, and I commend him
for paying attention to a very specific but very important point.
He is absolutely right. We have no intention here of disturbing the
well-run State insurance regime. We respect and honor that form of the
mutual insurance holding company. The gentleman's interpretation is
entirely correct. They will remain subject to resolution under their
existing State insurance liquidity and insolvency regimes.
Mr. SESSIONS. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Nebraska (Mr. Terry).
Mr. TERRY. Madam Speaker, I definitely agree, in part, with some of
this bill in that we need transparency and some accountability,
especially in the exotic instruments, but this bill also grants some
carte blanche power over the financial markets, not just on Wall Street
but on Main Street, too. This bill is going to raise the costs for
small business operators and consumers who will use financial
institutions.
I also find it interesting that part of the discussion here is to
criticize or is to try to suggest that the Republicans want to cut
Social Security. I'm curious as to how the Members who are raising that
issue on the floor today voted on a health care bill that actually took
$500 billion out of Medicare, which our seniors rely on. They voted to
cut $500 billion out of it.
Mr. McGOVERN. If the gentleman wants to know why I think you want to
cut Social Security, I am referring to the article in which the
minority leader is quoted quite extensively on that issue.
I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moore).
Mr. MOORE of Kansas. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the rule to
consider the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Conference Report.
For too many years, Wall Street was not properly regulated. Who paid
for these mistakes? Unfortunately, it was our constituents on Main
Street who paid the price, not Wall Street financial firms.
According to a recent Pew survey, this result directly impacted more
than half of working Americans, pushing far too many into unemployment,
pushing far too many to take pay cuts, reduced hours, part-time jobs,
or delayed retirement plans. So it is not surprising that many
Americans have lost their faith and trust in our financial system.
The Dodd-Frank Act will restore Americans' trust in a well-
functioning financial system. While the bill ends ``too big to fail''
and taxpayer bailouts, it also shields community banks, credit unions,
and small businesses from the necessary regulatory burdens that will be
focused on Wall Street and on others who created the financial crisis.
Most importantly, this new law is fully paid for. Taxpayers will not
have to pick up the tab.
I urge my colleagues to protect consumers, investors and taxpayers by
supporting this conference report.
I will now turn to Chairman Frank for a brief colloquy.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for your extraordinary leadership on this
historic bill.
First, do you agree the conferees did not intend to impose the
regulatory authority of the bureau over the activities of broker-
dealers and investment advisers otherwise subject to regulation by the
SEC and CFTC?
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. If the gentleman would yield to me, I
agree.
As the gentleman knows, our bill does give the SEC the power we
expect them to use to impose greater fiduciary responsibilities on
these people. The consumer protection bureau will be a very powerful
one. It will be dealing with financial products in the lending area and
elsewhere. It was not intended to duplicate existing regulation. So, in
fact, as the gentleman knows, we enhance the regulatory authority of
those entities he mentioned,
[[Page H5217]]
and there is no intention whatsoever, nor is there language, I believe,
that would lead to duplicate supervision by the consumer protection
bureau.
Mr. MOORE of Kansas. I thank the gentleman.
Clarification for the Record: Consumer Bureau vs. SEC/CFTC Powers,
Provided by Rep. Dennis Moore (KS-03), June 30, 2010, H.R. 4173, Dodd-
Frank Conference Report
It was the conference committee's intent to avoid gaps in
oversight, but also to avoid creating duplicative or
competing rulemaking and supervisory authorities, one vested
in the Consumer Bureau and the other in the SEC or CFTC.
As such, the final report provides exclusive authority to
the SEC and the CFTC over persons they regulate to the extent
those persons act in a ``regulated capacity.'' If such
persons are not acting in a regulated capacity, their
activities relating to the offering and provision of consumer
financial products or services may be subject to the
authority of the Bureau instead of the SEC or CFTC.
But to the extent they are acting in a `regulated
capacity', only their functional regulator--the SEC or the
CFTC--has rulemaking, supervisory, examination or enforcement
authority over the regulated person or such activities. To
that end, the conference report specifically states that `the
Bureau shall have no authority to exercise any power to
enforce this title with respect to any person regulated by
the Commission' or the CFTC.
It was not the intent of the conference committee to impose
the regulatory authority of the Bureau over the activities of
broker-dealers and investment advisers otherwise subject to
regulation by the SEC and CFTC.
Mr. SESSIONS. Madam Speaker, at this time, I yield 2 minutes to one
of the newest Members of this body, the gentleman from Hawaii, Charles
Djou.
Mr. DJOU. I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding.
Madam Speaker, today, I rise and count myself among the 1.1 million
Americans who have already voted to cut spending via YouCut, a dynamic
idea courtesy of the Republican whip, Eric Cantor.
These Americans are saying to this Congress that enough is enough.
This government is spending far too much money on programs that do not
work. Worst of all, we have no plan to pay this money back. Since the
majority in Congress is refusing to cut spending, to exercise
discipline or to even pass a budget, the American people are rising up
and are standing in this gaffe.
Today's YouCut winner, which we are going to be looking at, is a
straightforward proposal. It would simply prohibit taxpayer funding for
union activities. This would save taxpayers $120 million this year
alone and $1.2 billion over the next 10 years. This is a simple,
commonsense idea, and it is one step in the right direction to
restoring fiscal order in our House.
I urge my colleagues to listen to the American people, to cut this
wasteful spending and to make tough choices that will provide us with a
better tomorrow for ourselves and for our families.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, again, the proposal that the Republicans
are talking about today represents less than one-tenth of 1 percent of
the Bush tax cuts that weren't paid for. I mean, where was the fiscal
responsibility then?
At this point, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts
(Mr. Lynch).
Mr. LYNCH. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Madam Speaker, for the purpose of a colloquy, I would like to engage
with the chairman of the committee and the drafter of this legislation.
I congratulate him on the great work he has done on this reform bill.
Mr. Chairman, I want to call your attention to sections 726 and 765
of the bill. These two provisions require the CFTC and the SEC to
conduct rulemakings to eliminate the conflicts of interest arising from
the control of clearing and trading facilities by entities such as swap
dealers and major swap participants.
This problem arises because, right now, 95 percent of all of the
clearinghouses in this country are owned by just five banks. So, while
we are relying on the clearinghouses to reduce systemic risk, we have
the banks now owning the clearinghouses.
The question I have is regarding the intent of the conferees in
retaining subsection B of these provisions. It could be loosely
construed to leave it up to the agencies whether or not to adopt rules.
Mr. Chairman, do you agree that my reading of sections 726 and 765
affirmatively require these agencies to adopt strong conflict of
interest rules on control and governance of clearing and trading
facilities?
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. If the gentleman would yield to me, he
has been a leader in this important area, and he is a careful lawyer
and understands that just saving a principle isn't enough. You've got
to make sure it is carried out. Dealing with a conflict of interest
that he has been a leader in identifying is essential if this is going
to work. So I completely agree with him. Yes, we mean both of those
subsections, and it is a mandatory rulemaking.
I will say to my neighbor from Massachusetts that we will be
monitoring this carefully. They can expect oversight hearings because,
yes, this is definitely a mandate to them to adopt rules to deal with
what would be a blatant conflict of interest in the efficacy rules, and
we intend to follow that closely.
Mr. SESSIONS. Madam Speaker, at this time, I yield 4 minutes to the
distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Royce).
{time} 1220
Mr. ROYCE. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
I rise in opposition to this rule and to the underlying legislation.
I rise because reform is desperately needed, but the reforms needed
most are not in this bill.
For example, this legislation fails to reform the government-
sponsored enterprises, and when you think about it, the housing crisis
and the meltdown that we saw in that sector, and most of the losses,
were in the government-sponsored enterprises.
That was not caused by a lack of government intervention. Each of
those failed institutions had a regulator overseeing it, but it was
Congress, especially with the GSE Act, actively tying the hands of
those regulators in what amounted to a failed attempt, maybe for a good
social end, the idea was to get everybody into a home. But to do that
by putting these mandates on the GSEs that 50 percent of the portfolios
that they held, 50 percent of that $1.7 trillion in portfolios that
they held be in subprime and Alt-A, obviously, obviously created very
real problems.
The political intervention to get the 20 percent down payment down to
3 percent and then down to zero obviously had an effect. These
institutions, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, were at the center of the
housing market, and they were largely responsible for some 70 percent
of subprime and Alt-A mortgages throughout our financial system.
In order to reach the affordable housing mandates that Congress
enacted in 1992, Fannie and Freddie became the largest purchasers of
these junk loans, ending up with $1.8 trillion. In essence, they made
the junk loan market.
Knowing of the systemic threat posed by these institutions, the
Federal Reserve actually came to Congress, came to us a number of
times, over a dozen times, and asked us to rein in their excessive risk
taking. And when you hear the arguments back and forth about, well, at
one point or another we tried to have legislation to address this, ask
yourself this. I will remind you of this. What the Fed wanted was the
ability to deleverage these portfolios. What the Fed wanted was the
ability to control Fannie and Freddie for systemic risk, and that is a
responsibility that Congress would not give them.
In 2005, that debate came to a head, and under the leadership of
Chuck Hagel and Richard Shelby, Senate Republicans moved a bill,
supported by the Fed, through the Banking Committee that attacked the
heart of the problem, the excessive buildup of leverage and risk within
the mortgage portfolios. And, as the Wall Street Journal said, the
White House, Treasury Department and Federal Reserve lined up behind
Mr. Shelby. But he was never able to bring his bill to the floor
because of opposition from Democrats. Both in the House and Senate,
Democrats were aggressively trying to defeat our efforts under the
guise of protecting affordable housing. Mr. Dodd and Mr. Sarbanes
blocked those reforms in the Senate.
Luckily, some Members from the other side have noted this failure. In
[[Page H5218]]
2008, President Clinton said, ``I think the responsibility that the
Democrats have may rest more in resisting any efforts by Republicans in
the Congress, or by me when I was President, to put some standards and
tighten up a little on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.''
It is unfortunate that we lost that battle. Our housing market, our
financial sector and the broader economy are dealing with the
consequences of that very systemic shock that the Fed had anticipated
and warned us about.
Today, despite what some may claim, we are not advocating for the
elimination of the GSEs tomorrow, but we want them addressed in this
legislation.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from
Massachusetts (Mr. Frank).
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. I just want to correct the wholly-
inaccurate-because-of-being-incomplete history of the gentleman from
California. He blames the Senate Democrats for not passing a bill. I
didn't hear him infer, maybe I missed it, that the House was then in
control of the Republicans, and the House didn't pass that bill either.
The gentleman from California had an amendment that he liked. He was
repudiated by his own party, overwhelmingly. Now, I am sorry he wasn't
more persuasive with the Republicans. I am sorry that the chairman of
the committee and the current leadership of the House and the then
leadership of the House voted against him, but you can't blame that on
the Democrats. And, in fact, what the Senate Republicans offered was
the House Republican bill.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Gutierrez).
Mr. GUTIERREZ. I thank Mr. McGovern for yielding.
Madam Speaker, I would like to ask the gentleman from Massachusetts,
the chairman, to engage in a short colloquy.
Chairman Frank, with regard to assessments on financial institutions
under the resolution authority title of the bill, title II, I want to
clarify that the risk matrix criteria regarding the FDIC to take the
scope and nature of an institution's activity into consideration when
setting assessments means that such assessments should be made in light
of the impact of potential assessments on the ability of an institution
that is a tax-exempt, not-for-profit organization to carry out their
legally required charitable and educational activities.
Can the chairman confirm my understanding on this point?
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. If the gentleman will yield to me, yes, I
absolutely can. Let me say this is consistent with the leadership the
gentleman from Illinois has shown in dealing with risk factors. Up
until now, and until this bill passes, we have been automatically
assessing institutions solely on the basis of their assets or their
amounts. We want to discourage excessive risk and make those who take
the risk bear a fair share.
Here the gentleman is clearly correct that to the extent you have got
a tax exemption because you engage in charitable activity, in effect
you shouldn't get assessed on that basis.
The gentleman has gone further. Smaller banks in this country will be
the beneficiaries of an important piece of this legislation, thanks to
his leadership. The riskier the bank's activity, the higher their FDI
assessment will be in general. That is an important piece of it, and
this particular application of it for these charitable institutions is
essential.
Mr. SESSIONS. Madam Speaker, in order to allow the gentleman from
California (Mr. Royce) time to rebut, I yield the gentleman 1 minute.
Mr. ROYCE. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
I am ready to recognize, Chairman Frank, that you were successful in
defeating that amendment. You were successful, and certainly a majority
of this body, including many Republicans, joined you, and I think in
2003 you stated it well in terms of this perspective. You said, ``I do
think I do not want the same kind of focus on safety and soundness that
we have in OCC and OTS. I want to roll the dice a little bit more in
this situation towards subsidized housing.''
This was an argument that gained ground on both of sides of the
aisle, there is no doubt about it, but at the same time, it was the Fed
that supported my amendment that I brought before this body in order to
try to give the Federal Reserve the ability to deleverage these
portfolios in the interest of safety and soundness.
This is a debate we have had many times. We had a different
perspective. But today going forward, we are expanding systemic risk in
many ways in this legislation.
Mr. McGOVERN. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Massachusetts
(Mr. Frank).
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, the gentleman from
California still won't be forthright about this.
The Republican-controlled House, chaired by Mr. Oxley in the
committee, passed the bill that he objected to. He said I was
successful in defeating it. No, I played a fairly minor role under Mr.
DeLay and the Republican leadership. Mr. DeLay did not take advice from
me. If Mr. DeLay took advice from me, he wouldn't have gone on the
dance show. I would have advised him against it.
The fact is that it was a Republican House that passed the bill the
gentleman is denouncing, and I don't know why he keeps mentioning
history and leaving that out until he has to be reminded.
He did offer an amendment. He was overwhelmingly defeated. More than
two-thirds of the Republicans voted against him.
By the way, as to my own view, yes, in 2003 I said there was no
problem. In 2004, after President Bush, while the Republicans
controlled Congress and didn't hinder him, ordered Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac to increase their purchase of loans from people below the
median, I changed my position. So I joined the Republican leadership of
the House as a fairly minor player in supporting legislation.
He was against it, and I would just make that point again.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman from Massachusetts
has expired.
Mr. McGOVERN. I yield the gentleman an additional 15 seconds.
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. I don't understand the purpose of giving
such a partial history. He neglects to mention in 2007 when the
Democrats took the majority and I became chairman, we passed the bill
that he couldn't get passed in 2005, because we worked with Secretary
Paulson, who acknowledges this in his book.
So, yes, in 2003 I was not concerned, but by 2005 I was.
{time} 1230
Mr. SESSIONS. Madam, Speaker, we're sitting here arguing on the floor
about who gets credit for what. I think we ought to give credit. We
ought to give credit to the Democrats for taxing, spending, record
unemployment, higher debt. And what we're talking about today, this
bill, the financial services sector of this country will not be healthy
if we do not turn around our economy. And that too, Madam Speaker, is
pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey.
At this time I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Roanoke, Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte).
(Mr. GOODLATTE asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose the rule
on this legislation that's coming forward. But before we get to the
vote on the rule, we're going to have a vote on ordering the previous
question, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on ordering the
previous question because that is the way to show your support for
today's spending cut reduction under the YouCut program that millions
of Americans have participated in.
This week's spending cut, developed by Congressman Phil Gingrey of
Georgia, addresses one of the perpetual roadblocks to American private-
sector job creation and economic recovery--Federal employee unions. The
proposal would prohibit taxpayer funding for union activities, saving
taxpayers $120 million a year, or $1.2 billion over the next 10 years.
Federal employees' unions collect millions in revenue each year and
spend significant amounts on political activities and lobbying. I do
not believe that they should also be subsidized by the taxpayers for
their official functions. Instead of subsidizing union activities, the
Federal
[[Page H5219]]
Government must work to both eliminate every cent of waste and squeeze
every cent of value out of each dollar our citizens entrust to it.
When we're facing gigantic deficits each year, the President's budget
that he submitted earlier this year projects a 70 percent expenditure
over top of what we're going to take in in revenues--$3.8 trillion in
spending and $2.2 trillion in tax revenues coming in. That is
completely unsustainable, and yet as far as the eye can see for the
next 10 years, as far out as the Congressional Budget Office projects,
we face deficits that are two and three times as large as they had ever
been previously in our history, including the last time the Republicans
were in the majority in this Congress.
We spent too much money in 2004 when we had a $400 billion deficit.
That looks like peanuts today compared to what we're facing. Support
the effort to cut our government spending. Oppose the ordering of the
previous question.
Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Before the Chair recognizes the gentleman
from Massachusetts, the Chair would remind Members to be more cognizant
of the gavel.
The gentleman from Massachusetts is recognized.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, just in response to the last speaker,
this gimmick that the Republicans have brought to the floor is really
just that--a gimmick. $120 million a year they're going to save. Let me
just put that in perspective. Just two policies dating from the Bush
administration--tax cuts and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan--
accounted for over $500 billion of the deficit in 2009, and will
account for almost $7 trillion of deficits in 2009 through 2019,
including the associated debt services cost.
We need to get serious about dealing with the debt and dealing with
our deficit. But let's make one thing clear: When Mr. Bush came to
power, President Clinton left him a budget surplus. No deficit. We're
paying down the debt. When Mr. Bush left office, he left Barack Obama
with a record deficit that he is now trying to dig us out of in the
midst of one of the worst economies since the Great Depression. So when
they get on the floor with these gimmicks, let's understand what they
are--they are gimmicks. If you want to get serious about reducing the
debt, then let's get serious about it.
I will tell you one thing I do disagree with him on very strongly.
Again, I'll go back to the article I referred to before when Minority
Leader Boehner talked about raising the retirement age of Social
Security to 70 and taking that money and not putting it in Social
Security to keep that program solvent, but then moving it to pay for
the wars. I think that is wrong. I think our seniors deserve better
than that.
I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Bean).
Ms. BEAN. Since the 2008 financial crisis that reduced the values of
their homes and savings, our constituents have demanded action and
answers. What went wrong and what will Congress do to make sure it
doesn't happen again? This bill answers with strong protections for
American families.
The problems started in our neighborhoods where too many home buyers
took out loans they couldn't afford and too many lenders approved those
loans. This bill ends the period of no-doc loans and drive-by
appraisals with new lending standards, with risk retention to ensure
lenders want to keep those good loans on their books, and rating agency
liability and reform.
Next, derivatives were at the heart of the AIG failure. This bill
creates regulation where it did not exist in this multitrillion market
with required transparency, ensuring that these trades are exchange-
traded cleared and-or reported. Capital reserves will be required to
back up the risks they take and protect the entire system. And, most
important, it ends taxpayer bailouts. Those companies who take risk, if
you fail, you're fired. Your shareholders will lose money and the
financial industry is responsible for liquidation.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. McGOVERN. I yield the gentlewoman 30 additional seconds.
Ms. BEAN. Everyone, from home buyers in our neighborhoods to wizards
on Wall Street to regulators in Washington, recognizes that the era of
no regulation is over. Status quo doesn't work. It's time to act and
protect the American people.
Mr. SESSIONS. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the ranking member
of the Financial Services Committee, the gentleman from Alabama (Mr.
Bachus).
Mr. BACHUS. This bill has good in it. It really does. It has enhanced
consumer protection similar to what the Federal Reserve has enacted. It
has greater transparency and disclosure. In the field of derivatives,
it has provisions to prevent companies like British Petroleum from
manipulating the market, as they did last year. But there's a lot of
bad in this bill, and there's a lot of ugly. I'm going to talk about
the bad when I address the bill. And the bad is some capital
requirements on companies that could cost a trillion dollars. And
that's a greater amount than the two stimuluses put together. That
could cost hundreds of thousands of jobs.
But right now I want to talk about the ugly. And the ugly is the
bailout of creditors and counterparties. This is a Wall Street bailout
bill, make no mistake about it. This bill says that the FDIC can lend
to a failing company. Now this is a company that is failing. They can't
meet their obligations. You loan a failing company money. You can
purchase the assets. This is the government purchasing the assets of
the largest financial companies in America. They can take a security
interest in the assets. They can guarantee the obligations of the firm.
We did that with Fannie and Freddie. We told the Chinese bondholders,
We'll pay you a hundred cents on the dollar. And with AIG we did the
same thing. We told the European banks, we told Goldman and Morgan,
We'll pay these credit swaps off at a hundred percent. They can do that
under this bill. They can bail out creditors and counterparties. And
they can even sell and transfer to the FDIC the assets of a failing
firm.
Now how do they do that? Well, they have to borrow money. You can't
buy something for free. You can't guarantee things without money. Under
the House bill, you can borrow 90 percent of the fair value of the
failed firm's total consolidated assets. You're going to borrow. In
other words, the government, the taxpayers, are going to borrow 90
percent of that amount. What are we talking about? Potentially, with
just the largest six companies in America--Bank of America, Morgan
Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, the so-called
Wall Street banks, most of which, including Goldman Sachs, have said,
We like this provision. It's a great provision. The Federal Government
can borrow for those six firms $8.5 trillion. Yet we've not asked,
Where are you going to borrow this money from? Are you going to go back
to the Chinese?
{time} 1240
What will it cost? How will it affect the FDIC when the taxpayers
borrow this kind of money? How will it affect our ability to pay the
depositors that we have guaranteed those obligations? How will it
affect our ability to meet our commitments today, Medicare, Medicaid,
Social Security? How will it impact the deficit? What will it do to
interest rates? Is there an exit strategy?
The largest bailout which is not addressed in this bill, the largest
bailout in the history of this country was of Fannie and Freddie. We
still haven't gotten out of that. In August of 2008, every Republican
in this body said, Reform them before you bail them out. We've bailed
them out. We guaranteed $400 billion of their assets over our protest.
And then last December 31, the President guaranteed all their
obligations; and just this week, we hear that that could amount to $1
trillion.
A trillions dollars there, $2 trillion here, $2 trillion here, $2
trillion here, $1 trillion here, almost $1 trillion there. How do we do
it? How do the taxpayers get paid back?
Mr. McGOVERN. I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SESSIONS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
I think it's pretty obvious that Republicans today have come down and
debated the substance of this rule and the bill. The rule, as it
relates to the conference report, is straightforward.
[[Page H5220]]
It puts in order on the floor of the House of Representatives today a
bill which will be a monstrous spending bill for financial
institutions, $18 billion that will be passed on to consumers. It's all
done for bigger government. This bill empowers the Federal Government
not only to get larger, but it gives them raw power. It gives them the
opportunity to be the decision-maker in literally all parts of
financial services. I think that's a mistake. I think that the balances
and the opportunities that we had had as we have spoken in the last few
years, we should aim for safety and soundness, not for overbearing
government rules and regulations.
This bill, once again, is as much about the financial services
industry as the health care bill was about health care. It's about
diminishing the free enterprise system. It's about diminishing people
who really should take the role and the responsibility for that which
they do. And it's about creating a larger government that will encroach
upon every single one of us and ultimately crush us. The Republican
Party disagrees with this bill because we think that the time should be
spent on this floor to encourage job creation, not to diminish job
creation. And that's what this bill does today also: it diminishes job
creation. Taxing, spending, bigger government. Of course, I guess it
depends whether you are working for the government; you want the
government to win or the free enterprise system.
We've looked at the numbers over the last 4 years since Speaker
Pelosi's come into office, and we know what that agenda is--taxing,
spending, more debt, bigger government, rules, regulations and using
every single excuse they can to say, Well, you guys could have done
this when you were in. Well, we don't want to do that. We don't want to
do this. We don't want the taxing. We don't want the spending. To say
that we could have done this, that now we're opposed to it, that's
crazy. We don't like this.
We want to be about the free enterprise system, job creation, and the
opportunity for people back home to have confidence in this body. We're
at the lowest level ever that people have confidence in this body. And
no wonder. Taxing, spending, rules, regulations, blaming things on
former Presidents. My gosh, grow up. Madam Speaker, no wonder the
American people are worried about our country, because the Mickey Mouse
still goes on and is going on even today.
Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the
amendment and extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the
previous question.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, how much time do I have remaining?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Massachusetts has 4\1/2\
minutes.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, the American people are frustrated.
They're frustrated that we haven't passed a Wall Street regulatory
reform bill sooner. I think my friends on the other side of the aisle
just don't get it. I don't think they understand that an unregulated
Wall Street with no checks and balances will produce another economic
crisis like the one we are trying to dig ourselves out of right now.
The Republican minority leader, Mr. Boehner, said, This is killing an
ant with a nuclear weapon. An ant? It was the worst financial crisis
since the Great Depression.
America has lost 8 million jobs and $17 trillion of retirement
savings and net worth. The irresponsible fiscal policies of the
previous administration--and a lot of my friends on the other side--
were much more than an ant to the American workers and their families
and small businesses. They have suffered greatly because of Wall
Street's excesses. And this notion that somehow we should just let Wall
Street continue unregulated I think demonstrates that my friends on the
other side of the aisle just don't get it.
Madam Speaker, this rule would also allow for the same-day
consideration of an extension of unemployment benefits to millions of
Americans who have lost their jobs. Americans are frustrated because
they can't understand why Congress can't just approve this. What is the
big deal? My friends on the other side of the aisle say, Well, we can't
afford it. Yet when it comes to war or when it comes to tax cuts for
wealthy people, we are a bottomless pit. But the fact of the matter is,
we have an obligation to help those who are suffering because of this
bad economy, and hopefully we will do that.
Madam Speaker, let me finally say that when we enact this bill today,
this will be tough legislation that will end an era without
accountability for Wall Street and big banks that cost us 8 million
jobs. It will rein in big banks and their big bonuses. It will put an
end to taxpayer bailouts and the idea of too big to fail and protect
and empower consumers to make the best decisions on homes, credit
cards, and our own financial future. The American people want us to
pass this bill. They want us to pass an extension of unemployment
benefits, and hopefully by the end of today, we will do both.
So, Madam Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the previous question and
on the rule.
The material previously referred to by Mr. Sessions is as follows:
Amendment to H. Res. 1487
Offered by Mr. Sessions of Texas
At the end of the resolution add the following new section:
Sec. 4. Immediately upon the adoption of this resolution
the Speaker shall, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule XVIII,
declare the House resolved into the Committee of the Whole
House on the state of the Union for consideration of the bill
(H.R. 3251) to repeal certain provisions of title 5, United
States Code, relating to Federal employees' official time and
labor organization activities. The first reading of the bill
shall be dispensed with. All points of order against
consideration of the bill are waived. General debate shall be
confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally
divided and controlled by the Majority Leader and the
Minority Leader or their respective designees. After general
debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the
five-minute rule. During consideration of the bill for
amendment, the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole may
accord priority in recognition on the basis of whether the
Member offering an amendment has caused it to be printed in
the portion of the Congressional Record designated for that
purpose in clause 8 of rule XVIII. Amendments so printed
shall be considered as read. At the conclusion of
consideration of the bill for amendment the Committee shall
rise and report the bill to the House with such amendments as
may have been adopted. The previous question shall be
considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to
final passage without intervening motion except one motion to
recommit with or without instructions. If the Committee of
the Whole rises and reports that it has come to no resolution
on the bill, then on the next legislative day the House
shall, immediately after the third daily order of business
under clause 1 of rule XIV, resolve into the Committee of the
Whole for further consideration of the bill. Clause 1(c) of
rule XIX shall not apply to the consideration of H.R. 3251.
____
(The information contained herein was provided by
Democratic Minority on multiple occasions throughout the
109th Congress.)
The Vote on the Previous Question: What It Really Means
This vote, the vote on whether to order the previous
question on a special rule, is not merely a procedural vote.
A vote against ordering the previous question is a vote
against the Democratic majority agenda and a vote to allow
the opposition, at least for the moment, to offer an
alternative plan. It is a vote about what the House should be
debating.
Mr. Clarence Cannon's Precedents of the House of
Representatives, (VI, 308-311) describes the vote on the
previous question on the rule as ``a motion to direct or
control the consideration of the subject before the House
being made by the Member in charge.'' To defeat the previous
question is to give the opposition a chance to decide the
subject before the House. Cannon cites the Speaker's ruling
of January 13, 1920, to the effect that ``the refusal of the
House to sustain the demand for the previous question passes
the control of the resolution to the opposition'' in order to
offer an amendment. On March 15, 1909, a member of the
majority party offered a rule resolution. The House defeated
the previous question and a member of the opposition rose to
a parliamentary inquiry, asking who was entitled to
recognition. Speaker Joseph G. Cannon (R-Illinois) said:--
``The previous question having been refused, the gentleman
from New York, Mr. Fitzgerald, who had asked the gentleman to
yield to him for an amendment, is entitled to the first
recognition.''
Because the vote today may look bad for the Democratic
majority they will say ``the vote on the previous question is
simply a vote on whether to proceed to an immediate
[[Page H5221]]
vote on adopting the resolution . . . [and] has no
substantive legislative or policy implications whatsoever.''
But that is not what they have always said. Listen to the
definition of the previous question used in the Floor
Procedures Manual published by the Rules Committee in the
109th Congress, (page 56). Here's how the Rules Committee
described the rule using information from Congressional
Quarterly's ``American Congressional Dictionary'': ``If the
previous question is defeated, control of debate shifts to
the leading opposition member (usually the minority Floor
Manager) who then manages an hour of debate and may offer a
germane amendment to the pending business.''
Deschler's Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives,
the subchapter titled ``Amending Special Rules'' states: ``a
refusal to order the previous question on such a rule [a
special rule reported from the Committee on Rules] opens the
resolution to amendment and further debate.'' (Chapter 21,
section 21.2) Section 21.3 continues: ``Upon rejection of the
motion for the previous question on a resolution reported
from the Committee on Rules, control shifts to the Member
leading the opposition to the previous question, who may
offer a proper amendment or motion and who controls the time
for debate thereon.''
Clearly, the vote on the previous question on a rule does
have substantive policy implications. It is one of the only
available tools for those who oppose the Democratic
majority's agenda and allows those with alternative views the
opportunity to offer an alternative plan.
Mr. McGOVERN. I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the
previous question on the resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on ordering the previous
question.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. SESSIONS. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clauses 8 and 9 of rule XX, this
15-minute vote on the previous question will be followed by 5-minute
votes on adoption of House Resolution 1487, if ordered; and the motion
to suspend the rules on H.R. 4505.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 243,
nays 182, not voting 7, as follows:
[Roll No. 406]
YEAS--243
Ackerman
Adler (NJ)
Altmire
Andrews
Arcuri
Baca
Baird
Baldwin
Barrow
Bean
Becerra
Berkley
Berman
Berry
Bishop (GA)
Bishop (NY)
Blumenauer
Boccieri
Boswell
Boucher
Boyd
Brady (PA)
Braley (IA)
Brown, Corrine
Butterfield
Capps
Capuano
Cardoza
Carnahan
Carney
Carson (IN)
Castor (FL)
Chandler
Chu
Clarke
Clay
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Connolly (VA)
Conyers
Cooper
Costa
Costello
Courtney
Critz
Crowley
Cummings
Dahlkemper
Davis (CA)
Davis (IL)
Davis (TN)
DeFazio
DeGette
Delahunt
DeLauro
Deutch
Dicks
Dingell
Doggett
Donnelly (IN)
Doyle
Driehaus
Edwards (MD)
Edwards (TX)
Ellison
Ellsworth
Engel
Eshoo
Etheridge
Farr
Fattah
Filner
Foster
Frank (MA)
Fudge
Garamendi
Gonzalez
Gordon (TN)
Grayson
Green, Al
Green, Gene
Grijalva
Gutierrez
Hall (NY)
Halvorson
Hare
Harman
Hastings (FL)
Heinrich
Herseth Sandlin
Higgins
Hill
Himes
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Hirono
Hodes
Holden
Holt
Honda
Hoyer
Inslee
Israel
Jackson (IL)
Jackson Lee (TX)
Johnson (GA)
Johnson, E. B.
Kagen
Kanjorski
Kennedy
Kildee
Kilpatrick (MI)
Kilroy
Kind
Kirkpatrick (AZ)
Kissell
Klein (FL)
Kosmas
Kratovil
Kucinich
Langevin
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Lee (CA)
Levin
Lewis (GA)
Lipinski
Loebsack
Lofgren, Zoe
Lowey
Lujan
Lynch
Maffei
Maloney
Markey (CO)
Markey (MA)
Marshall
Matheson
Matsui
McCarthy (NY)
McCollum
McDermott
McGovern
McIntyre
McMahon
McNerney
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Melancon
Michaud
Miller (MI)
Miller (NC)
Miller, George
Mollohan
Moore (KS)
Moore (WI)
Moran (VA)
Murphy (CT)
Murphy (NY)
Murphy, Patrick
Nadler (NY)
Napolitano
Neal (MA)
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Ortiz
Owens
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor (AZ)
Payne
Perlmutter
Perriello
Peters
Peterson
Pingree (ME)
Polis (CO)
Pomeroy
Price (NC)
Quigley
Rahall
Rangel
Reyes
Richardson
Rodriguez
Ross
Rothman (NJ)
Roybal-Allard
Ruppersberger
Rush
Ryan (OH)
Salazar
Sanchez, Linda T.
Sanchez, Loretta
Sarbanes
Schakowsky
Schauer
Schiff
Schrader
Schwartz
Scott (GA)
Scott (VA)
Serrano
Sestak
Shea-Porter
Sherman
Shuler
Sires
Skelton
Slaughter
Smith (WA)
Snyder
Space
Speier
Spratt
Stark
Stupak
Sutton
Tanner
Teague
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Tierney
Titus
Tonko
Towns
Tsongas
Van Hollen
Velazquez
Visclosky
Walz
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Watson
Watt
Waxman
Weiner
Welch
Wilson (OH)
Wu
Yarmuth
NAYS--182
Aderholt
Akin
Alexander
Austria
Bachmann
Bachus
Barrett (SC)
Bartlett
Barton (TX)
Biggert
Bilbray
Bilirakis
Bishop (UT)
Blackburn
Blunt
Boehner
Bonner
Bono Mack
Boozman
Boren
Boustany
Brady (TX)
Bright
Broun (GA)
Brown (SC)
Brown-Waite, Ginny
Buchanan
Burgess
Burton (IN)
Buyer
Calvert
Camp
Campbell
Cantor
Cao
Capito
Carter
Cassidy
Castle
Chaffetz
Childers
Coble
Coffman (CO)
Cole
Conaway
Crenshaw
Cuellar
Culberson
Davis (KY)
Dent
Diaz-Balart, L.
Diaz-Balart, M.
Djou
Dreier
Duncan
Ehlers
Emerson
Fallin
Flake
Fleming
Forbes
Fortenberry
Foxx
Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen
Gallegly
Garrett (NJ)
Gerlach
Giffords
Gingrey (GA)
Goodlatte
Granger
Graves (GA)
Graves (MO)
Griffith
Guthrie
Hall (TX)
Harper
Hastings (WA)
Heller
Hensarling
Herger
Hoekstra
Hunter
Inglis
Issa
Jenkins
Johnson (IL)
Johnson, Sam
Jones
Jordan (OH)
Kaptur
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kirk
Kline (MN)
Lamborn
Lance
Latham
LaTourette
Latta
Lee (NY)
Lewis (CA)
Linder
LoBiondo
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Lummis
Lungren, Daniel E.
Mack
Manzullo
McCarthy (CA)
McCaul
McClintock
McCotter
McHenry
McKeon
McMorris Rodgers
Mica
Miller (FL)
Miller, Gary
Minnick
Mitchell
Moran (KS)
Murphy, Tim
Myrick
Neugebauer
Nunes
Nye
Olson
Paul
Paulsen
Pence
Petri
Pitts
Platts
Poe (TX)
Posey
Price (GA)
Putnam
Radanovich
Rehberg
Reichert
Roe (TN)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Rohrabacher
Rooney
Ros-Lehtinen
Roskam
Royce
Ryan (WI)
Scalise
Schmidt
Schock
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shadegg
Shimkus
Shuster
Simpson
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Stearns
Sullivan
Terry
Thompson (PA)
Thornberry
Tiahrt
Tiberi
Turner
Upton
Walden
Westmoreland
Whitfield
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Wolf
Young (FL)
NOT VOTING--7
Davis (AL)
Gohmert
Marchant
Taylor
Wamp
Woolsey
Young (AK)
{time} 1315
Mrs. BLACKBURN, Messrs. ROYCE, REICHERT, BOREN, Ms. GRANGER, and Mr.
CUELLAR changed their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ and Mr. FATTAH changed their vote from ``nay''
to ``yea.''
So the previous question was ordered.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the resolution.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Recorded Vote
Mr. SESSIONS. Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
A recorded vote was ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. This is a 5-minute vote.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 237,
noes 189, not voting 6, as follows:
[Roll No. 407]
AYES--237
Ackerman
Adler (NJ)
Altmire
Andrews
Arcuri
Baca
Baird
Baldwin
Barrow
Bean
Becerra
Berkley
Berman
Berry
Bishop (GA)
Bishop (NY)
Blumenauer
Boccieri
Boswell
Boucher
Boyd
Brady (PA)
Braley (IA)
Brown, Corrine
Butterfield
Capps
Capuano
Cardoza
Carnahan
Carney
Carson (IN)
Castor (FL)
Chandler
Childers
Chu
Clarke
Clay
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Connolly (VA)
Conyers
Cooper
Costa
Costello
Courtney
Critz
Crowley
Cuellar
Cummings
Dahlkemper
Davis (CA)
Davis (IL)
Davis (TN)
DeFazio
DeGette
Delahunt
DeLauro
Deutch
Dicks
Dingell
Doggett
Donnelly (IN)
Doyle
Driehaus
Edwards (MD)
Edwards (TX)
Ellison
Engel
Eshoo
Etheridge
Farr
Fattah
Filner
Foster
Frank (MA)
Fudge
Garamendi
Gonzalez
Gordon (TN)
Grayson
Green, Al
Green, Gene
Grijalva
Gutierrez
Hall (NY)
Halvorson
Hare
Harman
Hastings (FL)
Heinrich
Higgins
Hill
Himes
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Hirono
Hodes
Holden
Holt
Honda
Hoyer
[[Page H5222]]
Inslee
Israel
Jackson (IL)
Jackson Lee (TX)
Johnson (GA)
Johnson, E. B.
Kagen
Kanjorski
Kennedy
Kildee
Kilpatrick (MI)
Kilroy
Kind
Kissell
Klein (FL)
Kosmas
Kucinich
Langevin
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Lee (CA)
Levin
Lewis (GA)
Loebsack
Lofgren, Zoe
Lowey
Lujan
Lynch
Maffei
Maloney
Markey (CO)
Markey (MA)
Marshall
Matheson
Matsui
McCarthy (NY)
McCollum
McDermott
McGovern
McIntyre
McMahon
McNerney
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Melancon
Michaud
Miller (NC)
Miller, George
Mollohan
Moore (KS)
Moore (WI)
Moran (VA)
Murphy (CT)
Murphy (NY)
Murphy, Patrick
Nadler (NY)
Napolitano
Neal (MA)
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Ortiz
Owens
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor (AZ)
Payne
Perlmutter
Perriello
Peters
Peterson
Pingree (ME)
Polis (CO)
Pomeroy
Price (NC)
Quigley
Rahall
Rangel
Reyes
Richardson
Rodriguez
Ross
Rothman (NJ)
Roybal-Allard
Ruppersberger
Rush
Ryan (OH)
Salazar
Sanchez, Linda T.
Sanchez, Loretta
Sarbanes
Schakowsky
Schauer
Schiff
Schrader
Schwartz
Scott (GA)
Scott (VA)
Serrano
Sestak
Shea-Porter
Sherman
Sires
Skelton
Slaughter
Smith (WA)
Snyder
Space
Speier
Spratt
Stark
Stupak
Sutton
Tanner
Teague
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Tierney
Tonko
Towns
Tsongas
Van Hollen
Velazquez
Visclosky
Walz
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Watson
Watt
Waxman
Weiner
Welch
Wilson (OH)
Wu
Yarmuth
NOES--189
Aderholt
Akin
Alexander
Austria
Bachmann
Bachus
Barrett (SC)
Bartlett
Barton (TX)
Biggert
Bilbray
Bilirakis
Bishop (UT)
Blackburn
Blunt
Boehner
Bonner
Bono Mack
Boozman
Boren
Boustany
Brady (TX)
Bright
Broun (GA)
Brown (SC)
Brown-Waite, Ginny
Buchanan
Burgess
Burton (IN)
Buyer
Calvert
Camp
Campbell
Cantor
Cao
Capito
Carter
Cassidy
Castle
Chaffetz
Coble
Coffman (CO)
Cole
Conaway
Crenshaw
Culberson
Davis (KY)
Dent
Diaz-Balart, L.
Diaz-Balart, M.
Djou
Dreier
Duncan
Ehlers
Ellsworth
Emerson
Fallin
Flake
Fleming
Forbes
Fortenberry
Foxx
Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen
Gallegly
Garrett (NJ)
Gerlach
Giffords
Gingrey (GA)
Goodlatte
Granger
Graves (GA)
Graves (MO)
Griffith
Guthrie
Hall (TX)
Harper
Hastings (WA)
Heller
Hensarling
Herger
Herseth Sandlin
Hoekstra
Hunter
Inglis
Issa
Jenkins
Johnson (IL)
Johnson, Sam
Jones
Jordan (OH)
Kaptur
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kirk
Kirkpatrick (AZ)
Kline (MN)
Kratovil
Lamborn
Lance
Latham
LaTourette
Latta
Lee (NY)
Lewis (CA)
Linder
Lipinski
LoBiondo
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Lummis
Lungren, Daniel E.
Mack
Manzullo
Marchant
McCarthy (CA)
McCaul
McClintock
McCotter
McHenry
McKeon
McMorris Rodgers
Mica
Miller (FL)
Miller (MI)
Miller, Gary
Minnick
Mitchell
Moran (KS)
Murphy, Tim
Myrick
Neugebauer
Nunes
Nye
Olson
Paul
Paulsen
Pence
Petri
Pitts
Platts
Poe (TX)
Posey
Price (GA)
Putnam
Radanovich
Rehberg
Reichert
Roe (TN)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Rohrabacher
Rooney
Ros-Lehtinen
Roskam
Royce
Ryan (WI)
Scalise
Schmidt
Schock
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shadegg
Shimkus
Shuler
Shuster
Simpson
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Stearns
Sullivan
Terry
Thompson (PA)
Thornberry
Tiahrt
Tiberi
Titus
Turner
Upton
Walden
Westmoreland
Whitfield
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Wolf
Young (FL)
NOT VOTING--6
Davis (AL)
Gohmert
Taylor
Wamp
Woolsey
Young (AK)
Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore
The SPEAKER pro tempore (during the vote). Members are reminded there
are 2 minutes remaining in the vote.
{time} 1323
So the resolution was agreed to.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________