[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 51 (Wednesday, March 28, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E479]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                IN OPPOSITION TO H.R. 2779 AND H.R. 2682

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                          HON. MAZIE K. HIRONO

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 28, 2012

  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to discuss two bills that this 
Chamber passed earlier this week, H.R. 2779, a bill to exempt inter-
affiliate swaps from certain regulatory requirements put in place by 
the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and H.R. 
2682, the Business Risk Mitigation and Price Stabilization Act.
  The stated intent of these bills seems simple enough--to make 
supposedly necessary exemptions and clarifications to the Dodd-Frank 
Act. However, Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition of over 250 
unions, consumer groups, think-tanks, and others have raised some 
serious concerns about the negative consequences these changes could 
have on the implementation of the law, and also question whether these 
changes are even necessary.
  Certainly it is appropriate for Congress to revisit laws that have 
been passed, and to conduct oversight of the work of regulators. 
However, Congress has asked the Commodities Futures Trading Commission 
and Securities and Exchange Commission to do a complicated job 
monitoring a big and complex market.
  How big and how complex? According to The Economist, the world's 
gross domestic product totals approximately $65 trillion. The total 
value of the global trade in derivatives is estimated to be 10 times 
larger than that--over $600 billion. Warren Buffett has even stated 
that derivatives are ``financial weapons of mass destruction, carrying 
dangers that, while now latent, are potentially lethal.'' 
Unfortunately, as the spectacular collapse of AIG made clear, we know 
that he was right.
  The Dodd-Frank Act was passed to reign in the abuses that caused the 
financial crisis, and to establish clear rules of the road to help 
prevent another crisis from ever happening. I believe, as Americans for 
Financial Reform point out, that the law provides regulators with the 
flexibility to address the issues that H.R. 2779 and H.R. 2682 seek to 
address without changing the statute. We need to let them get on with 
the job they've been asked to do.
  Therefore, I opposed passage of these measures.

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