[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 166 (Friday, December 21, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8378-S8379]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE EXAMINATION OF CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now 
proceed to the consideration of S. 3709, which was reported earlier 
today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 3709) to require a Government Accountability 
     Office examination of transactions between large financial 
     institutions and the Federal Government, and for other 
     purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Vitter-
Brown of Ohio amendment, which is at the desk, be agreed to, and the 
bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed, the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table, and all statements relating to the 
bill be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 3434) was agreed to, as follows:

                (Purpose: In the nature of a substitute)

       Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
     following:

     SECTION 1. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE STUDY OF 
                   TRANSACTIONS BETWEEN LARGE FINANCIAL COMPANIES 
                   AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

       (a) Definitions.--For purposes of this Act--
       (1) the term ``covered institution'' means any bank holding 
     company having more than $500,000,000,000 in consolidated 
     assets; and
       (2) the term ``economic benefit'' means the difference 
     between actual loans terms offered, debt or equity prices, or 
     asset values and a reasonable estimate of what such terms, 
     prices, or values might have been, as determined by examining 
     actual values of comparable transaction in the private 
     markets or by estimating the values of comparable 
     transactions priced to properly reflect associated risk.
       (b) GAO Study.--The Comptroller General of the United 
     States (in this section referred to as the ``Comptroller'') 
     shall conduct a study of covered institutions, such as--
       (1) the favorable pricing of the debt of such institutions, 
     relative to their risk profile resulting from the perception 
     that such institutions will receive Government support in the 
     event of any financial stress;
       (2) any favorable funding or economic treatment resulting 
     from an increase in the credit rating for covered 
     institutions, as a result of express, implied, or perceived 
     Government support;
       (3) any economic benefit to covered institutions resulting 
     from the ownership of, or affiliation with, an insured 
     depository institution;
       (4) any economic benefit resulting from the status of 
     covered institutions as a bank holding company, including 
     access to Federal deposit insurance and the discount window 
     of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 
     before the date of enactment of this Act;
       (5) any economic benefit received through extraordinary 
     Government actions taken, such as--
       (A) actions by the Department of the Treasury--

[[Page S8379]]

       (i) under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, such 
     as--

       (I) asset purchases by the United States Government;
       (II) capital injections from the United States Government; 
     or
       (III) housing programs; or

       (ii) by the purchase of the mortgage backed securities of 
     the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal 
     Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (in this Act referred to as 
     ``government-sponsored enterprises''), in order to lower 
     interest rates, and the value of such securities in the 
     absence of such purchases;
       (B) actions by the Board of Governors of the Federal 
     Reserve System prior to the date of enactment of this Act, 
     such as--
       (i) providing loans to financial institutions through the 
     Term Auction Facility; and
       (ii) assistance through programs under section 13(3) of the 
     Federal Reserve Act prior to the date of enactment of this 
     Act, such as--

       (I) lending through the Commercial Paper Funding Facility;
       (II) securities lending to primary dealers through the 
     Primary Dealer Credit Facility and the Term Securities 
     Lending Facility;
       (III) lending to institutions through the Term Asset-Backed 
     Securities Loan Facility; or
       (IV) purchasing assets through the Maiden Lane facility; 
     and

       (C) actions by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 
     such as--
       (i) guaranteeing debt or deposits through the Temporary 
     Liquidity Guarantee Program; or
       (ii) pricing of assessments related to any such guarantees; 
     and
       (6) any extraordinary assistance provided to American 
     Insurance Group, but ultimately received by one of the 
     covered institutions; and
       (7) any Government actions that resulted in the payment or 
     nonpayment of credit default swap contracts entered into by a 
     covered institution.

     SEC. 2. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

       Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
     Act, the Comptroller shall submit a report to Congress 
     detailing the findings of the Comptroller in the study 
     conducted under this Act. Such report shall be made 
     electronically available to the public, except that any 
     proprietary, sensitive, or confidential information shall be 
     redacted in any release to the public.

     SEC. 3. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

       Nothing in this Act may be construed to provide authority 
     inconsistent with, or to otherwise affect, section 714 of 
     title 31 United States Code.

  The bill (S. 3709), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a 
third reading, was read the third time, and passed.

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