[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 199 (Tuesday, November 16, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S8222]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Nomination of Graham Scott Steele

  Mr. President, I rise to urge my colleagues for the upcoming vote to 
join me in supporting Graham Steele, the President's nominee for 
Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions at the Department of 
Treasury.
  Graham is my friend. Graham is a former staff member of the Banking, 
Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee and was a stellar--was and is a 
stellar public servant.
  I know from personal experience how ready Mr. Steele is for this job. 
Graham spent 7 years in my personal Senate office and on the Senate 
Banking and Housing Committee staff when I became ranking member.
  He was a senior trusted aide. He worked with staff of so many of my 
colleagues from both parties. In a Senate that is, frankly, too divided 
and a Senate that is too rigid in its partisanship, five Republicans on 
the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee joined in 
supporting Graham Steele when we voted him out of committee a month or 
so ago, and that is because of his relationships, because of his 
honesty.
  He has extensive financial services experience, a track record of 
bipartisanship, and a history to make our system work for everyone. He 
understands the far-reaching effects the financial system has on 
workers and their families.
  Throughout his career, Graham has forged close relationships with 
civil rights groups; with consumer advocates; and with organizations, 
like the bipartisan Ohio Bankers League that wrote in support of his 
nomination.
  He stood up for families, for communities, for Main Street businesses 
against Wall Street greed and corruption. He has worked across the 
aisle to get things done for the American people.
  As minority chief counsel for the Banking and Housing Committee, and 
as my staff director of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and 
Consumer Protection, he crafted legislation, he worked with other 
offices, he worked with community banks, and he fought to protect all 
Americans' finances.
  He worked on a broad set of issues with two Republican chairs, 
Senator Crapo of Idaho and Senator Shelby of Alabama. He worked with 
their staffs, worked with people on both sides of the aisle.
  He did vital work during and after the 2008 financial crisis, as we 
worked to stabilize our financial system.
  In his work for our office, he traveled around Ohio in the years that 
followed. He talked to Ohioans who had lost their homes and saw their 
communities devastated by Wall Street's--and I underscore ``Wall 
Street's''--great recession. Wall Street didn't experience much of the 
recession; Wall Street caused the recession. I make that clear.
  He understands the importance of listening to workers. He understands 
how the financial industry affects their lives every day.
  He has put results for Americans above partisanship. He worked with 
Senator Johanns, a Republican from Nebraska, who has since retired. He 
worked with Senator Collins, a Republican from Maine, on an important 
fix to insurance regulations. He worked with Senator Moran of Kansas on 
innovative ways to encourage families to increase savings.
  In his current role at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, 
Graham researches important issues at the intersection of markets and 
business and government, looking at ways to promote a more accountable 
economy.
  At Treasury, Graham Steele would oversee an office that plays a 
pivotal role in coordinating the Department's efforts on financial 
institution policy, community and economic development, insurance, and 
cybersecurity and critical infrastructure protections.
  He would lead an office that oversees the Community Development 
Financial Institutions Fund, CDFI.
  His qualifications and his experience are obvious. Graham and the 
staff of many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle can attest to 
his commitment to service and the ability to find common ground--
something that will serve him well at Treasury working with Secretary 
Yellen and will serve this body and our government well.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the nomination of 
Graham Steele. He will serve admirably, I am sure of that. I can think 
of no better person to serve in this role at this very consequential 
time in our Nation's history.
  I yield the floor.