[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 197 (Monday, December 19, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S7281]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Nomination of Martin J. Gruenberg

  Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I rise to urge my colleagues to join me 
in supporting the nomination of Martin Gruenberg to be a member and 
chairperson of the board of directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance 
Corporation--what most of America knows as FDIC. Mr. Gruenberg is an 
extraordinary and qualified nominee who came out of the Banking and 
Housing Committee with bipartisan support. He has been confirmed by the 
U.S. Senate, unanimously, five times.
  Senator Toomey, the ranking member of the Banking Committee, someone 
whom I have not always agreed with on nominations, voted in favor of 
Mr. Gruenberg's nomination as part of a bipartisan package to fill the 
FDIC Board.
  I thank my departing friend from Pennsylvania for his support and his 
cooperation.
  Mr. Gruenberg's credentials speak for themselves: a career public 
servant, the longest-serving member of the FDIC board. As I said, the 
Senate has confirmed him unanimously five times. He has been nominated 
and confirmed over and over again.
  He first joined the FDIC in 2005 after spending 25 years on Capitol 
Hill and working as a senior counsel on the Senate Banking, Housing, 
and Urban Affairs Committee for Senator Sarbanes.
  As the Presiding Officer knows, this committee has just been known as 
the Banking Committee for some time, and the Banking Committee was, 
essentially, Wall Street's committee. When I took over as chair, we 
emphasized this committee is Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Its 
priorities are housing; its priorities are public transit; its 
priorities are making the banking system safer, not just to do the 
bidding of Wall Street.
  Since joining the FDIC, Mr. Gruenberg served as chair, as vice chair, 
acting chair, and member of the FDIC. Take a minute and think about 
that in his qualifications: chair, vice chair, acting chair, and 
member.
  I have served on the Banking and Housing Committee since 2007. I 
don't remember any FDIC nominee, or I am not sure I remember any 
nominee for anything that has had that kind of experience, that level 
of expertise.
  Since becoming acting chair in February 2022, Mr. Gruenberg has 
wasted no time getting to work for the American people. He has focused 
on strengthening the Community Reinvestment Act to expand access to 
credit and investments in low- and moderate-income communities.
  He is reviewing the FDIC's bank merger process to ensure it assesses 
the impact bank mergers have on competition and on access to financial 
services in communities across the country.
  We all know that as banks have gotten larger and larger, gargantuan 
in many ways compared to what their sizes were during the disaster of 
15 years ago--and we know that that can be a problem for our economy. 
So he is going to look at that much more closely than others.
  Under his leadership, the FDIC evaluates the risk posed by 
cryptocurrencies and digital assets to consumers and to the overall 
safety and soundness of the banking system.
  As I said during his nomination hearing, Mr. Gruenberg has seen our 
financial system at its highest and its lowest points. During the 
financial crisis when Wall Street and big corporations crashed our 
economy, Mr. Gruenberg worked on a bipartisan basis with then-FDIC 
Chair Sheila Bair to pick up the pieces.
  He helped to restore--alongside her, helped to restore--a Republican, 
I would add--trust and confidence that our money in banks is safe.
  He helped implement reforms passed by Congress to strengthen capital 
requirements and protect depositors from future financial crisis.
  He brings this experience and dedication with him as our country 
emerges from the pandemic. I can think of no better person to serve as 
chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation than Marty 
Gruenberg.
  Before I conclude, I want to note that, in addition to Mr. Gruenberg, 
the Senate is considering the nomination of two other seats to the FDIC 
Board. Once we have Mr. Gruenberg and the other two FDIC nominees, 
Travis Hill and Jonathan McKernan, confirmed--both Republicans--the 
agency will have in place for the first time since 2015 a full board of 
directors. So almost a decade it has been, three-fourths of a decade 
since this FDIC has had a full board of directors.
  I credit President Biden for making this a priority. I credit Laura 
and Mohammad and others on my staff for making this a priority, and I 
credit the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs for doing this: 
first time since 2015, a full board of directors.
  I urge my colleagues to support Mark Gruenberg's nomination to the 
FDIC Board.