[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 104 (Thursday, June 20, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S4182]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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    SENATE RESOLUTION 742--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT 
  PRESIDENT JOSEPH R. BIDEN MUST DISMISS CHAIRMAN MARTIN J. GRUENBERG 
    FROM HIS EMPLOYMENT AT THE FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION

  Ms. ERNST submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs:

                              S. Res. 742

       Whereas, on November 13, 2023, the Wall Street Journal 
     published an expose entitled ``Strip Clubs, Lewd Photos and a 
     Boozy Hotel: The Toxic Atmosphere at Bank Regulator FDIC'' 
     detailing the extremely toxic, misogynistic, workplace 
     culture rife with sexual harassment and other serious 
     misconduct at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 
     (referred to in this preamble as ``FDIC'');
       Whereas, on November 16, 2023, the Wall Street Journal 
     published a second expose entitled ``FDIC Chair, Known for 
     Bad Temper, Ignored Bad Behavior in Workplace'';
       Whereas, following the public revelation of this scandal, 
     the FDIC enlisted a third-party fact-finding team to 
     investigate the workplace culture of the FDIC;
       Whereas the FDIC published the report of the third-party 
     investigators on May 7, 2024;
       Whereas the report of the third-party investigators found 
     that, under the leadership of Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg, 
     ``the FDIC has failed to provide a workplace safe from sexual 
     harassment, discrimination, and other interpersonal 
     misconduct'';
       Whereas, under the leadership of Chairman Martin J. 
     Gruenberg, FDIC employees fear retaliation and do not trust 
     the FDIC to investigate or address allegations of improper 
     workplace conduct;
       Whereas investigators determined not a single FDIC employee 
     faced serious discipline after being found to have engaged in 
     workplace misconduct;
       Whereas investigators determined Chairman Martin J. 
     Gruenberg routinely acts with inappropriate anger and 
     antagonism toward his employees;
       Whereas reports indicate Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg and 
     his leadership team have been directly involved in high-level 
     examples of sexism, harassment, and discrimination and failed 
     to properly discipline those individuals responsible;
       Whereas investigators determined the anger and antagonism 
     of Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg ``may hinder his ability to 
     establish trust and confidence in leading meaningful culture 
     change, and so too may his apparent inability or 
     unwillingness to recognize how others experience certain 
     difficult interactions with him''; and
       Whereas investigators determined that for the current 
     challenges plaguing the FDIC to be overcome, there must be a 
     change in leadership: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) condemns those employees of the Federal Deposit 
     Insurance Corporation (referred to in this resolution as 
     ``FDIC''), known and unknown, who turned the FDIC workplace 
     culture toxic or looked the other way while others did so;
       (2) demands that President Joseph R. Biden dismiss Chairman 
     Martin J. Gruenberg from employment at the FDIC immediately, 
     as he no longer holds the confidence of the Senate or of the 
     people of the United States; and
       (3) calls on those individuals remaining in FDIC leadership 
     positions to take all appropriate steps to investigate all 
     allegations of criminality and impropriety to hold bad actors 
     accountable for their actions.

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