[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 7840-7900]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           RESTORING AMERICAN FINANCIAL STABILITY ACT OF 2010

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the 
Senate will resume consideration of S. 3217, which the clerk will 
report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 3217) to promote the financial stability of the 
     United States by improving accountability and transparency in 
     the financial system, to end ``too big to fail,'' to protect 
     the American taxpayer by ending bailouts, to protect 
     consumers from abusive financial services practices, and for 
     other purposes.

  Pending:

       Reid (for Dodd/Lincoln) amendment No. 3739, in the nature 
     of a substitute.
       Corker amendment No. 3955 (to amendment No. 3739), to 
     provide for a study of the asset-backed securitization 
     process and for residential mortgage underwriting standards.
       Merkley amendment No. 3962 (to amendment No. 3739), to 
     prohibit certain payments to loan originators and to require 
     verification by lenders of the ability of consumers to repay 
     loans.
       Hutchison modified amendment No. 3759 (to amendment No. 
     3739), to maintain the role of the Board of Governors as the 
     supervisor of holding companies and State member banks.

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the time 
until 10 a.m. will be equally divided and controlled between the 
leaders or their designees.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum and ask 
unanimous consent that the time be charged equally to both sides.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.


                   Recognition of the Minority Leader

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Republican leader is 
recognized.


                       Nomination of Elena Kagan

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, we have only had a few days to consider 
the President's latest nominee to the Supreme Court, but a few things 
are already becoming clear about the administration's approach to this 
vacancy.
  As Solicitor General, Ms. Kagan is a member of the President's 
administration. The President, on Monday, also said: We are friends. 
The Vice President's chief of staff, who helped oversee her nomination, 
is evidently hard at work convincing members of the President's party 
that they will have nothing to worry about in terms of Ms. Kagan's 
possible appointment.
  But in our constitutional order, Justices are not on anybody's team. 
They have a very different role to play. As a Supreme Court Justice, 
Ms. Kagan's job description would change dramatically. Far from being a 
member of the President's team, she would suddenly be serving as a 
check on it. This is why the Founders were insistent that Justices be 
independent arbiters, not advocates.
  As one of the Founders once put it:

       Under a limited Constitution, the complete independence of 
     the courts of justice is peculiarly essential.


[[Page 7841]]


  And further:

       There is no liberty, if the power of judging be not 
     separated from the legislative and executive powers.

  So it is my hope that the Obama administration does not think the 
ideal Supreme Court nominee is someone who would rubberstamp its 
policies. But this nomination does raise the question, and it is a 
question that needs to be answered. Americans want to know that Ms. 
Kagan will be independent; that she will not prejudge cases based on 
her personal opinions; that she will treat everyone equally, as the 
judicial oath requires. That is the defining characteristic of any good 
judge, much less a judge on the Nation's highest Court.
  The simple fact is, her lack of a record--especially her lack of a 
judicial record, and the fact that she does not have much of a record 
as a practicing lawyer either--gives us no way of answering that 
question at this particular point with any degree of comfort.
  She has never had to develop the judicial habit of saying no to an 
administration, and we cannot simply assume she would. Later this 
morning, I will have an opportunity to meet with Ms. Kagan and to 
mention some of the concerns I have raised to her personally. We will 
welcome her to the Capitol and congratulate her once again on her 
nomination. This is not an easy process for any nominee, but it is an 
important one.


                            Miranda Warnings

  Mr. President, President Hamid Karzai will visit the Capitol today to 
discuss the current situation in Afghanistan. His visit reminds us that 
the surge of forces into Afghanistan is not yet complete and that the 
counterinsurgency strategy developed by General McChrystal is still in 
its early stages.
  President Karzai's visit also reminds us of the importance of 
completing our work on the war supplemental. We must complete this bill 
to fund our forces in the field, to help General McChrystal in his 
efforts to ensure that the Taliban does not return to power, and to 
ensure that Afghanistan does not again become a sanctuary for 
terrorists.
  Let's remember that the 9/11 attacks were planned in Afghanistan, and 
that it was because of this attack and al-Qaida's many other attempts 
to kill innocent Americans that President Obama implemented a strategy 
for reversing the momentum of the Taliban in Afghanistan last December.
  This is why it is so worrisome and, frankly, baffling to hear the 
Attorney General say the administration's views on issuing Miranda 
warnings to terrorists are now under reconsideration because of a ``new 
threat,'' and because we are ``now dealing with international 
terrorism.''
  Perhaps it is the reported involvement of TTP in the Times Square 
attack that the Attorney General believes is ``new.'' But most people 
have been aware of the terrorist threat of international terrorists to 
the homeland since September 11, 2001.
  The fact is, the clear purpose of many of the antiterror policies 
this administration in its first days tried to undo through Executive 
order was to deal with this threat that the Attorney General is now 
calling ``new.'' These threats did not begin with the Times Square 
bomber any more than they ended on 9/11. They have been with us for a 
long time now, and they are as urgent today as they were 9 years ago.


                   Congressional Budget Office Report

  Now, Mr. President, I would also like to note some news that might 
have slipped past some people yesterday in the midst of everything else 
that is going on. I am referring to the Congressional Budget Office 
report that the health care bill is now expected to cost $115 billion 
more than the administration said it would, wiping out every penny of 
savings they claimed the bill would produce.
  This is truly astounding. Here was one of the Democrats' primary 
arguments in favor of their health care bill: that it would lower the 
deficit. Yet now we are learning that it will not. But you will not 
hear a word about it from the people who made that argument day in and 
day out for more than a year.
  The fact is, the list of failed promises is growing every day. They 
called us alarmists for saying businesses would dump employees from 
their insurance plan. Yet now it is being reported that some of the 
Nation's biggest employers are seriously considering cutting employee 
health care and paying the lower cost penalties instead, just as we 
predicted. There goes the President's vow that ``if you like the plan 
you have, you can keep it.''
  Another thing we heard was that the health care bill would slow the 
growth of health care costs for families, businesses, and government. 
Yet an analysis last month by the Obama administration's own Actuary 
found that this bill will actually increase costs and that the national 
spending on health care alone could go up by $1/3 trillion--$1/3 
trillion.
  The President and the Democrats in Congress said time and again that 
their health care bill would strengthen Medicare. Yet the 
administration's own experts now say it would drive nearly one in six 
hospitals into debt and threaten access to care for seniors on 
Medicare.
  They said the bill wouldn't raise taxes on the middle class. Yet now 
Congress's own bipartisan scorekeeper on the legislation says middle-
class taxpayers will pay billions more in taxes as a result of this 
bill. Millions more will get hit with a fine for choosing not to buy 
government-approved insurance.
  They said health insurance premiums would fall, but we have learned 
from the administration just this week that even some of the smaller 
reforms in this bill will actually drive up premiums.
  So when Speaker Pelosi said we would have to pass this health care 
bill to find out what is in it, she knew what she was talking about, 
and what they are finding out is that Republicans were right all along. 
For every promise that crumbles, another one of our warnings is 
vindicated. Day after day, Republicans said the health care bill would 
raise taxes, raise premiums, and cut Medicare for seniors. We said it 
would increase costs because it didn't take an actuary to figure out 
that you don't save money on health care by spending more on it. Yet, 
even in the face of the clearest proof that we were right on every 
single count, the people who forced this bill through Congress against 
the will of the people continue to call us alarmists and to question 
our motives. But all of these headlines are already confirming what the 
American people already believe and what Republicans said all along: 
More government isn't the solution to out-of-control health care 
spending any more than spending money we don't have on projects we 
don't need is the secret to robust job growth.
  The American people are tired of the reckless spending and the failed 
promises, and they are tired of elected representatives who won't own 
up to their mistakes.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Illinois is 
recognized.


                      Times Square Bombing Attempt

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, America was alarmed to learn that Times 
Square was closed for business because of the potential of a bomb 
threat. A vehicle was discovered with smoke coming out of it. Some 
alert people on the sidewalks and vendors called it to the attention of 
police, and they determined the contents of that vehicle at least 
included the crude elements that could have resulted in a bomb killing 
many innocent people. All they had to go on was the vehicle itself and 
a fleeting glimpse of the person who might have been responsible 
leaving, changing his shirt as he left that vehicle. It was a 
frightening situation where many innocent people who were visiting our 
largest city in America could have been killed just as on 9/11. What 
happened? Fifty-three hours later, our government arrested the prime 
suspect, the man who has conceded he was responsible for that vehicle 
in Times Square--53 hours.
  I listened to some of the criticisms from those who come to the floor 
and say we should do this better, we should

[[Page 7842]]

be more vigilant, we should change our approach. I would concede that 
we need to learn from every single incident how to make America safer, 
how to avoid those vehicles even being in Times Square in the first 
instance. But let's be honest--to arrest the person responsible for it 
within 53 hours is an indication of some pretty good work by law 
enforcement and intelligence officials.
  Then comes the argument about Miranda rights. Should we be treating 
terrorists as enemy combatants or as criminal defendants? Should they 
be sent to military commissions for trial or to our courts? Well, the 
fact is, the person involved in the Times Square bombing incident was 
an American citizen. He cannot be tried in a military commission under 
existing law. There is a recourse for him, and that is in the courts of 
America.
  If he is to be tried in the courts, the ordinary process of due 
process suggests he will receive a Miranda warning. In this 
circumstance, after a number of hours of interrogation, the suspect was 
given his Miranda warnings. We hear them often on television. It didn't 
deter him from continuing to offer information literally for days to 
our law enforcement and security officials.
  Many have come to the floor and suggested it is a bad policy for us 
to consider giving Miranda warnings to those suspected of terrorism. 
What they failed to note--and I have never heard one of them concede--
is this policy is a policy created by George W. Bush and his 
administration after 9/11. They decided it would be the basic standard 
when it comes to interrogating suspected terrorists, particularly those 
who are American citizens, that a Miranda warning would be given.
  This past weekend, Attorney General Holder said he believes we should 
consider some other elements in terms of when the Miranda warnings 
would be given and when a person would be presented before a court. I 
think that is a reasonable challenge for us to look to. But remember 
that the last time the Congress tried to change basic Miranda warnings, 
a very conservative Supreme Court across the street said no. They said, 
in fact, that this is part of due process in the United States of 
America.
  So let's approach this carefully. Let's try to take the politics out 
of it for a moment. Let's concede that the former Republican President 
made Miranda warnings part of his ordinary process in dealing with 
terrorists.
  Let's also acknowledge that a lot of hard-working men and women, in 
the 53 hours after the discovery of that vehicle, did everything in 
their power to find the person responsible and were successful. Let's 
give them some credit. These are men and women who work night and day, 
virtually unheralded, who, in this instance, did an extraordinary job 
and should be acknowledged in a positive way and not in a negative way.


                           Health Care Reform

  There has also been conversation on the floor this morning about the 
health care reform bill. Make no mistake, not a single Republican 
Senator voted for it. In fact, they virtually boycotted the efforts to 
build this legislation, to write this legislation. Given ample 
opportunities to produce their own amendments or a substitute bill, 
they did not. When they offered a few amendments, they turned out to be 
amendments primarily designed to protect health insurance companies for 
a program known as Medicare Advantage. So at the end of the day, only 
the Democrats voted for health care reform.
  Immediately, we heard from the other side of the aisle and from many 
of their supporters around the United States: Repeal it. Get rid of it.
  Well, the American people see it differently. If Republican Senators 
are going to come to the floor and talk about polls, they should 
acknowledge that the polls clearly show the American people believe 
health care reform should be given a chance.
  I think the Senator from Kentucky was suggesting to us this morning 
that we need to pull the plug on health care right now and stop. So 
does that mean he wants to eliminate the small business tax credit 
included in health care reform to help businesses with fewer than 25 
employees pay for health insurance premiums? Does that mean the Senator 
from Kentucky wants to eliminate the $250 to be given to those under 
Medicare who use the Medicare Part D prescription drug program to fill 
the so-called gap in coverage called the doughnut hole? Does he want to 
eliminate that? Does the Senator from Kentucky want to eliminate our 
efforts to move forward so that children up to the age of 26 will be 
covered by family plans while they are finishing college and looking 
for a job? Does he want to eliminate and repeal that? Is that what he 
is looking for? I hope not.
  The suggestion that we can't revisit this bill--and we will revisit 
it in the future--is just plain wrong. I have said on the floor before 
that there are few perfect laws that have been written and not many by 
U.S. Senators. In this circumstance, we did our very best, working with 
the experts.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator's time has expired.
  Mr. DURBIN. I ask unanimous consent for 5 additional minutes.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there objection? Without 
objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. DURBIN. Thank you. I will be glad to concede the floor to one of 
my Republican colleagues if they come during this 5-minute period.
  When we wrote the health care reform bill, we relied on the best 
experts we could find. We were dealing with one-sixth of the American 
economy, which is the sum total of the cost of health care in our 
Nation, and we did our very best to move forward. It would have been an 
easier task had we had the cooperation and joint efforts of the 
Republican side of the aisle, but they decided to step away and say no.


                              Secret Holds

  The last point I wish to make is that we have reached a historic 
milestone in the Senate with the Executive Calendar. At this point, we 
have over 100 nominations to the Obama administration for positions, 
large and small, that have been held up by the other side of the aisle. 
I wish to salute Senator Claire McCaskill, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, 
and a number of my colleagues who have come to the floor and challenged 
the fact that this calendar is glutted with over 100 nominees who can't 
be brought to the floor for a vote.
  Now let's examine a historical parallel. At the same time in 
President George W. Bush's administration, there were 20 nominees being 
held. Now over 100 are being held. Overwhelmingly, these nominees have 
passed out of committee to the Senate floor with unanimous bipartisan 
votes or overwhelming bipartisan votes. They are not controversial. 
These men and women deserve an opportunity to have an up-or-down vote.
  What is happening here is that these nominations are being held as 
bargaining chips for projects and for--I am not sure what. But it is 
unfair to these men and women who have said they will offer some time 
in their lives to public service and will go through the rigors of 
being examined and questioned and then stand up and try to help make 
this a better Nation by serving in a government post. There is nothing 
wrong with that. Whether it is Republican or Democrat--and many of 
these are Republicans--they should have that opportunity.
  I would suggest to the Republican side of the aisle, let's not use 
these good men and women of both political parties as bargaining chips 
for something else. Let's eliminate the so-called secret holds where 
Senators can, in fact, hold up these nominees without ever disclosing 
publicly that they are responsible. If they have a legitimate grievance 
against the nominee, make that grievance known publicly, argue it on 
the floor. But to hold up innocent people, to leave them stranded on 
the Executive Calendar for weeks and months is unfair to them and 
certainly unfair to this administration.
  I see the Senator from Tennessee in the Chamber, and I yield the 
floor to my colleague from Tennessee.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Tennessee.


                           Amendment No. 3955

  Mr. CORKER. Mr. President, I thank my friend from Illinois.

[[Page 7843]]

  I wish to speak for just a moment on the Corker amendment that will 
be coming up very shortly, and I thank the Presiding Officer for the 
time.
  First of all, I thank Senator Gregg, Senator LeMieux, Senator Coburn, 
and Senator Brown for being cosponsors. I thank Senator Shelby for all 
he has done to help support and make this amendment possible as well as 
Senator Isakson, who brings a wealth of experience to this body as it 
relates to real estate lending. I thank all of them for their support 
of this amendment.
  It is a basic, commonsense amendment. I think everybody in this body 
knows that we as a country are going down a pretty slippery slope and 
that we as politicians act as enablers. We don't tell people what they 
need to hear. Instead, we try to give them what they want without any 
degree of discipline.
  What this amendment does is restore within the housing market a focus 
on the core issue that took us into this crisis--something many people 
in this body do not want to discuss--and that is the fact that there 
were a lot of loans written to people who had no ability whatsoever to 
pay them back.
  So this amendment does some very simple things. No. 1, it requires a 
very modest 5-percent downpayment for new home mortgages. If someone 
borrows more than 80 percent loan to value, it requires a credit 
enhancement--something that has been part of the American psyche for a 
long time. Believe it or not, it asks that there be fully documented 
income, including credit history and employment history. Gosh, what a 
big issue that would be, just to know someone had the ability to pay 
back the loan. Then it requires a method for determining the borrower's 
ability to repay, including consideration of their debt-to-income 
ratio, which is very important. So this would be done by banking 
regulators. It does not apply to VA or rural housing administration 
mortgages. It does give an exemption for organizations such as Habitat 
and Enterprise and others that allow homeowners to use sweat equity to 
actually build up some equity in a home.
  This is a commonsense amendment. While I respect Senators on the 
other side of the aisle, Senators Merkley and Klobuchar, who have 
worked on a side-by-side, I want to say to people in this body that 
while that is a good-intentioned amendment, what it does is build on 
the construct of the Dodd bill where, in essence, we are giving to this 
new consumer protection agency the ability to do loan underwriting. I 
think that is a dangerous path for our country to go down.
  I thank my colleagues for letting me give an overview of this 
amendment, and I urge everybody in this body to support it.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator's time has expired.
  The Senator from Michigan is recognized.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I rise as a cosponsor in support of the 
Merkley-Klobuchar amendment to prohibit kickbacks to lenders who steer 
homeowners into bad mortgages.
  The U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations recently 
completed an 18-month investigation and a series of four hearings 
looking into some of the causes and consequences of the financial 
crisis. In our first hearing, the subcommittee examined the high-risk 
lending practices of Washington Mutual Bank, ``WaMu,'' which led to the 
largest U.S. bank failure of all time. WaMu was brought to the 
precipice of collapse, in large part, by irresponsible and abusive home 
lending practices such as steering homeowners into high-risk and high-
cost loans, and failing to even verify borrower income when making 
those loans. The Merkley-Klobuchar amendment prohibits those practices, 
and would go a long way towards preventing the irresponsible behavior 
that led to the financial crisis.
  In the years prior to its failure, WaMu routinely issued stated 
income and negatively amortizing loans, which undermined the safety and 
soundness of the bank and injected hundreds of billions of dollars of 
high-risk loans into the U.S. financial system. Stated income mortgage 
loans, sometimes called ``liar loans'' or ``no-doc'' loans, allow 
borrowers to write their income on a loan application, without offering 
proof such as a pay stub or W-2 form, and without lender verification. 
Stated income loans made up 90 percent of WaMu's home equity loans, 73 
percent of its option arms, and 50 percent of its subprime loans. 
During our hearings on regulatory oversight of WaMu's high-risk 
lending, both regulators--the Office of Thrift Supervision and Federal 
Deposit Insurance Corporation--supported an end to stated income loans, 
and inspectors general from those same agencies also advocated that 
Congress consider doing so.
  It's no surprise that WaMu loan originators were steering borrowers 
into high-risk, high-cost loans, because they were being paid more to 
do it. Wall Street had an appetite for high-risk loans, and so WaMu 
built a conveyor belt to churn them out. In order to generate the 
volume of high-risk loans needed to keep the conveyor belt running, 
WaMu had to convince people to take out high-risk loans, like Option 
ARMs, in lieu of low-risk fixed rate loans. WaMu paid loan originators 
and mortgage brokers much more for issuing these high-risk loans, and 
so the originators and brokers would do the convincing, and make the 
sales.
  It is time to stop those dangerous lending practices, which had such 
disastrous consequences for the U.S. financial system, our economy, and 
American families.
  The Merkley-Klobuchar amendment contains one clause that does concern 
me. The amendment explicitly allows loan personnel to be paid bonuses 
for loan volume. The recent financial crisis shows how dangerous loan 
volume incentives are--they encourage loan officers and mortgage 
brokers to issue as many loans as possible as quickly as possible, with 
the inevitable consequence being shoddy lending in which loan personnel 
cut corners and churn out loans to boost their compensation. Our 
hearing demonstrated how the bonuses paid by WaMu for loan volume and 
speed resulted in poor quality and even fraudulent loans. It is my hope 
that the regulators recognize the problem and interpret that provision 
to permit banks to assign bonuses for only a reasonable number of 
loans, and that those same bonuses also be made contingent on good 
quality lending. Regulators should interpret the provision in the 
context of the overall amendment whose clear aim is to prohibit shoddy 
lending practices and shut down the type of conveyor belt lending that 
dumped so many toxic loans into the marketplace.
  The Merkley-Klobuchar amendment takes the steps needed to bar stated 
income loans. It doesn't go as far with respect to negatively 
amortizing loans, although it takes an important initial step. That 
step is requiring lenders to qualify borrowers for these loans by 
evaluating their ability to pay the highest interest rate that would be 
charged at any time during the first 5 years of the loan. While that is 
a good first step, I have introduced an amendment with Senator Kaufman 
that would go further and would effectively ban negatively amortizing 
loans because of their detrimental impact on the safety and soundness 
of individual financial institutions and the financial system as a 
whole.
  WaMu's experience with neg am loans shows why these loans were so 
dangerous to its operations. In 2006, more than 95 percent of WaMu's 
Option ARM borrowers made minimum payments, and, by the end of 2007, 84 
percent of the total value of the Option ARMS in WaMu's portfolio were 
negatively amortizing. WaMu projected that negative amortization 
increased monthly mortgage payments for borrowers by 60 percent. 
Regulators found instances at its subprime originator, Long Beach 
Mortgage, of payment shock as high as 240 percent, where a loan payment 
jumped from $1,700 to $5,705 per month, with no data showing the 
borrower could afford the extra $4,000. Not surprisingly, the payment 
shock from much higher loan payments led to loan defaults by a large 
number of borrowers. According to the Treasury and FDIC Inspectors 
General, WaMu failed largely because of its high-risk loans. The 
subcommittee investigation found that these high-risk

[[Page 7844]]

loans also contributed to the 2008 financial crisis, by loading up the 
financial system with toxic mortgages.
  I am cosponsoring the Merkley-Klobuchar amendment because it would 
take the steps necessary to end stated income loans and lending 
practices that cause loan officers to steer borrowers to high-cost, 
high-risk loans.


                           Amendment No. 3759

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I commend my colleagues for their work on 
this amendment. But, as I have stated, I believe it will fuel, and not 
limit, the type of charter shopping in search of the most lax regulator 
that we have seen in this past crisis.
  The Hutchinson amendment would preserve the status quo by allowing 
the Federal Reserve to continue regulating about 845 State banks that 
are members of the Federal Reserve System out of a total of 
approximately 6,000 State banks.
  This is a tremendous shame. Over the last 2 years, I sat through 80 
hearings, listening to witnesses discuss the failings of the Fed--the 
failure of the agency to write rules protecting consumers, the failure 
of the agency to regulate derivatives, and its failure to properly 
supervise holding companies.
  In response to these hearings, I initially introduced a bill that 
would have both streamlined our bank regulatory system and stopped 
banks from being able to engage in regulatory arbitrage. It would have 
consolidated the bank supervisory functions of four regulatory 
agencies--the OCC, the OTS, the FDIC, and the Fed--and would have 
created a single new agency to supervise banks. In other words, it 
would have taken the Fed out of the business of bank supervision 
entirely.
  I ended up modifying this proposal in response to concerns raised by 
my colleagues, but the bill that we passed out of committee still 
consolidates bank regulatory functions in a clear and logical way. It 
eliminates the OTS, and gives supervision of all federally chartered 
depositories to the OCC, and all State-chartered depositories, 
including both State member and nonmember banks, to the FDIC.
  And small holding companies and their banks are supervised by a 
single regulator. We looked into how these companies are structured and 
determined that in most cases these holding companies are just shells 
and their primary assets are just simply banks. In these circumstances, 
it just makes no sense to have a separate holding company regulator. 
So, under the bill, small national banks and their holding companies 
are regulated by the OCC. And small State-chartered banks and their 
holding companies are regulated by the FDIC.
  Meanwhile, the bill requires the Fed to focus on several key areas--
its monetary policy role, and its role as lender of last resort. It 
also expands the Fed's reach into areas that compliment these central 
bank functions.
  The bill gives the Fed supervision of bank holding companies with $50 
billion in assets and over, and the supervision of other nonbank 
financial companies if the failure of these companies would pose a risk 
to the U.S. financial stability.
  The Fed is given the responsibility to establish heightened 
prudential standards for these companies, including tougher capital and 
liquidity requires.
  And, the bill gives the Fed additional authority to regulate the 
payments system.
  But apparently this isn't enough.
  One of the main arguments the Fed makes for retaining this authority 
is that it needs a window into the workings of small banks in order to 
formulate monetary policy.
  I say to my colleagues--this is a red herring. Take a look at the 
Fed's Beige Book. The Fed is able to collect information about a 
variety of sectors in the economy--about manufacturing, real estate, 
the energy sector, and the agricultural sector without direct 
regulation in these areas.
  And by law, the Fed can already gather any information it wants from 
any depository institution--whether it regulates that institution or 
not. Let me read from the relevant parts of the law:

       The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall 
     be authorized and empowered . . . to require any depository 
     institution specified in this paragraph to make, at such 
     intervals as the Board may prescribe, such reports of its 
     liabilities and assets as the Board may determine to be 
     necessary or desirable to enable the Board to discharge its 
     responsibility to monitor and control monetary and credit 
     aggregates. [12 USC 248(a).]

  The Fed also is arguing that it needs to be the regulator of all 
holding companies so that it can respond effectively in the event of a 
regional crisis.
  I ask my colleagues--do we need a regulator that can respond 
effectively in the event of a regional crisis or that can effectively 
prevent the next crisis from occurring?
  I would like to point out the possible downside of allowing the Fed 
to continue supervising State member banks.
  Let me play this out. The agency that regulates this country's 
largest national banks is the Office of the Comptroller of the 
Currency, which is a bureau of the Treasury Department. The OCC is 
funded through assessments on the banks that it regulates.
  By contrast, the FDIC and the Fed use revenues from their other 
operations to pay for their supervisory activities and don't charge 
their banks for examinations. State banks are examined by State 
authorities every other year, but the States do not charge as much as 
the OCC. So, it is much cheaper to be a State bank.
  I fear that the very largest national banks will have tremendous 
incentives to become State member banks so that they will have a single 
Federal regulator--the Federal Reserve. This will concentrate enormous 
power in the Federal Reserve System--an agency that the financial 
crisis has shown is already stretched too thin with its many and varied 
responsibilities.
  This could also result in increased regulatory arbitrage. Since the 
OCC depends on assessments from the banks it regulates to fund its 
operations, the agency may go to great lengths to keep its banks from 
converting to State charters. We have seen what happens when depository 
institutions exploit these weaknesses in our bank regulatory system and 
when agencies compromise their supervisory integrity to maintain 
companies within their domain.
  If this happens, we could have another race to the bottom--just like 
the competition and regulatory arbitrage that lead to the financial 
crisis.
  Some will argue that my fears are unfounded, but I remain concerned 
about the unintended consequences that will flow from the Fed's 
continued regulation of State member banks.
  And therefore I oppose the Hutchison amendment.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Oregon is 
recognized.
  Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there be 2 
minutes of debate prior to the first vote, equally divided between the 
two sides.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Oregon is recognized.
  Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, today, we have two amendments that 
address integrity in retail mortgage origination. I am certainly 
encouraging you to place your vote squarely for the Merkley-Klobuchar 
amendment.
  This amendment is critical to end no-document liar loans--a big 
factor in the meltdown that occurred last year.
  Second, it establishes underwriting integrity so that underwriters 
will look at loan to value, credit history, and current obligations--
again, integrity of mortgages--which enables loans to be securitized 
and creates liquidity so families can get loans at a lower interest 
rate.
  Third, the Merkley-Klobuchar amendment ends steering payments. This 
is essential. The originators have been in an awkward position where 
they have been paid bonuses for making deals that weren't in their 
clients' interests.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Who yields time?
  Mr. CORKER. I yield back our time.
  Mr. MERKLEY. I yield back our time.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the

[[Page 7845]]

question is on agreeing to amendment No. 3962 offered by the Senator 
from Oregon, Mr. Merkley, and the Senator from Minnesota, Ms. 
Klobuchar.
  Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
   Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. 
Byrd) is necessarily absent.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Are there any other Senators in the 
Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 63, nays 36, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 141 Leg.]

                                YEAS--63

     Akaka
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Begich
     Bennet
     Bingaman
     Boxer
     Brown (MA)
     Brown (OH)
     Burris
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Collins
     Conrad
     Dodd
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Grassley
     Hagan
     Harkin
     Inouye
     Johnson
     Kaufman
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lugar
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murray
     Nelson (NE)
     Nelson (FL)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Rockefeller
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--36

     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Bennett
     Bond
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burr
     Chambliss
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Graham
     Gregg
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johanns
     Kyl
     LeMieux
     McCain
     McConnell
     Murkowski
     Risch
     Roberts
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Wicker

                             NOT VOTING--1

       
     Byrd
       
  The amendment (No. 3962) was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 3955

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, there is 
2 minutes of debate prior to a vote on amendment No. 3955, offered by 
the Senator from Tennessee, Mr. Corker.
  The Senator from Tennessee is recognized.
  Mr. CORKER. Mr. President, I think everybody in this body knows the 
core of this last financial crisis was because there were a lot of 
loans written in this country that people couldn't pay back. The Dodd 
bill does a lot, but it doesn't deal with that basic core issue of loan 
underwriting. This is an opportunity for people on both sides of the 
aisle to support a commonsense amendment that requires a 5-percent 
downpayment, with fully documented income, including an employment 
history and a credit history, which I think all of us would like to 
see, and a method for determining the borrower's ability to repay and 
that being part of loan underwriting put in place by bank regulators.
  This commonsense amendment should be supported by both sides of the 
aisle. It gives the ability for Habitat, for Enterprise, for those 
organizations that use sweat equity to be excluded. This is something 
we all know needs to be common practice. Let's put it in the law and 
ensure that another financial crisis doesn't come on the backs of 
homeowners who borrow money, by the way, irresponsibly, and we enable 
them to do it. Let's vote for something that ensures that common sense 
is in place in loan underwriting.
  This is a good amendment, and I hope my colleagues will support it.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Connecticut is 
recognized.
  Mr. DODD. I thank my colleague from Tennessee. He has been a 
positive, constructive Member of this effort before us, but I oppose 
his amendment for two reasons.
  First of all, it creates a very bright line of mandating 5 percent. 
Every nonprofit, all FHA mortgages would be subject to that rule, which 
would exclude an awful lot. The Merkley-Klobuchar amendment we just 
adopted establishes underwriting standards.
  Further, what the Corker amendment does is it strips out the skin in 
the game. One of the things we learned is that brokers and mortgage 
dealers had no skin in the game. They were selling off these items and 
they didn't care what was in it because they were being paid.
  Under an amendment we will adopt after the Corker amendment is 
considered--the Isakson-Landrieu amendment--we will set a standard 
allowing for the option of that skin in the game, which I think 
strengthens the bill even further, and I appreciate Senator Isakson and 
Senator Landrieu offering that idea to this bill that will come right 
after this.
  For those reasons, I urge my colleagues, respectfully, to reject the 
Corker amendment.
  I yield back.
  Mr. CORKER. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second. The question is on agreeing to the 
Corker amendment.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Byrd) 
is necessarily absent.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Are there any other Senators in the 
Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 42, nays 57, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 142 Leg.]

                                YEAS--42

     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Brown (MA)
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burr
     Chambliss
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Collins
     Conrad
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Graham
     Gregg
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johanns
     Kyl
     LeMieux
     Lugar
     McCain
     McConnell
     Murkowski
     Risch
     Roberts
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Snowe
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Wicker

                                NAYS--57

     Akaka
     Baucus
     Begich
     Bennet
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Brown (OH)
     Burris
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Dodd
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Grassley
     Hagan
     Harkin
     Inouye
     Johnson
     Kaufman
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murray
     Nelson (NE)
     Nelson (FL)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Rockefeller
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--1

       
     Byrd
       
  The amendment (No. 3955) was rejected.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote and I move to 
lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.


                    Amendment No. 3759, as Modified

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, there is 
2 minutes of debate prior to a vote on amendment No. 3759, as modified, 
offered by the Senator from Texas, Mrs. Hutchison, and the Senator from 
Minnesota, Ms. Klobuchar.
  The Senator from Texas is recognized.
  The Senate will come to order.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask to be notified after 30 seconds 
so my colleague, Senator Klobuchar, can speak.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Chair will do so.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, this is an amendment that reinstates 
the Federal Reserve as the prudential regulator for small holding 
companies and State-chartered banks. The State-chartered banks and the 
community banks have asked to retain the capability to be members of 
the Fed. They want their input into monetary policy. Over half of the 
Federal Reserve Bank presidents have also weighed in, saying this is 
essential. For instance, in the Dallas Fed it would go from over 500 
regulated banks and bank holding companies to 1 or 2. Only the biggest 
banks would be heard.

[[Page 7846]]

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The time of the Senator has 
expired.
  The Senator from Minnesota.
  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, this amendment assures the Nation's 
monetary policy has a connection to Main Street and not just Wall 
Street. As the president of the Grand Rapids State Bank in Grand 
Rapids, MN said to me recently:

       All Senators should be reminded that the Federal Reserve 
     System was created to serve all of America, not just Wall 
     Street.

  If you talk to the regional Federal Reserves all over this country, 
they need this information. This amendment makes a difference. This 
amendment has support from the Lone Star State of Texas to the North 
Star State of Minnesota. I ask for your support.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The time of the Senator has 
expired.
  Who yields time? The Senator from Connecticut is recognized.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I yield my time. Unless someone wants to 
speak in opposition, I oppose the amendment but I am not going to speak 
against it.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is on agreeing to the 
amendment.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Byrd) 
is necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Bennet). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 91, nays 8, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 143 Leg.]

                                YEAS--91

     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Begich
     Bennet
     Bennett
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Brown (MA)
     Brown (OH)
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burr
     Burris
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Collins
     Conrad
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagan
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johanns
     Johnson
     Kaufman
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     LeMieux
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lugar
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (NE)
     Nelson (FL)
     Pryor
     Reid
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Thune
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Webb
     Wicker
     Wyden

                                NAYS--8

     Akaka
     Dodd
     Harkin
     Inouye
     Levin
     Reed
     Sanders
     Whitehouse

                             NOT VOTING--1

       
     Byrd
       
  The amendment (No. 3759, as modified) was agreed to.


                             Change of Vote

  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be 
recorded as yea on vote No. 143. Doing so will not affect the outcome 
of the amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (The foregoing tally has been changed to reflect the above order.)
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I move to reconsider that vote and lay that 
motion upon the table.
  The motion to lay upon the table was agreed to.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, what I wish to do at this juncture, if we 
could, is we have an amendment being offered by our colleague from 
Louisiana, Senator Landrieu, and our colleague from Georgia, Senator 
Isakson.
  I believe if they take 10 minutes or so, we could do it on a voice 
vote. I support and, in fact, I am a cosponsor of their amendment. I 
think it strengthens our bill tremendously. I want to thank my 
colleague from Georgia very much, who has forgotten more about real 
estate than most of us will ever know, having spent a good separate 
part of his life involved in the business.
  We have worked together on a lot of issues over the last couple of 
years related to real estate. I thank him for his contribution, as well 
as my dear friend from Louisiana.
  I yield the floor to them.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.


                Amendment No. 3956 to Amendment No. 3739

  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I thank the chairman for his 
acknowledgment and his work with us on this amendment. It has broad 
bipartisan support. I offer it on behalf of myself and the good Senator 
from Georgia, Mr. Isakson, whose expertise in housing matters is well 
known; also on behalf of Senator Warner, Senator Hagan, Senator 
Menendez, Senator Tester, Senators Lincoln, Levin, Burr, and Hutchison.
  We have broad and deep bipartisan support for this amendment, and the 
reason we do is because it is a good amendment and, more specifically, 
it addresses the risk retention provisions currently in the bill by 
helping to eliminate the excessive risk taking we saw in the home 
mortgage market between 2004 and 2007, without raising interest rates 
for those home buyers who have maintained good credit, document their 
income and assets, and finance their home the old-fashioned way. Back 
to the basics, with savings.
  I call up amendment No 3956 at this time, and offer it for the 
Senate's consideration. I wish to also give 1 minute on our side to the 
Senator from Virginia, Mr. Warner, and then turn it over to my 
colleague from Georgia. But we are proud to offer this amendment for 
the Senate's consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the pending amendment is 
set aside.
  The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Louisiana [Ms. Landrieu], for herself, Mr. 
     Isakson, Mrs. Hagan, Mr. Warner, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Tester, 
     Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. Levin, Mr. Burr, and Mrs. Hutchison, 
     proposes an amendment numbered 3956 to amendment No. 3739.

  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading 
of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

 (Purpose: To exempt qualified residential mortgages from credit risk 
                        retention requirements)

       On page 1047, strike line 4 and all that follows through 
     line 20 and insert the following:
       ``(i) not less than 5 percent of the credit risk for any 
     asset--

       ``(I) that is not a qualified residential mortgage that is 
     transferred, sold, or conveyed through the issuance of an 
     asset-backed security by the securitizer; or
       ``(II) that is a qualified residential mortgage that is 
     transferred, sold, or conveyed through the issuance of an 
     asset-backed security by the securitizer, if 1 or more of the 
     assets that collateralize the asset-backed security are not 
     qualified residential mortgages; or

       ``(ii) less than 5 percent of the credit risk for an asset 
     that is not a qualified residential mortgage that is 
     transferred, sold, or conveyed through the issuance of an 
     asset-backed security by the securitizer, if the originator 
     of the asset meets the underwriting standards prescribed 
     under paragraph (2)(B);
       ``(C) specify--
       ``(i) the permissible forms of risk retention for purposes 
     of this section;
       ``(ii) the minimum duration of the risk retention required 
     under this section; and
       ``(iii) that a securitizer is not required to retain any 
     part of the credit risk for an asset that is transferred, 
     sold or conveyed through the issuance of an asset-backed 
     security by the securitizer, if all of the assets that 
     collateralize the asset-backed security are qualified 
     residential mortgages;
       On page 1051, between lines 3 and 4, insert the following:
       ``(4) Exemption for qualified residential mortgages.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Federal banking agencies, the 
     Commission, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 
     and the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency shall 
     jointly issue regulations to exempt qualified residential 
     mortgages from the risk retention requirements of this 
     subsection.

[[Page 7847]]

       ``(B) Qualified residential mortgage.--The Federal banking 
     agencies, the Commission, the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
     Development, and the Director of the Federal Housing Finance 
     Agency shall jointly define the term `qualified residential 
     mortgage' for purposes of this subsection, taking into 
     consideration underwriting and product features that 
     historical loan performance data indicate result in a lower 
     risk of default, such as--
       ``(i) documentation and verification of the financial 
     resources relied upon to qualify the mortgagor;
       ``(ii) standards with respect to--

       ``(I) the residual income of the mortgagor after all 
     monthly obligations;
       ``(II) the ratio of the housing payments of the mortgagor 
     to the monthly income of the mortgagor;
       ``(III) the ratio of total monthly installment payments of 
     the mortgagor to the income of the mortgagor;

       ``(iii) mitigating the potential for payment shock on 
     adjustable rate mortgages through product features and 
     underwriting standards;
       ``(iv) mortgage guarantee insurance obtained at the time of 
     origination for loans with combined loan-to-value ratios of 
     greater than 80 percent; and
       ``(v) prohibiting or restricting the use of balloon 
     payments, negative amortization, prepayment penalties, 
     interest-only payments, and other features that have been 
     demonstrated to exhibit a higher risk of borrower default.
       ``(5) Condition for qualified residential mortgage 
     exemption.--The regulations issued under paragraph (4) shall 
     provide that an asset-backed security that is collateralized 
     by tranches of other asset-backed securities shall not be 
     exempt from the risk retention requirements of this 
     subsection.
       ``(6) Certification.--The Commission shall require an 
     issuer to certify, for each issuance of an asset-backed 
     security collateralized exclusively by qualified residential 
     mortgages, that the issuer has evaluated the effectiveness of 
     the internal supervisory controls of the issuer with respect 
     to the process for ensuring that all assets that 
     collateralize the asset-backed security are qualified 
     residential mortgages.

  The PRESIDING Officer. The Senator from Virginia.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I want to commend the chairman of the 
Small Business Committee, and my colleague and friend, Senator 
Landrieu, and Senator Isakson for this amendment. I am proud to be part 
of it.
  I think those of us on the committee when we were drafting the 
legislation wanted to make sure that the mortgage security 
securitization process, the originators of mortgages, had skin in the 
game. I think as we went through this process, and working particularly 
with the expertise of the Senator from Georgia, we realized that while 
skin in the game is important, it is more the underlying quality of the 
mortgage.
  If we have mortgages that have that 20 percent down, with a high FICO 
score, the same level of skin in the game is not required. I think this 
amendment stays true to the intent of the Banking Committee bill.
  I am glad the chairman of the Banking Committee is supportive of it. 
I think this is an amendment that refines and improves the legislation. 
I am proud to be a cosponsor of it, and grateful for the expertise of 
the Senator from Georgia and the Senator from Louisiana.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Georgia.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, first, I appreciate the kind remarks of 
the Senator from Connecticut, the Senator from Louisiana, and the 
Senator from Virginia. I ask unanimous consent that Senator Grassley of 
Iowa be also added as a cosponsor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. ISAKSON. The committee did a great job to ensure subprime loans 
would never be made again by requiring risk retention of 5 percent. The 
only problem is they have called it on all loans, which meant there 
would be no mortgage loans. You would not have subprime, you would not 
have good loans because you cannot make it work with a 5-percent risk 
retention. As I have cautioned all of my colleagues, in the 1980s when 
the savings and loan industry failed, they had 100 percent risk 
retention. Risk retention is not the cure-all to good lending; 
underwriting is.
  The Senator from Louisiana and the other sponsors of this amendment 
are ensuring that people who have incomes that are verified, they will 
ensure that they have ratios that meet the tolerance levels for a 
qualified loan, meaning you are not borrowing more than you can pay 
back; they will ensure there is equity of 20 percent in every loan 
made, either through the downpayment being 20 percent or through 
whatever downpayment is made, having mortgage guarantee insurance on 
the amount above 80, and up to the downpayment, which is the way things 
used to work.
  In other words, the underlying lender is never at risk for more than 
80, more than 80 is made by the borrower, it is mortgage guarantee 
insurance, which means if there is a default, that insurance is paid 
immediately, which ensures you that you are making a better quality 
loan.
  What Senator Landrieu has basically said is, we are not going where 
we make zero down, interest-only, all-day, stated-income, reversed 
amortization loans anymore. But we are going to make the good-old-days 
loan, where there is a downpayment, where there is skin in the game, 
where there is an income-to-debt ratio, and where the borrower is 
qualified to borrow the money they are borrowing.
  The only risk retention that will be required is when someone is 
making a bad loan, which means people will stop making bad loans, which 
means this bill, with this amendment, will have truly addressed the 
heart and soul of what led to the failure of the housing market and 
ultimately the subprime securities in New York.
  I appreciate the chairman's acceptance of the amendment. I commend 
Senator Landrieu as the original author of the amendment. I appreciate 
the time she offered me on the floor today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. I wish to ask for immediate consideration of the 
amendment, if it could be voice voted at this time and, if not, 
scheduled for the earliest possible vote.
  Mr. DODD. I appreciate that. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DODD. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call 
be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                Amendment No. 3918 to Amendment No. 3739

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that we temporarily 
lay aside the Landrieu-Isakson amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Maine.
  Ms. SNOWE. I call up amendment No. 3918.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Maine [Ms. Snowe], for herself and Ms. 
     Landrieu, proposes an amendment numbered 3918 to amendment 
     No. 3739.

  Ms. SNOWE. I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be 
dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

                     (Purpose: To improve title X)

       On page 1272, line 2, strike ``services who'' and insert 
     ``services, but only to the extent that such person''.
       On page 1272, line 22, strike ``(C)'' and insert 
     ``(C)(i)''.
       On page 1273, strike line 19 and insert the following:
       ``(C) Limitations.--
       ``(i) In general.--Notwithstanding sub-''.
       On page 1273, line 20, after ``subparagraph (B)'' insert 
     ``, and except as provided in clause (ii)''.
       On page 1274, between lines 2 and 3, insert the following:
       ``(ii) Exception.--Subparagraph (A) and clause (i) of this 
     subparagraph do not apply to any merchant, retailer, or 
     seller of nonfinancial goods or services, to the extent that 
     such person is subject to any enumerated consumer law or any 
     law for which authorities are transferred under subtitle F or 
     H.''.
       On page 1274, strike line 3 and all that follows through 
     ``may'' on line 4 and insert the following:

[[Page 7848]]

       ``(D) Rules.--
       ``(i) Authority of other agencies.--No provision of this 
     title shall''.
       On page 1274, between lines 13 and 14, insert the 
     following:
       ``(ii) Small businesses.--A merchant, retailer, or seller 
     of nonfinancial goods or services that would otherwise be 
     subject to the authority of the Bureau solely by virtue of 
     the application of subparagraph (B)(iii) shall be deemed not 
     to be engaged significantly in offering or providing consumer 
     financial products or services under subparagraph (C)(i), if 
     such person--

       ``(I) only extends credit for the sale of nonfinancial 
     goods or services, as described in subparagraph (A)(i);
       ``(II) retains such credit on its own accounts (except to 
     sell or convey such debt that is delinquent or otherwise in 
     default); and
       ``(III) meets the relevant industry size threshold to be a 
     small business concern, based on annual receipts, pursuant to 
     section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632) and the 
     implementing rules thereunder.

       ``(iii) Initial year.--A merchant, retailer, or seller of 
     nonfinancial goods or services shall be deemed to meet the 
     relevant industry size threshold described in clause 
     (ii)(III) during the first year of operations of that 
     business concern if, during that year, the receipts of that 
     business concern reasonably are expected to meet that size 
     threshold.
       ``(E) Exception from state enforcement.--To the extent that 
     the Bureau may not exercise authority under this subsection 
     with respect to a merchant, retailer, or seller of 
     nonfinancial goods or services, no action by a State attorney 
     general or State regulator with respect to a claim made under 
     this title may be brought under subsection 1042(a), with 
     respect to an activity described in any of clauses (i) 
     through (iii) of subparagraph (A) by such merchant, retailer, 
     or seller of nonfinancial goods or services.''.

  Ms. SNOWE. I thank the chairman of the committee, Senator Dodd, for 
being responsive and receptive to a number of amendments we have 
offered with respect to small businesses and for making sure there are 
not unintended consequences as a result of this legislation that 
require more regulation on their part.
  I also thank the chairman of the Small Business Committee, Senator 
Landrieu, for cosponsoring this amendment and for her efforts as a 
strong champion on behalf of small businesses. I thank the chairman for 
working with me to forge a compromise on this particular amendment that 
gives small businesses certainty that they will be exempted from the 
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to the degree that they are not 
involved in financial products that will be regulated under this 
legislation.
  This amendment will modify a provision in the underlying legislation 
that could unintentionally ensnare small businesses within the Consumer 
Financial Protection Bureau if they are judged by the bureau as having 
engaged ``significantly'' in consumer financial products or services 
such as selling goods or services on credit or through an installment 
program.
  The term ``significantly'' is unclear. Certainly, it could 
potentially lead to Main Street enterprises such as jewelers, 
orthodontists, or furniture store owners being roped into a bureau 
intended to regulate providers of financial services. The chairman has 
been clear that through his interpretation, small business owners are 
specifically excluded, that they were never intended to be placed 
within the bureau itself. Yet the bill's use of the term 
``significantly'' is vague.
  Perhaps an article entitled ``To Protect Consumers, Who Will Be 
Regulated?'' published by the New York Times on April 30 captured this 
issue the best when it noted:

       A review of the consumer protection provisions, which 
     account for 335 pages of the 1,565-page bill, shows that the 
     intent of this legislation is not to cover Main Street 
     businesses. But the ambiguity of some terms--like the word 
     ``significantly''--leaves the regulations open to broad 
     interpretation.

  Accordingly, while I strongly believe Congress should pursue the 
providers of abusive and predatory financial products that harm 
Americans, we must be careful not to inadvertently target Main Street 
small businesses. Given the state of the economy and the difficulties 
placed on small businesses struggling to keep their doors open, 
entrepreneurs already have enough to be concerned about. We should not 
be injecting more uncertainty in the very enterprises we are counting 
on to reverse the 7.8 million job losses we have experienced thus far 
in this recession and create opportunities for the 15.3 million 
Americans who remain unemployed. Additional uncertainty will make small 
firms far less likely to take risks and make new investments.
  I believe we add clarity to this provision by virtue of this 
amendment. We prevent the overregulation of small businesses that may 
result in regulators interpreting this statute too broadly.
  My amendment creates a quick, easy, bright-line test for small 
businesses. Firms that fall under the Small Business Administration's 
North American Industry Classification System--the classification 
system small businesses use to file their taxes and qualify for SBA 
programs and services--would be exempt so long as the small business 
extends credit for the sale of nonfinancial goods and does not 
securitize its debt. For example, this means a doctor's office would be 
exempt if it has less than $10 million in revenue, a jeweler would be 
exempt if it has revenues below $7 million, and a grocery or 
convenience store would be exempt if it has revenues under $27 million. 
As a result of this modification, business owners would know with 
certainty that if they were defined as small businesses by SBA 
standards, they would be exempt from regulations by the bureau. In 
addition, if a business is in its first year of existence, it would be 
considered a small business if it is reasonably expected to fall under 
the SBA's size standard.
  This simple measuring stick provides objective criteria for small 
firms and has also been endorsed by the National Federation of 
Independent Business, the largest organization and voice for small 
business. It is also endorsed by the American Dental Association and 
the American Association of Orthodontists. Finally, the U.S. Chamber of 
Commerce has indicated that although it continues to have concerns with 
the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, it views this amendment as an 
important step forward.
  In the past year, the economic recession and the radical overhaul of 
the Nation's health care system have sown the seeds of doubt and 
uncertainty in America's small businesses. In Maine, I have been told 
time and again by constituents and small business owners that they are 
concerned about the future and worried about the growth of government. 
Adding another regulator with ambiguous powers is not the answer small 
businesses and Mainers are looking for to enable them to make plans 
about their futures, potentially adding jobs and making future 
investments.
  This is why I have also filed--and intend to call up during this 
debate--another amendment that I filed with my good friend and 
colleague, Senator Pryor. That amendment would ensure that when the 
newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau promulgates rules 
and regulations, it fully considers the economic impact that those 
rules and regulations would impose on our Nation's 30 million small 
firms and their ability to access credit. I look forward to working 
with Senators Dodd and Shelby to have that amendment considered.
  In conclusion, this bipartisan amendment now before the Senate was 
crafted in consultation with small business stakeholders and is a 
commonsense solution to this problem. Given that ``stability'' is in 
the title of this legislation, I urge Members on both sides of the 
political aisle to aid small business owners and gain a measure of 
stability in these uncertain times and support the amendment.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. I ask unanimous consent to add Senator Burris as a 
cosponsor of the amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. I thank my colleague, Senator Snowe, who chaired the 
Small Business Committee for many years, for her dogged determination 
to make sure the language in the underlying bill, which is most 
certainly necessary to curb gross abuses in the financial market, does 
not unintentionally do harm to small businesses that are the engines of 
growth

[[Page 7849]]

to pull us out of this recession. Our amendment helps in a significant 
way to do that by drawing fine lines and clarifying definitions.
  I thank the Federation of Small Businesses, the American Dental 
Association, and the American Association of Orthodontists, as well as 
dozens of other organizations that have supported this clarifying 
language.
  I thank the chairman of the committee for giving us an opportunity to 
offer this important amendment, and I urge my colleagues to accept it. 
I urge them to look at the cosponsorship opportunity as well.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I thank both of my colleagues, not only for 
their work on this particular amendment but for the way they have 
approached the bill. They have been tremendously constructive in 
offering very solid ideas.
  This is one amendment that does a great deal of service to the 
legislation. As the Senator from Maine pointed out, it was certainly 
always our intent not to include retailers and merchants under the 
auspices of the consumer financial product safety commission. The 
language they have now offered and on which they worked so hard makes 
that abundantly clear. The word ``significantly'' clearly is an opaque 
word. No matter how much I tried to make clear what my intentions were 
with that language, this amendment strengthens it tremendously. As I 
have said, this was never intended to affect Main Street merchants.
  I am delighted that the National Federation of Independent Business, 
along with the American Dental Association and the American Association 
of Orthodontists, is now in support, because they were two groups about 
which it was unclear whether they would be included. As a result of 
what we have been able to craft, with the leadership of Senators Snowe 
and Landrieu, we now have their support. I thank them.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I wish to express my appreciation to the 
chairman for working so constructively to develop this amendment, to 
build a consensus, and to give a strong measure of assurance to the 
small business community about the intent of this legislation so it 
doesn't create unintended consequences. I appreciate all he has done to 
make sure this amendment could be considered and hopefully adopted.
  Mr. DODD. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.
  Mr. BURRIS. Mr. President, I am pleased to join the distinguished 
Senator from Louisiana in supporting this small business legislation. 
There is a growing chorus in Washington of national leaders and 
advocacy groups, concerned citizens who have all come together to call 
for financial reform. Across America, folks are demanding a return to 
accountability, commonsense regulations, and fair business practices.
  Each of us has been touched by this economic recession. Every Member 
of this body has heard from countless businesses and families back home 
who have had to tighten their belts and brace for the worst. We have 
all seen the raw numbers. We have heard the statistics over and over. 
Too often, we forget what is behind the numbers--real folks 
experiencing real pain. This economic crisis is far from abstract. It 
has touched millions of American lives. It has made people wonder when 
or even if our economic future will be secure again. It has shaken us 
to the core.
  Things are finally starting to look a bit better. Thanks to bold 
steps taken at the national level, America is back on the road to 
recovery. Key economic indicators are turning around. But we are not 
out of the woods yet. The national unemployment rate stands at almost 
10 percent. Our economy is growing but more slowly than we had hoped. 
Some people, especially the elderly and racial and ethnic minorities, 
remain especially vulnerable. Their pain is real. That is why, as the 
Senate considers financial reform legislation, we need to make sure 
they are protected. We need to make sure recovery continues along the 
right path and, at the same time, to stand up for these folks and 
prevent this from happening again.
  That is why we need to create a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 
a strong advocate standing squarely on the side of the ordinary 
American, defending them from abuse at the hands of large corporations. 
This new bureau must be at the center of the financial reform package. 
It must be empowered to set and enforce strict consumer protection 
rules.
  We should start with the mortgage industry. For years, banks have 
been allowed to relax their standards. They have made bad loans to 
people who were never able to make the payments. As a result, 
foreclosures skyrocketed.
  Almost no community in America was immune to the subprime lending 
crisis, but minority populations were hit the hardest. At the height of 
the subprime boom, 54 percent of the loans made to African Americans 
were high-priced loans. The recession has caused these borrowers to 
come under severe stress, and as a result the Black home ownership rate 
has decreased.
  We need to stop this kind of predatory lending and restore basic 
principles of fair play to the mortgage industry. That is why our 
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would take a hard look at the way 
the mortgage brokers operate. It would ensure borrowers have access to 
loans they can afford. It would shut down scam operations, end abusive 
practices, and keep all brokers honest.
  But it doesn't stop there. I believe we should extend many of these 
same protections to the student loan industry.
  Today's young people represent the best America has to offer. They 
are our future, and we need to invest in their education, so we can 
make sure they have the tools that will help them succeed in the global 
marketplace. That is why our Consumer Protection Bureau would have the 
authority to set basic rules of the road, to make sure students are 
empowered to make smart choices.
  The bureau would provide assistance to borrowers and institutions 
alike, increasing the flow of information and breathing transparency 
back into this complicated system. This would provide significant 
benefits to young people across America. But it would have the 
strongest impact on minority households, 49 percent of which currently 
have installment loans, including student loans.
  Finally, we must task our new bureau with increasing financial 
literacy among consumers. Today, far too many Americans get caught up 
in the fine print, trapped by the deceptive practices of major 
financial institutions. So if we pass financial reform that includes a 
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, these folks will have access to 
clear information in plain English. If they are still confused, they 
will be able to call a consumer hotline. This will connect them 
directly with experts at an office of financial literacy, so they can 
get their questions answered and make sure they are getting a fair 
deal.
  This will empower consumers to make smart choices and will prevent 
big financial institutions from taking advantage of ordinary Americans. 
It would ensure that we stay on the road to recovery and extend a 
helping hand to regular folks who need it--especially the disadvantaged 
communities that have felt the worst effects of this crisis.
  Most importantly, a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will help 
prevent this kind of crisis from ever happening again. We must never 
forget that cold statistics and Wall Street balance sheets do not tell 
the complete story of this financial meltdown. It is important to think 
of the real human beings--individuals and families--who are behind 
these numbers: the ordinary folks who continue to suffer.
  I believe it is time to stand up for these folks. That is why I am 
glad a Consumer Financial Protection Agency is at the center of our 
Wall Street reform bill.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.

[[Page 7850]]

  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CORKER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. CORKER. Mr. President, I appreciate the opportunity to come back 
to the floor and speak on financial regulation. First of all, I wish to 
congratulate the Presiding Officer from Colorado for being very 
successful yesterday on passing an amendment that I think is going to 
be good for our country.
  I rise to speak about an amendment I had earlier today. It was a 
commonsense amendment that I think gets at the heart of this financial 
crisis. It didn't pass, but the amendment was to put in place 
underwriting standards to keep the kind of crisis we just saw happen in 
our country over the last couple of years from happening again.
  I think we all realize the base of this crisis, which the Dodd bill 
does not address, was the fact that we had large numbers of loans 
written around this country that people couldn't pay back. The 
underwriting standards were poor. Credit was extended to people who 
couldn't pay the mortgages back. Those mortgages were passed throughout 
the world, and then we had $600 trillion worth of notional value 
derivatives that were based on, again, these underlying bad mortgages. 
Then we had a systemic crisis not only in this country but around the 
world.
  So what I attempted to do with my amendment was to put some 
appropriate underwriting standards in place where everybody who 
purchased a home would need to have a 5-percent downpayment. If they 
borrowed more than 80 percent loan to value, there would have to be 
some credit enhancement, up to 100 percent, to ensure it, in fact, was 
a safe loan. They had to fully document their income. What a 
breakthrough. They would have to include their credit history and 
employment history. Then we would have to determine the borrower's 
ability to repay, including consideration of their debt-to-income 
ratio.
  This was just a basic underwriting guidelines amendment. Again, I 
think we know at the base of this problem we just went through was the 
fact that we had a lot of bad loans written.
  I had a number of Democratic colleagues come up to me after the 
vote--or actually during the vote--and they said: I support what you 
want to do, but the provision striking the 5-percent retention dealing 
with securitization, which we did have in this amendment, was what kept 
me from voting for this underwriting amendment.
  I put that in there because I think most people looked at the Dodd 
proposal and the 5-percent retention on securitization and realized 
that it created a problem, not a solution. So I actually did that to 
draw people to our amendment. But since I had a number of Democrats, my 
friends on the other side of the aisle, come up and say they would have 
supported it without striking the risk retention, I have now refiled 
that amendment.
  I am now saying, OK, let's have some standard underwriting procedures 
in this country. Now that I have refiled that amendment, if it was the 
issue of risk retention on the securitization piece that kept you from 
coming onto this amendment, I have refiled it, and now I am seeking on 
the other side of the aisle some cosponsors.
  We had some great cosponsors last time--Senators Gregg, LeMieux, 
Coburn, and Brown. Senator Shelby also supported this amendment. We had 
Johnny Isakson, from Atlanta, who probably knows more about real estate 
lending than anybody here, on behalf of this amendment.
  For my friends on the other side who said: I would have done this, 
but that risk retention piece you had in there regarding securitization 
kept me from it, now I have a clean amendment that does nothing in that 
regard. It leaves that in place. Again, it puts into place these 
underwriting standards. I had a number of Democrats who said: I agree 
that we ought to at least have 5 percent down. I think maybe we ought 
to have more.
  Well, because I want everyone in this body to have the opportunity to 
vote for a good, sound amendment, one that takes us away from the way 
we have been going in this country, which is we want to make sure 
everybody is entitled--it is no longer the American dream that someone 
owns a home; it is an American entitlement. Nobody saves. I should not 
have said that. We have moved away from requiring that people save and 
show discipline in order to own homes. We have made it now, according 
to an amendment that passed today, which the Presiding Officer put into 
place, and I respect what he tried to do, but in essence we said in 
that amendment that what you can do to have proper underwriting is you 
can borrow and pay, over time, the downpayment. We are not going to 
require a downpayment. We will let you put that into the cost of the 
loan--borrow it and pay it back over time.
  Mr. President, I thank the Chair for the opportunity to speak today. 
Again, I have so many friends on the other side of the aisle who said: 
Corker, I would have supported your amendment, but it had that one 
phrase in it about risk retention. I have taken that out and, 
hopefully, we will have the opportunity to vote on this again.
  I see my friends on the other side of the aisle smiling. I am looking 
for cosponsors on the other side of the aisle for a simple, commonsense 
amendment, which says that everybody in America who buys a home will at 
least put 5 percent down. We will be able to see their income. Let's 
document their income and see that they can pay the loan back. This 
will be a brandnew day in America.
  My sense is that, as the realtors come to the hill today--my 
friends--and as the home builders come to the hill today--and they are 
my friends--obviously, they don't want any underwriting requirements 
because they want to make sure loans go to everybody in America. I am 
thankful my friends on the other side of the aisle have come to me 
today and said: Corker, ``only if.'' Now I am offering the ``only if.'' 
I look for cosponsors to help me.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Merkley). The Senator from Illinois is 
recognized.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                        Health Care Legislation

  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I come to the floor today--and the 
Republican leader has already addressed this body--to discuss the 
issues of health care, about new revelations, new information that has 
come forth in terms of the specifics of the costs of the health care 
bill that has been signed into law--the costs that far exceed what was 
ever anticipated.
  I come here as somebody who has practiced medicine in Wyoming for 25 
years as an orthopedic surgeon, taking care of families in Wyoming, as 
medical director of the Wyoming Health Fairs, a program that provided 
low-cost health screening in Wyoming. This gave people an opportunity 
to take more responsibility for their own health and keep down costs of 
their medical care.
  I come to the floor with a second opinion, as a physician--a 
practicing physician, taking care of patients; it is a second opinion 
about the health care law.
  Today, I come to the floor because the goal of the health care bill 
was truly to improve quality and access and get the cost of care down. 
Those are the things I think all of the Senate wanted to have achieved.
  But having seen this bill that has been passed and signed into law, I 
believe the bill is going to be bad for patients, bad for our 
providers, the nurses and doctors who take care of them, and bad for 
the payers--the American people, who will foot the bill for this health 
care bill.

[[Page 7851]]

  I believe this bill will fundamentally, as it has been passed into 
law, result in higher costs for patients and in less access to care for 
people all across America. It is going to result in unsustainable 
spending, at a time when we are running record deficits.
  I think about the things the President said when he was not just 
running for office but as President. He said: The plan I am announcing 
tonight--it was a joint session--will slow the growth of health care 
costs for our families, for our businesses, and for our government.
  But in fact, the Chief Actuary for Medicare and Medicaid has said 
that the President was wrong. He said the cost of care will actually go 
up by $311 billion through 2019. And now we heard the revelation 
yesterday from the Congressional Budget Office that when you look at 
some of the things that hadn't been scored, as they say, costed out, it 
will add another $115 billion on top of that. The President said if you 
like your health care plan, you will be able to keep it, ``period.'' He 
said the word ``period.'' He said nobody will take it away, ``period.'' 
No matter what, ``period.''
  The CBO and the Chief Actuary said that 14 million Americans will 
lose their employer-sponsored health coverage under the new law.
  Today, I come to the floor to also mention that recently the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebilius, had an 
epiphany about the doctor shortage in America. Last week, she said a 
nationwide primary care physician shortage had to be addressed before 
over 30 million Americans get access to subsidized health insurance 
coverage.
  This is her quote:

       How are we going to be ready when we already have a 
     shortage in too many parts of the country?

  This shortage should not have been a surprise to the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services. The American Association of Medical Colleges 
tells us that at the current graduation and training rates, we are 
facing a shortage of 150,000 doctors in the next 15 years. Over the 
past year, medical experts warned Congress--this body--and the 
administration that any health reform bill should tackle the issue of 
physician shortages. Instead of helping doctors, the new law actually 
discourages the next generation from becoming doctors. This new bill 
cuts payments for doctors and cuts patients on Medicare, and it doesn't 
include enough money to train new doctors.
  I believe it was intentional. Maybe the Secretary, maybe the Obama 
administration, and maybe the Democrats in Congress should have paid 
attention to the experts before jamming this health care law down the 
throats of the American people. Maybe they should have heeded the calls 
I heard from medical professionals all across Wyoming and the country 
to slow down, let's get it right. But, no, they didn't. And now the 
American people are stuck with a law that costs too much, doesn't solve 
America's doctor shortage--doesn't even address it--and doesn't deliver 
good care for patients.
  This should not have been a surprise to the Secretary, because the 
Wall Street Journal, over a month ago, said that the medical schools 
can't keep up. As the ranks of the insured expand, the Nation faces a 
shortage of 150,000 doctors. Right here, it says a shortage of primary 
care and other physicians could mean more limited access to health care 
and longer wait times--more limited access and more wait times.
  What about the training of doctors? The Secretary just realized this, 
but it has been in print for months. Doctors' groups and medical 
schools had hoped the new health care law passed in March would 
increase the number of funded residency slots--you know, where they 
train family doctors--but such a provision didn't make it into the 
final bill. With over a trillion dollar bill, are we going to train 
doctors? No, they left it out.
  Then what about hospitals? Here it is in the Wall Street Journal--the 
headline ``Hospitals Under the Knife. New York City System Aims to Cut 
2,600 More Jobs as State Funding Drops.''
  Not enough doctors? All you have to do is go to the New York Times, 
and this headline: ``More Doctors Giving Up Private Clinics.''
  That is the end of it. So why would so many doctors behave this way? 
Let's look at Congress Daily this past week, May 4: ``Latest CBO 
Figures Show Higher `Doc Fix' Price Tag.''
  That is to pay doctors for the doctor bill. Of course, it was left 
out of the health care bill. How can we have a national health care law 
that fails to address training doctors and paying for them? It is 
astonishing. It says that scheduled cuts take effect June 1, an option 
outlined Friday by CBO to freeze Medicare payment rates which, under 
the new figures, would cost $275.8 billion through 2020. That is an 
amazing amount, because physician payment rates for Medicare are 
expected to be cut 21 percent on June 1.
  That is what we are looking at now. That is why, today, I come to the 
floor to give, as a doctor, a second opinion, because it is time to 
repeal this legislation and replace it with legislation that delivers 
more personal responsibility and more opportunities for individual 
patients. We need a patient-centered health care bill, one that 
provides individual incentives, such as premium breaks for people who 
behave in a way that encourages healthy behavior and gets down the risk 
factors that increase the cost of care; that allows people to take 
their health insurance with them when they switch jobs; that gives 
people who buy their own health insurance the same tax relief available 
to people who get their insurance through work; that allows Americans 
to buy health insurance across State lines; that deals with lawsuit 
abuse and that allows small businesses to join together to offer health 
insurance to their employees. These are the things that will work to 
get down the cost of care and deliver higher quality of care to the 
American people.
  They are not in the health care bill that passed the Senate, that 
passed the House, and was signed into law. That is why today, once 
again, in light of this brandnew information on the increased costs and 
the final realization that the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
now says: Gee, we don't have enough doctors to cover the situation, it 
is time to repeal this bill and replace it with what we know will work 
for the American people.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia.


                           Amendment No. 3736

  Mr. WEBB. Mr. President, I rise to speak on an amendment I submitted, 
amendment No. 3736. This amendment I know has caused some concerns in 
different places, both in the political process and in the financial 
sector. I believe it is a very fair, carefully drawn amendment. It is a 
fulfillment of a promise I made when I voted in favor of the TARP 
funding on October 1, 2008, when I stated I would do everything I could 
to make sure, first of all, that we look at appropriate executive 
compensation issues; second, that we would work to reregulate the 
financial sector, which we are doing in this bill, thankfully; and 
third, we would invest the American taxpayers in the upside of the 
economy when it started to come back because it was the American 
taxpayers' funding of rebuilding our economy that made this happen, not 
the funding of the banking system.
  This amendment simply says that if you received $5 billion or more 
from TARP and if you are a couple of other companies, such as Fannie 
Mae and Freddie Mac, that received significant Federal funding in this 
bailout, any compensation you received in 2009 that is above your basic 
compensation and above an initial $400,000 bonus should be shared with 
the taxpayers who made this possible.
  This is not a clawback. It is not retroactive. It is moneys earned in 
2009 which were paid out in 2010. It is not ongoing. It is a one-shot 
proposition. It affects only 13 companies. From the executives of those 
13 companies, it is estimated the American taxpayers would be 
remunerated to the extent of $3.5 billion to $10 billion. I believe 
this is very fair. But at the same time I understand, based on 
discussions with leadership, that there may be a constitutional point 
of order that would

[[Page 7852]]

preclude consideration of this amendment on this particular piece of 
legislation.
  I wish to take this opportunity to inquire of Chairman Dodd, through 
the Chair, whether that is his understanding as well.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I thank my friend and colleague from 
Virginia. He is absolutely right. That is exactly the case. Under the 
Constitution of the United States, all revenue-rising measures must 
originate in the other body, the House of Representatives.
  Despite the merits of his amendment, with which I agree, we have what 
we call a blue slip. When an amendment originates over here and it 
impacts the Internal Revenue Code, it is subject to an objection, what 
we call a blue slip. It does not go to the merits of the amendment. It 
goes to the constitutionality of such a proposal where revenue is 
affected. Those matters must begin in the House.
  I say to my colleague from Virginia, there will be opportunities, I 
am sure, with revenue measures coming from the House for our 
consideration to raise this amendment again. I, for one, am attracted 
to the amendment and what he is proposing and hope at another point--
and I presume that opportunity will arise in the next couple months 
because I gather revenue measures will be coming over--that we will 
have another chance to address this issue.
  I appreciate his consideration of this matter and look forward to 
working with him on this question the next opportunity we have to do 
so. It is my understanding the amendment would suffer from that 
constitutional question at this point.
  Mr. WEBB. Mr. President, I thank the chairman for his clarification. 
The last thing I wish to do in a bill this complex is to tie up the 
Senate in procedural votes, rather than votes of substance. Even if 
this point of order were raised, it is my understanding then there 
would be a mandatory vote which would tie us up. I am not going to call 
up this amendment. I very much appreciate what the chairman said about 
the possibility that we be allowed to vote on other appropriate 
legislation being considered in the Senate.
  As I previously stated, I believe this is a matter of very eminent 
fairness, and it would be for the body to vote on it. I would like to 
have that vote.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, while we are waiting, there are two pending 
amendments which we can voice vote, but I gather there may be a second-
degree amendment offered to one of these amendments. It will be the 
first time a second-degree amendment has been offered to one of these 
amendments.
  We are trying to go through the process and give everybody a chance 
to air their ideas. There have been no tabling motions, no filibusters, 
at least none declared on the bill at this point. Nonetheless, Senators 
have the right to offer second-degree amendments, if they wish. We have 
avoided it up to now, having considered quite a few proposals on the 
floor of the Senate.
  I count about 15, 16, at least on my list of amendments, on the 
Democratic side Members who would like to be given the opportunity to 
raise. I cannot speak to the number on the other side, but it is not a 
large number. Our Republican colleagues, at least based on the list I 
have seen--it is about six or seven or eight. I may be off a little bit 
on that count, but it is not a large number.
  Here we are again, it is almost 12:30 p.m. and sitting here, 
potentially going to a quorum call. I am hearing again my colleagues 
say we have to stay on this bill and don't get off it. I am prepared to 
stay and work, but we cannot work when Members will not come over and 
at least allow us to vote up or down on rollcall votes on these 
amendments.
  On Saturday, I submitted to my good friend from Alabama, Senator 
Shelby, and his staff a list of technical amendments, as well as 
bipartisan amendments and others that I thought were noncontroversial 
that we could make part of a managers' amendment. We can only do a 
managers' amendment when we get consent. Obviously, any objections to 
any of the suggestions I sent over on Saturday would exclude them from 
a managers' amendment.
  It is now Wednesday, and I have not heard back whether we can 
subtract or add to those amendments. It would help tremendously to 
clean out a lot of issues on which I believe there is consensus.
  I made it privately and I make a plea publicly. At some point, the 
leader is going to say enough is enough on the bill. We are trying to 
go back and forth in an orderly fashion so Members will have a chance, 
on either side of this so-called political divide, which I wish did not 
exist--even in this Chamber--for people to offer amendments. In a dead 
time such as this, the clock is ticking. We have no votes this Friday. 
We will not be in on Saturday or Sunday. We would like to move on to 
other issues.
  We have taken a lot of time on this bill. I am a strong advocate of 
doing that to prove this body can function, we can consider each 
others' ideas, modify them, vote for them, vote against them but to do 
what we tell every high school class or elementary school class we talk 
to as Senators about how the Senate functions. I think we are proving 
we can do that on this bill, despite the significance of it--the first 
time in almost 100 years reforming the financial structure of our 
Nation.
  My hope is we will continue and finish it without having to get 
involved in procedural motions that would deprive people of being heard 
on their ideas, whether you like it or not, but at least have the 
opportunity for it to come up.
  I am trying to orchestrate the votes that relate to the matters with 
which we are dealing. It does not work perfectly. It is what every 
manager tries to do. I know some Members are frustrated because they 
have not been able to be heard yet on their ideas. I wish to give them 
an opportunity to do so.
  When we get delays such as this, when the time could be filled on 
considering these matters, it sets us back from the goal of having a 
bill completed in this Congress where all Members have had a chance to 
be heard, that we were able to tackle a significant issue and come to a 
conclusion about it.
  There are those who think we cannot do that any longer. I believe we 
can, and we have been proving it in the last couple weeks. After 2 
weeks of a good, spirited, civil, in some cases partisan but civil 
debate, let us complete the work as we have begun it.
  My plea to my colleagues, particularly on the minority side right 
now, is please respond to these requests so we can have some idea of 
what can be accepted, what can be modified and not accepted so we can 
move forward with the legislation.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arkansas.
  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I add my compliments and gratitude to 
Chairman Dodd for his unbelievable patience and hard work and the hard 
work of his staff in trying to come up with a good consensus, finding 
common ground where we can move forward and address the economic crisis 
that has hit this country and deal with the consequences we have seen 
and certainly the ideas we know exist, to be able to solve the problems 
and move forward, put our economy back on track, put people back to 
work, making sure we are rebuilding our country in a way that is going 
to be sustainable, with a good financial regulatory reform initiative 
that is going to be meaningful.
  I applaud his efforts and patience in what he is doing, working with 
everyone. I certainly add my efforts in trying to work together with 
others to make sure we can move this bill expeditiously as possible, 
obviously with the consideration he has given to everyone's concerns 
and desires to make it a better bill.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, if my colleague will yield for a minute, I 
thank the Senator from Arkansas. She is chairperson of the Agriculture 
Committee, which is a huge undertaking. Every State is affected by 
decisions made in that committee. Even small States in New England, 
contrary to

[[Page 7853]]

what many people may think, have agricultural interests, maybe not to 
the extent of Oregon and Arkansas but we have them.
  I am very grateful to her and members of her committee for the work 
they engaged in. We are truly fortunate to have the Senator from 
Arkansas in the position she is in--making decisions, providing 
valuable contributions, not just to this effort; we have worked 
together on a lot of issues over the years. She is a great advocate of 
her State, but I also say she is a great advocate of our country. That 
is the quality we hope people bring. We have an obligation to keep an 
eye out for what happens in our States but also to keep an eye out for 
what happens to our country. Striking that balance is a challenge we 
face at one time or another. No one does it better than the Senator 
from Arkansas, striking a balance.
  I have heard that word about Arkansans over and over during her 
tenure. She is as tenacious a fighter as any State has had in my 30 
years here. She is also mindful that Arkansas, similar to Connecticut, 
is part of a country, and we all have to be mindful of each other's 
interests. Striking that balance has been invaluable in this debate.
  I did not want the moment to pass without thanking her immensely and 
her staff and others for the contributions they have made.
  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Connecticut. I 
am grateful to him for his comments and again grateful for his patience 
and perseverance in getting something done that is meaningful to all 
Americans. Arkansans are clamoring for it, and I know others across the 
Nation are.
  The will say about the work of the Agriculture Committee, for all 
Americans who enjoy nutrition, that comes from the hard-working farm 
families across this country who produce the safest, the most abundant, 
and affordable food and fiber. We all have a little bit at stake in 
that Agriculture Committee.
  We appreciate so much working with the Senator from Connecticut. 
Chairman Dodd has done a tremendous job.


                       Honoring our Armed Forces

                    Lance Corporal Richard R. Penny

  Mr. President, this week, my home State of Arkansas marks a somber 
milestone. Since September 11, 2001, 100 service men and women with 
ties to Arkansas have given their life to help defend our freedoms in 
this great country. I rise to honor their ultimate sacrifice on behalf 
of our Nation.
  It is also with great sadness that I pay tribute to the family of 
LCpl Richard R. Penny, 21 years of age, of Fayetteville, AR. Lance 
Corporal Penny was killed May 6 while supporting combat operations in 
Helmand Province in Afghanistan, making him our State's 100th service 
man or woman to have given his life to help defend our freedom.
  Along with all Arkansans, I am grateful for Lance Corporal Penny's 
service and for the service and sacrifice of all our military 
servicemembers and their families. More than 11,000 Arkansans on Active 
Duty and more than 10,000 Arkansas Reservists have served in Iraq and 
Afghanistan since September 11, 2001. These men and women have shown 
tremendous courage and perseverance through the most difficult of 
times.
  My father and both my grandfathers served as infantrymen. They served 
our Nation in uniform and taught me from an early age about the 
sacrifices our troops and their families make to keep our Nation free. 
As neighbors, as Arkansans and as Americans, it is incumbent upon us to 
do everything we can to honor their service and to provide for them and 
their families not only when they are in harm's way but also when they 
return home.
  While it is important to honor those who have served our country in 
uniform with words, we must also honor them with our actions. I have 
consistently supported initiatives that expand the benefits our 
servicemembers and veterans have earned and deserve. During these tough 
economic times, it is even more important that we don't shortchange 
these heroes and their families.
  That is why I have authored several bills on behalf of Arkansas's 
military servicemembers, veterans, and their families. In doing so, I 
have focused on a number of priorities, including requiring more 
accessible health care for guardsmen and reservists so they can 
maintain the medical readiness required to fulfill their mission and 
also ensuring that future GI benefits for members of the National Guard 
and Reserve keep pace with the national average cost of tuition, and 
allowing beneficiaries of the post-9/11 GI bill to use their GI 
benefits more flexibly to develop skills that are critical to our 
workforce and our economy and their reentrance into the workplace, and 
also addressing inequities in survivor benefits for military families.
  With more than 600,000 courageous men and women who have returned 
from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, and with thousands more on the 
way, mental health care is an issue that also deserves more attention. 
I have visited injured servicemembers at Walter Reed and in Arkansas 
and witnessed firsthand that more and more of our troops are affected 
by service-connected mental health issues, such as traumatic brain 
injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. To address this issue, I 
have introduced legislation to ensure that our troops receive proper 
mental health assessments before and after they enter a conflict zone.
  The issue of mental health does not just affect our troops. With more 
National Guard and Reserve from our rural communities serving abroad, 
families have expressed concerns to me about the impact increased 
military deployments have on other children, and particularly their 
children, and whether schools have sufficient resources to meet these 
challenges. To meet these concerns, I have also introduced legislation 
to increase the number of school counselors, school social workers, and 
school psychiatrists and psychologists in high-needs school districts, 
many of which are located in our rural areas all across this great 
Nation.
  All of our veterans, from the ``greatest generation'' to Vietnam war 
veterans to the new generation of servicemembers in the Middle East and 
across the globe, all of our veterans have sacrificed greatly on behalf 
of our country. Although the challenges and needs of veterans have 
changed over time, one thing remains constant: It is the responsibility 
of our Nation to provide the tools necessary to care for our country's 
returning servicemembers and honor the commitment our Nation made when 
we sent them into harm's way in the first place.
  Our grateful Nation will not forget them when their military service 
is complete. It is the least we can do for those to whom we owe so 
much.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Hagan). The Senator from Virginia.
  Mr. WARNER. Madam President, I thank my friend, the Senator from 
Arkansas, for her statement today about the sacrifice of folks not only 
from Arkansas but across the country--Virginia, Delaware, and from 
North Carolina.
  Madam President, I wasn't planning on speaking, and I will only do so 
briefly because my friend, the Senator from Delaware, is going to speak 
much more extensively on this issue. But I think many of us who have 
had the opportunity to preside have heard--and in particular on Monday 
afternoons--the Senator from Delaware come down on a regular basis, for 
months, to speak on what, until last Thursday, was a pretty esoteric 
issue--an issue that, for somebody who spent 20 years around the 
finance sector before I got into politics full time, I thought I might 
have some knowledge of.
  But as the Senator started talking about high-frequency trading, 
collocation, sponsored access, and flash trading, I realized this was a 
whole realm of new terms that actually even makes derivatives look 
simple.
  The Senator from Delaware sounded an early warning signal that the 
massive amounts of investments that have been made by certain firms to 
try to get what appears to be a fractional millisecond advantage in the 
trading process might come back to haunt us all.

[[Page 7854]]

Last Thursday afternoon we saw potentially--and we still don't know, 
and the regulators were up testifying on the Hill yesterday on the 
House side--what could have been the first warning shot across the bow 
of what could be the next systemic risk crisis when the stock markets 
in the United States lost over $1 trillion of value in a dramatic 
downsweep of about 16 to 20 minutes.
  The market recovered, but almost a week later we still don't know the 
real cause, and I don't think we can blame the regulators. I have had 
conferences with the head of the SEC, and she acknowledges the 
difficulty in keeping up with the technology and having the oversight 
for all of this proliferation of new exchanges--electronic exchanges--
many that didn't even exist a few years back.
  Most investors probably think they trade on the New York Stock 
Exchange, the American Stock Exchange, or the NASDAQ. They don't 
realize the majority of trades are now on electronic exchanges they 
have probably never even heard of. The Senator from Delaware has 
consistently raised this issue, and whether we simply need additional 
speed limits, system brakes, or whether we need to make sure there is 
not an unfair advantage that is being created, these are all issues we 
need to come back to.
  I want to personally say I am proud of the fact the Senator from 
Delaware and I contacted the chairman of the Banking Committee and we 
have spoken out. But he has been the leader on this issue, and I have 
been proud to follow his lead. I know he is going to speak more about 
this issue today, and I am sure in the coming weeks. I don't have all 
the knowledge, I don't know the right answer yet, but I know in my gut 
that the Senator from Delaware is onto something here; that we all need 
to make sure we take a better examination of it.
  The last thing the market needs right now, particularly for that 
small-time investor, is some sense that somebody on Wall Street is 
getting even one further advantage through the use of technology or 
that there is not appropriate system brakes in the event of a mistake 
made.
  So as I yield the floor, I commend my friend, the Senator from 
Delaware, and look forward to working with him and the chairman of the 
Banking Committee, who has said the committee will be taking up this 
issue. It is something I think we all need to take heed of to make sure 
in this very important legislation that Chairman Dodd is working on we 
not only make sure we fix the last crisis but we potentially get ahead 
of the next crisis.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.
  Mr. KAUFMAN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in 
morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. KAUFMAN. Madam President, the Senator from Virginia, as usual, is 
modest. He has explained a lot to me about the intricacies of this 
area, which is of great concern, and his knowledge on this is great. It 
is, I am finding, incredibly rewarding working with him on this issue. 
So I want to speak about that a little today and follow up on the 
remarks the Senator from Virginia made.
  As Senator Warner said, last Thursday, for one of the few times since 
24 stockbrokers first gathered under a Buttonwood tree in 1792, we had 
a stock market that for 20 minutes stopped performing its essential 
function--discovering the price of securities based on a balance 
between buyers and sellers. Our equities markets collapsed in a matter 
of minutes--liquidity dropped off, a deluge of sell orders overwhelmed 
the buyers, and the rug was pulled out from underneath millions of 
investors, plummeting the Dow Jones Industrial Average toward its 
biggest intraday loss in history--nearly 1,000 points.
  Then, just as quickly, and inexplicably, the market reversed course, 
snapping back like a yo-yo, and recovered much of its lost ground, 
thank goodness. In the immediate aftermath, the world's focus turned to 
black-box computer trading, which relies upon electronic trading 
algorithms to execute thousands of orders in tiny fractions of a 
second. These high-frequency trading computer programs determine, with 
minimal, almost no human intervention, the timing, price, and quantity 
of orders.
  It is too soon to know the myriad of factors that played into the 
week's meltdown, although it appears to be quite likely that we 
witnessed a real-time example of high-tech trading run wild or, in some 
cases, unplugged.
  The cooperation between the SEC and the CFTC is critical to 
unraveling what happened in the futures and equities markets, and we 
should wait for their investigation and for all the facts to be 
discovered. It is also too soon to coalesce about Band-Aid solutions; 
that is, without also committing to dive deeper into structural 
problems and inherent conflicts of interest that are part of all our 
capital markets. The SEC still has not discovered or explained what 
triggered or accelerated the incident, but already the leaders of the 
exchanges have admitted that no one had previously thought to implement 
system-wide circuit breakers or adequately protect against the 
possibility of erroneous trades.
  Yesterday, after the meeting with the leaders of six exchanges, the 
SEC released a statement saying:

       As a first step, the parties agreed on a structural 
     framework, to be refined over the next day, for strengthening 
     circuit breakers and handling erroneous trades.

  Madam President, that is fine--and I mean that is fine--but it is 
indeed, as the SEC said, only a first step. While it is true we should 
wait for information to come in before we reach any conclusions, there 
are many questions that must be carefully reviewed and answered. The 
first and most obvious is whether we have gone from too few market 
centers--it wasn't all that long ago we just had two, the New York 
Stock Exchange and NASDAQ--to too many, each with different standards 
and procedures for protecting investors and preserving market 
integrity.
  We now have over 50 market centers, which has brought added 
competition. Competition is good. Today, algorithmic trading interests 
are wired against markets--equity, fixed income, futures, and options. 
The market is the network, and yet our regulators work in silos. 
Responsibilities are divided between the Securities and Exchange 
Commission and the CFTC. Within equity markets, we have several self-
regulatory organizations setting rules--more silos: New York Stock 
Exchange, NASDAQ, FINRA, National Stock Exchange, and more. All too 
often, those rules have been watered down and eliminated in the absence 
of the SEC establishing these and other regulatory controls across 
equity markets.
  We created a national market system, but we forgot to create a 
national regulatory and surveillance system to go along with it. We 
need--we absolutely have to have--a consolidated audit trail across all 
market centers, as Senator Schumer and others have raised. As FINRA 
Chairman Rick Ketchum admitted last October, regulators are looking at 
``an incomplete picture of the market and knowing full well that this 
fractured approach does not work.''
  That is quoting the chairman of FINRA, Rick Ketchum.
  The second obvious question is, Why is it taking the SEC so long to 
reconstruct the unusual market activity of last Thursday? There is an 
answer to that--because there is no transparency. The Commission does 
not yet collect by rule the data it needs to officially reconstruct 
unusual market activity. Even though Congress gave the SEC ``large 
trader'' reporting authority in the Market Reform Act of 1990--that is 
1990, after the SEC had difficulty in reconstructing market incidents 
in 1987 and 1989--the SEC has never used it.
  The SEC proposed a large trader rule in 1991, received comments, 
reproposed in 1994, and then unfortunately never adopted it--this, even 
though the Commission acknowledges:

       The current Electronic Blue Sheet system does not 
     efficiently collect large volumes of data in a timely manner 
     that allows the

[[Page 7855]]

     Commission to perform contemporaneous analysis of the market 
     events. Further, the data generated by the EBS system does 
     not include important information on the time of the trade or 
     the identity of the customer.

  This is what the Commission acknowledges, that the data generated by 
the EBS system does not include important information--the time of the 
trade and the identity of the customer. How are you supposed to find 
out how something happened if you don't have data on the time of the 
trade or the identity of the customer?
  Flash forward to 2009. To SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro's credit, and to 
her real credit, she began a process of studying market structure and 
high-frequency trading last October.
  I have to say, however, the pace of the Commission's progress has 
been slow. Indeed, as many of my colleagues know, I have come to the 
floor repeatedly to call for a greater sense of urgency at the 
Commission.
  For example, last year on September 23, I spoke on the Senate floor 
and asked about high frequency trading strategies:

       Do these high-tech practices and their ballooning daily 
     volumes pose a systemic risk?
       What do we really know about the cumulative effect of all 
     these changes on the stability of our capital markets?
       In order to maximize speed of execution, many sponsored 
     access participants may neglect important pre-trade credit 
     and compliance checks that ensure faulty algorithms cannot 
     send out erroneous trades.

  On November 20, 2009, I wrote a letter to SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro 
asserting:

       [T]ransparency, disclosure and risk compliance requirements 
     on the trading activities of high frequency traders are 
     needed urgently. And while I was encouraged to hear that the 
     Commission may move sooner with its existing authority to 
     require ``tagging'' and reporting by ``large traders'' now 
     using high-frequency algorithms, I am concerned that the 
     Commission does not intend to issue a concept release on high 
     frequency trading until early next year, and that rule 
     proposals should not be expected before the summer of 2010-
     2011. Given that the Commission under current procedures is 
     now blind to high frequency operations, the need for 
     immediate action should not wait until the Commission has 
     completed its comprehensive review.

  In her response on December 3, Chairman Schapiro assured me the 
Commission was planning to issue a proposed ``large trader'' tagging 
rule the following month. That was back in December.
  But it was not until months later, on April 14, that the Commission 
finally did so. While I understand these were incredible problems that 
faced the SEC because there was no real regulatory oversight for many 
years, and because of the many hurdles regulatory agencies face which 
slow them down--in particular the need to avoid unintended 
consequences--this process was clearly way beyond deliberative.
  Given the deficiencies in the current data collection system that the 
SEC itself acknowledges and which Congress gave the SEC the authority 
to address in 1990, this delay is inexcusable.
  The SEC must move aggressively to finalize the large trader rule and 
insist on fast-track implementation by the industry.
  There are many other questions a deeper review should study.
  Particularly the problem of high frequency programs which sell stock 
short without first locating the underlying shares or borrowing them in 
hope that their price will drop and they can buy those shares back--so-
called naked short selling--before the required delivery date--at a 
lower price for a profit. Last Thursday, it appears that the computers 
went into overdrive spewing out sell orders, and in the critical 10 
minute time period, I will bet my bottom dollar that many of those sell 
orders were short sales that did not first locate the stock.
  Now as I have said repeatedly, there is nothing wrong with short 
selling, I have done it myself. But I have always had to borrow the 
stock first.
  Last July, along with Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and six other Senators, 
we wrote the SEC demanding that short sales not be permitted unless the 
seller first obtains a ``hard locate'' of specified shares. But that 
proposal went nowhere, even though the SEC held a Roundtable last 
September to discuss the problems associated with naked short selling.
  The larger point is these high frequency trading firms have assumed 
the role that specialists used to take. Some of them get the same 
benefits of specialists. They get to ignore short-selling locate rules. 
They get to step in front of other orders on the book legally. All 
because they provide liquidity, for which they are also paid.
  Why should they have those advantages? Did some of them abandon their 
role of liquidity provider when the market needed them most, and 
instead use their advantages to disadvantage everyone else on the way 
down? Those questions must be answered.
  Last September 14 I went to the Senate floor and spoke about the 
dangers of unregulated high-frequency trading, asking:

       If we experience another shock to the financial system, 
     will this new, and dominant, type of pseudo market maker act 
     in the interest of the markets when we really need them?
       Will they step up and maintain a two-sided market, or will 
     they simply shut off the machines and walk away?
       Even worse, will they seek even further profit and 
     exacerbate the downside?

  After Thursday's plunge, I am afraid my questions have been answered.
  Instead of providing ``fair and orderly markets'' as some market 
makers are obligated to do, some of these unregulated players may have 
added to the chaos, while others simply unplugged their computers and 
suspended operations, reducing liquidity when the market needed it the 
very most.
  Here is another related question: Was there manipulation involved on 
Thursday? More to the point, does the SEC even have the ability to 
detect illegal manipulation by high frequency algorithms?
  We know the SEC doesn't have the data it needs. The large trader rule 
hopefully will fix that at some future date. Hopefully sooner before 
later.
  There is also the question of whether the SEC has the internal 
analytical capability to use that data to police trading activities? I 
know this is something they want to do and we in Congress should help 
them get it as soon as possible.
  I have been suggesting that once the SEC collects the data, it should 
mask the proprietary nature of the data and either No. 1 release it to 
the marketplace, or No. 2 to academics and private analytic firms under 
``hold confidential'' agreements. I believe the SEC needs help in 
conducting analyses about whether high frequency trading practices are 
harmful to the interests of long-term investors.
  Another question I have raised in the past is whether the SEC needs 
to impose industry-wide pre-trade operational risk controls, in order 
to prevent the incidents and magnitude of trading errors and the havoc 
they can cause.
  After last Thursday, that one is starting to look easy.
  Markets have always had operational risks, but it is clear that the 
proliferation of competing complex computer models has the potential to 
magnify and exacerbate these risks in ways that can fundamentally 
damage market integrity and confidence.
  With computerized, high-frequency trading now responsible for an 
estimated 70 percent of daily trading volume, markets have come to rely 
upon these black-box systems for ample and consistent order flow.
  Yet humans are simply unable to evaluate in real-time whether their 
trading models are working as intended.
  Yet another question is whether our markets are still performing one 
of their best and most important functions: the constant and reliable 
channeling of capital through the public sale of company stock known as 
initial public offerings. According to a series of reports released 
last year by the accounting firm Grant Thornton, the answer is no, the 
IPO market in the United States ``has practically disappeared.''
  The IPO market is where small and medium-size businesses go to get 
the capital they need to grow, to pass through the valley of death, to 
get on with what they have to do.
  Without a doubt, there have been many causes of the sad state of 
America's IPO market. But one source of the

[[Page 7856]]

problem might be the dominance of high frequency trading strategies 
designed to trade in the most active, highly liquid names, but with 
little support for small-cap stocks.
  Our markets should work to best serve Americans--by reflecting 
changes in supply and demand and investors' assessments of stock 
fundamentals--not by encouraging a battle between algorithms looking to 
shave microseconds from their transactions in a few highly liquid 
names. As Dallas Mavericks' owner and long-time and very successful and 
knowledgeable investor Mark Cuban has recently asked: ``What business 
is Wall Street in? . . . [I]t is important for this country to push 
Wall Street back to the business of creating capital for businesses.''
  There are other questions, as well, many involving conflicts of 
interest and the failures of some of the exchanges and market centers 
to fulfill their gatekeeper function as self-regulatory organizations.
  Moving forward, I applaud Senator Dodd, the chairman of the Banking 
Committee, for calling for hearings to be chaired by Senator Jack Reed 
who is very knowledgeable in this area on the market's recent plunge 
and recovery. It could not be in better hands.
  And I am also pleased that a number of market participants and 
regulators have recognized the need for regulations that will protect 
the markets from future periods of extreme and inexplicable volatility 
like last Thursday's.
  I am concerned, however, that the SEC must not solely look for quick 
fixes and surface solutions. The events of May 6 call for a meaningful 
review of these structural issues, leading to reforms that truly 
protect investors and, really important, restore the credibility of our 
markets so they serve well their highest and best function.
  That is why Congress, consistent with its oversight responsibilities, 
must direct regulators to study and report, in a timely manner, on what 
needs to be done to prevent another meltdown of this magnitude or one 
even worse. It is entirely appropriate for Congress to elaborate on the 
needed elements of a meaningful review, many of which I have outlined 
today.
  Senator Mark Warner and I want to add language to the current Wall 
Street Reform Act that would do just that. Once that report to Congress 
is finished, only then can Congress either draft needed legislation or 
encourage new rules.
  We all know that the challenge for regulators is to see beyond the 
horizon and to act preventively before financial crises hit. That is 
the key to everything we do around here. We have to look ahead.
  This is always difficult, but especially so when markets are opaque 
and Wall Street interests resist even reasonable suggestions about 
needed reforms.
  During the past 9 months, in response to my calls for transparency 
and an SEC review of high frequency trading, many voices on Wall Street 
praised the virtues of electronic trading--and almost none were 
interested in looking critically or even honestly for weaknesses or 
potential systemic risks. ``There is nothing wrong here.'' ``You 
shouldn't even look at this.'' That is all I was looking for and so 
many on Wall Street said, ``No, nothing wrong here. We should not spend 
time on that.''
  My staff has read through nearly a hundred comment letters submitted 
over a period of months from brokerage firms, consultants, exchanges, 
high frequency firms, and alternative trading systems. The vast, vast 
majority of those letters stated the markets have performed 
exceptionally, and just needed to be left alone. They all stated how 
things were fine and saw nothing amiss. Systemic risk? Not here.
  Our exchanges--which by statute are required to ``prevent fraudulent 
and manipulative acts and practices'' and be the first line of 
regulatory review of trading practices--are now competing vigorously to 
attract high volume traders to maintain their profits. Yet in response 
to the SEC's concept release raising questions about market structure 
issues, sources of systemic risk and possible manipulation by high 
frequency traders, the CEO of BATS Exchange sent out a ``call to 
action'' for all high frequency trading firms, suggesting that they all 
file comment letters on common themes. ``The best defense is a good 
offense,'' he wrote.
  His letter also said:

       BATS doesn't believe the equities markets are broken. To 
     the contrary, we would argue that the US equity markets were 
     a shining model of reliability and healthy function during 
     what some are calling one of the most challenging and 
     difficult times in recent market history.

  He went on to write:

       Those outside the industry, who have differing opinions, 
     are likely to have a difficult time bringing forward 
     compelling arguments based on the lack of hard evidence.

  I ask: Is this the attitude we want from those charged with 
protecting investors? Yes, when the markets are opaque and no one 
outside the industry has any data, when the exchange leadership itself 
stays on the offense, it is indeed difficult to offer hard evidence 
supporting a contrary view.
  Then we read from a comment letter to the SEC written by the 
Securities Traders Association in the week before the meltdown. The 
week before the meltdown.

       The equity markets are functioning properly, and there are 
     no signs of significant deficiencies or an inability to 
     perform their important functions.

  Saying it does not make it so. Now the credibility of both markets is 
urgently in need of repair. But for that to happen, democracy must work 
in a way that permits timely reform of our most powerful financial 
institutions, and Wall Street must and should recognize its own long-
term interests. The credibility of our markets is vitally at stake.
  As I have said many times on this floor, what is important are two 
things that make this country great: democracy and our capital markets. 
If we let something happen to the credibility of our capital markets, 
we will have done a great disservice to our country now and to our 
grandchildren.
  I will close my remarks today with the same words I used to conclude 
my floor speech last September 23, as they still ring true to me.

       We cannot simply react to problems after they have 
     occurred. We need the information and resources to identify 
     problems before they arise and stop them in their tracks . . 
     . [We] cannot allow liquidity to trump transparency and 
     fairness, and we cannot permit the need for speed to blind us 
     to the potentially devastating risks inherent in effectively 
     unregulated transactions.

  I thought I was right when I gave it on September 23. After what 
happened last Thursday, I feel it is even more appropriate.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio is recognized.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Madam President, I appreciate the leadership of my 
colleague from Delaware who understands this Wall Street reform perhaps 
better than anybody in the Senate, and has particularly led the charge 
on working on too big to fail meaning too big. That the size of banks 
in this country--when the six largest banks' assets 15 years ago were 
only 17 percent of GDP, and today the assets of the six largest banks 
total 63 percent of gross domestic product, we know that too big to 
fail really is too big. I appreciate the work Senator Kaufman has done 
on that.
  We know what a financial meltdown looks like. It means pensions 
shattered, it means homes lost, it means college plans delayed or even 
abandoned, it means good-paying jobs lost, it means middle-class 
security undermined. Two years after the financial collapse in March 
2010, there were 655,000 unemployed Ohioans. Ohio's unemployment rate 
today is 11 percent. Three of the largest banks slashed their SBA 
lending by 86 percent from 2008 to 2009. In Ohio, small business SBA-
backed loans went from 4,200 of them in 2007 to 2,100 of them in 2009. 
Wall Street's casino gambling with the housing markets has caused 
nearly 90,000 foreclosures in Ohio just in the year 2009. The average 
median sales price of existing single-family homes across eight of 
Ohio's metropolitan markets plunged by an average of 16 percent from 
2007 to 2009.

[[Page 7857]]

  So why are my colleagues on the other side of the aisle trying to 
maintain the regulatory environment that allowed Wall Street to 
squander middle-class wealth and security? It makes me incredulous to 
think there are people in this institution, and a number of them, who 
want to continue the way it is always done, who think Wall Street does 
not need further regulation.
  They were the same people who in the Bush years pushed for 
deregulation, and then President Bush assisted his Republican friends 
by putting more pro-bank, pro-Wall Street bank regulators in place to 
regulate after already weakening the regulations.
  Neither Republicans nor Democrats should be starting this debate, 
should be starting the legislative process, by thinking, well, what is 
best for Wall Street, and then by working backward to see which 
consumer protections Wall Street can live with. That is not how you 
start this debate.
  You do not say: Well, we have got to decide, can Wall Street live 
with these protections? Are these protections okay? Does Wall Street 
approve of these protections before we do them? That is not the way we 
should be legislating. We should be starting with what will protect 
middle-class families from another devastating economic blow, and we 
should then move forward to put those protections in place. It should 
be as simple as that.
  My Democratic colleagues and I are fighting for the strongest 
possible measures to hold Wall Street accountable. I hope my Republican 
colleagues resist the temptation, a temptation they usually succumb to, 
to water down reform and carve out loopholes for the special interests. 
That has been the problem all along, the power of the bank lobby here, 
the power of Wall Street in the House of Representatives and the 
Senate, the bias so many have that, well, Wall Street did not really do 
that badly, we should water down this reform, we should carve out 
loopholes so Wall Street can continue doing business the way they did.
  It is time, instead, to act on behalf of the people we serve, not 
Wall Street firms. Too many of my colleagues across the aisle, simply 
put, are putting Wall Street before Main Street.
  The first step toward the financial recovery is protecting American 
families who rely on credit cards to meet their financial obligations 
or mortgages, to finance their dream of home ownership. Let's not 
forget that the kindling for this fire that became the global financial 
crisis was a pile of exploding mortgages. If we allow lenders of all 
types to continue preying upon hard-working Americans, then we are 
setting ourselves up for another disaster. This time it was securitized 
mortgages. Next time it can be student loans or it could be credit card 
debt, or it could be commercial real estate or it could be the junk 
bond market. Who can say for sure? That is why the independent consumer 
protection bureau in this legislation is essential.
  It will create, for the first time, an entity dedicated to protecting 
the interests of middle-class Americans against the greed and the 
recklessness of Wall Street. We need a watchdog to make sure Wall 
Street gamblers and their lobbyists do not trample the American dream 
as a means of feeding their own greed.
  Beyond establishing this agency, an agency tasked with protecting the 
interests of middle-class families, we have an opportunity to do much 
more to protect American families. We should adopt an amendment offered 
by Senator Whitehouse, cosponsored by my colleague sitting nearby on 
the floor, Senator Casey, and a number of us, a bipartisan amendment, 
that would empower States to protect their citizens from unfair credit 
card interest rates.
  Thirty-two years ago the Supreme Court decision, the Marquette 
decision, perhaps the most important Supreme Court decision Americans 
do not know about, overruled the consumer protections, so-called usury 
rates, interest rates, among the 50 States.
  In other words, if the legislatures of the State of Pennsylvania, the 
State of North Carolina, the Presiding Officer's State, or my State of 
Ohio, enacted an 18-percent usury rate or a 16-percent usury rate, that 
is the top rate at which lenders can charge customers. Those rates were 
overturned by the Supreme Court decision because the Supreme Court 
decided it does not matter where the customer is, whether the customer 
is in Charlotte or Harrisburg or Cleveland or Columbus, it mattered 
where the bank was.
  Basically what that meant was, bank after bank after bank located 
their operations in a State with very high usury rates or no usury 
rates at all. Therefore, a customer in Akron or a customer in Toledo or 
Mansfield or Springfield or Xenia, having a credit card with a bank in 
South Dakota paid much higher interest rates, even though Ohio set its 
interest rates much lower.
  Usury rates--I quoted today in a presentation earlier--were 
established by the Bible. In Exodus 12, I believe, the Bible says 
clearly that usury rates--the usurious interest rates aimed at the 
poor, and aimed really at everybody, simply should not stand.
  Yet, by this Supreme Court decision in 1978, the Court ruled we would 
basically outsource our interest rate, our consumer protections, to the 
lowest common denominator State. So if South Dakota has no usury rates 
or no limit or a very high limit on their interest rates, it means a 
credit card holder in Lima, OH or Troy, OH or Springboro, OH is paying 
those high interest rates, even though the Ohio legislature has acted 
against their doing that.
  So the Whitehouse-Casey-Sanders-Brown amendment, a bipartisan 
amendment, is particularly important simply to give the power back to 
the States to make a determination of interest rates. For too long, as 
this Supreme Court decision indicates, and the lack of response from 
Congress indicates, Washington has been looking out for the megabanks.
  Some of my colleagues are still saying these banks' interests are 
more important than protecting the American public. This bill would not 
even allow the consumer protection bureau to set rules regarding credit 
card interest rates. Meanwhile these rates are inexplicably going 
through the roof, at the same time the banks are again enjoying record 
low borrowing costs. It makes no sense. We report to the American 
public, not to high-risk business models.
  The next element of financial collapse came when Wall Street bundled 
toxic mortgages into untested products such as mortgage-backed 
securities and collateralized debt obligations, and synthetic CDOs and 
credit default swaps. Many of these new products, products that almost 
nobody understands, were unregulated derivatives sold in over-the-
counter markets with no oversight or transparency.
  As a member of both the Banking and the Agriculture Committees, I 
want to commend the Chairs of each of those committees for the work in 
creating a derivatives title, a regulation of derivatives, that will 
provide much needed oversight to the $210 trillion--$210 trillion--that 
is the 210 thousand billion dollar U.S. derivatives market.
  At the same time we balance the need in regulation of derivatives, we 
balance the needs of manufacturers in Dayton, Youngstown, and Toledo, 
who used these products appropriately, and that was not where the 
problem was, to limit their business risk.
  This bill provides for financial stability by requiring banks to put 
capital behind their trades. It uses transparency and accountability to 
prevent Wall Street banks from taking advantage of their business 
customers. It reduces speculation that fuels bubbles in markets such as 
natural gas and mortgages.
  I want to single out Chairman Lincoln's proposal to separate 
derivatives operations from commercial banks. It is the right thing to 
do, because the megabanks' speculation is detracting from their primary 
job, lending. Over the last six quarters, megabanks have decreased 
their consumer and small business lending. At the three biggest banks, 
lending under the SBA's 7(a) program, the primary SBA program to help 
startup and existing small businesses, lending under that program 
declined 86 percent from 2 years ago to

[[Page 7858]]

last year, and it does not appear to be getting a lot better this year.
  Over the same period, banks' securities holdings increased by 23 
percent. What does that mean? That means rather than investing in a 
local manufacturing company, Elyria Foundry, or Alcoa in Cleveland, or 
smaller companies, a fastener company in Bedford, or companies, 
manufacturing companies, instead of investing in those, their security 
holdings increased. That is where their capital went.
  That was not productive for our country. It may have been profitable 
for the banks, but it does not work to get our economy back in gear. 
Taxpayer-funded assistance from the FDIC and the Fed should not be 
going to support a bank's gambling, it should be supporting sound 
economic growth.
  In an ideal world, we would treat derivative products like all other 
investment products and trade them on exchanges.
  This is a strong bill, particularly now that we have adopted Senator 
Cantwell's antimanipulation amendment. We are finally going to impose 
some order and allow sunlight into what has been and is currently a 
completely dark and opaque market.
  The final ingredient to the financial crisis came when massive, 
interconnected Wall Street banks and investment houses--such as AIG and 
Citigroup and others--gorged themselves on risky derivatives backed by 
predatory mortgages. When these bets went bad, the U.S. Government 
decided these banks were too big to fail, and the U.S. taxpayer was 
forced to settle their hundreds of billions of dollars in obligations. 
These too big to fail banks are getting even bigger. Right now the five 
biggest banks control 97 percent of all U.S. derivatives. For the first 
time, we are going to have a process to liquidate these large financial 
institutions if they fail. Such a system was lacking at the time the 
giant investment banks, such as Lehman Brothers, Bear Sterns, and 
Merrill Lynch, were in financial peril, due to overleveraging and 
investment in toxic investments.
  I believe the bill should be strengthened to make absolutely certain 
there are no more meltdowns and no more bailouts. I would like to add 
stronger safeguards against behemoth banks that control so much of the 
Nations's wealth they could singlehandedly send our economy spiraling 
downward. Too big to fail means too big. While this is mostly about the 
risk these banks took and might take in the future, it is also about 
size. When 15 years ago the assets of the six largest banks combined 
were 17 percent of the GDP and today the six banks' total assets make 
up 63 percent of GDP, too big to fail is also simply too big. It is 
crucial we adopt an amendment offered by Senators Merkley and Levin to 
ban proprietary trading. Too many Wall Street banks got rich at the 
expense of clients they were supposed to be serving and American 
families whose homes have been taken from them.
  It is equally important that we consider and adopt the amendment 
offered by Senators Cantwell and McCain to reimpose the Glass-Steagall 
wall between commercial and investment banking. We should pass the 
Dorgan amendment, giving the systemic risk council the authority to 
spin off parts of large, cross-border financial institutions. After 2 
years, after millions of jobs lost, after millions of homes foreclosed 
upon, we are attempting to put in place rules that might prevent the 
next crisis. We should not dilute this critical piece of legislation 
with amendments that coddle Wall Street. Too many of my Republican 
colleagues are still trying to do that, introducing amendments that 
choose Wall Street over Main Street.
  It is important this legislation move forward. It is important that 
all of us fight to choose Main Street over Wall Street so this works 
for Findlay, Warren, Bolero, and Tipp City, OH, communities that have 
been hit hard by the greed and recklessness of Wall Street banks.
  That is clear.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania.
  Mr. CASEY. Madam President, I rise to speak about amendment No. 3878.
  We are in the midst of the worst recession, the worst economic 
climate since the 1930s. That is irrefutable. We have had record job 
loss, more than 15 million Americans out of work. In Pennsylvania, some 
582,000 people are out of work, with the unemployment rate hitting 9 
percent. I know a lot of other States have had double-digit 
unemployment for a long time, but 9 percent is still more than 580,000 
people out of work.
  There are a number of ways to measure the horrific consequences of 
this recession--all those individuals out of work, all those families 
destroyed and communities destroyed, by one estimate $8 trillion of 
wealth lost by Americans. We can attribute $100,000 per family in 
negative impact due to what happened on Wall Street.
  In the midst of that, a number of people in the Senate have worked 
very hard to try to put in place new strategies to create jobs, to help 
us continue to recover. The impact of the recovery bill is still being 
felt. We are recovering. Economic growth has picked up. Job growth has 
improved substantially, but we still have a long way to go.
  Despite that, we still have people in Washington who don't seem to 
get it. They seem to want to continue to protect Wall Street. Time 
after time, when an amendment is proposed to the Restoring American 
Financial Stability Act, there are still some who want to protect Wall 
Street. The choice is very clear. There is no middle ground. The 
American people know it. We can either protect Wall Street and let them 
do what they have been doing for years, destroying lives because of 
high-risk practices, allowing these scheme artists--and that is a 
charitable way of describing people who commit fraud or at least engage 
in practices that make a very small sliver of the American people on 
Wall Street very wealthy, creating a handful of billionaires at the 
expense of tens of millions of Americans who lost their job, their home 
or, in some cases, both and are in the process of trying to dig out of 
that and rebuild their lives. You are on one side or the other in this 
debate. You are either for Wall Street or you are for reforms that 
will, at long last, begin to hold Wall Street accountable.
  It is essential to the economy that we pass this legislation. If we 
don't, we will be right back where we were, with no commonsense rules 
in place, Wall Street doing virtually what they want to do to make 
money, no matter what the consequences downstream with regard to those 
who lose their jobs, their homes and, by definition, their hopes and 
dreams. We have to put in place new strategies not only to create jobs 
but to reduce the deficit. We cannot do that unless we take affirmative 
steps to hold Wall Street accountable and give some measure of 
protection to families who have, for too long, been at the other end of 
the bargain. They lose their house. They lose their job. Wall Street 
wins. They lose $100,000, on average, per family. Wall Street wins very 
big.
  One of the things that should be in place is at least the examination 
of something that was discussed at the G-20 conference in September of 
last year in Pittsburgh, where the leaders of the 20 largest economies 
came together and talked about our financial crisis which, of course, 
is an international crisis. It is not something limited to the United 
States. Recently, the European Parliament took the first step by 
passing a resolution supporting a study on a financial transaction tax, 
a fee. The resolution specifically calls for an in-depth study that 
would provide technical recommendations on how such a fee should be 
structured across the Euro zone. The study proposed in my amendment 
mirrors the European study and positions the United States to have an 
informed debate about the issue. This study is simple but can have a 
tremendous impact on the economy because of what we will learn.
  The study would examine the implementation of a transaction fee on 
all security-based transactions, including swaps and security-based 
swaps, except those that are somehow hedging or mitigating risk. Also 
included in these

[[Page 7859]]

transactions would be stock and debt instruments.
  Here is what the study would assess. Again, this is not the 
imposition of a transaction fee. This is a study of the imposition of a 
transaction fee or the implementation thereof. The study would assess, 
first, past uses of such fees, what has happened in the recent past and 
our experience with this, other countries that have tried this, other 
experts who have weighed in, obviously, on the advantages and 
disadvantages of this kind of fee, and the potential to raise revenue.
  We hear a lot of talk in this Chamber about reducing the deficit. It 
is going to be pretty difficult to do that in the current environment 
unless we have new revenue. One of the ways to have new revenue in 
place is to have a transaction fee. Again, this amendment would simply 
require the study of a transaction fee.
  Next, the study would assess the impact on financial markets, which 
is something we have to consider and weigh and analyze, and the impact 
on risky investment behavior. We might know the answer to that, 
generally, because with a transaction fee in place, it is probably less 
likely that a financial institution would engage in the kind of risky, 
reckless, irresponsible and, in some cases, illegal behavior they have 
engaged in which has cost the average American family $100,000 per 
family because of what they did on Wall Street over a number of years.
  The study called for in the amendment would be open to public 
comment, would be conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commission 
and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, in coordination with the 
Department of the Treasury. It is important to have those three 
agencies involved in the review. It is not just going to be farmed out 
to some think tank, where it can be criticized because it lands on one 
side of the political divide or another. It is going to be conducted, 
if we get this in place, by the Securities and Exchange Commission and 
the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, two agencies with substantial 
experience and expertise about this kind of a fee, a transaction fee, 
working in coordination with the Treasury Department. It is important 
to have those agencies involved instead of having a study done by a 
group that has, in many cases, limited expertise.
  Given the dramatic cost of the recession on our economy, the horrific 
and destabilizing job loss we have had, not to mention the world 
economic downturn, we need to be proactive and thoughtful and 
analytical in assessing a transaction fee and the positive impact it 
can have on reducing the deficit and creating jobs.
  For those who will weigh in against the amendment, I ask: Where is 
the other revenue they are going to need to reduce the deficit or at 
least to allocate part of the revenue we generate to reducing the 
deficit? What are they going to do about job creation? If they are not 
doing some work on both of those, they are not too concerned about 
where the economy is going. If we are going to fully recover and grow 
and sustain growth overtime, we need job creation, and we need to 
reduce the deficit.
  Predictably, I received a letter recently from the Chamber of 
Commerce that has come out against the study of a transaction fee. In 
my judgment, it is entirely predictable that the Chamber of Commerce of 
the United States is opposed. I will leave it to them to make their 
case. I hope the amendment has bipartisan and broad support, which I 
believe eventually it will. Unfortunately for the Chamber of Commerce, 
they are doing what they always do. They are trying to protect Wall 
Street in a debate on the study of a transaction fee but in the larger 
debate as well.
  It is very simple. There are two places to be--protecting Wall Street 
or standing for reform. The Chamber of Commerce has just weighed in on 
the side of Wall Street. They will have to answer to all the small 
businesses in Pennsylvania, for example, and across the country and 
even larger businesses but especially small businesses that have been 
devastated by what has been happening on Wall Street. The idea that the 
Chamber of Commerce is coming out against the study--the study; the 
analysis--of a transaction fee is disturbing. It tells you a lot about 
where they stand in this debate.
  I know where the American people are. They want reform, and they want 
it now, and they do not want it watered down. They do not want the bill 
gutted with amendments. They want to have information they should have 
a right to expect on the effect of a transaction fee--good, bad, or 
indifferent. They should have that information. What the American 
people do not want is the Chamber of Commerce or any other organization 
standing between Wall Street and what has been happening there and 
reform.
  I urge the leadership of the Chamber of Commerce to go back, take 
another look at this, take another look at what is the harm of having a 
study conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the 
Commodity Futures Trading Commission in conjunction with the U.S. 
Department of the Treasury. I do not care what year it is. I do not 
care what administration it is, those three parts of our government 
should have the right and should be instructed by the Congress to study 
something that has potential--significant potential--to lower the 
deficit, or help us lower the deficit, and to create jobs.
  But to have the usual knee-jerk political reaction the Chamber of 
Commerce and others will have is not in the best interests of the 
American people and is not helping in any way the debate we are having 
on the floor of the Senate.
  So for the chamber folks--or for their allies--it is simple, folks. 
You have two choices. You can stand here and protect, with all your 
might, the practices on Wall Street--the fraud, the manipulation, the 
scheme artistry that put us into this ditch we are in right now--or you 
can be for reform. You have a choice to make. It is very simple. There 
is no middle ground.
  I hope the Members of the Senate would take a closer look at this 
than apparently the chamber has and stand up for the American people 
and show at long last we are not going to allow Wall Street to destroy 
more lives, we are not going to allow Wall Street to allow an adverse 
impact of $100,000 per family to transpire again, that we are going to 
at long last provide real reform for the American people and hold Wall 
Street accountable for the abusive practices they engage in, for the 
dishonesty and fraud and sometimes criminal conduct they engage in.
  It is about time the groups that are opposing reform--of course, the 
chamber has been opposing lots of reform lately; we will not go into 
all of it, but I would hope the Chamber of Commerce would make it very 
clear where they stand in this debate. Because when they come out 
against proposals such as this, they stand to protect Wall Street at 
the expense of the American people.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.
  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I have an amendment which has been filed 
and is at the desk, and a modification of that amendment, which I wish 
to explain for a moment.
  It is an amendment related to interchange fees. Interchange fees are 
the fees charged to commercial establishments which accept credit 
cards. So if I owned a restaurant and accepted Visa or MasterCard, when 
my customer, who has a bill, presents the credit card to pay for it, 
then I have to pay a percentage of that bill to the credit card 
company. That is called the interchange fee.
  That is separate and apart from the customer's relationship with the 
credit card company. This is the relationship of the merchant, the 
retail establishment, the small business, with the credit card company. 
Unfortunately, over the years, small businesses across America have had 
little or no bargaining power with the major credit card companies. 
They impose interchange fees on these businesses, and if you speak to 
some of the small businesses in Illinois or across the Nation, you will 
find that many of them feel they are being treated unfairly.

[[Page 7860]]

  Let me give you an example. About half of the transactions that take 
place now using plastic are with credit cards, and there is a fee 
charged--usually 1 or 2 percent of the actual amount that is charged to 
the credit card. It is understandable because the credit card company 
is creating this means of payment. It is also running the risk of 
default and collection, where someone does not pay off their credit 
card. So the fee is understandable because there is risk associated 
with it.
  But now gaining in popularity is this so-called debit card, where a 
person directly draws money from their checking account to pay that 
same restaurant. Had that person chosen to pay by check--a written 
check--it would have been banked by the restaurant in their own bank, 
and drawn from the bank of the customer, with no fee associated with 
it. If the customer uses a debit card--which accomplishes the same 
thing without the actual check paper involved--the credit card/debit 
card companies, Visa, MasterCard, and others--charge similar fees to 
what they charge for credit card. Yet there is virtually no risk 
involved in a debit card.
  So many of these retail establishments and small businesses across 
America have come and said: We are not opposed to paying a reasonable, 
proportional amount for the use of a debit card, for example, at our 
business, but we cannot even get to first base with Visa and 
MasterCard. They say: We are going to charge you what we are going to 
charge you--take it or leave it.
  As a consequence, I have submitted this amendment. This amendment is 
on behalf of small businesses across the United States which have 
rallied behind this because of their concerns about interchange fees on 
their cost of doing business. It says we will use the same mechanism we 
used in credit card reform--a bill that was brought to the floor by 
Senator Dodd of the Senate Banking Committee, which called on the 
Federal Reserve to establish the appropriate fees and charges to 
business establishments for the use of credit cards--and that these 
fees and charges be reasonable and proportional when it comes to debit 
cards. I do not think that is unreasonable. Senator Dodd offered that 
as part of the original credit card reform when it came to customers 
using credit cards. I do not think it is unreasonable to apply it to 
the business establishments.
  You would think there would be general support of this across the 
board, except from the credit card companies and the biggest banks. But 
it turns out there is opposition to this from the so-called independent 
community banks and credit unions.
  We created an exemption in my amendment saying if you are a so-called 
independent community bank that has assets of less than $1 billion, you 
will not be affected by this--believing we took the lion's share, the 
vast majority of community banks, and exempted them with the $1 billion 
exemption. Regardless, the independent community banks again teamed up 
with the American Bankers Association and said: We are going to oppose 
it anyway, even if the majority of our members are not covered by it. 
And credit unions, which go lockstep with the so-called independent 
community banks when it comes to a lot of banking issues, said the same 
thing. So in an effort to reach a compromise here that will help 
Members come to the support of this amendment, I am going to modify my 
amendment to extend and enlarge the exemption to institutions of $10 
billion or less.
  Let me tell you what that means. With the modification--changing it 
from $1 billion to $10 billion--it will have a dramatic difference. 
With a $10 billion exemption, 99 percent of banks would be exempt. All 
but the very largest banks in America--the ones that have a controlling 
interest in establishing interchange fees, I might add--99 percent of 
banks would be exempt. And 99 percent of credit unions would be exempt. 
All but three credit unions in the United States have less than $10 
billion. And 97 percent of thrift institutions would be exempt--19 
thrift institutions across America.
  When I have talked to my friends on both sides of the aisle, they 
have said: If you can find a way to resolve the opposition of the 
community banks and credit unions, then we are open to this. Many of 
them have said they believe small businesses and retail establishments 
are being treated unfairly and they wish to support this. But they 
wanted to make sure they did not harm local and community banks.
  Well, I have gone from a $1 billion exemption to a $10 billion 
exemption. There are very few communities across America that have 
banks that will not be protected because of this enlargement of this 
exemption, and I urge my colleagues to consider that, and to also 
consider the other side of the equation. Think of the hundreds, if not 
thousands, of small businesses in your State that are being 
disadvantaged and treated unfairly with these interchange fees.
  What we are asking for is to have an arbiter--in this case the 
Federal Reserve--determine whether the interchange fees, particularly 
for debit cards, are reasonable and proportional.
  We also say you ought to allow a commercial establishment which 
accepts a credit card to establish a minimum amount which you can 
charge to a credit card. I went into Washington National Airport, 
standing at a news stand there, and was behind a woman who was charging 
35 cents to a credit card. I said to the person at the cash register: 
Is that the lowest amount you have ever had charged to a credit card? 
She said: No. We had 25 cents charged one day.
  If you look at the actual calculations of fees paid by that business 
for the use of that credit card, they lost money on that transaction. 
They did not make any money on that. By the time they paid the swiping 
fees and the interchange fees, at the end of the day, they made 
nothing. They could have lost money.
  Is it unreasonable for a business to say: We are not going to accept 
credit cards for any purchase under $5 or $1? I do not think that is 
unreasonable since they are going to lose money in the process, and yet 
the credit card companies prohibit small businesses from even 
establishing those basic standards. They prohibit small businesses from 
saying: We will give you a discount on the price if you pay cash. Why? 
If we are truly going to have a competitive atmosphere and give small 
businesses in a struggling economy a fighting chance, why would we 
prohibit these things? Why would we give a monopoly--a virtual 
monopoly--situation here, where two major credit card companies can 
impose rules on small businesses which are so costly to them?
  That is why I have submitted this amendment. It is not an easy 
amendment--I understand that--because we have some competition among 
friends here and Members will have to decide which they think is the 
just position. I hope they believe this amendment is. I hope they 
believe that small businesses--which currently have no bargaining power 
against these monopolies, such as Visa and MasterCard--deserve a voice 
in the process. I hope they believe that some of the unreasonable 
standards set by credit card companies and imposed on small businesses 
have to stop across America.
  I cannot tell you how many glowing speeches are given in Congress on 
behalf of small businesses. We all know how much they mean to us in our 
communities and in our overall economy. Well, here is our chance. 
Senators will have a chance to vote on behalf of retail establishments 
and small businesses all across their States who have come to me, 
begging me to move forward on this amendment.
  I have said--and I believe it is true--this is the first time anyone 
has offered an interchange fee amendment on the floor of the Senate or 
in the House of Representatives. The fact is, it has not been offered 
because it is controversial. Some people do not want to touch it: Stay 
away from it. Don't bring it up. Well, that is not fair to small 
businesses. They deserve for us to step forward, and to offer these 
amendments, and to make a policy choice.
  When I tried to offer this amendment on the Credit Card Reform Act, 
they said: Wrong place. When I try to offer

[[Page 7861]]

it on this bill related to banks and financial institutions, some have 
said: It is the wrong place.
  I have concluded there is no right place. This is a good place 
because it relates to consumer protection, it relates to financial 
institutions, it relates to our economy and making sure it thrives, and 
thrives in a responsible way. That means making sure interchange fees 
are reasonable across the board.
  This amendment is needed. It is a response to price fixing by Visa 
and MasterCard. Interchange fees are received by the card-issuing bank 
in a debit transaction. However, Visa and MasterCard--which control 80 
percent of the debit market--set the debit interchange fee rates that 
apply to all banks within their networks. Every bank gets the same 
interchange fee rate regardless of how efficient they have been in 
conducting debit transactions.
  Visa and MasterCard do not allow banks to compete with one another or 
negotiate with merchants over interchange rates, and there is no 
constraint on Visa's and MasterCard's ability to fix rates at 
unreasonable levels. VISA and MasterCard consistently raise interchange 
rates because the more interchange fees the banks receive, the more the 
banks will issue cards. Visa and MasterCard receive a fee each time a 
card is swiped, so rising interchange rates enrich them as well.
  Visa and MasterCard incidentally have reduced debit card interchange 
fees in other countries while they have increased them in the United 
States. Let me repeat that. Visa and MasterCard have reduced debit 
interchange rates in other countries while they have increased them in 
the United States. Visa and MasterCard continue to raise U.S. 
interchange rates, which are already the highest in the world.
  The General Accounting Office found that regulators in other 
countries have worked with VISA and MasterCard to voluntarily reduce 
their interchange rates. Just last month, VISA lowered many European 
debit card rates by 60 percent while increasing many U.S. debit card 
rates by 30 percent.
  What can businesses do about it? Nothing--no bargaining power. So 
these American-based companies are cutting their charges in overseas 
markets and raising them at a time when we are facing one of the worst 
recessions in American history. They are making it tougher for that 
small business to survive. They are making it tougher for them to keep 
their employees at work. Is that the right thing to do when our economy 
is facing a recession? I don't think so.
  I don't set an interchange fee rate in this law. Some have argued 
that we would reduce credit availability by regulating credit card 
interchange rates. However, the amendment's reasonable fee requirement 
only applies to debit cards; it doesn't apply to credit cards.
  The Durbin reasonable debit fee requirement exempts small banks and 
credit unions with assets under $10 billion, which, as I say, includes 
99 percent of all banks, credit unions, and thrift savings and loans 
across the United States.
  This amendment would not enable merchants to discriminate against 
debit cards issued by small banks and credit unions. VISA and 
MasterCard contractually require merchants to accept all cards within 
their networks, and the amendment does not change that requirement. The 
amendment would not have the Federal Reserve set interchange prices. 
Under this amendment, the Fed would not set them. Instead, it would 
oversee the debit interchange fees set by card networks to ensure they 
are reasonable and proportional to cost.
  It is the same standard which the Banking Committee and Senator Dodd 
offered when it came to credit card reform. It is not a radical notion. 
It is in the law already.
  There is an argument some make that consumers benefit greatly from 
the current interchange fee structure. Let me tell my colleagues the 
reality. This statement is contradicted by statements from groups that 
represent consumer interests.
  Ed Mierzwinski, who is the consumer program director at U.S. PIRG, 
testified before the House Judiciary Committee and said as follows:

       The deceptive anticompetitive practices of the two credit 
     card associations VISA and MasterCard have injured consumers 
     and merchants for years. Interchange fees or hidden charges 
     are paid by all Americans, regardless of whether they use 
     credit, debit, checks, or cash. These fees impose the 
     greatest hardship on the most vulnerable customers: The 
     millions of American consumers without credit cards or 
     banking relationships. These consumers subsidize credit card 
     usage by paying inflated prices for many goods and service. 
     These prices are inflated by the billions of dollars of 
     anticompetitive interchange fees used to subsidize reward 
     programs.

  The industry of credit cards also argues that merchants benefit from 
the present interchange system. A 2009 GAO report found that merchants 
receive benefits from the existence of credit and debit card systems. 
It does not say those benefits are the result of the present 
interchange system. In fact, the same report starts with the title, 
``Rising Interchange Fees Have Increased Costs for Merchants,'' citing 
numerous growing costs that the interchange fee structure imposes on 
merchants. For example, the report states:

       Although accepting credit cards provides benefits, 
     merchants report card costs are increasing faster than their 
     ability to negotiate or lower these costs.

  I would say basically if we are going to revitalize small business in 
America in retail establishments, if we are going to give them a 
fighting chance, we cannot ignore this any longer.
  There are some who say: Withdraw this amendment. Wait for another 
day. Well, I have waited for a year and I don't want to wait anymore. I 
think we ought to go on the record. I think we ought to have the 
courage to stand up and say reasonable and proportional debit card 
rates that will be regulated by the Federal Reserve is not 
unreasonable; and secondly, that the anticompetitive practices which 
are imposed on small businesses and retailers across America have to 
come to an end.
  Most of the people I talk to on the floor of the Senate understand 
this. I hope this modification I am making to my amendment--creating an 
exemption for banks with assets valued at lower than $10 billion--will 
make it clear that we are not trying to create any hardship on 
community banks and credit unions. Instead, we are going after the 
largest banks and credit card companies for what I consider to be 
unreasonable conduct when it comes to the treatment of small businesses 
and retail businesses as well.
  I hope to call up this amendment either late today or tomorrow. I 
hope my colleagues will join me in standing up for small business. We 
give a lot of speeches about small businesses and retail businesses. 
This will give my colleagues a chance to vote for them on this 
interchange fee regulation reform.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I call for the regular order with respect 
to the Landrieu amendment.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The amendment is now pending.


                Amendment No. 3992 to Amendment No. 3956

  Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I call up a second-degree amendment, which 
is at the desk.
  Mr. DODD. First, Mr. President, are we temporarily laying aside the 
Snowe-Landrieu? What is the pending amendment?
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Landrieu amendment No. 3956 is 
now pending.
  Mr. DODD. OK.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Idaho [Mr. Crapo] proposes an amendment 
     numbered 3992 to amendment No. 3956.

  Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the 
amendment be dispensed with.

[[Page 7862]]

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

       (Purpose: To improve the credit risk retention provisions)

       On page 1 of the amendment, strike line 3 and all that 
     follows through page 3, line 7, and insert the following:
       ``(i) a portion of the credit risk for any asset that is 
     transferred, sold, or conveyed through the issuance of an 
     asset-backed security by the securitizer; or
       ``(ii) a reduced portion or no portion of the credit risk 
     for an asset described in clause (i), if the originator of 
     the asset meets the underwriting standards prescribed under 
     paragraph (2)(B) or subsection (e)(4);
       ``(C) specify--
       ``(i) the permissible types, forms, and amounts of risk 
     retention that would meet the requirements of subparagraph 
     (B), including--

       ``(I) retention of--

       ``(aa) a specified amount or percentage of the total credit 
     risk of the asset;
       ``(bb) the value of securities sold to investors; or
       ``(cc) the interest of the seller in revolving assets;

       ``(II) retention of the first-loss position by a third-
     party purchaser that specifically negotiates for the purchase 
     of such first-loss position and provides due diligence on all 
     individual assets in the pool before the issuance of the 
     asset-backed securities;
       ``(III) a determination by a Federal banking agency or the 
     Commission that the underwriting standards and controls of 
     the originator are adequate for risk retention purposes; and
       ``(IV) provision of adequate representations and warranties 
     and related enforcement mechanisms; and

       ``(ii) the minimum duration of the risk retention required 
     under this section;

  Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, this is a second-degree amendment to the 
Landrieu-Isakson amendment. It is not a competing amendment; it is an 
amendment to add additional provisions. I support the material in the 
Landrieu-Isakson amendment, which deals with the home mortgage market. 
This amendment has further provisions in the same section of the bill 
to deal with risk-retention issues relating to the commercial real 
estate market and other asset classes.
  According to market analysts and financial regulators, the provisions 
aimed at the securitized credit market in this bill will undoubtedly 
impact access to credit for millions of American consumers and 
businesses.
  These issues--such as ``risk retention''--are very complicated.
  The reforms are aimed at the ``residential and subprime'' market, and 
I am quite concerned that have not been carefully examined for all 
markets.
  Additionally, they are have not been reviewed in the context of other 
moving parts outside the bill, such as changing accounting standards, 
capital requirements, other regulatory mandates, etc.
  When combined, these significant changes create a huge amount of 
``uncertainty'' in the market, which today serves one of the greatest 
impediments to new and private lending and investing.
  The stakes are high. As Treasury Secretary Geithner has stressed, 
``no financial recovery plan will be successful unless it helps restart 
securitization markets for sound loans made to consumers and 
businesses--large and small.''
  Yet, the ``totality'' of regulatory and account changes impact the 
future viability of these markets. In fact, both market participants 
and financial regulators agree that the outcome is unclear in both the 
short and long term. The ``warning signs'' are there and cannot be 
ignored after comments by the Fed, the OCC, the FDIC, and the 
International Monetary Fund, among others.
  As such, we must carefully examine any new mandates to determine the 
most appropriate and direct way to strengthen our lending markets, and 
to better serve consumers and businesses, while avoiding negative 
complications.
  Such reforms are very important, and it is critical that we get them 
right.
  This ``middle ground'' approach has two basic components:
  First, because ``skin-in-the-game'' is important and can come in many 
forms, the proposed language improves the existing framework--using the 
current language and construct in the Dodd bill--and requires the 
regulators to examine and consider equally which method of ``skin-in-
the-game'' is most appropriate:
  A percent retention; Underwriting standards; strong, standardized and 
disclosed ``representations and warranties''; Other methods--e.g. a 
``third party'' retention for CMBS in the ``Minnick-Bean-Moore-Adler-
Campbell-Miller amendment that passed in the House unanimously--or the 
like.
  Second, it clarifies existing language in the bill that requires 
reforms to be considered by ``asset class.''
  Under the Landrieu amendment, the regulators shall create the 
``qualified mortgage'' framework important to the residential market.
  Under this secondary amendment, the regulators shall consider the 
appropriate forms of retention by ``asset class'' and type of loan--as 
well as risk profile associated with it. This would include allowing 
the regulators to consider using and strengthening a ``third party'' 
retention framework that is important to CMBS and CRE market 
participants.
  Ultimately, we think such an overall amendment is important because 
it comprehensively addresses all asset classes, (residential and 
commercial mortgages, student loans, auto loans, etc.) and helps to 
have a better format for approaching risk retention.
  What the amendment does is take the exclusive focus off of just one 
form of risk retention and allows the regulator to evaluate the best 
approach to address risk retention by asset class.
  This still includes a percent retention (if necessary), as well as 
underwriting standards that actually get at the heart of the loans and 
even strong and uniform ``representations and warranties''--which are 
important to the investors--such as pension funds, mutual funds and 
endowments--who fuel lending in the securitized credit markets.
  The amendment simply gives important direction to the regulators on 
structuring reforms by ``asset class.'' This is critical in the context 
of conflicting rules and proposals aimed at these markets--some of 
which prejudge or disregard the House and Senate language in this area.
  Most important, when taken with the Landrieu amendment, it would 
address and encourage well underwritten loans--including the 
``qualified mortgage'' framework--as well as uniqueness of very 
different markets--such as commercial real estate, auto loans, student 
loans, etc.
  And, by avoiding a single asset ``carve-out'' for just 
``residential,'' it simply allows the regulators to customize ``skin-
in-the-game'' for all asset classes--particularly ones that were not a 
``root case'' or ``systemic risk''. This protects consumers and 
businesses that are struggling to get access to credit.
  Without ``reinventing the wheel'' on the Dodd bill, this approach 
provides important reforms, while avoiding negative complications 
concerning capital, liquidity and credit availability--particularly in 
the commercial real estate market, which faces challenges and has a 
very different structure.
  Such an approach is crucial for business and consumer credit, and for 
an overall economic recovery.
  And, for that reason, it is supported by lenders of all sizes and in 
all markets, commercial borrowers who have been active on this issue, 
and investors who fuel lending and are seeking certainty and 
confidence.
  Lastly, some of the language in this bill, particularly related to 
the commercial mortgage market, passed the House Financial Services 
Committee unanimously, as offered by Representatives Minnick, Bean, 
Adler, Moore, Campbell, and Miller.
  I urge all my colleagues to accept this amendment as an addition to 
the Landrieu-Isakson amendment, not a change of it, to help us address 
more than simply the issues dealing with the residential real estate 
market but also, and most important, the commercial real estate market 
and other asset classes.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Connecticut is 
recognized.
  Mr. DODD. First, let me acknowledge the contributions of Senator 
Crapo to

[[Page 7863]]

the Banking Committee efforts. While not endorsing the bill as it 
presently reads, he has been a valuable member of the committee for 
many years. I deeply appreciate his input. His ideas are always 
tremendously constructive in any debate we have. I thank him for that.
  I have asked my staff to meet with his staff to try to clear up some 
things. I would like to be in a position of where we can accept the 
amendment. I am not trying to prejudice one over the other. We would 
like to keep some risk retention or good underwriting standards so the 
choice is there. We are not trying to impose both.
  I know the staffs are talking. On page 2 of the amendment, beginning 
around line 18, paragraph (I), beginning ``retention of'' and then it 
lists three paragraphs and possibly a fourth. We are looking for some 
clarity on the meaning of ``the value of securities sold to investors 
or the interest of the seller in revolving assets.'' On those two, we 
particularly need some clarity on what that means. It seems vague to us 
as to how that would apply.
  Rather than rush this along, we would like to take a few minutes and 
see if we can come to some resolution of that and possibly accept it. 
Senator Landrieu will have to come over. It is her amendment we are 
amending. We will see if we can reach accommodation and adopt it, if 
possible.
  Let's take a few minutes and look at how we might work on this 
together. If we can come to a conclusion, I will be prepared to support 
the Senator's amendment. I am not trying to distinguish real estate 
from commercial. I realize there are some differences. They are 
different transactions, obviously, but the point is the same. We would 
like to make sure the securitization, on which the Senator is 
absolutely correct--I think these words become pejorative. When done 
well, it expands opportunities tremendously in terms of creating 
additional liquidity, making resources more available for more loans, 
home sales, and the like, providing there are sound underwriting 
principles involved so we are not getting ourselves into trouble again. 
That is why we have had an insistence on strong underwriting standards 
and risk retention, the old skin in the game. That is what risk 
retention means. If you have equity in it, you will be careful about 
what goes out the door and becomes securitized.
  I am not interested in having risk retention if, in fact, we have 
good standards that apply and we don't end up where we were 2 years 
ago, discovering a lot of these instruments that got securitized ended 
up being worthless, even worse than worthless, in some cases, because 
of the problems they caused.
  I respect where my colleague is coming from. If we can spend a few 
minutes and try and resolve this, then maybe we can come to some 
agreement. That would be my hope.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Idaho.
  Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I appreciate the chairman's remarks and 
willingness to work on this amendment. We are both trying to get at the 
same thing. I believe we can work out the questions with regard to the 
language so we can move forward in a fashion that will help us to 
address these problems to make sure the ultimate objective, on which we 
all agree--namely, making sure we have confidence in the quality of the 
assets that are utilized in securitization--is achieved.
  I welcome that opportunity and look forward to working with the 
chairman.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant Daily Digest clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.


                           Amendment No. 3918

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to temporarily lay 
aside the Landrieu-Isakson amendment.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I believe we are prepared to have a voice 
vote on the Snowe-Landrieu amendment, which is the pending amendment, 
if I am not mistaken.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. If there is no further debate, the 
question is agreeing to amendment No. 3918.
  The amendment (No. 3918) was agreed to.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote, and I move to 
lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, let me once again thank Senators Snowe and 
Landrieu for their very valuable contribution to this bill in more 
clearly refining and making it abundantly clear that merchants and 
retailers and others are not included as financial services or 
financial products companies and are not to be covered by the consumer 
financial product bureau. I am very appreciative to both of them for 
their contribution.
  With that, Mr. President, I see my colleague from North Dakota is 
here, and I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I know this is beginning to be a lengthy 
debate and process on the floor of the Senate to get through 
amendments. My colleague from Connecticut exhibits great patience to 
try to work through this. I know there are a lot of interests that have 
different views about this, and they come to the floor and they want 
this amendment or that. I understand all that. I know my colleague from 
Connecticut views this with the same seriousness of purpose as I do and 
understands that many of us not on the Banking Committee have not had 
the opportunity to be involved in the debate until now--until it comes 
to the floor of the Senate--and have not been able to offer amendments.
  I think that represents the appetite in the Senate to be engaged and 
to understand what has caused the most devastating financial event for 
our country since the Great Depression--something that collapsed some 
$15 trillion in value for the American people, caused very substantial 
unemployment, dramatic losses in income, the loss of homes and has led 
to hopelessness and helplessness for many Americans.
  What happened to cause that? Was this some sort of natural disaster? 
No, it wasn't a fire, a flood, a tornado, or an earthquake. It wasn't a 
natural disaster. This was made with human hands. This is a manmade 
disaster and, by the way, it could well have been predicted, in my 
judgment, and some of us did. Without pointing at myself necessarily, I 
said 11 years ago that I thought we were setting ourselves up for 
massive taxpayer bailouts. I will not show the charts again, but it is 
not surprising. We were going to modernize the financial system a 
decade ago in order to compete with the Europeans and to bring it into 
the modern age. Modernizing meant deciding let's deregulate everything. 
Let's not look at everything that is going on. The result is, a decade 
later, a very substantial collapse in our economic system.
  Mr. President, I have been thinking about the work that has gone on 
in the last couple of weeks on the floor of the Senate. I came in early 
this morning to get something from the radio addresses of Franklin 
Delano Roosevelt in 1933 and 1934. The situation in this country, while 
different by many decades, is similar with respect to what caused a 
substantial problem in this country. Then it was the Great Depression.
  Let me read, if I might, just a couple of excerpts of what then-
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said about our country and about 
what was needed to be done because it has, I think, significant 
application to today. Here is a quote from Franklin Delano Roosevelt on 
March 12 of 1933:

       We had a bad banking situation. Some of our bankers had 
     shown themselves either incompetent or dishonest in their 
     handling of the people's funds. They had abused the money 
     entrusted to them in speculation and unwise loans. This was 
     of course not true in the vast majority of our banks but it 
     was

[[Page 7864]]

     true in enough of them to shock the people for a time into a 
     sense of insecurity and put them into a frame of mind where 
     they did not differentiate, but seemed to assume that the 
     acts of a comparative few had tainted them all. It was the 
     government's job to straighten out this situation and do it 
     as quickly as possible. And the job is being performed.

  This was, again, from President Franklin Roosevelt in 1933. Quoting 
again, he says:

       After all, there is an element in the readjustment of our 
     financial system more important than currency, more important 
     than gold, and that is the confidence of the people. 
     Confidence and courage are the essentials of success in 
     carrying out our plan. You people must have faith; you must 
     not be stampeded by rumors or guesses. Let us unite in 
     banishing fear. We have provided the machinery to restore our 
     financial system; it is up to you to support and make it 
     work.

  He was talking about a time in the shadow of the Great Depression. On 
September 30, 1 year later, in his address to the Nation, Franklin 
Delano Roosevelt said:

       The second step we have taken in the restoration of normal 
     business enterprise has been to clean up thoroughly 
     unwholesome conditions in the field of investment. In this we 
     have had the assistance from many bankers and businessmen, 
     most of whom recognize the past evils in the banking system, 
     in the sale of securities, in the deliberate encouragement of 
     stock gambling, in the sale of unsound mortgages and in many 
     other ways in which the public lost billions of dollars. They 
     saw that without changes in the policies and methods of 
     investment there could be no recovery of public confidence in 
     the security of savings.

  Interesting. You could read that today, and it describes the task we 
have before us today. But this wasn't language of today. This was from 
1933 and 1934. The thoroughly unwholesome conditions in the field of 
investment, in the sale of securities, in the deliberate encouragement 
of stock gambling, the sale of unsound mortgages. That is the year 
2005, 2009. Yet Franklin Delano Roosevelt described it in 1934, and he 
put together a plan. That plan included Glass-Steagall and other things 
to protect this country; to say never again will we allow that to 
happen.
  Then, a little over a decade ago, in this Chamber and in the White 
House, they said: We have to modernize our system. We have to get rid 
of all those protections from the Great Depression. They are old-
fashioned. Let's dump them. So the Congress dumped them. I didn't 
support that. I vigorously opposed that. But they dumped them.
  So the country had a very serious problem--the runup of a substantial 
amount of new exotic securities, things that people didn't understand 
very well--CDOs, securitization of almost anything somebody could 
securitize, getting fees from the sale of the transfer of securities, 
and then the development of something new called the credit default 
swap.
  The credit default swap was a new approach. It was an insurance 
policy against a bond default. But then there was a synthetic CDO or a 
synthetic credit default swap, or what some called naked default swaps. 
That meant that you could buy one of these instruments back and forth 
without ever having an insurable interest in the instrument itself, 
just making a wager with someone else about what might or might not 
happen in the future.
  During all of this time we watched a very substantial amount of 
activity, on Wall Street particularly, take place that I think has been 
pretty unwholesome for our country. This is an article of September 30, 
2008, which talks about the money from Wall Street that is beyond the 
legal reach. It says there is $1.9 trillion of money that is run out of 
the New York metropolitan area that sits in the Cayman Islands--a 
secrecy jurisdiction. Another $1.5 trillion is lodged in four other 
secrecy jurisdictions.
  Let me quote from this article by Robert Morgenthau in the Wall 
Street Journal on September 30, 2008.

       Following the Great Depression, we bragged about a newly 
     installed safety net that was supposed to save us from such a 
     hard economic fall in the future. However, the Securities and 
     Exchange Commission, the Federal Reserve System, the 
     Comptroller of the Currency and others have ignored trillions 
     of dollars that have migrated to offshore jurisdictions that 
     are secretive in nature and outside the safety net--beyond 
     the reach of U.S. regulators.

  Well, it is not surprising that at the same time that money was being 
hidden in other parts of the world by some of the same Wall Street 
interests that a massive amount of money was being paid one to another 
on Wall Street and in the investment banking area.
  Just to cite a couple of these examples, I have a description from 
about a year and a half ago when Lehman Brothers went bankrupt. The 
Lehman Brothers bankruptcy followed Lehman Brothers Holdings agreeing 
to pay a total of more than $23 million to three executives leaving the 
securities firm just days before it collapsed.
  The reason I point this out is there was so much money around for 
everybody--for everything--days before the collapse of Lehman Brothers. 
There was $23 million paid to three executives leaving the securities 
firm days before it collapsed. You wonder why. Does that make any 
sense? Does anybody think that is something that is worthy?
  Here is a payment of $19 million to a man named Alan Fishman. He was 
the CEO of Washington Mutual, which was run right into the ditch and 
went belly up and had to be acquired by another company. Alan Fishman 
worked 3 weeks for Washington Mutual, and he got a severance deal of 
$19.1 million--$19.1 million.
  In the heyday of executive compensation a couple of years ago on Wall 
Street, in 2007, the head of Merrill Lynch made $161 million. That was 
Stanley O'Neal. John Thain at Merrill Lynch made $83 million; Lloyd 
Blankfein of Goldman made $54 million; John Mack of Morgan Stanley made 
$41 million; James Dimon of JPMorgan Chase made $29 million; and--well, 
the list goes on. Kenneth Lewis of Bank of America only made $20 
million. He must be looking up at Stanley O'Neal's $161 million and 
asking: Where did I miss the boat?
  But this kind of money was hanging around all of these issues and 
these firms, and it was, Katey, bar the door. We are making massive 
amounts of money and we are going to pay almost never before heard of 
sums to individuals for running these big companies--$150 million, $50 
million, $83 million. So it is not surprising, then, that the American 
people have a pretty dim view of what was going on on Wall Street when 
we announce that what went on on Wall Street led to this dramatic 
economic devastation to our country.
  By the way, the devastation doesn't apply to everybody. I just saw 
this morning that the unemployment rate among the higher income 
Americans is 3 percent. So they are not feeling the pinch so much. But 
in the bottom 20 percent of the American people, the unemployment rate 
is around 18 percent. So there are a whole lot of folks at the bottom 
of the economic ladder who are paying the price for this unbelievable 
behavior.
  So the question is, What do we do about all this? What do we do to 
make sure that when we are done in the Congress on something called 
financial reform, the American people have some notion that we will 
have done the right things to prevent from happening again that which 
happened to us in the last couple of years?
  The presentations I have made on the Senate floor have perhaps led 
people to think that I believe investment banks have no merit or no 
worth. That is simply not the case. I understand that our country and 
the ability to produce in our country through a productive sector needs 
financing and that financing would include a range of financing 
opportunities. You do need investment banks, you need commercial banks, 
you need venture capital firms, you need securities. I understand all 
of that.
  But I also understand--it was a comedian, Mark Russell, who once 
described investment banks by saying: ``Investment banking is to 
productive enterprise like mud wrestling is to the performing arts.'' 
If ever that applied, it surely must apply now when we look back to see 
what has happened in the last decade in investment banking. If we do 
not fix it in this legislation, put a cork in it, and we leave this 
Chamber and this Congress and claim to have

[[Page 7865]]

fixed it and have not done it, then shame on us.
  We have a responsibility. Let me tell you what I think the 
responsibility is. It relates to a range of things that are not yet 
done. It relates to dealing with the issue of too big to fail. I know 
we had one vote, and we failed, unfortunately. There are other ways to 
do this. But if we have institutions that are too big to fail, that are 
so large that they cause moral hazard to this country should they fail, 
so large that they cause completely unacceptable risks of bringing the 
country's economy down should they fail--if we do not do something 
about that, we cannot claim ever that we have done something about this 
system. It is not about saying big is bad. It is about saying no-fault 
capitalism doesn't work if you allow financial institutions to become 
so large that their failure can bring down this country's economy. That 
is what the issue is, and that needs to be fixed.
  It appears to me we are probably not on the way to fixing that, but 
hope still arises. For me, it is not a triumph of hope over 
expectation; it is a triumph of hope, believing it is still possible 
for us to do the things necessary to fix what we need to do.
  I also think the set of issues, in addition to too big to fail, 
includes an amendment I will be offering banning naked credit default 
swaps, saying that if there are credit default swaps issued that have 
no insurable interest in bonds, then it seems to me that is just 
wagering and that can be done at our gambling centers in our country 
but ought not be done in the lobbies of banks. That is an amendment 
which is very important. If we don't fix this, we will leave this town 
saying we did financial reform but we did nothing about too big to fail 
and we did nothing about the binge of speculative activity in 
instruments that have no insurable interest in bonds, credit default 
swaps that have no insurable interest in bonds.
  Mr. Pearlstein, who writes a column for the Washington Post, asked a 
question which led me to be interested in the question, Why should 
there be more insurance policies against bonds than there are bonds?
  In any event, why should we, in our financial institutions, have 
people wagering about whether a bond will default when, in fact, they 
have no interest in the bond? We do not allow people to buy life 
insurance on someone else's life because they don't have an insurable 
interest. We don't allow someone to buy fire insurance on someone 
else's house because there is not an insurable interest. Yet we have 
trillions of dollars out there, called credit default swaps, making a 
wager on someone else's bond, whether someone else's bond will fail, 
despite the fact that they have no insurable interest in the bond. If 
we do not put a dagger in the heart of that kind of intense speculation 
that has caused a significant amount of these problems, then we will 
have, in my judgment, failed to have addressed the real causes and 
failed to have done what we should do to make sure this cannot happen 
again.
  I believe my colleague from the State of Washington is going to offer 
a restoration of sorts of the old Glass-Steagall law, which I think 
makes sense. Others will offer legislation that would say to insured 
banks: You ought not be trading securities and derivatives on your own 
proprietary accounts. It makes a lot of sense to me. All of those are 
important.
  I mentioned before that I wrote the cover story for the Washington 
Monthly magazine 15 years ago titled ``Very Risky Business.'' At that 
time, there was $16 trillion of notional value of derivatives, and I 
wrote the article saying it was very risky business because even then 
banks were beginning to trade derivatives on their own proprietary 
accounts. That is not what insured banking should be. That is far too 
risky and puts the taxpayer at risk.
  Now we see that unemployment is at 9.9 percent. We are still trying 
to recover from this devastating recession. We are making some 
progress.
  Wall Street is back on track for record profits. This is 5 months 
ago, now, from the New York Times. In a report released Tuesday, the 
comptroller of New York State said Wall Street profits in 2009 are on 
track to exceed the record set 3 years ago at the height of the credit 
bubble. He also talked about bonuses at six banks that he thought would 
exceed the $162 billion paid in 2007. By the way, fueling these record 
profits by these institutions is from the firm's own securities trading 
accounts, according to this story, as they borrow at near zero interest 
rates and put the money to work in the securities markets. It sounds as 
if nothing has changed. That is what helped cause this mess. Yet here 
we are, back again, and the question is, Who is healing? The big 
investment banks are healing.
  Let me for a moment remind everyone how important regulation is. This 
bill has a lot of regulatory allowance--some instruction but a lot of 
it allowance that says to regulators: Here is your responsibility.
  One of the key issues that has exacerbated this substantial economic 
collapse was something that happened in 2004, on April 28, in the 
basement of the Securities and Exchange Commission. On the afternoon of 
April 28, 2004, there were five members of the Securities and Exchange 
Commission who met in a basement hearing room to consider a request by 
the five biggest investment banks. They wanted an exemption for their 
brokerage units from the old regulation that limited the amount of debt 
they could take on. What they said is: We want to be able to unshackle 
billions of dollars now that we hold in reserve as cushions against 
losses on investments. If we could unshackle that money we have to hold 
in reserve against losses, we could use that to flow up to the parent 
company and we could enable it to invest in a fast-growing world of 
mortgage-backed securities and credit derivatives and so on.
  The five investment banks that led the charge--one of them was 
Goldman Sachs, headed then by Henry Paulson, who 2 years later was 
Secretary of the Treasury and inherited the mess that was in part 
created by it. They had 55 minutes of discussion that afternoon, and 
after 55 minutes of discussion, the Securities and Exchange Commission 
voted unanimously to allow these biggest banks in America to take on 
leverage, going from about 12 to 1 or so, to 33 to 1. In other words, 
for every dollar in equity, it could leverage about $33 in debt. By 
that notice in a basement hearing, with no press there at all--I think 
one reporter was there; it was barely reported--they set the stage for 
loading up dramatic amounts of debt in these institutions.
  Now these institutions are, of course, very opposed to the amendment 
I am going to be offering here at some point, I hope, I expect, or I 
insist--one of the three--that would ban naked credit default swaps 
trading. They are very opposed to that. I understand why. They are 
making a lot of fees and profits as a result of this massive bubble of 
speculation in these kinds of securities. But I don't think we have any 
choice but to be taking on the center of the cause of this economic 
collapse in our country.
  The amount of effort that has been made to water down some of the 
amendments that have been offered is troublesome to me. I think the 
legislation that came out of the Banking Committee is meritorious. It 
has value. I appreciate the work the committee did. But, as I said when 
I started, most Members of the Senate have not had a chance to weigh in 
on this, and there are some substantial improvements that can be made--
I hope should and will be made to the Banking Committee product. But 
the improvements will not be improvements that strengthen our ability 
to prevent what happened from ever happening again if the so-called 
improvements are diminishing the strength of this bill.
  We need regulatory oversight. If we have learned one thing in the 
last decade, it is that you have to have regulators on the beat who 
take regulation seriously. You also have to decide to put a stop to the 
things that don't represent the kinds of business practices that give 
any strength to this country at all and, in fact, represent business 
practices that undermine this country's economy. That is why I believe 
it

[[Page 7866]]

is critically important we continue to address the issues as I have 
just described--too big to fail and credit default swaps and related 
issues.
  I am going to read, just for a moment, something from the November 5, 
1999, New York Times article when Congress passed a new piece of 
legislation called financial modernization. This was written by Stephen 
Labaton. This is a quote, after the passage of the bill. I voted 
against it. I believed strongly then that it was a dangerous mistake 
for our country. It turns out it was even more dangerous than I 
thought.
  The architects and others said:

       Today, Congress voted to update the rules that have 
     governed the financial services industry since the Great 
     Depression and replaced them with a system for the 21st 
     century. This historic legislation will better enable 
     American companies to compete in the new economy.

  Another quote--in fact, that was from the White House, by the way. 
That was from someone at Treasury.
  This is from a Senator:

       The world changes and we have to change with it.
       We have a new century coming and we have a new opportunity 
     to dominate this century the way we dominated that century. 
     Glass-Steagall in the midst of the depression came at a time 
     when the thinking was that government was the answer. In this 
     era of prosperity, we decided that freedom is the answer.

  Another Senator said:

       If we don't pass this bill, we could find London or 
     Frankfurt or, years down the road, Shanghai becoming the 
     financial capital of the world. There are many reasons for 
     this bill but first and foremost is to ensure that U.S. 
     financial firms remain competitive.

  The passage of that bill set this country up for the biggest fall 
since the Great Depression.
  The question on the floor of the Senate is this: Are we going to pass 
a piece of legislation that has real strength in deciding that which 
caused this deepest recession since the Great Depression cannot be 
allowed to happen again? Are we going to pass a piece of legislation 
that has real regulation and real rules that work? Are we going to pass 
a piece of legislation that says too big to fail is too big, period? 
Are we going to pass a piece of legislation that pierces the balloon of 
speculation in instruments such as naked credit default swaps--
something that was not even in our language 20 years ago. Are we going 
to address the questions of the securitization of everything, in many 
cases just for the sake of being able to capture fees? Are we going to 
address the question effectively of rating agencies that gave AAA 
ratings to bonds that were worthless? Are we going to address all these 
questions or are we just going to pass a bill to say: We did it, good 
for us, this is success, only to find out 5 years later or 10 years 
later that we are right back in the same swamp?
  I wish to simply say today that the American taxpayer has now been 
obligated--in addition to the joblessness and homelessness and other 
things visited on the American people and the loss of about $14 
trillion or $15 trillion in value, the American taxpayer has been 
obligated to the tune of somewhere around $11 or $12 trillion lent, 
spent, or borrowed to interests that we do not now know because the 
Federal Reserve Board says: It is none of your business to whom we gave 
trillions of dollars.
  Given that, given the economic catastrophe that has visited a lot of 
the American people, I think we owe them a piece of legislation here 
with amendments that improve it, a piece of legislation that allows all 
of us at the end of this day to say no, we didn't water it down, we 
strengthened it. We recognize the value of our financial institutions, 
but we don't recognize the value of financial institutions that run 
this country into the ground, pay $83 million in salaries, $20 million 
in bonuses, buy things they will never get from people who never had 
them and claim fees on both ends, and claim they have done something 
good for the country.
  This country can do better than that. This is one of those times--I 
know this is not seen perhaps by some with the same passion as some of 
the other issues that get peoples' blood boiling, but I tell you, what 
we do here will long be remembered because it will have consequences, 
whether this country has a growing, strong economy for many years 
ahead, and whether we avoid economic collapse or a deep recession.
  I watch every morning and read the stories about Greece and other 
countries that are in great difficulty. Our country is in some 
significant economic difficulty. We have sent people off to fight wars 
for 8, 9 years, not paid for one single penny of it. Unbelievable to 
me. Every single bit was borrowed and put on the debt.
  Then we have got people who thumb their suspenders and talk about how 
awful the debt is. We have a trade deficit that is relentless and means 
we end up owing other countries, which will be paid with a lower 
standard of living in our country. In addition to those issues, we have 
got this issue of the near collapse of our economy by unbelievable 
speculation coming from the banking industry.
  We have got to fix all of these things if we want a country that 
gives our children the same opportunities we had. We cannot fix it by 
glossing over things with a coat of light paint. This has to be fixed 
with real policies that tackle the central issues on what caused this 
collapse.
  I am here and I am ready to offer my amendment. In fact, the sooner 
the better. I have been anxious to do that. I will stick around. As 
soon as I am told my amendment will be in order, I am going to offer 
it. I guess we will be here until we finish this debate and complain 
until I get to offer the amendment.
  With that, I yield the floor. I will be hanging around.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Georgia is 
recognized.
  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. President, what is the current business before the 
Senate?
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Crapo amendment and the 
Landrieu amendment are the pending questions.


                Amendment No. 3816 to Amendment No. 3739

  (Purpose: To implement regulatory oversight of the swap markets, to 
improve regulators' access to information about all swaps, to encourage 
clearing while preventing concentration of inadequately hedged risks in 
   central clearinghouses and ensuring that corporate end users can 
 continue to hedge their unique business risks, and to improve market 
                             transparency)

  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
pending amendments be set aside and I be allowed to call up my 
amendment No. 3816.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. DODD. Reserving the right to object, and I will not object at 
all, I have chatted with my friend, Senator Chambliss, as well. I know 
he is inquiring among his members, as is my colleague from Arkansas as 
well, about a time agreement on the Chambliss amendment.
  My hope would be it would not take too long. I know that is the plea 
of every manager, majority and minority leader. So if they can inquire 
as soon as possible on a time. There are several other amendments 
tonight I think we will be able to deal with, some of which will not 
require any rollcall votes.
  But, obviously, Members like to get some sense of when votes will 
occur. I am not trying to suggest we truncate anything. I know my 
colleagues agree that we need to find a time agreement. So I make that 
plea to both the chairman and the ranking member of the subcommittee.
  With that, I have no objection.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. DORGAN. Reserving the right to object, and I will not object, I 
understand the unanimous consent request is to set aside the pending 
amendment. Is that correct?
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. That is correct.
  Mr. DORGAN. I will not object. Let me respond for a moment, if I 
might, to the Senator from Connecticut.
  I have indicated I wish to offer an amendment at some point. I want 
to know if I am on the list.

[[Page 7867]]


  Mr. DODD. I say to my good friend, he is on the list. We are going to 
try to get to that amendment as soon as we can. I promise the Senator 
that.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, the word ``promise'' actually made the day 
for me. So I will not object, and look forward to offering that 
amendment at the earliest opportunity.
  Mr. DODD. I thank my colleague.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Georgia [Mr. Chambliss], for himself, Mr. 
     Shelby, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Gregg, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Johanns, Mr. 
     Cochran, Mr. Vitter, and Mr. Thune, proposes an amendment 
     numbered 3816 to amendment No. 3739.

  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
reading of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  (The amendment is printed in the Record of May 5, 2010, under ``Text 
of Amendments.'')
  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. President, first, let me thank the chairman. And 
he is exactly right, I would encourage all of those who have indicated 
to me they wish to speak on my amendment, from both sides of the aisle, 
to let us know, come down to the floor. We wish to dispose of this 
amendment as soon as possible. I am prepared to enter into any kind of 
reasonable time agreement as soon as we get an idea of exactly how many 
speakers there will be in order to accommodate those folks.
  I am going to talk in detail about the amendment, but first I do want 
to respond to the Senator from North Dakota who makes some good points 
with which I agree. But when we talk about the elimination or not 
allowing credit default swaps, let me say what bothers me about that.
  In 2000, when we passed the Commodities Futures Modernization Act, 
nobody envisioned that credit default swaps would mushroom as they did. 
The fact is that not only did they grow larger in number, they grew in 
dollar volume, and they grew in a way that certainly did participate in 
the collapse that occurred in 2008.
  But the real problem with it is not that we had those products on the 
market but that the regulators did not have the power and authority and 
the tools to deal with those products, rather than thinking about 
eliminating a specific product, knowing these smart folks who are in 
this business in the financial industry are out there right now looking 
at this bill, and trying to figure out other products they can design 
that will be different from a credit default swap, but yet be as 
dangerous as what happened in 2008. We need to give the regulators the 
power and authority to look at these products and put 100 percent 
transparency in place. That is what I want to see, and that is what my 
chairman, Senator Lincoln, wants to see, and I think everybody in here 
agrees we ought to have full transparency.
  Mr. DORGAN. Will the Senator yield for a clarification?
  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Surely.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, let me clarify that my position is to ban 
what are called naked or synthetic credit default swaps, not ban credit 
default swaps. Those with no insurable interest of any kind are 
considered naked credit default swaps. It appears to me that 70 to 80 
percent of all credit default swaps are in that category; they have no 
insurable interest. So I did not want the Senator to think I want to 
ban credit default swaps. That is not the case. Naked credit default 
swaps, yes.
  Mr. CHAMBLISS. I understand that. My point is the same, though, that 
if we give the regulators the authority to regulate those products, 
then I think we can deal with it better that way than targeting 
specific products to be eliminated or banned.
  Among the many complex issues this body deals with every day, there 
are few more complicated than the issue of derivatives. However, we 
should not let the complexity of the swaps market be an excuse for 
ignoring good public policy and ensuring that our markets are both safe 
as well as functional.
  In the past couple of years, a lot of people have become acquainted 
with one particular type of derivative known as, as we have just talked 
about, a credit default swap or CDS, which permits one party to 
transfer the credit risk or bonds or syndicated bank loans to another 
party.
  Since AIG was heavily involved in CDS, it seems simple enough to 
blame swaps generally for what went wrong in the system. However, that 
would be an inaccurate oversimplification, because the real situation 
is much more complicated. We need to distinguish between credit default 
swaps and the actual underlying assets represented by those swaps, in 
this case mortgage-backed securities or mortgages that were themselves 
the root of the problem.
  There are so many other types of swaps that U.S. businesses rely on 
every day to mitigate just about any risk they face in the ordinary 
course of doing business. Before we make a big policy change that makes 
these over-the-counter products less desirable to market participants 
or require that these products trade only on an exchange type facility, 
we need to ask ourselves whether this will even address the underlying 
problem.
  Why take a chance in these uncertain times to make legislative and 
regulatory changes that could possibly make things worse, potentially 
dry up more capital or force the cost of business going higher? This 
does not mean there is not room for improvement. That is why I have 
joined with several of my colleagues today in developing an amendment 
to apply strong and reasonable regulation to the derivatives markets.
  Let me be clear. We share the desire to apply stronger safeguards in 
these markets to regulate swap market participants and to ensure that 
swap transactions are more closely monitored by the regulators. I am 
absolutely convinced that the market volatility and financial meltdown 
of the recent past makes the case for more market transparency.
  How can we in the Congress be sure of the outcome of sweeping reforms 
without first properly identifying the exact cause of these problems? 
How can we identify the cause of the problem without authorizing and 
requiring more transparency through the collection of necessary data?
  For this reason, I have worked with several of my colleagues to 
develop an amendment that would require all swap transactions be made 
known to the appropriate regulators so effective regulation can be 
applied where necessary.
  Additionally, there will be public dissemination of prices and 
volumes of completed swap transactions in order that investors and 
other market participants might be assisted in marking existing swap 
positions to market, making informed decisions before executing future 
transactions, and assessing the quality of transactions they have 
executed.
  Beyond requiring more transparency, I also believe we should provide 
the CFTC and the SEC with the necessary authorities to more properly 
regulate those market participants who are potentially contributing to 
the type of risk that jeopardizes our financial system: swap dealers, 
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, large hedge funds, and AIG-type entities.
  Many may not even realize that swaps are statutorily excluded from 
the current regulatory oversight of both the CFTC and the SEC. That is 
right; current law does not provide for clear regulation of swap market 
participants. Our amendment would ensure that these market participants 
are fully regulated and that their swap positions are cleared through a 
fully regulated clearinghouse. This is a huge departure from current 
law.
  Speaking of clearing, we need to determine how best to encourage the 
clearing of certain derivative products without jeopardizing either the 
use of these risk management tools or the sustainability of our 
clearinghouses. For that reason, our amendment would enable true end-
users, those businesses

[[Page 7868]]

that use swaps to hedge their risk, not for speculative purpose, but 
true hedging, to avoid an expensive mandate to clear their swaps.
  These businesses had absolutely nothing to do with the financial 
crisis and should not be punished with increased costs and burdens. We 
certainly do not want to discourage them from managing their risk, 
especially not in the current economic environment.
  Last Friday, the Department of Labor published their unemployment 
report for the month of April. Again, unemployment rose from 9.7 
percent to 9.9 percent. In my State, it is in excess of 10 percent. Why 
would we subject U.S. companies to expensive mandates when we should be 
advancing policies that lessen their financial burdens so they can 
employ more people?
  Why is Congress considering slapping an additional cost on them in 
the form of a clearing mandate? This does not make sense, when these 
individual companies are the true end-users of the products they are 
trading in, and they were absolutely not the cause of the financial 
meltdown. Those mandates should be targeted and in such a way to lessen 
the risks of those large financial institution swap dealers who are 
responsible for the bulk majority of all swap transactions and, 
therefore, contributing to systemic risk.
  But a clearing mandate is not appropriate for businesses using swaps 
to manage their risks and keep their costs down. This is very simple. 
If their costs go up, they will either pass it along to consumers or 
stop managing their risk, and then they certainly cannot afford to hire 
more workers.
  Our amendment has a more targeted clearing mandate designed to reach 
those who are actually responsible for this crisis we are in, Wall 
Street and not Main Street businesses.
  The Senate will soon have the chance to vote on this substitute 
amendment on derivatives. I am looking forward to further debate on our 
amendment because it will highlight a handful of significant 
differences between the derivatives language in the Dodd-Lincoln 
amendment versus our amendment. I believe our approach on transparency, 
on clearing, on end users, on capital requirements, and on trading 
mandates is much more appropriate, much more reasonable, much more 
business friendly, and, frankly, much more secure. My amendment will 
ensure that Main Street businesses will still be able to appropriately 
use derivatives in hedging their daily business risks, while ensuring 
that appropriate regulatory standards are put into place for the 
institutions and transactions that contribute to systemic financial 
risk.
  If Congress is truly interested in addressing the problem as opposed 
to politicizing a solution, we can no longer ignore the complexities of 
these markets. We must seek to understand the legitimate purposes these 
complex instruments serve for large and small businesses in each of our 
States. Unfortunately, the language currently before the Senate misses 
the mark when it comes to the appropriate regulation of derivatives. 
The underlying bill would have many unfortunate consequences--some 
intended, some unintended--resulting from applying complicated 
regulations too broadly and will subject our American businesses to 
more risk, not less.
  Three consequences of the underlying bill on derivatives are these: 
One, the users will pay huge clearing fees and pass on those expenses 
to consumers; two, no longer will businesses use the derivatives 
market, and they will pass on the higher, unstable market costs to 
consumers; and three, these businesses, instead of using U.S. markets, 
will simply take their business offshore. As they do today, they will 
trade in the dark, and no U.S. regulator will ever see what they are 
doing. That is not right. That is not what any of us intend to see 
happen.
  The fact is, if we pass the derivatives provisions in the underlying 
bill, there is going to be a significant number of end users who take 
their business offshore. That truly is unacceptable. Our amendment 
makes good business sense and good common sense.
  We have received support for our amendment from a wide array of 
businesses. These are not banks that stand to make profits. These are 
individual users. I have a letter from the National Association of 
Manufacturers which states:

       We have serious concerns that the current end-user 
     exemption in S. 3217 (and in the pending Dodd Substitute) is 
     not strong or clear enough. In addition, other provisions in 
     the derivatives title could effectively eliminate the 
     exemption for many companies and, in some cases, subject them 
     to capital and margin requirements or higher costs. 
     Conversely, the Chambliss/Shelby substitute includes a clear 
     and strong end-user exemption that appropriately exempts 
     businesses that use OTC derivatives to hedge their business 
     risk from the regulatory scheme applicable to swap dealers.

  From the Coalition for Derivatives End-Users, we have the following: 
That my amendment would ``strike the right balance between bringing 
fundamental and needed reforms to the over-the-counter (OTC) 
derivatives market while also ensuring significant and burdensome new 
costs are not necessarily imposed on business end-users.''
  Lastly, I have a letter signed by several energy supply groups which 
states that they ``remain concerned about the potential impact of the 
proposed financial reform legislation on end-users.'' They go on to say 
that:

       Due to the broad definition of ``swap dealer,'' end users 
     may be ineligible for the end-user exemption if they engage 
     in hedging business risks in the ordinary course of business.

  I ask unanimous consent that these respective letters be printed in 
the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                              National Association


                                             of Manufacturers,

                                     Washington, DC, May 10, 2010.
       Dear Senators: The National Association of Manufacturers 
     (NAM), the nation's largest industrial trade association 
     representing small and large manufacturers in every 
     industrial sector and in all 50 states, urges your support 
     for the Chambliss/Shelby Substitute Amendment (SA 3816) to S. 
     3217, the Restoring American Financial Stability Act.
       While the NAM supports initiatives to prevent excessive 
     speculation and improve transparency and stability in the 
     derivatives market, it is critical that policymakers preserve 
     the ability of responsible companies to access over-the-
     counter (OTC) derivative products. Manufacturers of all sizes 
     use customized OTC derivatives to manage the cost of 
     borrowing or other risks of operating their businesses, 
     including fluctuating currency exchange, interest rates and 
     commodity prices. In today's challenging economy, these risk 
     management tools help businesses keep operations going, 
     invest in new technologies, build new plants and retain and 
     expand workforces.
       NAM members believe strongly that any derivatives reform 
     effort should ensure business end-users' continued access to 
     OTC derivatives, providing them with greater financial 
     certainty and allowing them to allocate resources to core 
     business activities. In addition, we have called for clear 
     exemptions from central clearing, bilateral margining and 
     exchange-trading requirements for business end-users to avoid 
     drawing large amounts of capital from business operations, 
     including job creation.
       We have serious concerns, however, that the current end-
     user exemption in S. 3217 (and in the pending Dodd 
     Substitute) is not strong or clear enough. In addition, other 
     provisions in the derivatives title could effectively 
     eliminate the exemption for many companies and, in some 
     cases, subject them to capital and margin requirements or 
     higher costs.
       Conversely, the Chambliss/Shelby Substitute includes:
       Clear exemptions from central clearing, bilateral margining 
     and exchange-trading requirements;
       A clear and strong end-user exemption that appropriately 
     exempts businesses that use OTC derivatives to hedge business 
     risk from the regulatory scheme applicable to swap dealers;
       Clarification that any increases to capital charges on swap 
     dealers are based on actual risk of loss and designed to 
     promote the safety and soundness of the financial system 
     rather than to penalize the use of OTC derivatives; and
       Prospective application recognizing that market 
     participants negotiated current derivatives contracts with an 
     understanding as to their potential obligations based on the 
     laws and market practices in place at that time.
       The NAM's Key Vote Advisory Committee has indicated that 
     all votes related to the Chambliss/Shelby Substitute 
     Amendment (SA 3816), including procedural motions, may

[[Page 7869]]

     be considered for designation as Key Manufacturing Votes in 
     the 111th Congress. Thank you for your consideration.
           Sincerely,
                                                      Jay Timmons,
     Executive Vice President.
                                  ____

                                                     Coalition for


                                        Derivatives End-Users,

                                                     May 11, 2010.
       To the Members of the United states Senate: The Coalition 
     for Derivatives End-Users strongly supports an amendment that 
     has been filed by Sen. Chambliss, SA 3816 to S. 3217, the 
     ``Restoring Financial Stability Act,'' because it would bring 
     important and needed reforms to the derivatives markets. If 
     this amendment is brought to a vote, the Coalition urges you 
     to support it.
       The Chambliss amendment would strike the right balance 
     between bringing fundamental and needed reforms to the over-
     the-counter (``OTC'') derivatives market, while also ensuring 
     significant and burdensome new costs are not unnecessarily 
     imposed on business end-users. Consistent with the 
     Coalition's position, the amendment:
       Provides explicit exemptions from central clearing, 
     bilateral margining, and exchange trading requirements for 
     business end-users that do not pose a threat to financial 
     stability and that primarily use OTC derivatives to hedge 
     business risk;
       Ensures increases in capital charges continue to be based 
     on risk of loss and aimed at promoting safety and soundness 
     of the financial system, and not used to penalize OTC 
     derivatives;
       Provides legislative certainty that any new requirements 
     are applied prospectively, recognizing that market 
     participants negotiated existing trades based on the laws and 
     market practices in effect at the time of these transactions.
       Throughout the legislative process, the Coalition has 
     advocated for a strong derivatives bill that brings full 
     transparency to OTC derivatives market, imposes new 
     regulatory standards on swap dealers and market participants 
     whose activities in the OTC market could impact the stability 
     of the financial system, and provides a strong clear 
     exemption from mandatory clearing and bilateral margining for 
     business end-users.
       The Coalition remains concerned that Title VII of S. 3217 
     does not provide a strong clear exemption for end-users. If 
     implemented, we believe many end-users of derivatives would 
     be forced to divert precious working capital away from 
     productive use to margin accounts, move their hedging 
     practices overseas, or forego hedging altogether--leaving 
     them exposed to the volatility and price uncertainty that OTC 
     derivatives have so effectively mitigated. A survey and 
     analysis conducted by the Business Roundtable and Keybridge 
     Research found that a requirement to impose initial margin on 
     OTC derivatives could lead to a loss of 100,000 to 120,000 
     jobs within the S&P 500 companies alone. The additional 
     impact of variation margin could significantly increase this 
     negative impact on jobs.
       The Coalition urges you to support the Chambliss amendment. 
     We stand ready to support any further amendments that will 
     ensure a viable OTC market for companies across the country, 
     and look forward to working with Members of the Senate to 
     that end.
           Sincerely,
         American Petroleum Institute; Business Roundtable; 
           Financial Executives International; National 
           Association of Corporate Treasurers; National 
           Association of Manufacturers; National Association of 
           Real Estate Investment Trusts; The Real Estate 
           Roundtable; U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
                                  ____

                                                   April 29, 2010.
     Hon. Christopher Dodd,
     Chairman, Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
         Affairs, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Blanche Lincoln,
     Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and 
         Forestry, Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Dodd and Chairman Lincoln: Commercial end-
     users support transparency and efforts to control systemic 
     risk in U.S. financial markets. As you know, commercial end-
     users use over-the-counter derivatives as a risk-management 
     tool to hedge against fluctuations in commodity prices, 
     interest rates, and currency exchange rates. This process 
     creates market stability, and keeps costs down for businesses 
     and for the consumers who use their products.
       To that end, we would like to express our appreciation for 
     your inclusion of a commercial end-user exemption in your 
     compromise language. This exemption is critical to ensuring 
     that end-users are not faced with the costly requirements of 
     mandatory clearing and bilateral margining.
       However, we remain concerned about the potential impact of 
     proposed financial reform legislation on end-users. Due to 
     the broad definition of ``swap dealer,'' end-users may be 
     ineligible for the end-user exemption if they engage in 
     hedging business risks in the ordinary course of business.
       To clarify and strengthen the exemption, we recommend the 
     legislation define ``Swap Dealer'' as ``any person who--(i) 
     holds itself out as a dealer in swaps; (ii) makes a market in 
     swaps; (iii) regularly engages in the purchase and sale of 
     swaps in the ordinary course of business; and (iv) engages in 
     any activity causing the person to be commonly known in the 
     trade as a dealer or market maker in swaps'' instead of as 
     any person meeting any one of those criteria.
       We would also ask that you include the following de minimis 
     exception, which ensures that end-users whose swap 
     transactions are nominal will be exempt from the designation 
     of ``swap dealer.'' ``De Minimis Exception.--The Commission 
     shall exempt from designation as a swap dealer an entity that 
     engages in a de minimis quantity of swap dealing in 
     connection with transactions with or on behalf of its 
     customers.''
       Our concerns can also be addressed by clarifying that 
     commercial end-users are not swap dealers. This can be 
     achieved in the following way: ``In General.--The term `swap 
     dealer' means any person (other than a commercial end-user) 
     who--''
       Again, thank you for the inclusion of an end-user 
     exemption. We would ask that you carefully consider our 
     suggestions. Clarification of the definition of ``swap 
     dealer'' is critical to ensuring that end-users have access 
     to the capital needed to remain competitive in the global 
     marketplace and expand job growth in the U.S.
           Sincerely,
         American Petroleum Institute; National Association of 
           Manufacturers; Natural Gas Supply Association; US Oil & 
           Gas Association.

  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. President, I have had numerous discussions with 
both the chairman of the Banking Committee as well as the ranking 
member and the chairman of the Ag Committee about this issue for weeks 
and months. I know we have the same goal in common: to ensure there is 
transparency in the marketplace and that we have regulators who will do 
the job we ask them to do. Frankly, I am not sure that was the case 5 
years ago or even 2 years ago. But if we give these regulators the 
tools and if we give them the opportunity to look at every transaction, 
irrespective of whether it is going through a clearinghouse or whether 
it is over the counter, and they have the opportunity to review every 
large institution or every small institution that engages in these 
transactions and they also have the opportunity to look at the other 
side and see which companies are using these products or which entities 
are using them and they can then deal with those entities that become 
systemically risky--they didn't have that power and authority before, 
and we are going to give them that power and authority now--I have all 
the trust and confidence that they will use it in the right way and 
that with those tools and with that transparency and with the bringing 
of these trades out of the shadows and into the sunlight, we will be 
able to control the financial markets in a way that allows our end 
users, those who did not cause any of the problem and are not part of 
the problem, from being thrown into the same basket with those folks 
who did become systemically risky and caused the financial meltdown 
that occurred.
  My amendment does that. It does it in the right way. I urge my 
colleagues to support the amendment.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Merkley). The Senator from Arkansas.
  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I rise with great respect for my 
colleague from Georgia, my ranking member on the Ag Committee, and all 
his attempts and ideas on how to make our economy stronger and better. 
I do rise to speak in opposition to the Chambliss amendment. Again, 
with the greatest respect for my colleague, the ranking member, he and 
I and our respective staffs spent several months developing draft 
legislation in the Agriculture Committee. I am unbelievably grateful to 
him and his staff as well as my staff. We have made progress. In the 
end, we accomplished 80 to 90 percent of what is now the Dodd-Lincoln 
substitute. But as with all policy decisions, some tough choices needed 
to be made. Senator Chambliss and I simply could not resolve our final 
differences. We ran out of time, basically, in the committee.
  Let me be clear. As chairman of the committee, I made the decision to 
move forward with a strong reform bill, a bill that was voted out of my 
committee on a bipartisan vote. I know to

[[Page 7870]]

my colleagues the Agriculture Committee derivatives title is the only 
legislation to gain bipartisan support in this debate. We want to 
strive to continue in that vein and to work in a bipartisan way to get 
to a good resolution of something that is going to be beneficial to 
this Nation, to our economy, and that is going to gain the respect of 
Americans who have suffered from this financial crisis.
  Unfortunately, the amendment being considered today by Senator 
Chambliss and some of my Republican colleagues does not contain the 
essential reforms required to ensure the stability of our markets. It 
creates loopholes and fails to bring the transparency and 
accountability Americans are demanding of us at this juncture. This 
amendment would be detrimental to our economy and to our markets.
  The derivatives title of the Dodd-Lincoln bill is strong reform. Our 
bill provides necessary transparency and accountability to our 
shattered financial markets and regulatory system. Today this 
derivatives market is completely in the dark with no--I repeat, no--
regulation, no oversight, and no public disclosure. The Dodd-Lincoln 
bill will bring a completely unregulated market into the light of day 
for the first time ever. But it is important to point out, it is not 
regulation for regulation's sake. The steps we have taken in this bill 
have meaningful issues in terms of what they are dealing with. It 
maintains a narrow end-user exemption, appropriate restraints on the 
regulators, where necessary, and provisions that recognize we are 
competing in a global financial marketplace.
  Many have commented about what might happen in these markets, in 
moving markets overseas. I will address that in a moment. But I believe 
all Americans are certainly demanding good, sound marketplaces. I think 
people globally are clamoring for those same types of sound 
marketplaces.
  The facts speak for themselves. The Chambliss amendment does not meet 
the test of what our markets require. It is a stark reminder that if we 
do not act boldly in the face of the near collapse of our economy, 
tragic Wall Street abuses and abysmal regulatory failures, we will all 
suffer the consequences.
  I have a number of concerns with the Chambliss amendment. Clearing 
and exchange trading is at the heart of reform, mitigating risk, 
reducing leverage, and forcing accountability on the derivatives 
marketplace. This amendment would remove the underlying bill's 
mandatory exchange trading requirement and remove the mandatory 
clearing provisions. This is not acceptable. We understand and know 
from our experience with the futures market what the clearing does and 
the stability it brings to the marketplace. It is absolutely essential.
  This amendment removes real-time price transparency to the public. 
The Dodd-Lincoln bill provides real-time price transparency to the 
public and to the regulators. Without robust transparency, the markets 
would not function, and the regulators can't do their jobs. That real-
time, 100 percent transparency is what moves these activities into 
those exchanges, into the clearing that is so necessary to ensure we 
bring that stability to the marketplace.
  Information is power. This amendment will keep this power in the 
hands of those on Wall Street instead of giving it to Main Street. We 
have watched as these selected few on Wall Street have maintained their 
grip on these dark markets and on this information. What have they done 
with it? They have benefited themselves. It has not produced the kind 
of benefit across this great country that people in communities in 
places such as Arkansas and other States could see the benefit of that 
information because we had no access to it. Shedding sunlight on that, 
that sunlight, which is the disinfectant we need on Wall Street, is 
going to be critically important to making sure we are a success, and 
ensuring that transparency is here is part of what we have done in the 
Dodd-Lincoln bill.
  If we do not capture the AIGs of the world, we cannot claim to have 
real reform. This amendment would miss many of the largest and riskiest 
players by narrowly defining both swap dealer and major swap 
participant and exempting too many market participants. More so, this 
amendment requires less of the largest, riskiest market participants. 
They will have fewer business conduct standards, fewer recordkeeping 
requirements, and fewer regulatory core principles to follow. This 
amendment also weakens the capital standards in the underlying bill. 
Customized, bilateral, over-the-counter transactions are less safe than 
those that are cleared and exchange trading. There is no way to get 
around that. We should expect more capital to back up those riskier 
transactions, not allowing the obligation to rest on the taxpayers or 
on the depositors in these banking institutions.
  This substitute misses that opportunity in terms of making sure those 
riskier tools and those riskier transactions are required to have 
greater capital backing them as well as greater regulation, which is 
appropriate for their expanded risky nature.
  To the comments of those who have said this is going to be pushed 
into other markets, into other countries, the American people are 
demanding stability. Consumers are demanding stability in our 
marketplaces. Why should we think that other countries are any 
different, particularly as we have seen what has happened in these 
other countries?
  We can seize this as an opportunity to be a leader globally--
globally--in this world to create sounder markets, stronger markets, 
not just for us but for the global economy, which we are such an 
enormous part of now and will continue to be in the 21st century.
  I would prefer to see us seizing that opportunity to be a leader in 
those global economic markets, and I think we should with a good, 
strong, stable bill that will be recognized by both markets as well as 
consumers.
  This amendment also delays the implementation of regulatory reform 
for at least a year. The American people are demanding real reforms, 
and why we would want to delay implementation is beyond me. The time is 
now. People are wondering why it has taken us this long already to take 
these actions, and I think it is clear we must get started.
  This amendment removes an important provision that would require swap 
dealers to put the financial interests of State and local governments, 
retirement plans, pensions, university endowments, and retirees before 
their own. The stories of abuse in this area are alarming and need to 
be addressed.
  Jefferson County, AL, is one of the starkest examples we have. 
Jefferson County was taken advantage of by Wall Street and is now on 
the edge of bankruptcy, in part because of a $3 billion derivatives 
deal on bonds that went wrong. Without any responsibility to those 
entities, we will continue to see these types of circumstances 
perpetuated, and we have to stop that.
  This amendment creates loopholes and broadly defines hedging. We 
cannot have a situation where the exemptions swallow the rule. Under 
this amendment, few will end up being regulated, and we will be back to 
business as usual, and I think we cannot allow that to happen.
  The Dodd-Lincoln bill gives regulators explicit authority to 
prosecute swaps dealers who are aiding and abetting those who commit 
fraud using swaps. The Chambliss amendment would remove that authority. 
The Chambliss amendment also fails to require registered entities such 
as swap repositories or swap execution facilities to have chief 
compliance officers, allowing these entities to avoid regulatory 
compliance and further, again, endangering Main Street investors.
  This amendment completely removes an important whistleblower program 
for commodities markets. The amendment also removes the underlying 
bill's additional stronger antimanipulation authorities. The amendment 
also removes important authority for the regulators to close loopholes 
and strips key anti-evasion language that would allow the regulators to 
go after anyone who tries to evade the law.
  This amendment arbitrarily moves jurisdictional lines and removes 
more than 30 years of good-faith agreements

[[Page 7871]]

between regulators, ignoring the expertise of individual agencies and 
jeopardizing the ability of regulators to act quickly. This is a 
dangerous path to go down for the ranking member of the Ag Committee, 
and I hope we will be able to stop this amendment and continue to work 
in a way that will bring about the kind of solid regulation, 
transparency, and oversight that needs to be in this bill.
  Finally, the Dodd-Lincoln bill includes important conflict of 
interest provisions that would allow the regulators to ensure that no 
market participant unduly influences or monopolizes the market. What 
does the Chambliss amendment do with this provision? It would eliminate 
it--in effect, handing more power over to Wall Street.
  These changes are simply an effort to weaken the bill and riddle it 
with loopholes. I understand many of my colleagues are being pressured 
to take this path. But we must forge ahead and enact meaningful--
meaningful--reform. The American people deserve no less. They have seen 
what this financial crisis has done to them--in middle America, where 
they have seen their savings for their children's college funds, their 
retirement funds, other things put at risk because of risky businesses 
and risky deals that have happened in a small group of Wall Street 
banks that have chosen basically to take those risks, with 
unfortunately, the liability falling on the depositors as well as the 
taxpayers.
  The same claims and worn-out, catch-all defenses of ``unintended 
consequences'' or ``driving business overseas'' have been used for 
decades as reasons to weaken financial reform efforts, and critics are 
using the very same arguments again today. We are here to tackle 
complicated problems and find real solutions--meaningful solutions--
that will again bring the kind of confidence to the marketplace and 
consumers we need to be able to strengthen our Nation and our 
marketplaces and our economy to create the jobs all Americans want to 
see, and to set the example globally of what good, strong regulations 
and solid markets can do in terms of growing the global economy.
  We certainly should not squander the opportunity for historic reform, 
nor support any efforts to weaken it. Therefore, I intend to vote 
``no'' on this amendment, and I respectfully encourage my colleagues to 
do the same.
  Mr. President, I know I have other colleagues on our side who want to 
speak on this amendment, and I know there are others on the Republican 
side. I would encourage all of our colleagues to come to the floor to 
take the opportunity to speak on this amendment. I know Chairman Dodd 
is anxious to move the bill, as well as others, and we have a great 
opportunity here to visit about and debate this portion of the bill, 
and I encourage my colleagues to do that.
  Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, once again, we are debating a comprehensive 
bill. This one, of course, is only 1,407 pages, as opposed to 2,700 
pages that did health care. But this probably does not affect 
everybody--just almost everybody. This could have been three separate 
bills, and we could have put a lot more effort into getting it right if 
it were three bills instead of one. This is one that takes care of the 
problem with big banks. There is another one that provides consumer 
protection that people are going to be stunned at, to find out every 
single transaction, practically, they can make can be controlled by a 
new board that has no oversight, gets to write their own rules, and has 
virtually an unlimited budget.
  But the piece we are talking about right now has been labeled 
``derivatives.'' I keep thinking maybe it has been labeled 
``derivatives'' so the American public would not know what we are 
talking about. It is important they know what we are talking about.
  I rise in strong support of Senator Chambliss's effort to improve 
this ``derivatives'' section in the bill. But I am disappointed Senator 
Chambliss is even required to offer his amendment. Senators Lincoln and 
Chambliss were well on their way to moving toward a bipartisan package 
of reforms for the derivatives market.
  This is the market used to hedge against risk, and if we make a 
mistake in dealing with it, businesses will suffer, students will 
suffer, farmers and ranchers will suffer. Many businesses want to lock 
in a price, so they hedge their risk. They make a long-term commitment 
to purchase something at a particular price, so they have certainty and 
avoid the risk that the price will change.
  For example, many airlines use this market to lock in long-term fuel 
prices they can rely on. That is a derivative. That contract can be 
bought and sold as the market changes--again, to take an acceptable 
risk. Sometimes I think we call it a derivative, as I mentioned before, 
so the American people will be confused and will not pay attention.
  Senators Lincoln and Chambliss were on the verge of putting together 
a key piece of financial reform in a bipartisan fashion. Unfortunately, 
buoyed by the passage of the extraordinarily partisan health care 
reform bill, the White House intervened in negotiations. They urged an 
end to bipartisan negotiations. They pushed the bill further to the 
left, and we are now faced with a product that will make it harder for 
American companies to obtain capital or to assure future purchase 
prices for essential products. This will drive some American jobs 
overseas, and perhaps entire businesses as well.
  It is disappointing that this is becoming commonplace in the Senate. 
During the health care reform debate, I worked with five other members 
of the Finance Committee on a comprehensive health care package. We 
were making progress on a bipartisan bill when the majority, with the 
guidance of the White House, decided to go it alone, decided that was 
better politically.
  Now we are having a debate about the future of the financial 
industry. We are working to protect our economy from future collapse 
and, unfortunately, we are having this discussion in a mostly partisan 
manner because the White House is interested in scoring some more 
political points. It is an election year, and these are election-year 
politics at their worst, and I am disappointed it is becoming the norm.
  The White House believes they can win political points on this issue 
because the word ``derivatives'' is something of a boogieman. People 
hear that word and they assume it is a group of Wall Street bankers 
plotting how to increase their end-of-the-year bonuses, as they seek to 
ruin the rest of the economy. My constituents are told by fear mongers 
on the left that derivatives are risky transactions, and they are 
misled into believing there is nothing about derivatives that is useful 
to ordinary businesses.
  The facts do not support those claims. Derivatives are, by their very 
nature, measures to help limit risk. It is hedging the bet. The vast 
majority of Fortune 500 companies and many smaller companies are 
involved in the derivatives market. Employee pension funds are involved 
in the derivatives market. The agriculture derivatives market is one of 
the oldest and most established financial markets in the United States 
because agriculture can be an inherently risky business unless you lock 
in a favorable price. Producers are at the mercy of the weather, 
transportation networks, varying input costs, and the global supply of 
agricultural commodities. These unique market conditions mean that 
without risk management, markets fluctuate wildly.
  I think it could be helpful to those listening to the debate to try 
to make clear how these transactions actually work. Oftentimes, in 
business, the greatest potential for profit involves the greatest risk. 
It only makes sense I would have greater potential to make money if I 
invest in a startup company than if I invest in a Treasury bond or an 
old established company. It is also more likely I will lose money with 
my investment if I invest in that startup company. I may want to limit 
the chance I will lose all my money. I may

[[Page 7872]]

want to figure out a way to lessen my risk. Another company may believe 
my investment was good, so I will essentially sell them some of my 
investment in the startup company--along with my chance for maximum 
profit--in order to have money to invest in a more stable Treasury bond 
and less profit--hedging my bet. The entity that facilitates that sale 
is a swaps or derivatives dealer, and they play an important role by 
helping find willing buyers and sellers to help companies limit 
exposure--to hedge the risk.
  The goal of this legislation should be regulating the market in a way 
that ensures companies, individuals, and other entities can have access 
to as much money for investment to create jobs as possible, at the same 
time that we create a situation where we will never again be forced to 
bail out the biggest banks, and where we never allow another AIG to 
occur.
  I am not convinced the bill as written addresses the concerns, 
although I feel confident the bill will lead to less access to money 
for businesses at a time when our economy is struggling.
  In my home State, I am hearing from the energy industry and from 
agricultural groups that the bill has the potential to treat companies 
that are trying to limit risk as major banks. Although the bill does 
provide an end-user exemption, it is unclear if companies can avoid 
being misclassified as a swap dealer or major swap participant, and if 
they are misclassified, they lose their end-user exemption.
  The Chambliss amendment clarifies the end-user exemption to ensure 
that bona fide hedging transactions, including those used by a wheat 
grower in Wyoming or a power company in the Midwest, remain regulated 
in a reasonable fashion.
  One of the difficulties with the way we are doing things here with 
most of the work being done on the floor is that you cannot pick the 
glimmer of an idea out of one and the glimmer of an idea out of another 
and put it together and have a good amendment. Plus, there is all this 
pressure that the party line should be protected. That is not what this 
amendment involves. This is trying to make a bona fide change to it. It 
has to be done in a more global way than we would like, but we are 
limited on the number of amendments we get to do. There is already talk 
about how we need to close this debate. I know of dozens of amendments 
out there that people believe are good changes to this bill to make it 
a working bill that we probably will not get to debate.
  In a meeting yesterday with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, 
the Chairman emphasized that what has become known as section 106 
provisions remain problematic. In the current version of the 
legislation, the provisions have been moved to section 716 and require 
that swap business be conducted and affiliated separate from the FDIC-
insured banks.
  Chairman Bernanke didn't think this section was nearly ready to go, 
and I suspect the FDIC folks don't either. Although the idea appears to 
make sense on its outset, the provision will further reduce access to 
investment money to create jobs as banks are required to hold 
additional money in their related businesses to limit credit exposure. 
Instead of using the capital at the bank to limit credit exposure, they 
are forced to have a second pot of money that they will be unable to 
lend. The provision will result in less investment money entering the 
market. It will lead to further consolidation of the market because 
fewer institutions will be able to meet the credit risk requirements, 
and it will increase costs to end users.
  Putting on my hat as the ranking member of the Health, Education, 
Labor and Pensions Committee, the Chambliss amendment also helps 
resolve a concern that pension and retirement plans have with the 
Lincoln-Dodd substitute. Many people do not realize that pension plans 
dislike big fluctuations in the market. Private pension plans invest 
for the long term and would prefer to have steady, long-term growth 
rather than investing in a volatile market which could cause a 
company's pension obligation payments to skyrocket when the market 
falls. Pension plans enter into swap agreements and derivative 
contracts to hedge price fluctuations and to keep risk at a minimum. 
For example, pension plans use these contracts to make sure they don't 
have too high of an interest rate that may be unsustainable or too low 
of an interest rate that will give too low a rate of return that would 
not provide enough money to pay pensions as they come due. Even the 
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, PBGC, uses swaps and derivative 
contracts to dampen the value swings of the pension trust funds.
  Recently, 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts, IRAs, have 
been using ``stable value funds'' as an alternative to money market 
funds to offer a very stable and steady increase of earnings. These 
stable value funds are stable because of the use of swap contracts, 
again, because they make sure the underlying investments don't go too 
high and don't go too low.
  Originally, Senator Dodd's language in the Banking Committee-reported 
bill may have caused pension and retirement plans to register as 
``major swap providers.'' This, of course, would not work because the 
regulation and registration requirements may have run afoul of pension 
requirements for solvency. Senator Lincoln tried to remedy this, but 
her solution was to place the swap dealers on the spot by requiring 
special paperwork for just touching a swap contract for a pension plan.
  I believe the Chambliss amendment strikes the right balance. Pension 
plans are not trying to create a market in swaps, nor are they trying 
to use swaps to game the markets. Pension plans that use swaps assure 
pension funds will be there when needed for the people retiring, and 
the approach taken by the Chambliss amendment allows that to happen.
  The Chambliss amendment is a far superior effort to the bill we have 
on the Senate floor. At one time I was confident that we would be 
seeing a bipartisan, workable Lincoln-Chambliss provision. It is 
unfortunate the White House got involved, pushed this bill to the left, 
and is now pushing us to pass some sort of financial reform 
legislation--any sort at this stage--at the expense of passing a 
strong, workable bill. Congress needs to stop with this ``shoot first, 
ask questions later'' approach, or as we call it in Wyoming, the 
``ready, fire, and then aim'' approach that might never hit the target.
  I hope my colleagues in the Senate can support the Chambliss 
amendment or at least get together and cover some of the things we have 
talked about that are a major problem with the bill. This is one-third 
of what we are talking about, and it is going to have the potential to 
ruin a lot of things for individuals, working Americans. We don't want 
that to happen.
  I ask my colleagues to support the Chambliss amendment. I yield the 
floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, let me begin by expressing my gratitude to 
Senator Lincoln of Arkansas and Senator Chambliss of Georgia and 
members of their committee for their tremendous work. In fact, there is 
some overlap in membership. I think a couple members of the Banking 
Committee are also members of the Agriculture Committee.
  I know how hard they have worked on what is such a critically 
important piece of this legislation. It is probably an area with which 
a lot of people are not terribly familiar. A lot of the language we use 
in describing this area of the bill sounds pretty foreign to a lot of 
people, but it is terribly important we get this right, for reasons I 
will try to briefly explain this afternoon.
  For many Americans who aren't necessarily experts on our financial 
system, this is one of the most confusing parts of our work, but it is 
also incredibly important in terms of our overall reform of the 
financial system. I am sure this has already been described by the 
Senator from Arkansas and the Senator from Georgia, so this may be 
somewhat repetitive.
  People ask me: What is a derivative? It is a fancy word, 
``derivative.'' Really, what it amounts to, in simple terms

[[Page 7873]]

that most Americans can understand is, it is a bet. It is a wager, in a 
sense--an important wager but nonetheless a wager. It is a wager placed 
on the future value of something, either as a future protection against 
change in the value of that instrument or a way to make some money off 
of it. It is a legitimate operation, provided it is done properly. 
There is nothing wrong with them. In fact, they play a very important 
role. If used responsibly as a way to hedge a commercial risk, they are 
tremendously important.
  Many of us have heard about, for instance, the candymakers. We hear 
this example all the time. Candymakers are able to keep their costs 
stable as a production company through the use of derivatives. If you 
are an end user, as they are called, and your costs depend upon future 
prices of a commodity such as sugar or other additives, that is a way 
to stabilize those costs and provide some certainty to that particular 
company; or it can be the future direction of interest rates which can 
have a huge impact on the cost of a product and the success and well-
being of a company as well.
  Derivatives can serve as a form of insurance against an unexpected 
spike in either the price of a product or interest rates. But the 
problem is this: As companies have come up with new and innovative ways 
to use derivatives--and they have--much of this activity has taken 
place in the shadow economy where there is little sunlight at all to 
expose what these instruments are and how they affect the overall 
economy of our country. They operate outside the supervision of any 
regulator, and that is where the problems arise. Not in derivatives 
themselves, but how they are perceived, how they are seen.
  That is how one night in September of 2008, I found myself, along 
with several other Members of this body, in a room not far from where 
this Chamber exists listening to the Chairman of the Federal Reserve 
Bank, Mr. Benjamin Bernanke, and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson as 
they explained what had happened to AIG, the largest insurance company 
in the world, and what would need to happen to fix the problems posed 
by the activities in which the company was involved.
  Just as some international corporations create shell companies in the 
Cayman Islands to avoid tax responsibilities, AIG created a subsidiary 
called AIG Financial Products to sell complex and risky products. It 
was thus able to take advantage of the fact that there was no 
regulatory requirement that AIG hold enough capital to cover its 
exposure to these products.
  Meanwhile, because AIG was rated AAA by the rating agencies as a 
company, their counterparties didn't demand much in the way of 
collateral or margin. Essentially, AIG guaranteed other people's bets; 
that is, these counterparties--Goldman Sachs, Societe Generale, a 
French bank--without having the money to pay them if those bets failed. 
AIG was able to do so without anyone knowing how many of these 
guarantees they had actually sold. As we now know, they sold trillions 
of dollars' worth. When it turned out that AIG couldn't pay up, our 
government--or more sadly, the American taxpayer--was left holding the 
bag. We were faced as a country with the unprecedented and unpleasant 
taxpayer bailout to prevent this shocking failure from bringing down 
our whole economy, or melting down as we were warned.
  To make the problem worse, we now know AIG wasn't alone. Unregulated 
derivatives also helped to mask the credit-worthiness of nonfinancial 
users such as the Government of Greece. We all know about that and what 
has happened over the last few days and the problems created in Europe 
as a result of that problem, to their own ultimate or eventual 
detriment, as we now know. Hedge funds such as Long-Term Capital 
Management, energy companies such as Enron, industrial concerns such as 
Proctor and Gamble, and a wide array of governments at home and abroad 
have all fallen prey to the problems in the derivatives market.
  I think the solution is becoming obvious--at least we hope it is--to 
put an end to risky, uncovered bets that leave taxpayers and our 
financial system as vulnerable as it has been. That is why capital and 
margin requirements, imposed either by regulators or by central 
clearinghouses, are so critically important in this area of our 
economy.
  Chairman Bernanke of the Federal Reserve described margin 
requirements as ``an appropriate cost of protecting against 
counterparty risk.''
  The sad truth is this solution has been obvious for some time. You 
don't need to have just the events of the last couple of years to 
understand this problem. You can go back 16 years ago. At that time, in 
1994, the General Accounting Office produced a report entitled 
``Financial Derivatives: Actions Needed to Protect the Financial 
System.''
  At the time of their report, the General Accounting Office determined 
that the size of the derivatives market was $12.1 trillion--not an 
insignificant amount in 1994. The report described risks arising from 
the interconnected relationships between dealers of derivatives and end 
users, not to mention the rapid growth and increasing complexity of 
derivative activities because the relationships between the major 
derivatives dealers and end users, and the exchange-traded markets were 
so close, the failure of any one part of this system could prove 
devastating to our entire financial system. This, we knew in 1994, 16 
years ago. That was their report.
  By 2008, 16 years later, the derivatives market had grown from $12.1 
trillion that I mentioned a few minutes ago to an astonishing $600 
trillion in 16 years. In a related story, it had gone almost entirely 
underground.
  Each time the Congress had a chance to act, it chose a legislative 
path that created even more loopholes, more opportunities for these 
risks to migrate to unregulated pockets of our economy. In 2000, the 
Congress passed the Commodities Futures Modernization Act which, to a 
large extent, explicitly exempted over-the-counter derivatives from 
regulation by the CFTC and the SEC.
  So whereas in 1998, 41 percent of derivatives were traded in the 
shadows, by 2008, 10 years later, that proportion grew to 60 percent--
almost a 20-percent increase in 10 years.
  Essentially, over time, our financial system came up with more and 
more ways to take bigger and bigger risks with fewer and fewer 
safeguards and less and less supervision. That, of course, as we now 
painfully have learned, was a recipe for disaster, and disaster is what 
we got. That is why Chairman Lincoln, Senator Jack Reed of Rhode 
Island, Senator Judd Gregg, Senator Saxby Chambliss, and others of our 
colleagues have worked so hard over these last number of months to 
bring the derivatives market out of the shadows and into the sunlight 
where they belong. That is why the derivatives language in this bill is 
so critically important if we are going to live up to our descriptions 
of this bill as a major reform of the financial markets in our country.
  For the first time in our Nation, over-the-counter derivatives would 
be regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the 
Commodities Futures Trading Commission. It includes the Banking 
Committee's tough requirements for central clearing, exchange trading, 
capital margin, and reporting that are critical to reducing systemic 
risk and ensuring that taxpayers would not have to clean up the mess 
resulting from another AIG implosion.
  I know the financial sector lobbyists don't like these rules. In 
fact, over 1,000 corporate lobbyists have flooded this town--this body, 
in fact--in an attempt to water down these proposals.
  But Joe Dear, the chief investment officer of the California Public 
Employees Retirement System, explained it well when he said:

       Every firm has reasons why its contracts are 
     ``exceptional'' and should trade privately; in reality, most 
     derivatives contracts are standardized--or standardizable--
     and could trade rather on exchanges.

  Thanks to the work of Senator Lincoln and the Agriculture Committee, 
commercial end users have been carefully exempted from these new rules, 
so companies such as those candymakers

[[Page 7874]]

I talked about can keep hedging their commercial risks. In fact, the 
market in which these companies operate will become safer and less 
expensive because of the new rules for big players: the swap dealers 
and major participants.
  Those big players--the VIPs in the derivatives casino--will have to 
register with the SEC and CFTC and meet strict requirements for 
business capital, business conduct, and reporting.
  Every single transaction will be reported through a clearinghouse or 
trade repository or directly to a regulator.
  The SEC and CFTC will have enhanced authority to police these markets 
for fraud, manipulation, and abuse. Those don't sound like radical 
ideas. Those are commonsense proposals that I think most Americans can 
understand, even if they don't appreciate the complexities of these 
instruments.
  The combination of these regulatory tools will provide market 
participants and investors with a lot more confidence during times of 
crisis, taxpayers with protection against the need to pay for mistakes 
made by companies, derivatives users with more price transparency and 
liquidity, and regulators, of course, with more information about the 
risks in the system.
  Instead of an underground gambling club, derivatives will be traded 
in a well-regulated, transparent market, with rules that must be 
followed and safety provisions that must be respected.
  Everyone is a winner. Derivatives are valuable and important, and we 
need to have them out there to help our economy grow. Why should some 
of these ideas be so frightening to people? It seems to me that if we 
do exactly what we are talking about here, everybody is a winner in the 
chain, particularly the derivatives users who will have much more 
clarity, and regulators and taxpayers are protected against abuses that 
will occur if we don't try to provide what is being proposed with this 
legislation. I welcome these improvements. Again, this is a debate back 
and forth.
  Despite a lot of hard work between Members of this body to come to 
some common answers, there are differences that emerge in this debate. 
The substitute being offered by my friend from Georgia has no 
requirement for transparent trading and weakens, in my view, those 
safeguards for major market players.
  It loosens capital requirements on the large Wall Street firms. That 
is a huge mistake, in my view, after what we have gone through that 
would practically beg for another AIG-type crisis.
  The substitute limits the central clearing requirement to only those 
trades that take place between the very largest firms, providing a 
blanket carve-out to other financial firms, and letting much of the 
market continue to operate without the accountability, transparency, 
and regulation that I think is so critically important.
  Unfortunately, there is sort of the status quo. There is some 
improvement. I acknowledge that. We have an opportunity to make a 
difference now with the proposals being made by the Agriculture 
Committee. The status quo is a system in which companies you have never 
heard of take risks they cannot back up in markets nobody can see.
  When they collapse, as they inevitably will--one of the things we 
have said over and over again in this bill is that we are not going to 
stop the next economic crisis. We are going to have them. The question 
is, Do we have the tools in place to minimize collapses when they 
occur? That is what we are trying to do with this bill. Even with the 
Agriculture Committee proposals, I cannot imagine--and I am sure I am 
speaking for her when I say this--there is no suggestion that we are 
going to stop another company from having great difficulties. We want 
to minimize that when it happens so it doesn't migrate into the rest of 
the economy. So we are looking to minimize that kind of chaos that can 
occur when some company collapses for reasons unrelated to this, as we 
saw with AIG. When they fell, the price the country paid was vastly in 
excess of one company having difficulties. Taxpayers were put on the 
hook to fill the capital holes when they occurred.
  This has to stop. This market needs oversight and regulation. It 
needs to exist, as well, if our economy is going to grow and jobs are 
to be created. It has been 18 months since AIG proved that once and for 
all. It is time to bring this trail of destruction to an end and take 
the steps necessary to allow this market to operate and people to make 
these kinds of investments and hedge against the kinds of problems that 
can emerge down the road, so they don't collapse for reasons unrelated 
to their own difficulties.
  That is why hedging is important and why derivatives are important. 
But also, these safeguards need to be in place if everyone is going to 
be a winner, as a result of what we are trying to achieve with this 
legislation. There are debates about various aspects of this bill, and 
I look forward to that discussion.
  I hope we will reject this particular proposal, with all due respect 
to it, and adopt what has been proposed by the Agriculture Committee 
and consider that there are additional changes we may work on in order 
to satisfy some legitimate interests. It seems to me we ought to vote 
on this proposal and move on to other aspects of the legislation.
  With that, I yield the floor. I see my friend from Nebraska as well 
as my colleague from Rhode Island.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Franken). The Senator from Nebraska is 
recognized.
  Mr. JOHANNS. Mr. President, I rise to support the Chambliss-Shelby 
derivative substitute, and I am very pleased to indicate that I am a 
cosponsor of that amendment.
  There is no doubt, when you are talking about derivatives, you are 
talking about contractual obligations that are as complicated as any 
financial industry in our system. So going about trying to figure out 
how best to regulate them is no easy task. I think that is acknowledged 
on both sides.
  Both the Banking and the Agriculture Committees have wrestled with 
what is the best approach to regulating this market that, to date, has 
been somewhat unregulated, to say the least. I regret to say that the 
current derivatives title that is in the bill being debated--if you 
study it--is overregulation 101.
  I worry about the host of unintended consequences that will beset our 
economy if it passes in its current form. It is not accidental that 
there has been article after article pointing out how much heartburn 
there is on both sides of the aisle relative to the current proposal 
that is being debated.
  The Chambliss-Shelby derivatives substitute is a sensible approach. I 
have talked to dozens and dozens of those impacted. I have to tell you 
they are very concerned about the downside impact on our economy.
  They say it is unnecessary with the new, robust clearing regime that 
is in place. Yet the Dodd bill has an exchange requirement.
  Why would we not enact meaningful clearing regulations and then add 
another layer on top, if necessary?
  Additionally, I worry about the trickle-down effects for community 
banks that hedge their interest rate risks with large banks. I come 
from the State of Nebraska. I don't even think there is a Wall Street 
in the State of Nebraska. We are basically small community banks. I 
have had some of our smallest banks warn me about the dangers of the 
Dodd proposal.
  If these larger institutions are banned from engaging in swaps, as 
the Dodd bill would do, who will work with the community banks to keep 
interest rates low for our farmers, ranchers, and small businesses?
  Furthermore, banning banks from engaging in derivatives isn't going 
to stop the practice. We don't pass laws for the world. We pass laws 
for the United States. All we are going to end up doing is sending this 
$600 trillion market out of this country. In fact, I had a small 
community banker in my office recently who said to me: Mike, these 
products are absolutely essential to what I do.

[[Page 7875]]

  If they are forced to another part of the world, we will be forced to 
acquire that product from another part of the world.
  Driving this activity back into the dark--which is what we would do 
if that were to happen--and actually increasing our risk and putting it 
in an economic climate outside the United States is a meltdown recipe.
  The underlying bill treats farm credit system institutions similar to 
the big Wall Street firms. It doesn't exempt them from coming up with 
costly capital and margin requirements. Does anybody believe for a 
second that isn't going to hurt farmers and ranchers and the cost of 
their loans? I was the former Secretary of Agriculture. Please, believe 
me, you cannot do this and not expect to have a very negative 
consequence on farmers and ranchers and small businesses.
  Farm credit institutions, our farmers, and farm cooperatives had 
nothing to do with this financial meltdown. Yet they are being dragged 
down with the ship.
  Finally, certain trades are simply so unique but so necessary and so 
specialized that the clearing requirements simply don't work. That 
doesn't mean they should not be transparent or that they should not be 
disclosed, but we should recognize the uniqueness of that situation. 
Why punish these trades that may pose no systemic risk by imposing 
higher capital requirements? Yet that is what the Dodd bill does.
  The bill before us has the potential to have very negative impacts on 
our economy. It is simply an overreach. I am not the only one here 
today who has serious concerns.
  The White House, the Federal Reserve, former Federal Reserve Chairman 
Paul Volcker, and the Chair of the FDIC have raised similar concerns 
relative to this approach.
  On April 30, 2010, in a letter from FDIC's Sheila Bair, she says 
this:

       If all derivatives market-making activities were moved 
     outside of bank holding companies, most of the activity would 
     no doubt continue, but in less regulated and more highly 
     leveraged venues.

  A Federal Reserve staff memo says this:

       The prohibition would not promote financial stability or 
     strong prudential regulation of derivatives or derivatives 
     dealers; would have serious consequences for the 
     competitiveness of U.S. financial institutions; and would be 
     highly disruptive and costly, both for banks and customers.

  My point exactly. Finally, Chairman Volcker also expressed concerns 
with the derivatives title of the bill:

       The provision of derivatives by commercial banks to their 
     customers in the usual course of a banking relationship 
     should not be prohibited.

  I worry that at some point the Senators are going to come to the 
floor and pass this mess, and we are going to be stuck with it.
  The Shelby-Chambliss amendment is a thoughtful and reasonable 
approach. It will increase transparency and government oversight of the 
derivatives market. If we do what is proposed with this Dodd bill, we 
will push derivatives right back into the shadows. They will be 
unregulated and they will occur in another part of the world and we 
will bear the risk and the cost of that.
  These individuals simply used derivatives--these people I am talking 
about are farmers, ranchers, farmers co-ops--to protect themselves from 
risk. They are not Wall Street speculators.
  This proposal from the Shelby-Chambliss approach simply says: Let's 
use common sense when it comes to the derivatives market. It brings the 
current unregulated over-the-counter derivatives market into the light 
where transparency is paramount.
  This is an enormous departure from current law. In fact, it is a 180-
degree change. It attempts to bring swap trades onto a clearing 
platform. Yet it also recognizes that companies across our country use 
these complex products as part of their business activity every day to 
protect themselves from unreasonable risk.
  Look who is supporting this proposal. This approach has gained the 
support of the National Association of Manufacturers. That can hardly 
claim to be Wall Street insiders.
  The alternative recognizes the negative consequences businesses would 
face with too rigid a law. Those dangers are obvious--loss of jobs, 
jobs moving overseas, constriction in liquidity, lack of credit, higher 
interest rates for farmers in my State, and higher farm input costs.
  It also distinguishes that these businesses were not part of the 
economic meltdown. They are not the AIGs of the world. Instead, they 
are the companies that use derivatives to manage their finances to keep 
down their costs, to control interest rate fluctuations, to manage 
currency volatility and other risk mitigation tools.
  The recent prices revealed how inadequate our oversight of 
derivatives was and how complex this area is. But if we adopt this 
blanket approach on the rhetoric of punishing Wall Street, what we will 
do is punish our farmers, our ranchers, our small business people. We 
will punish the people who are working this area by literally 
eliminating their jobs.
  I thank Senators Chambliss and Shelby. They understand what is at 
stake. This is a reasonable approach and an approach I am glad to 
support.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise today to urge my colleagues to reject 
the proposal by Senator Shelby and Senator Chambliss. It is well 
intentioned. It is designed, as other proposals are, to try to provide 
some appropriate regulation to a very complex and complicated area of 
financial transactions--derivatives.
  Like my colleagues, I have spent some time trying to understand this 
area. The only major point I can make is that in concept, derivatives 
are simple. It is a contract that derives its value from reference to 
another entity such as soybeans or mortgages. That is where the 
simplicity stops.
  These financial instruments are incredibly complicated, and they have 
been made more so by very sophisticated financial engineers on Wall 
Street.
  What we have recognized in the last several months is we have to take 
an appropriate step to regulate their sale in the United States and, 
frankly, influence the worldwide sale and use of derivatives.
  The Dodd-Lincoln proposal in this bill is, I think, not only a 
principled but an effective way to deal with the issue of the sale and 
use of derivatives. They start off with a premise which is fundamental: 
We need transparency in the marketplace. There was no transparency in 
the marketplace when it came to derivatives.
  Senator Levin held hearings which brought forth individuals from Wall 
Street, from Goldman Sachs. Frankly, if you listen to the hearings, 
even they did not understand the products they were selling--
complicated, deduced, created by Ph.Ds in mathematics using 
supercomputers. We need transparency. People have to know what they are 
selling. Apparently, some people on Wall Street did not even know what 
they were selling. But certainly consumers have to know what they are 
buying. Transparency is the key.
  The way you arrive at it, in my view, is the way this underlying 
legislation Chairman Dodd has sponsored, along with Chairman Lincoln, 
does.
  First, it establishes the requirement that all derivatives 
transactions be reported to a repository so that regulators will have a 
sense of where the market is moving in terms of specific products.
  Second, there is a requirement that you clear these products. 
Clearing is absolutely critical because an over-the-counter transaction 
is bilateral in nature. It is someone dealing directly with another 
party. What you have there is the danger of counterparty risk, the fact 
that one side of the transaction cannot perform. They go bankrupt, they 
do not have the resources, they miscalculated tremendously as to the 
nature of this transaction. And their failure affects other financial 
institutions.
  In those bilateral situations, the danger for counterparty risk is 
significant. To minimize that, you put it on a clearing platform. You 
put a party between the two parties of the contract

[[Page 7876]]

who will assess collateral and margin and do it in a systematic way. 
These transactions on a clearing platform will be more transparent and 
there will be reduced risk between counterparties. That is, I think, a 
sensible and, at this point, nondebatable point because the Chambliss 
proposal also has a clearing platform aspect to it.
  But the next step--and I think it is an essential step--is to move to 
a trading platform because there you further reduce and manage 
counterparty risk because it is not just an intermediary clearinghouse 
that is handling the risk, it is participation in a market. It is 
individuals who broker deals who come in and buy and leave. It is at 
the heart of price discovery because the key aspect in all of these 
discussions is what is this instrument worth? Is it worth $100 or $2? 
If I am betting it is worth $100 and, of course, it is $2, I will lose. 
If I am betting it is $5 or $6 and it is $100, I lose on the other 
side.
  Part of this is essential price discovery. This is an esoteric point. 
It goes right to the nature of our markets--price discovery. That is 
why we all claim markets are the best form of economic transaction 
because in a market, you know the price, and if you can meet the price, 
you can make the transaction.
  One of the things that is implied in a marketplace, though, in Econ 
101, is perfect information. Buyers and sellers each know what it 
costs. One of the problems with the derivatives markets is information 
is asymmetric, it is skewed, it is dramatically skewed to the Wall 
Street insiders who designed these products. That was one of the 
lessons of the Goldman Sachs hearings: Who knew what these things were? 
They did not even know, but they knew a lot more than people they were 
selling them to.
  We have to reduce that asymmetric nature of the market, and the best 
place to do that is not simply clearing a product, having someone say 
you have to have this much margin if you want to participate, but 
actually trade in the product. Again, this is not an academic issue.
  Let me paraphrase a story from Michael Lewis's book called ``The Big 
Short.'' On February 21, 2007, the market began to trade an index of 
collateralized debt obligations. They called it the TABX--T-A-B-X. For 
the first time, everyone in the marketplace could actually see on a 
screen what these CDOs were worth, what someone was going to pay for 
them. No longer were they waiting on just the dealer, the Wall Street 
insiders saying: No, no, these are great, buy them; they are terrific, 
buy them. There was a price. The price confirmed a simple thesis in a 
way that as Lewis says no amount of conversations with market insiders 
ever could ever have.
  After the first day of trading, those AA-rated tranches closed at 
49.25 from a par value of 100. They lost more than half their value in 
one day of trading. There was now this huge disconnect, and I quote:

       With one hand the Wall Street firms were selling low 
     interest rate-bearing double-A rated CDOs at par, or 100; 
     with the other hand they were trading this index composed of 
     those very same bonds for 49 cents on the dollar. In a flurry 
     of e-mails, their sales people at Morgan Stanley and Deutche 
     Bank tried to explain to clients that they should not deduce 
     anything about the value of their bets against subprime CDOs 
     from the prices on these new, publicly traded subprime CDOs. 
     That it was all very complicated.

  Trading illustrates the real value of a product. When the Shelby-
Chambliss proposal says, We are not going to trade these, what they are 
saying is business as usual. Let's let those folks on Wall Street tell 
us what they are worth. Tell it to the banks, the small community 
banks, tell it to the farmers, tell it to all those business men and 
women at the National Association of Manufacturers, this is what it is 
worth. They will not have to explain the fact that a market might rate 
it half of what they are claiming the value is.
  If we really want to reform what is happening on Wall Street, we are 
not going to abandon the requirement to trade as many products as we 
can trade.
  I will admit some products are so unique that a trading market might 
not be established. But the presumption by Wall Street--in fact, I 
think the head of J.P. Morgan said practically 70 percent of the 
derivatives could be cleared and probably a significant fraction of 
that could be traded. If you want transparency, if you want price 
discovery, if you want efficient markets, reject the Chambliss 
proposal, support the Dodd proposal.
  There is another aspect of the bill, and that is section 716, which 
does not deal with the mechanics of trading derivatives as much as who 
can do it. Can it be in a bank? Must it be separated? There are 
discussions about different approaches. Senator Levin and Senator 
Merkley have an approach that bars proprietary trading, that would 
leave that out of the bank but still leave traditional hedging within 
the bank. That is part of the debate. That, I think, is a seriously 
significant open question. In my mind, there is absolutely no question 
that to accept the Chambliss-Shelby approach that doesn't require 
trading is the wrong way to proceed.
  There is another issue here, too, and that goes to the nature of 
these over-the-counter contracts. Some of them could be cleared, but 
some are so unique they cannot. It goes to the exemption for end-users. 
In the Dodd bill, they have made a successful attempt to separate those 
over-the-counter transactions which have an economic rationale--it is 
an airliner hedging their fuel prices--and they have done it in a way 
which makes sure that this is not a loophole for the sophisticated 
financial engineer to exploit but a way in which business can continue 
to conduct their operations.
  The exceptions in the Shelby-Chambliss amendment are much too large. 
In fact, I think this is a drafting error, but as I read the amendment, 
it could be read as only requiring clearing of swaps between two 
counterparties under common ownership within the same company, which 
essentially means there is no requirement whatsoever. I do not think 
that is what the sponsors proposed but that is what the language says, 
at least as I read it.
  If you want huge loopholes to begin this process, support this 
amendment. If you want to maintain well-structured exemptions for the 
economic use of derivatives, that is incorporated within the underlying 
Dodd-Lincoln bill, and it makes a great deal of sense to me.
  There are issues here we have to be conscious of and we can still 
debate about the allocation of responsibilities between regulatory 
authorities with respect to these derivatives. That is an issue that I 
think is still outstanding. But the underlying architecture of 
derivative regulation has been accomplished by Senator Dodd and Senator 
Lincoln in their bill.
  Again, we have learned a lot. I think we should have learned a bit of 
collective humility about the ability to deal with these complicated 
products. So we have to build in multiple lines of defense, if you 
will. Simply requiring the reporting of transactions to a repository--
that is good but not sufficient. Requiring that the majority of these 
instruments be cleared unless they have an economic value or they are 
so unique that the clearing would be inappropriate--that is a step 
forward, too, but insufficient. It is only when you put together the 
entire spectrum of reporting, clearing, and trading of appropriately 
traded derivatives do you have the full panoply of protections we need 
to deal with these complicated products today. Frankly, there is a 
sense that maybe we haven't seen nothing yet. The sophistication, the 
ingenuity of the financial engineers may be absent at the moment, but 
it will return, and we need these multiple lines of defense.
  There is another point I wish to make. We have to recognize when we 
are building this new structure that it, too, has weaknesses. One of 
the most significant weaknesses is that in a clearing platform, if 
there is not full transparency and if the clearing platform isn't adept 
at setting margin requirements and collateral, there is a danger that 
platform becomes a source of systemic risk. And these platforms are 
dealing with notional values of trillions of dollars. If they misjudge 
by a little bit, a clearinghouse could have a

[[Page 7877]]

significant situation in which it is unable to meet its 
responsibilities. Once again, I think that is a strong argument for, 
not a single or a double line of defense, but a triple line of defense 
with respect to trading also.
  Because if there is trading and price discovery, they will have a 
much better idea of what the product really is worth and they will be 
able to set margin and collateral much more adequately.
  There are many issues that have to be dealt with as we proceed 
through this markup and on to the conference, I hope. But in my mind, 
clearly the superior vehicle to pursue those ends is the language 
incorporated in the Dodd bill, and I would urge all my colleagues to 
reject the amendment by the gentleman from Georgia.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arkansas.
  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I rise to compliment my colleague from 
Rhode Island and thank him for his hard work. He and his staff have 
done a tremendous job on the Banking Committee on this particular 
issue. It has been a pleasure to work with him and his staff and 
certainly to see the good work they have done, and I want him to know I 
am grateful to him for his hard work in helping us come up with a good 
package.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama.
  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, a key part of the bill we are considering 
is title VII, which we all know addresses the regulation of the over-
the- counter--OTC--derivatives markets. While there is still debate 
among us regarding the root cause of the financial crisis, there is no 
debate that the lack of transparency in the OTC derivatives market was 
a contributing factor to the financial debacle.
  When Lehman Brothers failed, there were press reports that banks and 
other large financial institutions had written credit default swaps--we 
call them CDSs--on Lehman Brothers that could potentially result in 
$360 billion in cash payouts. As it turned out, though, the number was 
less than $6 billion. But a lot of needless anxiety preceded the 
realization that the cash payouts on Lehman Brothers' CDS contracts 
were manageable. The regulators simply did not have the information 
they needed to know about the magnitude of the problem they faced.
  Limited regulatory information also played a role in the demise of 
AIG. It is worth remembering that AIG's problems arose both in its 
regulated insurance subsidiaries, which were exposed to the troubled 
subprime mortgage market through their securities lending programs, and 
in its financial products unit, which sold credit default protection 
for subprime mortgage products and other customized derivatives 
products.
  AIG's financial products unit, on the strength of its credit rating, 
built up an extremely large, one-sided book of swaps transactions. The 
contracts were written in such a way that when AIG's credit rating was 
downgraded, AIG, you will remember, was forced to post collateral on 
all these transactions.
  Regulators at that time did not have the flow of information about 
OTC derivatives transactions to see this problem building. Without this 
information, they obviously could not take steps to address the 
problem.
  I believe the AIG bailout and the Lehman Brothers failure provided us 
with one simple lesson that should serve as the basic test for any OTC 
derivatives legislation proposal. The lesson is that prudential and 
market regulators must have the tools to properly oversee OTC swaps 
markets. The lack of transparency regarding counterparty exposures and 
the lack of adequate regulatory tools made it difficult for regulators 
to respond quickly and effectively to this financial crisis 18 months 
ago.
  Unfortunately, the Lincoln-Dodd derivatives bill fails that most 
basic test. The Lincoln-Dodd bill does not provide regulators with 
access to the information they need to do their job. It requires all 
other regulators to go through the Commodity Futures Trading Commission 
to get information. It gives only begrudging access to the Securities 
and Exchange Commission--the SEC--to data about the swaps markets and 
thus limits the SEC's ability to get the information it needs to 
oversee the securities markets.
  Much of this bill reads more like a jurisdictional power grab to some 
of us than an honest attempt to ensure that all the relevant regulators 
have the information and the authority they need to do their jobs.
  I believe the Lincoln-Dodd bill contains a number of other fatal 
flaws. For example, key provisions in one title directly contradict key 
provisions in other titles and also in the current law. One provision 
in the Lincoln-Dodd bill that has gotten a lot of attention is a 
prohibition on Federal assistance to any ``swaps entity,'' which 
includes entities that do not handle any swaps. All clearinghouses, 
regardless of whether they handle swaps, would be precluded from 
receiving Federal assistance, which is interpreted to include access to 
the Federal Reserve's discount window. This provision contradicts 
language in title VIII, which empowers the Federal Reserve to grant 
discount window access to clearinghouses.
  Also, the bill imposes a fiduciary duty on dealers when their 
counterparties are pension plans, endowment funds, and municipalities. 
As understood in current law, pension plans cannot engage in 
transactions with entities with which they have a fiduciary 
relationship.
  The proposed regulatory framework also poses new risks to the system. 
For example, the bill anticipates generally imposing a clearing mandate 
on most market participants as soon as a clearinghouse will accept a 
swap for clearing. For-profit clearinghouses will have an incentive to 
clear as many swaps as possible. If they do not properly assess and 
collect margin for risks associated with these products or do not have 
sufficient operational capacity, an unanticipated event in the market 
could topple a clearinghouse and send devastating shock waves 
throughout the rest of the system. We witnessed that for a few minutes 
last week.
  This bill is also anticompetitive because it further concentrates 
business within existing dealers. The prohibition on Federal 
assistance, including FDIC insurance, to swap entities means 
neighborhood banks will be unable to hedge their own interest rate 
risks, let alone offer swaps to customers who need to hedge their 
risks. Bank dealers are given preferential treatment with respect to 
both capital and margin requirements.
  Another disadvantage in the bill for nonbank dealers is that even the 
commercial aspects of their business will be subject to bank-like 
capital requirements, which is an unprecedented expansion of bank-like 
regulation to the nonfinancial corporations. Nonbank dealers may simply 
exit the derivatives business and leave the swaps business more 
concentrated among a few large Wall Street dealers, which is not a good 
result from a competitive or systemic risk standpoint.
  I believe the so-called end user exemption contained in this bill is 
illusory. Main Street corporations that buy swaps in the ordinary 
course of business to hedge their own business risks will be subject to 
the same regulatory treatment as Wall Street banks. This means 
manufacturing firms, power companies, and even beer producers will be 
required to hold massive amounts of cash and other collateral simply to 
engage in risk management. I believe this will work as an anti-stimulus 
plan to pull resources out of the economy, hurt growth, and slow job 
creation. It will also lead to price increases and price volatility.
  For my colleagues interested in increasing their constituents' 
cooling costs in the summer or heating costs next winter; for those 
interested in seeing the price of orange juice, cereal, lightbulbs, 
medicine, office supplies, building materials, cars, and computers 
rise; for those who would like to make the overall cost of living for 
all Americans go up and the prospect of getting a job go down, the 
Dodd-Lincoln bill is for you.

[[Page 7878]]

  Finally, I believe this bill is unworkable as it is now written. The 
derivatives title is the one piece of this legislation that will be 
tested every day. The bill would make massive changes in a huge market 
in 180 days without the usual notice-and-comment rulemaking period that 
allows for broad public input during that time. Neither agency has the 
staff it needs to write or implement the rules at this time. There will 
be enormous operational challenges for the SEC and the CFTC as they 
gear up to monitor and receive data on all swap transactions for which 
there is no data repository. Companies all across the United States 
will face operational, legal, and financial challenges as they strive 
to come into compliance with record-keeping, reporting, capital, 
margin, clearing, and business conduct requirements.
  Don't just take my word for it. Check for yourself. Take the words of 
a recent Bloomberg article, which was aptly titled ``How `Hard to 
Fathom' Derivatives Rule Emerged in the U.S. Senate'' or take the words 
of the National Association of Manufacturers, which warned that the 
end-user exemption ``is not strong or clear enough. In addition, other 
provisions in the derivatives title could effectively eliminate the 
exemption for many companies, and in some cases, subject them to 
capital and margin requirements or higher costs.''
  Take the words of a well-respected lawyer in a memo to his clients 
which contained the following criticism of the Lincoln-Dodd bill:

       Ordinarily, in writing with regard to a proposed law, the 
     expected role of the law firm lawyer is to provide a 
     description rather than commentary. In the case of the 
     Lincoln-Dodd bill the law firm lawyer attempting a 
     noncommittal description must confront the following 
     problems:
       (1) the Lincoln-Dodd bill's substance is inconsistent with 
     its stated purposes; (2) it would give a degree of 
     discretionary power to the U.S. Government that is far out of 
     the ordinary; (3) the Lincoln-Dodd bill is loosely drafted in 
     even its key provisions; (4) it could make for radical 
     changes in the financial system that seem not to have been 
     considered; (5) the Lincoln-Dodd bill would likely motivate 
     institutions to move jobs to Europe, damaging the U.S. 
     economy and particularly the northeastern financial center 
     economy; (6) it would discourage banks' capital market and 
     real estate lending in the United States by increasing their 
     risks; and (7) the Lincoln-Dodd bill would hurt banks' 
     profitability at a time when they are struggling.

  Or take the words of an industry representative who urged us to 
change a certain provision that would prevent pension plans and 
government agencies from getting the services they need, and another 
provision that could force purchasers of swaps into deals with less 
creditworthy counterparties.
  Or take the actions of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. 
While several of them have privately admitted that they fear the wrath 
of the administration for speaking out publicly against the Lincoln-
Dodd derivatives bill, their actions speak louder than their silence. 
They are apparently hard at work, we know that, behind closed doors, 
trying to make numerous last-minute changes to this flawed bill.
  Or take the words of my colleague from Connecticut, Senator Dodd, for 
whom I have a lot of respect, the chairman of the Banking Committee. He 
was quoted earlier this week saying:

       We still have work to do on [derivatives]--there's no 
     question. We have always known that. So a lot of people are 
     spending a lot of time trying to come to some common points 
     on this.

  I agree with the committee chairman; the derivative title needs a lot 
more work. Fortunately, that work has already been done: the substitute 
derivatives bill that we offer as amendment No. 3816, the Over-the-
Counter Swaps Markets Transparency and Accountability Act of 2010. This 
amendment was crafted and cosponsored by several members of the 
Agriculture and Banking Committees. The substitute derivatives bill is 
a bipartisan product. The bill is built from the framework of the 
Chambliss-Lincoln bipartisan process. It also incorporates key concepts 
from the Gregg-Reed bipartisan working group that was formed by 
Chairman Dodd himself to hammer out real derivatives reform. The 
substitute derivatives bill is also a multicommittee product.
  My colleague from Georgia and I appreciate the input from the 
Agriculture and Banking Committees, as well as the important input from 
the Judiciary Committee, on provisions that strengthen protections for 
customer funds in the event of a counterparty bankruptcy.
  The derivatives substitute amendment addresses five key areas of 
reform: introducing regulatory transparency and regulatory authority 
over the OTC swaps markets, mandating clearing for Wall Street dealers, 
minimizing threats to the financial stability of the United States, 
preserving Main Street's ability to hedge their business risks, and 
improving public transparency. I will briefly explain each of the five 
areas of reform.
  First, we address regulatory transparency and regulatory authority. I 
believe we must repeal the statutory provisions that prohibit 
regulators from overseeing the OTC swaps markets and give them access 
to the information they need so they can do their job.
  Second, we mandate in our amendment clearing for Wall Street dealers. 
We must encourage the clearing of derivative transactions among Wall 
Street dealers and dealer-like firms in well-regulated clearinghouses. 
This will account for a combined 80 percent to 90 percent of all OTC 
derivatives transactions.
  Third, we minimize threats to the financial stability of the United 
States. We must prevent the concentration of inadequately hedged risks 
in individual firms or central clearinghouses.
  Fourth, we preserve economically beneficial hedging for Main Street 
businesses. I believe we must ensure that so-called corporate end users 
can continue to hedge their unique business risks through customized 
derivatives. Main Street businesses do not pose any threat to the 
financial stability of the United States. In fact, prudent use of 
derivatives for hedging makes their businesses, the financial system, 
and the economy safer. The prudent use of derivatives enables 
businesses to protect themselves from changes in interest rates, swings 
in foreign currency, exchange rates, and the changing prices for raw 
materials that all of our manufacturers use.
  If businesses in America are not able to use derivatives or if the 
cost of using derivatives increases, they may choose to move operations 
overseas or curtail business operations, which will mean the loss of 
jobs when we really need jobs. If they must refrain from hedging their 
risks, prices will go up for all our consumers--all of us.
  Fifth, we improve, in this amendment, public transparency. Without 
mandating that swap trades must occur on an exchange, we must direct 
regulators to provide investors and other market participants with 
information about recently executed transactions for the purpose of 
helping them to mark existing swap positions to market, make informed 
decisions before executing future transactions, and assess the quality 
of transactions they have executed.
  The Lincoln-Dodd derivatives title does not achieve these reform 
objectives but, in fact, threatens to stymie real reform.
  The substitute derivatives amendment we offer represents a change in 
course from the Lincoln-Dodd bill. The substitute amendment is a strong 
bill that offers real reform. This is why the National Association of 
Manufacturers has indicated that all votes related to the Chambliss-
Shelby substitute amendment, including procedural motions, may be 
considered for designation as key manufacturing votes in this Congress. 
I think it is important to American business that we adopt this 
substitute.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I rise to speak in opposition to the 
Chambliss substitute amendment and to ask my colleagues to think about 
this substitute in a significant way because it dramatically changes 
the underlying bill. In fact, I almost want to ask my colleagues on the 
other side of the aisle if they are serious--if they are serious that 
this is the proposal they

[[Page 7879]]

are going to put before us in response to the catastrophe that we have 
seen on Wall Street.
  I know we have been on the Senate floor and we have had a lot of 
history with this, starting in 2001. I think it must have been 2002 or 
2003 when we tried to regulate derivatives after the Enron crisis, and 
one of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle said: We can't 
regulate derivatives; we don't know enough about them.
  What lessons have we learned since this catastrophe? I can tell you 
this: We were wrong to say we can't understand derivatives because our 
misunderstanding or not paying attention has led us to the catastrophe 
we are in today. For the other side of the aisle to say we can't even 
propose exchange trading, that is like saying the stock market should 
make changes in options and stock without being on an exchange. That 
would be like the Presiding Officer and I swapping back and forth 
Microsoft or Starbucks stock and selling it to other people and having 
none of the trade basically being reported.
  Why would we tolerate that for the stock market? Yet we are saying 
somehow it is OK for derivatives, this product that has become this 
unbelievable $600 trillion market, to operate in the dark.
  The other side does not even want to have exchange trading? I cannot 
believe that. I cannot believe somebody would even propose that. I know 
some people will say they have clearing, but the clearing requirements 
in this legislation would leave 60 percent of the market uncovered. So 
we are talking about not having the product on exchange and not having 
a lot of it cleared. So the two primary principles, learning from the 
mistakes of the last 10 years, are basically going unnoticed, 
unaccounted for on the other side of the aisle.
  Let's go back to how we got into this situation because we used to 
have a law that basically said, yes; let's protect consumers. We had 
transparency in trades--that was reporting to the CFTC; we had on the 
books capital requirements, we had speculation limits, we had antifraud 
and antimanipulation laws, we had trader licensing and registration and 
public exchange trading. So, yes, we actually had it right. We had it 
right. We had some tools in place. We had an oversight agency that was 
supposed to do this job, all of these things that protected the 
investments of millions of people and made the functionality of people 
who legitimately had to hedge, such as farmers or airline industries, 
rules of the road so they weren't taken to the cleaners or the price 
wasn't artificially driven through the roof.
  What happened to these things? What happened to these things is, in 
2000, somebody came out on the Senate floor, basically at 7:30 on a 
Friday night, and stuck into an over 2,000-page bill a little exemption 
that said: Don't regulate these derivatives. That is what happened.
  What happened in the marketplace is that derivatives were a very 
small business, only a few hundred billion dollars, as you can see, in 
1999. It was kind of an uninteresting little market. But we ended up 
deregulating them, and since then, in this short period of time, it 
turned into a $700 trillion market.
  How do you go, in that period of time, to this $700 billion? You go 
because we made it a dark market. We basically said: You don't have to 
have the rules of the road or the regulation or the oversight or the 
basic things that make this a functioning market.
  What happened? We had no transparency, no requirements to keep 
records. That means you didn't have to be able to prove to the CFTC 
exactly what you were doing in the market. That way, you could not 
actually prove fraud because you didn't know what anybody was doing 
because nobody had to make records. It is like Bernie Madoff on 
steroids. We had no large trader reporting and no speculation limits.
  The reason you have things on an exchange is because when an exchange 
sees that somebody is making the market or has too large a position--
and oftentimes across several exchanges--you have a regulator who can 
come in and say, you know what. We have speculation limits and you 
cannot do that much trading because you were driving the market.
  So after that we had no speculation limits, we had no capital 
requirements, and we had this high-risk manipulation and excessive 
speculation. That is what we did.
  A lot of people thought: You know what. I wasn't here, but I know a 
lot of people said this is going to revolutionize things. Derivatives 
are going to be the wave of the future. It is going to help us in our 
financial markets and the amount of liquidity. Everything is going to 
be great.
  Some people said don't worry about this because they are not going to 
be a very big resource, they are going to be very small and it is only 
going to be a few people who are going to trade back and forth.
  I showed you the chart. It turned into a $700 trillion industry. It 
was a big opportunity for people to make a lot of money without the 
oversight.
  Where are we today? Have we learned the lessons of this catastrophe? 
Have we? It is not to say that it isn't hard to be ahead of the 
smartest guys on Wall Street. I will say it is very hard. That is why 
you have to have bright lines because otherwise people do come up with 
new tools. I saw it with Enron in my State. I have seen it now with 
derivatives. There will be something else. Unless we have rules of the 
road, then there will be people who will try to continue to have opaque 
markets and drive trading.
  But our underlying proposal, by the chair of the Agriculture 
Committee and this underlying bill, working with the chair of the 
Banking Committee, has the rules of the road. The other side of the 
aisle is proposing a substitute that would take those away. This is 
clear. If you have unregulated trading, none of this happens. If you 
had exchange trading, this is what the American public gets protected 
with: transparent pricing, real-time trade monitoring, transparent 
valuation, speculation limits and public transparency. That is what 
this underlying bill does and that is what the amendment is trying to 
get rid of.
  They want this to be blank over here. They want this to be blank. 
They don't want those things to have to be met.
  How could you possibly propose that after what we just went through? 
You had, prior to 2000, regulation. Things were working hard. You have 
afterwards a major catastrophe, and these are fundamentals that we have 
behind all of our markets and exchange trading. So why would you let 
one thing off the hook?
  I will never forget the day when one of the former CFTC staff came 
and testified before the Energy Committee and said to our committee: Do 
you know that hamburger in America has more regulation on it than 
energy futures?
  I thought he couldn't be serious, but he was right. Futures of beef 
have reporting requirements, have to have transparency and real-time 
monitoring, have speculation limits. But these energy derivatives, 
because they were exempted by this 2000 act, did not. So somehow we 
were saying that hamburger in America--making sure it played by the 
rules--was more important than whether oil or electricity or these 
other things--as we know, CDOs--played by the same rules.
  Make no mistake. This underlying bill gives us this kind of 
predictability and certainty in the tried and true ways that markets 
function, with transparency.
  We are talking about old-fashioned capitalism. We are not talking 
about oligarchies where people hide behind things and only a few people 
know. Who knows when we are going to find out what happened with the 
``fat finger'' the other day and what moved the markets? But I know 
this: If you come back to capital trades with transparency in pricing 
and real-time monitoring and those speculation limits--their 
legislation on the other side does nothing to make sure we prohibit the 
excessive speculation that can move the market in a manipulative way.

[[Page 7880]]

  So I hope we do not adopt this substitute amendment. Let's show 
America we are serious about the kind of transparency that has worked 
in markets in the tried-and-true part of our capitalist system.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I rise in support of the amendment of 
Senator Chambliss from Georgia and to express my very serious concerns 
about the language which has been brought forward by the chairmen of 
the committees--both the Agriculture Committee and the Banking 
Committee--relative to derivatives.
  Let's begin with what our purposes should be. Let's remember that 
derivatives, as has been said before on this floor numerous times--the 
Senator from Alabama said it extraordinarily well--are a critical part 
of how Main Street maintains its economic vitality. You know credit is 
what makes America work. One of the great geniuses of our society is 
that we are able to produce credit in a fairly ready manner which is 
reasonably priced and which people who wish to take risk can take 
advantage of in order to create economic activity and jobs. The oil 
that basically keeps the credit available in the American capital 
system is derivatives, for all intents and purposes.
  As has been pointed out, if you are manufacturing an item somewhere 
in America and you enter into a contract to sell that item--let's say 
overseas--there are a lot of risks on how you are going to make money 
on that item which you have no control over.
  Let's say you make it one day and you are going to sell it 6 months 
later. You enter into a contract when you get the order and you produce 
it 6 months later. There is a lot of risk there over which you have no 
control. You know how to manufacture. You know how to create it. If it 
is credit, you know how to produce it. But you do not have control over 
the exchange rates you are dealing with. You do not have control over 
the cost of the raw materials you are using. You do not have control 
over whether the various parties that enter into this transaction as it 
moves through the commercial stream survive or go out of business or 
experience some huge economic upset.
  Well, in order to avoid all of that and just be the person who wants 
to produce the good and sell it, you buy derivatives, which are 
essentially insurance policies, to make sure you have insurance against 
the risk which you cannot control. That is derivatives in their 
simplest form. It also affects all sorts of other instruments, of 
course, financial instruments, commodity instruments. But basically it 
is the capacity of someone to make an agreement with somebody else and 
know that agreement is not going to be affected by outside events or, 
if the outside events do occur, there is going to be a vehicle in place 
to protect you from the risks that outside event may create for you. So 
derivatives are crucial to our capacity as a society to be economically 
vibrant.
  We also know that during the economic downturn, during the very 
severe financial crisis we had, the fact that we had so many 
derivatives in place which were based off of contracts which were not 
properly supported created a huge cascading event which almost forced 
our entire financial structure to come to a halt--in fact, it did on 
one evening--and was about to put our economic house into extreme 
distress because the derivatives markets had not been properly 
regulated or managed.
  Now, that wasn't the primary cause of the event of the late 2008 
period. The primary causes of the events of the late 2008 period were 
very bad underwriting--in fact, virtually no underwriting standards in 
some instances--for the loans which were being made, easy money, and 
regulatory arbitrage. But the accelerant which took those causes and 
basically turned them into an event of immense proportions which almost 
shut down America and would have caused massive dislocation in our 
Nation had it been allowed to go uncontrolled, had the Fed and Treasury 
not stepped in and taken very definitive action, the accelerant was the 
derivatives market.
  The classic example of that, of course, is the AIG situation, which 
has been cited here on the floor numerous times as the example of what 
was wrong with an unregulated market, where essentially you had a 
company which was issuing insurance based on its good name and 
virtually nothing else behind the insurance besides its good name. When 
that insurance started to get called because the contracts started to 
fail and the counterparties became concerned, there was no capacity to 
support the insurance.
  So our purpose here should be to reorganize our regulatory structure 
so that type of an event doesn't occur again--I mean, that should be 
our purpose--while at the same time recognizing that we need a very 
robust and vibrant derivatives market if we are going to be successful 
as a nation, if we are going to continue to have economic vitality as a 
nation. So our goal should be, one, to put in place a structure which 
as much as possible foresees and limits systemic risk caused by the 
derivatives market or that could be caused by the derivatives market 
and, two, maintains an extremely vibrant derivatives market where 
America remains the best place in the world to create capital and get 
credit.
  Unfortunately, the pending bill undermines the second part of that 
effort. It could be argued that the first part of the effort--
foreseeing and trying to anticipate systemic risk--is addressed in this 
bill, but it addresses it in such an unwieldy and unmanageable and in 
some ways counterproductive way, it actually undermines the basic goal, 
which is to keep the system sound and also keep credit markets vibrant.
  Why is that? Well, there are a number of reasons for it, but the two 
most difficult parts of this proposal relative to getting it right are 
the fact that it forces the swap desks to be spun off from the 
financial houses and it essentially forces instant movement from and 
basically almost total coverage of derivatives from clearinghouses into 
exchanges. In both those instances, you are basically going to create 
fairly close to the opposite result you are seeking if you pursue this 
course.
  I would predict that if this bill were to become law in its present 
form, it would be likely that, one, a large amount of derivative 
activity would move overseas; two, a large amount of derivative 
activity which presently occurs and which is necessary for commerce 
would have to be restructured in a way that would be extraordinarily 
expensive for the people who are doing that commerce and would 
therefore significantly curtail commerce; three, the credit markets 
would inherently contract by a significant amount of money, probably as 
much as $\3/4\ trillion; and four, the institutions which would be 
responsible for creating the derivatives market would actually be less 
stable. The market makers would be less stable than what we presently 
have today.
  You do not have to believe me to understand the seriousness of this 
and accept this as a statement or an assessment of what the present 
bill does. I mean, granted, I am just one Member of this body who has 
an opinion on it. But we do hire people, as a government, to take a 
look at something like this and say, does this work or does that work, 
and they are charged with the responsibility of accomplishing the two 
goals I mentioned: one, avoiding systemic risk, and two, having a 
vibrant credit market.
  One of those agencies is the Federal Reserve. They have taken a look 
at this language in the Dodd-Lincoln bill and they have concluded: 
Section 106 would impair financial stability and strong prudential 
regulation of derivatives, would have serious consequences for the 
competitiveness of U.S. financial institutions, and would be highly 
disruptive and costly both for banks and their customers. That is the 
conclusion of a fair umpire, the Federal Reserve.
  Now, there are a lot of people around here who do not like the 
Federal Reserve. But we pay them. Their job is to look at something 
like this and say: Does this work or does that work in making our 
markets more stable, more

[[Page 7881]]

sound, more risk averse, and more competitive? Their conclusion is this 
language does just the opposite--would be highly disruptive and costly 
for both banks and their customers.
  But if you do not like the Federal Reserve, listen to the FDIC. The 
FDIC, under Sheila Bair, during the crisis we have just gone through, 
has probably been one of the best performing agencies in our Federal 
Government. They really have stepped in on numerous occasions and 
stabilized banks, which had far overextended their capacity and had 
gotten into very serious liquidity positions, and basically settled 
those banks out in a way that very few customers lost anything.
  What does the FDIC say when they look at this, because their 
responsibility is to maintain safety and soundness of banks. The 
Chairman of the FDIC, Sheila Bair, said in her letter to--I am not sure 
to whom it went; I will check that--I think it was to Members of 
Congress:

       By concentrating the activity in an affiliate of the 
     insured banks, [and that means spinning them off under the 
     proposal under this bill] we could end up with less and lower 
     quality capital, less information and oversight for the FDIC, 
     and potentially less support for the insured bank in a time 
     of crisis. Thus, one unintended outcome of this provision 
     would be weakened, not strengthened protection of the insured 
     bank and the deposit insurance fund, which I know is not the 
     result any of us want.

  Then we have Chairman Volcker, who I think everybody agrees is a fair 
arbiter around here, and he has also said this language in this bill 
overreaches and does not work.
  I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the Volcker 
letter.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                              Paul A. Volcker,

                                        New York, NY, May 6, 2010.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: A number of people, including some 
     members of your Committee, have asked me about. the proposed 
     restrictions on bank trading in derivatives set out in 
     Senator Lincoln's proposed amendment to Section 716 of S. 
     3217. I thought it best to write you directly about my 
     reaction.
       I well understand the concerns that have motivated Senator 
     Lincoln in terms of the risks and potential conflicts posed 
     by proprietary trading in derivatives concentrated in a 
     limited number of commercial banking organizations. As you 
     know, the proposed restrictions appear to go well beyond the 
     proscriptions on proprietary trading by banks that are 
     incorporated in Section 619 of the reform legislation that 
     you have proposed. My understanding is that the prohibitions 
     already provided for in Section 619, specifically including 
     the Merkley-Levin amended language clarifying the extent of 
     the prohibition on proprietary trading by commercial banks, 
     satisfy my concerns and those of many others with respect to 
     bank trading in derivatives.
       In that connection, I am also aware of, and share, the 
     concerns about the extensive reach of Senator Lincoln's 
     proposed amendment. The provision of derivatives by 
     commercial banks to their customers in the usual course of a 
     banking relationship should not be prohibited.
       In sum, my sense is that the understandable concerns about 
     commercial bank trading in derivatives are reasonably dealt 
     with in Section 619 of your reform bill as presently drafted. 
     Both your Bill and the Lincoln amendment reflect the 
     important concern that, to the extent feasible, derivative 
     transactions be centrally cleared or traded on a regulated 
     exchange. These are needed elements of reform.
       I am sending copies of this letter to Secretary Geithner 
     and to Senators Shelby, Merkley, Levin, and Lincoln.
           Sincerely,
                                                             Paul.

  Mr. GREGG. So we have these independent arbiters, these fair umpires 
of what we should be doing in order to maintain financial stability and 
strong credit markets saying: Listen, do not do it this way. Do not do 
it this way.
  There are ways to do this, however, ways to make sure we have a 
strong derivatives market which is also safer, more sound, and is not 
subject to systemic risk. Senator Chambliss's amendment accomplishes 
that in a very effective way.
  How do you basically do it? Well, in concept, you do it this way: You 
make sure that for the most part, all of the derivatives are cleared. 
They go through a clearing process. What does a clearing process mean? 
Well, it basically means that you get counterparties having to put up 
margin. They have to put up actual assets, margins, liquidity, in order 
to be sure there is something behind their position so that if they 
have a problem and they have to be called on to pay up their position, 
they have the capacity to do it and it is there. That is why you have a 
clearinghouse, because the clearinghouse becomes basically the place 
where that occurs and it becomes the process by which that occurs. And 
you make sure the clearinghouse itself, because it stands in and 
basically is the guarantor, for lack of a better word, of the contract, 
has the capital and the adequacy to make sure those contracts will not 
fail.
  So as a very practical matter, you can do this by creating a proper 
structure using clearinghouses. You make sure the clearinghouses have 
proper oversight from the SEC or the CFTC. And then as these 
instruments, these various types of derivatives--there are lots of 
different types of derivatives--become more standardized--and a lot 
already are standardized--you move them over to an exchange, which is 
the ultimate process of making sure you do not have an issue of 
solvency behind the instruments. So as you move them to an exchange, 
you are able to create an even stronger market. But you do not mandate 
that everything goes through an exchange right out the door because if 
you did that, you would end up with a lot of derivatives which are 
still too customized to be able to move to an exchange and they would 
simply not be able to be brought forward, and thus you would contract 
the market again.
  You also don't take the swap desks and move them out of the financial 
house because, in doing that, you would have to create a whole new 
capital base for the swap desks, which is the concern expressed by the 
Fed and by the FDIC and by Chairman Volcker, which would inevitably 
force a massive contraction in credit because that capital would no 
longer be available to underwrite credit. In addition, you would have 
much weaker institutions standing behind the swap desks, which is again 
a point made by the Fed, the FDIC, and Chairman Volcker.
  It is not necessary to go down the route outlined in this bill in 
order to accomplish the goals which we all have. In fact, if you go 
down the route presented in this bill, you actually undermine the goal 
which we all have, which is to have a derivatives market which is less 
prone to systemic risk and which is strong, sound, and vibrant.
  Rather, what Senator Chambliss has proposed makes the most sense, 
which is a comprehensive reform of the derivatives market in a way that 
insists that for the vast majority of derivatives, they end up going 
through a clearinghouse process and that if they are standardizable, 
they end up on an exchange. If they are for purely a commercial 
purpose, a single-purpose commercial undertaking, then they are able to 
be exempt from the clearing activity. This would create a much more 
robust undertaking of a creation of credit. It would maintain the 
vitality of the derivatives market while at the same time protecting 
and making sure we had a sound derivatives market. It would avoid what 
I believe the inevitable outcome of this language will be under the 
Dodd-Lincoln bill, which is that we would weaken the derivatives 
market, weaken the systemic protections, and end up forcing overseas a 
large amount of economic activity which appropriately should be done in 
the United States and which is very important to our Nation's capacity 
to be competitive on Main Street. Remember, this is about Main Street.
  I certainly hope Members will support the Chambliss amendment. It 
makes a lot of sense. It is well thought out. It is not exactly what I 
would do were I writing this myself, but it is a very good piece of 
legislation. It should be supported. I hope my colleagues will do so.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arkansas.
  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I appreciate all the debate we have had 
and the discussion. I thank my colleague from Georgia, my ranking 
member on

[[Page 7882]]

the committee. He and his staff are a tremendous group to work with. I 
appreciate all that. I am confident we have worked hard. In the 
underlying bill we have come to agreement with Chairman Dodd on, we 
lower the systemic risk by requiring mandatory trading and clearing, 
which my colleague, Senator Cantwell, did a tremendous job of 
explaining, bringing that 100 percent transparency to the market with 
real-time price reporting, protecting municipalities and pensions and 
retirees, regulating foreign exchange transactions, and increasing the 
enforcement authority to punish the bad behavior we have seen. To that 
point, again, I believe not since the Great Depression have we seen 
such devastating consequences of a banking and financial system gone 
wrong. It does call us to action.
  We are not here to take easy votes. We are here to tackle complicated 
problems and find the solutions we know are going to benefit all of 
America. We certainly should not squander that opportunity for historic 
reform, nor support any effort to weaken it.
  Therefore, I certainly recommend a ``no'' vote on the Chambliss 
amendment and respectfully encourage my colleagues to do the same. 
Again, I thank my colleague from Georgia for his hard work. We will 
continue to work together to find the common ground we know is going to 
be the best place for us to all be.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Georgia.
  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. President, let me extend the same courtesy to my 
chairman. She is my dear friend. We work very closely together on 
virtually every issue. It is extremely unusual for us to disagree on 
any major issue. She and her staff have been great to work with, as 
always. They have been very open. We have had an ongoing dialog. We 
just simply disagree about the way this issue needs to be dealt with.
  Let me say that an indication of how complex this issue is and why 
this issue is so important and why we don't need to have our 
constituents expend money when they don't need to expend money that is 
going to be passed on to consumers of every single product virtually 
made in America is this: There are a lot of people who have gotten up 
on the other side and spoken about this amendment. I know they don't 
intend to get up here and make statements that are not correct. But 
frankly, that is what we have heard. All I can attribute that to is the 
fact that this is such a complex issue, that the folks who have been 
speaking about my amendment simply don't understand it.
  Let me give some examples. We talk about large companies falling prey 
to derivatives. Large companies use derivatives in a very meaningful 
way that is advantageous to every single American customer. Everybody 
who buys something--I don't care whether it is an automobile, a widget, 
a drug--and every major manufacturer uses derivatives. They are very 
sophisticated individuals who deal in these products. They know what 
they are doing. They are not falling prey to the use of these products.
  There have been a couple folks who have said we don't have 
transparency, that we ought to let these products come out of the 
shadows. Let me make clear--and I think the chairman will agree with 
me--100 percent of the transactions under our amendment would be out in 
the open. There would be a clearing of about 85 to 90 percent of all 
derivatives contracts under our amendment. The others, the end users, 
the manufacturers, the energy companies that go out and not only borrow 
money but buy coal or buy natural gas and that want to have stability 
in their products, those individual end users would be exempt from the 
clearing requirement. But every single one of them would have to report 
every single contract to the CFTC or to the SEC, 100 percent 
transparency on every single derivative.
  I don't know why folks can't understand that in our amendment because 
it is pretty plain. I think Senator Gregg did a good job of explaining 
exactly how that is done.
  Somebody said they don't want to return to old-fashioned capitalism. 
If I am considered to be one who is promoting old-fashioned capitalism 
in my amendment, I plead guilty. Old-fashioned capitalism has made this 
country the strongest economy the world has ever seen. Old-fashioned 
capitalism has an alternative. It is called socialism. I do not believe 
in socialism. I believe, if somebody wants to work hard and generate 
money to make a better quality of life for themself and their family, 
they ought to have the opportunity to do so. That is what old-fashioned 
capitalism is all about.
  I could go on and on giving examples of things that have been said 
that are out of context. Let's get down to the bottom line; that is, 
who supports the underlying bill? Who supports the Dodd-Lincoln bill? 
The simple answer is Wall Street. Why do I say that? At a hearing in 
the Government Relations Committee last week, Goldman Sachs was called 
to the Hill to testify before Senator Levin and Senator Coburn's 
committee. Senator Coburn asked a question directly of the Goldman 
Sachs agent and said: Do you support the underlying bill that is now 
being debated on the floor of the Senate? Without hesitation, he said: 
Yes. Why would they support it? They are going to make a lot of money 
off this underlying bill. Why do I say they are going to make a lot of 
money? Who is going to clear these contracts? They are going to be 
cleared by clearinghouses owned by Wall Street banks.
  Under the underlying bill, there is another provision that has not 
even been talked about today: Transactions are required to be executed 
on what is called a swaps execution facility. It is a mini exchange. In 
addition to going to that swaps execution facility, that contract, 
after that, has to go to a clearinghouse. So what you have is a party 
who agrees with a manufacturer that they are going to enter into an 
agreement on a derivative for an interest rate, let's say. That entity 
that has put that deal together is going to charge a fee. They would do 
that anyway. That entity is also likely to be charged by the swaps 
execution facility where the contract is executed. They are going to 
charge another fee for doing that. Then they are going to have to go to 
a clearinghouse that is going to charge another fee.
  So it is pretty easy to see why Wall Street likes this provision, 
likes the underlying bill, because they are going to make a lot of 
money in fees off these contracts.
  The only other comment I wish to make, with reference to comments 
that have been made, is whether these end users leave the U.S. markets 
and go overseas. There has been contention made that is not going to 
happen. They are not going to do that. Well, they are. Other markets 
have already indicated they are not about to follow our lead. The 
London regulator has openly said they will not follow our lead. We have 
heard nothing out of the Europeans, nothing out of Singapore. Why 
haven't we? They are watching to see what we do. They are going to be 
soliciting U.S. customers to go to their markets because our 
constituents are not going to have to pay these huge fees in their 
countries that are required under this bill.
  It only makes sense that if they can generate more money for their 
bottom line and they can sit in their office in New York City, Atlanta 
or Moultrie, GA, and execute a contract in Singapore, where they don't 
have to pay that fee, you better believe that is where they are going 
to go. They have no more risk. It is the same amount of risk. Is the 
CFTC or the SEC going to know they have done that? Absolutely not. It 
will not be reported to them.
  I could go on and on. At the end of the day, if you want to see 100 
percent transparency and you want to see the end users in this business 
who utilize these swaps and derivatives in a nonsystemically risky way 
continue to have access, then you need to support my amendment. If you 
listen to the manufacturers across America that know because they have 
used these products for decades and have done so in a safe way and a 
way that provides a cheaper product for their consumer, you need to 
support my amendment.
  I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?

[[Page 7883]]

  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arkansas.
  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to vote in relation to the Chambliss amendment No. 3816, at 
5:30 p.m.----
  Mr. SHELBY. It is 5:30 now.
  Mrs. LINCOLN. With no amendment in order to the amendment prior to 
the vote; that upon the disposition of the Chambliss amendment, the 
next two amendments be the Reed amendment No. 3943 and the Sessions 
amendment No. 3832.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The question is on agreeing to the Chambliss amendment.
  The yeas and nays have been ordered.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Byrd) 
and the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Rockefeller) are necessarily 
absent.
  I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from West 
Virginia (Mr. Rockefeller) would vote ``nay.''
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 39, nays 59, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 144 Leg.]

                                YEAS--39

     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Bennett
     Bond
     Brown (MA)
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burr
     Chambliss
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Graham
     Gregg
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johanns
     Kyl
     LeMieux
     Lugar
     McCain
     McConnell
     Murkowski
     Risch
     Roberts
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Wicker

                                NAYS--59

     Akaka
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Begich
     Bennet
     Bingaman
     Boxer
     Brown (OH)
     Burris
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Conrad
     Dodd
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Grassley
     Hagan
     Harkin
     Inouye
     Johnson
     Kaufman
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murray
     Nelson (NE)
     Nelson (FL)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--2

     Byrd
     Rockefeller
       
  The amendment (No. 3816) was rejected.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, if I could have the attention of our 
colleagues to give them some sense of things.
  Senator Reed and Senator Brown of Massachusetts have an amendment 
which will take just a very few minutes to discuss, and then they would 
like to have a vote on that, which we have agreed to. At the 
conclusion, that would be the last vote of the evening.
  Then the next amendment would be the Sessions amendment. Senator 
Sessions has agreed to debate his amendment tonight. We will vote on 
that in the morning. Senator Specter would be the following amendment 
and we will debate his amendment this evening and vote on that tomorrow 
as well. Senator Collins, I know, has an amendment and she can debate, 
if she would, this evening and we will try and line that up in the 
morning so we have a series of votes when we come in.
  So the last vote today would be on the Reed-Brown amendment, if 
Members would stay around for just a few minutes to hear that, and then 
we could be free of any more votes. At least that is the plan.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.


                Amendment No. 3943 to Amendment No. 3739

  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 3943.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Rhode Island [Mr. Reed], for himself and 
     Mr. Brown of Massachusetts, proposes an amendment numbered 
     3943 to amendment No. 3739.

  Mr. REED. I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment 
be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

   (Purpose: To establish a specific consumer protection liaison for 
      service members and their families, and for other purposes)

       On page 1219, after line 25, insert the following:
       ``(e) Office of Service Member Affairs.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Director shall establish an Office 
     of Service Member Affairs, which shall be responsible for 
     developing and implementing initiatives for service members 
     and their families intended to--
       ``(A) educate and empower service members and their 
     families to make better informed decisions regarding consumer 
     financial products and services;
       ``(B) coordinate with the unit of the Bureau established 
     under subsection (b)(3), in order to monitor complaints by 
     service members and their families and responses to those 
     complaints by the Bureau or other appropriate Federal or 
     State agency; and
       ``(C) coordinate efforts among Federal and State agencies, 
     as appropriate, regarding consumer protection measures 
     relating to consumer financial products and services offered 
     to, or used by, service members and their families.
       ``(2) Coordination.--
       ``(A) Regional services.--The Director is authorized to 
     assign employees of the Bureau as may be deemed necessary to 
     conduct the business of the Office of Service Member Affairs, 
     including by establishing and maintaining the functions of 
     the Office in regional offices of the Bureau located near 
     military bases, military treatment facilities, or other 
     similar military facilities.
       ``(B) Agreements.--The Director is authorized to enter into 
     memoranda of understanding and similar agreements with the 
     Department of Defense, including any branch or agency as 
     authorized by the department, in order to carry out the 
     business of the Office of Service Member Affairs.
       ``(3) Definition.--As used in this subsection, the term 
     `service member' means any member of the United States Armed 
     Forces and any member of the National Guard or Reserves.''.

  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I propose to make very brief remarks about 
this amendment. My colleague from Massachusetts, Senator Scott Brown, 
will make remarks. We would like to expedite a vote, but I would ask 
that the yeas and nays on a recorded vote be taken when I conclude and 
when Senator Brown concludes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays are ordered.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, this amendment is very straightforward. It 
would provide within the new office of consumer financial protection a 
military liaison, an individual who is charged with protecting the 
interests of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines as consumers.
  Let me tell my colleagues--and I will elaborate later, but let me be 
very brief and to the point. We have soldiers, sailors, airmen, 
marines, and their families who are consistently exploited by 
unscrupulous car dealers, payday lenders--a whole panoply of people who 
flock around military bases to exploit these individuals. They are in a 
very difficult situation. They have stress because they are on constant 
deployments. In many cases, military families today have one spouse 
deployed and one military spouse back taking care of children. I don't 
have to go much further. The Presiding Officer understands this from 
his dealings with the USO and families across the country.
  Let me give my colleagues two examples. I could give you 200 
examples. If this was not true, it would be almost humorous, but it is 
sadly true. This is one I like. This is the ``free transportation to 
the beach'' ploy. True story: A car dealer from Virginia Beach went to 
Camp Lejeune and offered free round trips to the beach. These are young 
marines. If you have been to Camp Lejeune, you know it is not the Paris 
of North Carolina. It is a place where you need a little diversion. 
They wanted to go to Virginia Beach. They were

[[Page 7884]]

given this round trip. They got to Virginia Beach. There was no round 
trip unless they bought a car from this car dealer. Well, he was 
caught, lost his license, but reappeared later without a license, 
making the same ploy.
  I wish to make a point. I am not condemning car dealers. In my home 
State, they are great. They do wonderful work for the community. But 
exploitation by car dealers of military personnel is a significant 
problem. Seventy-two percent of military financial counselors recently 
surveyed had counseled Servicemembers on auto lending abuses in the 
past six months.
  One other example. Fort Riley, KS. Army Specialist Jennifer Howard 
bought a car while she was stationed there. It turns out the dealership 
which arranged her financing charged her for features on the car she 
never got, such as a moon roof and alloy wheels. In her words:

       The dealership knows that we're busy, we're tired. We don't 
     take the time, because we don't have a lot of time. It's like 
     get in, get out, do what we got to do. If we get taken 
     advantage of later, we'll deal with it then.

  That is no way to treat soldiers. It is no way to treat consumers. 
This liaison would be very important, but I should say it has to have 
the authority within the bill to actually act against the disruptive 
behavior of auto dealers, payday lenders, and a whole host of 
individuals.
  The rent-to-own people, they are trying to scam our troops. They are 
trying to scam consumers.
  Frankly, they don't care if you are wearing a uniform or not, they 
are out to scam who they can. We need to set up a strong consumer 
financial protection agency, and we particularly have to have somebody 
in there watching over the troops.
  I yield to my colleague.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts is recognized.
  Mr. BROWN of Massachusetts. Mr. President, I thank Senator Reed from 
Rhode Island for his idea and his thoughtfulness in trying to protect 
our troops.
  I want to discuss this amendment, as well. Senator Reed has a 
distinguished career in both the Army and as a Senator. He has always 
done his duty looking after the men and women not only of his State but 
also those in uniform. I thank him for the opportunity to work on this 
particular amendment with him.
  As a 30-year member of the Army National Guard, I share Senator 
Reed's interest and commitment to our Nation's soldiers and their loved 
ones. As we all know, they make extreme sacrifices to keep us safe and 
keep our Nation safe.
  This amendment would dedicate resources within the new Consumer 
Financial Protection Bureau to serve as a watchdog for military 
personnel and their families.
  As you know, our military culture of honor, courage, and commitment 
demands prompt repayment of debts. As a result, payday lenders often 
congregate outside military facilities. Unfortunately, the financial 
terms offered by these lenders are not always clear, not always offered 
up in free form, and typically lead to very expensive and bad loans. 
Other financial predators have sold military personnel bogus life 
insurance policies.
  These practices take advantage of our soldiers. Our young enlisted 
soldiers are particularly vulnerable. They don't have the necessary 
tools, resources, guidance, and financial assistance to make their 
decisions. They often spend time deployed far from their support 
networks at home, have steady paychecks, and promised pension benefits. 
As a result, those financial predators see them as a way to make money.
  As they risk their lives defending our Nation in places such as Iraq 
and Afghanistan, at home they also wear a big target on their back. If 
a soldier gets into financial trouble with an unscrupulous lender, how 
is that soldier going to dispute those charges while they are deployed 
or getting ready to be deployed? Debts can pile up quickly. This 
dedicated office would be able to help sort out the truth and get them 
back to financial stability.
  This issue, as you know--and I am about to conclude--has received a 
lot of attention. Today, there was an article in the Washington Post 
talking about how extra consumer protections are needed for our 
fighting men and women, citing the specific example of car dealerships 
employing high-pressure tactics to trap military families into 
expensive loans.
  I urge colleagues to support this amendment, to put a cop on the beat 
to make sure our men and women in uniform have a chance to fight back 
against financial predators.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. DODD. I strongly support the amendment offered by our two 
colleagues from New England, Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island and 
Senator Brown of Massachusetts. Both of these colleagues speak with 
some authority on this amendment. Jack Reed is a graduate of West Point 
and served in uniform for our country for a number of years with great 
distinction. Senator Brown has spent some 30 years in the National 
Guard in Massachusetts and also speaks with more than just passing 
authority about the importance of the amendment they offer.
  It is a very important amendment because it sets the table for a 
debate tomorrow regarding a certain area of finance companies. The 
amendment establishes an Office of Military Liaison within the consumer 
bureau we have created in the overall legislation.
  In today's New York Times, there was a description of the case of 
Matthew Garcia, a 25-year-old Army specialist who was recently 
subjected to a trick called yo-yo financing by an unscrupulous car 
dealer, just as he was preparing to deploy to Afghanistan. According to 
the story, Specialist Garcia, stationed at Fort Hood, TX, bought an 
automobile at a used car lot and signed up for a loan at a 19.9-percent 
interest rate. That is not even the abuse, believe it or not, as high 
as that rate is. The problem came when Specialist Garcia drove the car 
home. The dealer called Specialist Garcia several days later to say 
that the financing contract had actually fallen through and demanded an 
additional $2,500 in cash. To make sure he paid up, the dealer blocked 
the soldier's car in so that no one could leave. That is the way some--
few but some--auto dealers are treating our men and women in uniform. 
That is why we need the Office of Military Liaison within the Consumer 
Financial Protection Bureau.
  Unfortunately, the story of Specialist Garcia is not unique. It is 
all too common, whether it is in the area of auto financing, payday 
lending, mortgage lending, check cashing, these unregulated areas of 
finance so many of our fellow citizens are subjected to on an hourly 
basis, let alone a daily one.
  Creating an office within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to 
focus on the problems of our young men and women in the military and 
their families is an important contribution to this legislation. I 
thank both of our colleagues for offering this proposal.
  The office we are creating with this amendment will help resolve many 
of the complaints brought to the office by our service men and women. 
It will help advise the director of the bureau's rule writing to take 
into account the special needs of military families. By doing this, it 
will help our military readiness as well.
  I have letters from the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the 
Army, sent to me and to other Members, laying out the value of having 
some protection within the automobile financing area.
  It is important we have this language in the bill. Let me emphasize 
as well that unfortunately we are not talking about many auto dealers 
that engage in financing that cause these problems, but, like most laws 
on the books, if they were only written because there were a majority 
of people committing the offenses, it would be hard to make the case 
against them. But we don't write laws for the many; we write laws for 
the few, those who will abuse their offices, abuse their operations in 
such a way as to cause harm to people who otherwise have no protection.
  I have talked a lot about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

[[Page 7885]]

over the last number of days. The importance of this is that for the 
first time in the history of our country, individuals who are taken 
advantage of in the financial services sector will have someplace to 
seek redress for the grievances to which they have been subjected. I 
don't think this is a radical idea, particularly in light of what so 
many of our fellow citizens have been through over the last several 
years where homes have been lost, jobs lost, the tremendous abuse that 
has occurred in too many of the areas of what I call the shadow 
economy, the unregulated areas of our economy.
  The most important purchase the average American makes is buying a 
home, and we all know what can happen, as we have seen with brokers and 
mortgage lenders who were unregulated taking advantage of people by 
getting them into situations they knew they couldn't afford. People say 
it ought to be buyer beware. I don't argue with that. Obviously, we all 
bear responsibility to be better informed about financial arrangements. 
But to suggest this is a level playing field when it comes to home 
mortgages or car financing is to belie the facts. The analogy may not 
be perfect, but it has some value.
  We don't expect patients necessarily to be as well informed when they 
are making decisions about their health care. There is something called 
medical malpractice. Obviously, we have an obligation to ask questions 
before we submit ourselves to surgery or other things. But we know in 
the end that if a doctor has abused the Hippocratic Oath and put a 
patient at risk, there is an ability to seek redress of those harms. It 
is called medical malpractice. It allows a person who has been injured 
or harmed because of the misfeasance or malfeasance of someone in the 
medical profession to get recovery. We understand it is not exactly a 
level playing field when the average person is trying to make 
intelligent decisions about their medical care.
  The same could be said for mortgage lending. You can't expect the 
average person to understand all of the details, necessarily, involved. 
I suggest there is a higher degree of responsibility in the area of 
mortgage financing by a borrower than there would be necessarily in the 
case of medical malpractice, but nonetheless there are some legitimate 
comparisons.
  Some have suggested mortgage malpractice may be an appropriate 
description for what happens when you are across that table from a 
lender. You have picked out the home you have fallen in love with. Your 
family is excited about this new place. In many instances, it is the 
first home you are buying. The idea that you will have your own home to 
raise your family in is a very emotional time. That lender across the 
table who is being unscrupulous in his or her behavior can extract 
commitments, and so forth, from that borrower that could put them at a 
distinct advantage. We believe in those instances there should be good 
underwriting standards by law. And if there is some harm done through 
the misfeasance or malfeasance of someone in the mortgage lending 
business, you can get some redress when that occurs.
  Car financing is not the same as a home mortgage, but if you are an 
18- or 19-year-old young person in uniform and you find that automobile 
you love and you are so attracted to it--I am not suggesting borrowers 
don't have a responsibility to be well informed--most Americans know 
what happens. All of a sudden, you end up like Specialist Garcia. You 
think you have bought the automobile. And at 19, almost 20 percent 
financing, that in itself ought to be illegal. But the fact that you 
then find you have a $2,500 extra charge and the wheels have been 
blocked so you can't drive away--that is the kind of individual who 
ought not to be allowed to continue to operate under those 
circumstances.
  We believe when it comes to financing such as this we should not say 
to one sector: You are exempt; we will carve you out; you don't have to 
worry about any of the laws.
  We make that local banker, who also might like to extend that loan, 
subject to the law's protections. The credit union is subject to the 
same laws. Why should someone engaged in the financing of a product--an 
automobile--be exempt? The local bank isn't. They have to meet their 
requirements under the law to make sure they are not abusing--not that 
many do but some do--the rights of an individual and protect them from 
a disadvantage in that second largest purchase a person may make aside 
from their home.
  I know tomorrow there will be a debate. Senator Brownback will offer 
an amendment to exempt auto dealers and financing. Auto dealers are not 
covered. If you are a dealer, you are not affected by this any more 
than you are if you are a butcher or a dentist or any other retailer 
merchant. If you are in the financing business, you are the one who is 
engaging in that contract despite the fact the papers may have been 
written up by some other lender that is doing business with the auto 
dealer. Shouldn't we provide to that individual the same kind of 
protection they would expect if they went to the local bank, the 
community bank to get a car loan or to the credit union to get a car 
loan? We require them to meet basic rules, not exaggerated rules but 
basic protections so you are not taken advantage of.
  I have a wonderful relationship with the auto dealers in my State. I 
fought hard for them last year. The program we had on the clunkers that 
allowed for people to turn in older automobiles, I fought hard for 
that. I have a great relationship. In fact, they offered me a nice 
award last year for my efforts on behalf of auto dealers in my State. I 
am very proud of it. The overwhelming majority of my dealers, as I know 
is the case in all of our States, do a good job and are fair. They 
wouldn't be in business very long if they did not. But all of us also 
know there are people who take advantage. Certainly to be exempt from 
any kind of rulemaking when it comes to protecting people ought not to 
be the decision we are making.
  Here we have the Reed-Brown amendment that says we will establish 
within the office of consumer financial protection an office to protect 
the men and women in uniform from the abuses of people who would take 
advantage of them. Then less than 24 hours later we write an exemption 
and take away one of the major problems these young men and women have. 
What an irony. What is this institution saying? On the one hand, we say 
our young men and women in uniform ought to be protected from people 
who take advantage of them. Then less than 24 hours later we say: But, 
by the way, in a major area of abuse that occurs, you are exempt. Don't 
worry about it. The law doesn't apply to you. I am sorry, Mr. Community 
Banker. I am sorry, Mr. Local Credit Union. You will have to live by 
the rules. So there is a great disadvantage at the local level. The 
community bankers and credit unions are rightfully annoyed that they 
may be subjected to one set of rules and the person down the street who 
finances an automobile for an unsuspecting purchaser is exempt. That 
doesn't make any sense to me.
  I hope that tomorrow my colleagues will react as I am to this. Again, 
I am not in any way indicting automobile dealers--quite the contrary. 
They have been through an awful lot. They have seen the struggle with 
major problems of the industry in this country. We made major efforts 
here to get them back on their feet. I am proud to have been involved 
in that, to see to it we restore and maintain a strong manufacturing 
sector in our country of automobile dealerships and manufacturers. But 
to turn around at the local level and say: I will give you a pass on 
those who would abuse the law and take advantage of people--in fact, it 
is an invitation to do it. It seems to me, by carving this out, we are 
not just sending a message to those who are presently engaging in this 
but to those who may decide this isn't a bad area of business in which 
to get involved.
  The local bank has to meet those obligations and the local credit 
union or some other financing operation covered under our legislation. 
Now we will no longer have shadow operators. We cover payday lenders. 
We cover the check-cashing operations involved in

[[Page 7886]]

financial services or products. But in the second largest purchase the 
average American ever makes, you are going to be exempt from any of the 
laws involving consumer protection when it comes to financing.
  I know there is a lot of pressure, a lot of lobbying going on all 
over the place to carve out this exception. But I urge my colleagues to 
please be careful about this, to walk in tomorrow and to basically gut 
the Reed-Brown amendment by saying in this one major area of abuse--
read the letter from Secretary Gates. Read the letter from the 
Secretary of the Army. Listen to our colleagues who are listening to 
the people on their military bases in the respective States, what goes 
on every single day by those who take advantage of people who are in 
uniform.
  I urge my colleagues, tomorrow, when we have an opportunity to debate 
the Brownback amendment, not be lured away from their support of 
putting an office within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and 
basically gut the very bureau before the ink is dry on the amendment by 
allowing for a massive exception which would allow for consumers, 
particularly men and women in uniform, to be taken advantage of.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there further debate on the amendment?
  The yeas and nays have been ordered.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Byrd) 
is necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Begich). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 98, nays 1, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 145 Leg.]

                                YEAS--98

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Begich
     Bennet
     Bennett
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Brown (MA)
     Brown (OH)
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burr
     Burris
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Cochran
     Collins
     Conrad
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Dodd
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagan
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Isakson
     Johanns
     Johnson
     Kaufman
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     LeMieux
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lugar
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (NE)
     Nelson (FL)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Thune
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden

                                NAYS--1

       
     Coburn
       

                             NOT VOTING--1

       
     Byrd
       
  The amendment (No. 3943) was agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I yield to the minority leader.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republican leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I thank my friend from Connecticut. He 
was aware that I was going to ask consent for 30 minutes for a colloquy 
between Senators Barrasso, Roberts, and myself, as in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                           Berwick Nomination

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, let me just make a few observations, 
and then I will turn first to Senator Roberts.
  The subject we would like to discuss is the Berwick nomination to be 
administrator of CMS. To be perfectly frank with you, I think many of 
us are alarmed by this nominee's focus on the British system, where 
government makes decisions for people on their care. In fact, I am 
reminded of a decision by the Department of Health and Human Services 
that I personally had a good deal of concern about last summer to limit 
the dissemination of information by companies who were in the Medicare 
Advantage business so that they could not communicate with their 
customers--clients--their opinions about legislation that would affect 
their product.
  It was a stunning government gag order in effect saying to a 
corporation: You are not free to discuss a public issue before the 
Senate and the House; we are going to tell you what you can say. It was 
one of the most blatant examples of the government basically squashing 
free speech as a condition for doing business with the government.
  Now we have this nominee who is applauding--applauding--a system 
where care is delayed, denied, or rationed. So I am particularly 
concerned this attack on free speech is just a first step toward much 
greater government intervention.
  I will be talking with Dr. Berwick about his plans, but now I would 
like to turn to Senator Roberts, whom I know has already spoken to Dr. 
Berwick, maybe as recently as today, to get his thoughts on this 
nominee for this very important position.
  Mr. ROBERTS. If the distinguished Republican leader will yield, I 
will be happy to respond.
  First, I thank the distinguished leader and the doc from Wyoming, who 
is always bringing forward new and important information about the 
health care bill and some of the problems that we are experiencing with 
it, for allowing me to join in this colloquy.
  We are talking about President Obama's nominee to be administrator of 
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service--CMS is the acronym. Rest 
assured, every health care provider in America knows about CMS, and the 
nominee is Dr. Donald Berwick. I just met with Dr. Berwick and had an 
opportunity to hear some of his thoughts on the direction he thinks 
American health care, and particularly Medicare and Medicaid, should 
take.
  He is a very affable, friendly doctor from Connecticut. He has a wide 
background in terms of health care. I have also been reading up on Dr. 
Berwick, who has a prolific record of statements and speeches and books 
that further lay out his ideas for the future of health care. I 
recommend everyone within the health care industry and every health 
care consumer get hold of these speeches and these statements and, if 
possible books and read them.
  Here is what I have learned. Dr. Berwick, I would tell the 
distinguished Republican leader, is a huge fan, a major champion, and a 
contributor to the British national health care system called NHS. As a 
matter of fact, I have a quote of Dr. Berwick regarding the NHS.

       I am romantic about the National Health Service; I love it. 
     The NHS is not just a national treasure; it is a global 
     treasure.

  Well, I understand that people become very passionate about their 
jobs, but romantic seems to me a little unique, but we will let that 
go.
  Now, why is this important? Because the NHS rations health care. The 
NHS denies and delays patient access to therapies in regard to breast 
cancer, Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis, kidney cancer, macular 
degeneration--this happens to be my favorite example: patients required 
to go blind in one eye first before they get treatment for the other 
eye--and brain tumors. A patient group coalition called the group that 
rations health care in Great Britain unfair and unacceptable.
  The quote by Dr. Berwick is:

       The decision is not whether or not we will ration health 
     care--the decision is whether we will ration with our eyes 
     open.

  Consequently, I think the good Senator from Wyoming has something to 
say about that in regard to rationing health care and the British 
system.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I agree absolutely with my colleague 
because that is exactly what is happening in the British health care 
system. It is delayed care, and delayed care, to me, equals denied 
care.
  This has been such a major topic for discussion among the people in 
Britain that it was brought up in the recent debate for the prime 
ministership in the election, in the first televised debate ever. One 
of the questions that was asked of then-Prime Minister Gordon

[[Page 7887]]

Brown was what about the National Health Service; people have to wait 
too long. Here is the quote. We have a transcript because I read about 
this in the local papers and got the transcript. He talked about people 
with cancer.
  Now, this is very important to me, Mr. President, because my wife 
Bobbi is a breast cancer survivor. She was diagnosed in her forties as 
a result of a screening mammogram. So we spend a lot of time thinking 
about, talking about cancer, as do many families in this country.
  Well, this is what he said about people who have cancer. This is 
Gordon Brown answering the question, what about the National Health 
Service and the long delayed time before treatment.
  He said, ``They will also be able to know that their operation will 
be in 18 weeks.'' Mr. President, 18 weeks, if you are a cancer patient 
in need of an operation--18 weeks for your cancer operation. That is 
what the Prime Minister of England is promising the people as an 
aspirational goal. It makes you wonder how long is the delay right now.
  So it is no surprise that the British medical journal, the Lancet 
Oncology, in their August 2008 summary of statistics, says in every 
category Americans survive cancer at higher rates than patients in 
other developed countries. American cancer patients have a higher 
survival rate for every major form of cancer than patients in Canada 
and Britain. American women have a 35-percent better chance of 
surviving colon cancer than British women. American men have an 80-
percent better survival rate for prostate cancer. I have a list, cancer 
by cancer--breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer--and the 
survival rates are much better in the United States than they are in 
Britain. It is not that our doctors are any better, it is that the 
treatment is more timely.
  Imagine, Mr. President, being diagnosed with cancer and being told 
that your operation will be coming in September. Here we are in May, so 
18 weeks from now--September--is when you will have your operation. All 
of that time the cancer can be growing. The cancer can be spreading.
  As a patient in the United States, you may say: Do I really want Dr. 
Berwick? Do I want somebody who favors the National Health Service of 
Britain, someone who says they have incredible respect for the way it 
works and thinks it is the right way to go? Would an American citizen 
want that person to be in charge of Medicare and Medicaid for this 
country?
  So I just have to respond to my colleague that, as a physician who 
has practiced for 25 years, and as a husband of a wife who is a breast 
cancer survivor--who has had detection through a screening mammogram 
and then very rapid surgery, where there actually was the spread of the 
cancer from the breast to one of her lymph nodes--I think she is alive 
today because of the screening mammogram and the timeliness--the 
timeliness--of her surgery and treatment in the United States.
  I see the minority leader, and I see he is incredulous that we would 
be considering that sort of a system and that sort of a director for 
Medicare and Medicaid in this country.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Yes. And I would say to my friends that Wyoming and 
Kansas and Kentucky have a lot of rural areas. One of the things that 
Dr. Berwick has made very clear--and there was an article he wrote 
called ``Buckling Down to Change,'' in which he says there ought to be 
a concentration of change, in which he says there ought to be a 
concentration of services in metropolitan areas. He says most 
metropolitan areas in the United States should reduce the number of 
centers engaged in cardiac surgery, high-risk obstetrics, and neonatal 
intensive care services.
  What he is really saying is narrow the specialties down to 
metropolitan areas only. I just think of how that would work in a State 
such as mine. We have a city--Pikeville, KY, in the mountains--about 
2\1/2\ hours from the closest major city--Lexington. I wonder how it 
would work in my State to have to drive 2\1/2\ hours to put a baby in a 
hospital's neonatal intensive care unit. I mean, clearly, what he is 
talking about is major rationing of services.
  That would be bad enough for the urban areas that are lucky enough to 
still have the service at all, but for States such as Wyoming and 
Kentucky and Kansas, where we have a lot of people in rural areas who 
are pretty far removed from major urban centers, we are talking about a 
catastrophe, as I see it.
  Senator Barrasso has practiced medicine for 25 years. I wonder what 
his take is on that kind of approach.
  Mr. BARRASSO. My take is that it wouldn't work for Wyoming. But this 
entire health care bill--law, travesty--isn't going to work for 
Wyoming. We look at the numbers, and the Congressional Budget Office 
says 15 percent of hospitals in a few years are going to find they are 
losing money and they can't stay open. People are going to have to 
travel long distances, very long distances, to get quality care. 
Sometimes with weather and with winter, it is very difficult. So I have 
lots of concerns for all of the rural communities in this country 
because we have somebody from Boston, or the big city, who doesn't 
think the way we do in Wyoming or Kentucky or in Kansas.
  The other travesty of this is that the President of the United States 
has been in office now for well over a year--almost a year and a half--
and it is only just now he has nominated someone to be in charge of 
Medicare and Medicaid. I have continued to ask on this floor why that 
is. Why has the President intentionally refused to send a name to the 
Senate to be in charge of Medicare and Medicaid at a time when this 
country was debating health care legislation; at a time when the 
President was proposing cutting $550 billion from our seniors on 
Medicare; at a time when the President was pushing--cramming--into 
Medicaid another 18 million people?
  Mr. McCONNELL. If my friend will yield, some have believed the reason 
he didn't want to send Dr. Berwick up during the health care debate is 
because it would confirm the obvious, which was the direction in which 
we were headed and which Senate Republicans said repeatedly during the 
debate on health care was the direction we were headed--and nobody has 
been more accurate on this issue than has Senator Roberts on the 
Finance Committee--which was massive rationing.
  But it is hard to believe they had not decided to send the expert on 
rationing as soon as the debate was over.
  Mr. ROBERTS. If the leader will yield, it is one thing to use the 
British health care system and be romantic about it, to quote Dr. 
Berwick, as an example for rationing, for practicing health care cost 
containment. It is another thing to do it by age, which is happening. 
But it is rationing by region, which the leader has pointed out and Dr. 
Barrasso has pointed out, that should strike fear in the hearts of any 
person living in any rural area in the country. His tenet for 
modernizing the American health system is reducing what he calls ``the 
oversupply of inventory.'' That is how he defines it. Dr. Berwick's 
oversupply of inventory is, in truth, the rural patients' lifeline.
  I know Dr. Barrasso understands that.
  As the leader has said, in Kentucky--well, in Kansas, demanding a 
patient in Kansas drive 200 or 300 miles to Wichita or Kansas City or 
Denver so their infant can get proper care is ridiculous. I can foresee 
a time when the rural health care system will consist of a bandaid and 
a bed pan.
  Dr. Berwick is the perfect nominee for a President whose aim has 
always been to save money by rationing health care.
  I would like to add, at this particular time, in addition to the 
rationing the good doctor talked about, the national health system in 
Great Britain utilizes an end-of-life pathway to death; an end-of-life 
pathway to death--that is a shocking description--that many British 
doctors say leads to premature death in patients who could have 
otherwise recovered.
  To say that is noteworthy is unjust. It is egregious. Dr. Berwick's 
ideas on end-of-life care seem to mirror this

[[Page 7888]]

death pathway. The quote is: ``Most people who have serious pain do not 
need advanced methods; they just need the morphine and the counseling 
that have been around for centuries.''
  This is a rather stunning statement, it seems to me. But it is very 
similar to President Obama's remarks about the elderly approaching the 
end of their life. The President has said that as you get older, 
``maybe you're better off not having the surgery, but taking the shots 
and the pain killer.''
  The only thing missing in that is the walker.
  Consequently, he has also remarked that ``the chronically ill and 
those towards the end of their life are accounting for 80 percent of 
the total health care bill out here.'' We know that. ``[T]here is going 
to have to be a very difficult democratic conversation that takes 
place.'' That is the end of the quote by the President.
  It sounds like this ``difficult democratic conversation'' has already 
happened in the United Kingdom and that their pathway-to-death solution 
mirrors Dr. Berwick's and President Obama's ideas exactly.
  But age rationing, as has been indicated, is not the only way to do 
it, as the leader has pointed out. We have regional discrimination as 
well.
  Mr. BARRASSO. It is interesting, looking at this whole thing, because 
what we see happening in Britain right now--they call it NICE, but 
there is nothing nice about it--National Institute for Health and 
Clinical Excellence--what Dr. Berwick has had to say about it is very 
much the opposite of what doctors who practice there have said. What he 
has said about this system is that:

       Those organizations are functioning very well and are well 
     respected by clinicians, and they are making their 
     populations healthier and better off.

  But a London colon cancer specialist says:

       A lot of my colleagues also face pressure from managers--

  Managers in the British health system--

     not to tell patients about new drugs. There is nothing in 
     writing, [he says] but telling patients opens a Pandora's box 
     for health services trying to contain costs.

  So it gets down to not quality of care, not availability of care but 
the cost of care.
  Dr. Berwick says NICE is extremely effective and a conscientious, 
valuable and--importantly--knowledge-building system.
  This is what--someone--says:

       Doctors are keeping cancer patients in the dark . . .

  These are specialists, polled by Myeloma, United Kingdom:

       Doctors are keeping cancer patients in the dark about 
     expensive new drugs that could extend their lives. . . .

  So let's keep people in the dark rather than tell them what is there 
that can help extend or save their life. That, to me, is not a system 
that the American people want.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Could I ask my friend from Wyoming, who practiced 
medicine for 25 years, the Congressional Budget Office just said 
yesterday that this bill is going to cost $115 billion more than was 
portrayed on the Senate floor. Would it not be reasonable to assume, 
based on this nominee's views on the issue of rationing, that it could 
be that the way they intend to save that $115 billion, if they do, is 
with massive and extensive rationing, by nominating an individual who 
has expressed himself so clearly and unambiguously on the virtues of 
rationing? The exploding costs that everyone, the administration's own 
actuaries, the Congressional Budget Office, everybody who knows 
anything about the subject is weighing in, in the aftermath of the 
health care debate, and confirming the concerns that Senate Republicans 
raised during the debate, every single one of them has been confirmed 
by independent groups that this is the way they intend to cut costs.
  Mr. ROBERTS. I say to the leader, this isn't anything new. Dr. 
Barrasso has been predicting this for some time. Those of us on the 
Finance Committee and the Health committee, we got a double dose. 
During the health care debate, we tried to warn of the ``four 
rationers'' that were embedded in the bill. That is what we called 
them. I made several statements on them. We have: the Patient-Centered 
Outcomes Research Institute, the Independent Payment Advisory Board, 
the CMS Innovation Center, and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
  Dr. Berwick was actually the vice chair of the U.S. Preventive 
Services Task Force until 1996. You may remember this, as Dr. Barrasso 
pointed out, this was the body that recently ignited a firestorm by 
recommending that women wait until age 50 before they receive a 
mammogram. That certainly angered many doctors in America, and whoever 
said that beat a hasty retreat.
  We also warned that ObamaCare, I say to the leader and my friend from 
Wyoming, will result in higher costs, not lower, a prediction not only 
by the CBO but by the bravest man in America, CMS expert, Richard 
Foster, who--it is amazing to me that he is still on the job, thank 
goodness. He recently backed all that up, in terms of higher premiums, 
higher cost, rationing, access to doctors by the elderly, and has 
renewed his warning time and time again.
  Now our predictions are coming true and President Obama's CMS 
nominee, Dr. Berwick, will be the man who cuts health care costs by 
putting the rationing plans into practice. We will call it cost 
containment, but it will be rationing.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in carefully reviewing the 
statements and the speeches and the books and everything else that good 
Dr. Berwick has stated in the last 30 years on rationing. I think if we 
do that, most of us will agree he is the wrong man, wrong time, wrong 
job.
  I thank the leader and the good doctor for allowing me to join in 
this colloquy.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maine.


                Amendment No. 3879 to Amendment No. 3739

  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the pending 
amendment be set aside and call up amendment No. 3879, which is pending 
at the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Maine [Ms. Collins] proposes an amendment 
     numbered 3879 to amendment No. 3739.

  Ms. COLLINS. I ask unanimous consent the reading of the amendment be 
dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

     (Purpose: To mandate minimum leverage and risk-based capital 
     requirements for insured depository institutions, depository 
institution holding companies, and nonbank financial companies that the 
Council identifies for Board of Governors supervision and as subject to 
                         prudential standards)

       At the appropriate place in title I, insert the following:

     SEC. __. LEVERAGE AND RISK-BASED CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS.

       (a) Definitions.--
       (1) Generally applicable leverage capital requirements.--
     The term ``generally applicable leverage capital 
     requirements'' means--
       (A) the minimum ratios of tier 1 capital to average total 
     assets, as established by the appropriate Federal banking 
     agencies to apply to insured depository institutions under 
     the prompt corrective action regulations implementing section 
     38 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, regardless of total 
     consolidated asset size or foreign financial exposure; and
       (B) includes the regulatory capital components in the 
     numerator of that capital requirement, average total assets 
     in the denominator of that capital requirement, and the 
     required ratio of the numerator to the denominator.
       (2) Generally applicable risk-based capital requirements.--
     The term ``generally applicable risk-based capital 
     requirements'' means--
       (A) the risk-based capital requirements as established by 
     the appropriate Federal banking agencies to apply to insured 
     depository institutions under the agency's Prompt Corrective 
     Action regulations that implement section 38 of the Federal 
     Deposit Insurance Act, regardless of total consolidated asset 
     size or foreign financial exposure; and
       (B) includes the regulatory capital components in the 
     numerator of those capital requirements, the risk-weighted 
     assets in the

[[Page 7889]]

     denominator of those capital requirements, and the required 
     ratio of the numerator to the denominator.
       (b) Minimum Capital Requirements.--
       (1) Minimum leverage capital requirements.--The appropriate 
     Federal banking agencies shall establish minimum leverage 
     capital requirements on a consolidated basis for insured 
     depository institutions, depository institution holding 
     companies, and nonbank financial companies identified under 
     section 113. The minimum leverage capital requirements 
     established under this paragraph shall not be less than the 
     generally applicable leverage capital requirements, which 
     shall serve as a floor for any capital requirements the 
     agency may require, nor quantitatively lower than the 
     generally applicable leverage capital requirements that were 
     in effect for insured depository institutions as of the date 
     of enactment of this Act.
       (2) Minimum risk-based capital requirements.--The 
     appropriate Federal banking agencies shall establish minimum 
     risk-based capital requirements on a consolidated basis for 
     insured depository institutions, depository institution 
     holding companies, and nonbank financial companies identified 
     under section 113. The minimum risk-based capital 
     requirements established under this paragraph shall not be 
     less than the generally applicable risk-based capital 
     requirements, which shall serve as a floor for any capital 
     requirements the agency may require, nor quantitatively lower 
     than the generally applicable risk-based capital requirements 
     that were in effect for insured depository institutions as of 
     the date of enactment of this Act.
       (3) Capital requirements to address activities that pose 
     risks to the financial system.--
       (A) In general.--Subject to the recommendations of the 
     Council, in accordance with section 120, the Federal banking 
     agencies shall develop capital requirements applicable to all 
     institutions covered by this section that address the risks 
     that the activities of such institutions pose, not only to 
     the institution engaging in the activity, but to other public 
     and private stakeholders in the event of adverse performance, 
     disruption, or failure of the institution or the activity.
       (B) Content.--Such rules shall address, at a minimum, the 
     risks arising from--
       (i) significant volumes of activity in derivatives, 
     securitized products purchased and sold, financial guarantees 
     purchased and sold, securities borrowing and lending, and 
     repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements;
       (ii) concentrations in assets for which the values 
     presented in financial reports are based on models rather 
     than historical cost or prices deriving from deep and liquid 
     2-way markets; and
       (iii) concentrations in market share for any activity that 
     would substantially disrupt financial markets if the 
     institution is forced to unexpectedly cease the activity.

  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I am calling up tonight the amendment I 
debated on the Senate floor on Monday, with Senator Dodd and other 
Members who were present. This amendment would direct regulators to 
impose strong risk- and size-based capital standards on financial 
institutions as they grow in size or engage in risky practices. I am 
pleased to offer this amendment on behalf of myself, Senator Shaheen, 
and Senator Brownback.
  Our amendment is aimed at addressing the too-big-to-fail problem at 
the root of the current economic crisis by requiring financial firms to 
have adequate amounts of cash and other liquid assets to survive 
financial challenges without turning to the taxpayers for a bailout.
  I note this amendment would ensure that the Nation's largest banks 
and bank holding companies are required to meet, at a minimum, the same 
capital standards that are imposed on smaller community banks.
  That is right. It may be odd to realize, but the fact is, under 
current law, regulators can allow larger financial institutions to 
follow capital standards that are actually less stringent than those 
that are applied to smaller depository institutions. That makes no 
sense whatsoever, and that is why this amendment has the strong support 
of the Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the FDIC 
Chairman, Sheila Bair.
  She has written me a letter endorsing this amendment. She points out 
it is a critical element to ensure that U.S. financial institutions 
hold sufficient capital to absorb losses during future periods of 
financial stress. ``It is imperative,'' she writes, ``that they have 
sufficient capital to stand on their own in times of adversity.''
  This amendment would apply to some of our largest banks as well as 
bank holding companies, and it would also apply to nonbank financial 
institutions that are identified for supervision by the Federal Reserve 
by the new Financial Stability Oversight Council, established by the 
bill.
  This council is the council of regulators that will be created so we 
have an entity that would look across the economy to identify financial 
institutions and practices, risky practices that could pose a systemic 
risk to our economy.
  Since I did debate the amendment at length on Monday, I am not going 
to go on at length tonight, especially since there are others of my 
colleagues who are waiting to speak. I would note that I have had a 
very good discussion with the managers of the bill, and I look forward 
to working further with them in the hopes that we can schedule this 
amendment for a vote tomorrow. I note this is a bipartisan amendment 
and that we have consulted at length with the chairman of the Banking 
Committee.
  With that, I ask unanimous consent that the letter from the Chairman 
of the FDIC be printed in the Record, which letter further describes 
the amendment and the need for it, and I yield the floor.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                   Federal Deposit


                                        Insurance Corporation,

                                      Washington, DC, May 7, 2010.
     Hon. Susan M. Collins,
     Ranking Minority Member, Committee on Homeland Security and 
         Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Collins: I am writing to express my strong 
     support for your amendment number 3879 to ensure strong 
     capital requirements for our nation's financial institutions. 
     This amendment is a critical element to ensure that U.S. 
     financial institutions hold sufficient capital to absorb 
     losses during future periods of financial stress. With new 
     resolution authority, taxpayers will no longer bail out large 
     financial institutions. This makes it imperative that they 
     have sufficient capital to stand on their own in times of 
     adversity.
       During the crisis, FDIC-insured subsidiary banks became the 
     source of strength both to the holding companies and holding 
     company affiliates. Far from being a source of strength to 
     banks as Congress intended, holding companies became a source 
     of weakness requiring federal support. If, in the future, 
     bank holding companies are to become sources of financial 
     stability for insured banks, then they cannot operate under 
     consolidated capital requirements that are numerically lower 
     and qualitatively less stringent than those applying to 
     insured banks. This amendment would address this issue by 
     requiring bank holding companies to operate under capital 
     standards at least as stringent as those applying to banks.
       The crisis also demonstrated the dangers of excessive 
     leverage undertaken by large nonbanks outside of the scope of 
     federal bank regulation. Notable examples included the 
     excessive leverage of the largest investment banks during the 
     run-up to the crisis, and the extremely high leverage of 
     Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. To remedy this and prevent 
     regulatory gaps and arbitrage, large nonbank financial 
     institutions deemed to be systemic must be held to the same, 
     or higher, capital standards as those applying to banks and 
     bank holding companies. Again, the amendment accomplishes 
     this goal simply and directly.
       Finally, and more broadly, the crisis identified the 
     dangers of a regulatory mindset focused exclusively on the 
     soundness of individual banks without reference to the ``big 
     picture.'' For example, an individual overnight repo may be 
     safe, but widespread financing of illiquid securities with 
     overnight repos left the system vulnerable to a liquidity 
     crisis. A financial system-wide view requires regulators, 
     working in conjunction with the new Financial Services 
     Oversight Panel, to develop capital regulations to address 
     the risks of activities that affect the broader financial 
     system, beyond the bank that is engaging in the activity.
       We at the FDIC remain committed to working with you towards 
     a stronger financial system. This amendment will be an 
     important step in accomplishing this goal.
       If you have further questions or comments, please do not 
     hesitate to contact me or Paul Nash, Deputy for External 
     Affairs.
           Sincerely,
                                                   Sheila C. Bair,
                                                         Chairman.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I now send to the desk a modification of 
amendment No. 3739.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.

[[Page 7890]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


         Amendment No. 3789, as Modified, to Amendment No. 3739

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, as I understand, we had an agreement I 
was going to call up an amendment and then it could be set aside, just 
to get it pending.
  With that, I ask unanimous consent that the pending business be set 
aside and that amendment No. 3789 be called up as the pending business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I send a modification to my amendment 
to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment as 
modified.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator form Kansas [Mr. Brownback] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 3789, as modified, to amendment No. 3739.

  Mr. BROWNBACK. I ask further reading of the amendment be dispensed 
with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

(Purpose: To provide for an exclusion from the authority of the Bureau 
of Consumer Financial Protection for certain automobile manufacturers, 
                        and for other purposes)

       At the end of subtitle B of title X, add the following:

     SEC. 1030. EXCLUSION FOR AUTO DEALERS.

       (a) In General.--The Director and the Bureau may not 
     exercise any rulemaking, supervisory, enforcement, or any 
     other authority, including authority to order assessments 
     over a motor vehicle dealer that is predominantly engaged in 
     the sale and servicing of motor vehicles, the leasing and 
     servicing of motor vehicles, or both.
       (b) Certain Functions Excepted.--The provisions of 
     subsection (a) shall not apply to any person, to the extent 
     that such person--
       (1) provides consumers with any services related to 
     residential or commercial mortgages and self-financing 
     transactions involving real property;
       (2) operates a line of business that involves the extension 
     of retail credit or retail leases involving motor vehicles, 
     and in which--
       (A) the extension of retail credit or retail leases are 
     provided directly to consumers; and
       (B) the contract governing such extension of retail credit 
     or retail leases is not predominantly assigned to a third-
     party finance or leasing source; or
       (3) offers or provides a consumer financial product or 
     service not involving or related to the sale, financing, 
     leasing, rental, repair, refurbishment, maintenance, or other 
     servicing of motor vehicles, motor vehicle parts, or any 
     related or ancillary product or service.
       (c) No Impact on Prior Authority.--Nothing in this section 
     shall be construed to modify, limit, or supersede the 
     rulemaking or enforcement authority over motor vehicle 
     dealers that could be exercised by any Federal department or 
     agency on the day before the date of enactment of this Act.
       (d) No Transfer of Certain Authority.--Notwithstanding any 
     other provision of this Act, the consumer financial 
     protection functions of the Board of Governors and the 
     Federal Trade Commission shall not be transferred to the 
     Director or the Bureau to the extent such functions are with 
     respect to a person described under subsection (a).
       (e) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, the 
     following definitions shall apply:
       (1) Motor vehicle.--The term ``motor vehicle'' means--
       (A) any self-propelled vehicle designed for transporting 
     persons or property on a street, highway, or other road;
       (B) recreational boats and marine equipment;
       (C) motorcycles;
       (D) motor homes, recreational vehicle trailers, and slide-
     in campers, as those terms are defined in sections 571.3 and 
     575.103(d) of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, or any 
     successor thereto; and
       (E) other vehicles that are titled and sold through 
     dealers.
       (2) Motor vehicle dealer.--The term ``motor vehicle 
     dealer'' means any person or resident in the United States, 
     or any territory of the United States, who is licensed by a 
     State, a territory of the United States, or the District of 
     Columbia to engage in the sale of motor vehicles.


                Amendment No. 3883 to Amendment No. 3739

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
pending business be set aside and that amendment No. 3883, on behalf of 
Senator Snowe, be called up as the pending business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Kansas [Mr. Brownback], for Ms. Snowe and 
     Mr. Pryor, proposes an amendment numbered 3883 to amendment 
     No. 3739.

  The amendment is as follows:

      (Purpose: To ensure small business fairness and regulatory 
                             transparency)

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. __. SMALL BUSINESS FAIRNESS AND REGULATORY TRANSPARENCY.

       (a) Panel Requirement.--Section 609(d) of title 5, United 
     States Code, is amended by striking ``means the'' and all 
     that follows and inserting the following: ``means--
       ``(1) the Environmental Protection Agency;
       ``(2) the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of the 
     Federal Reserve System; and
       ``(3) the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of 
     the Department of Labor.''.
       (b) Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis.--Section 603 
     of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
     end the following:
       ``(d)(1) For a covered agency, as defined in section 
     609(d)(2), each initial regulatory flexibility analysis shall 
     include a description of--
       ``(A) any projected increase in the cost of credit for 
     small entities;
       ``(B) any significant alternatives to the proposed rule 
     which accomplish the stated objectives of applicable statutes 
     and which minimize any increase in the cost of credit for 
     small entities; and
       ``(C) advice and recommendations of representatives of 
     small entities relating to issues described in subparagraphs 
     (A) and (B) and subsection (b).
       ``(2) A covered agency, as defined in section 609(d)(2), 
     shall, for purposes of complying with paragraph (1)(C)--
       ``(A) identify representatives of small entities in 
     consultation with the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 
     Business Administration; and
       ``(B) collect advice and recommendations from the 
     representatives identified under subparagraph (A) relating to 
     issues described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph 
     (1) and subsection (b).''.
       (c) Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis.--Section 604(a) 
     of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at the end and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(6) for a covered agency, as defined in section 
     609(d)(2), a description of the steps the agency has taken to 
     minimize any additional cost of credit for small entities.''.

  Mr. BROWNBACK. I want to thank my colleagues for getting these 
amendments pending. I would note that the amendment I called up is the 
one to exempt auto dealers from the consumer financial products 
commission created in this bill.
  These are auto loans already covered under the bill by whoever is 
doing the financing. If the auto dealers themselves are doing the 
financing, then they would be covered under the consumer financial 
products commission.
  What this amendment attempts to do is say, let's regulate auto loans, 
but let's regulate them by who is doing the loan, not just who is 
processing the paper.
  It would be my hope that we would get the broad bipartisan support of 
my colleagues. We do have bipartisan support for this amendment. I will 
look forward to a full debate on it tomorrow. But in the interest of 
time this evening I will not be talking further on it.
  I am happy to enter into a time agreement with the managers on this 
tomorrow to debate and get this amendment for a vote tomorrow.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania is recognized.


         Amendment No. 3776, as Modified, to Amendment No. 3739

  Mr. SPECTER. I call up amendment No. 3776, as modified.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Pennsylvania [Mr. Specter], for himself, 
     Mr. Reed, Mr. Kaufman, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Leahy, Mr. 
     Levin, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Franken, Mr. 
     Feingold, and Mr. Merkley, proposes an amendment numbered 
     3776, as modified, to amendment No. 3739.


[[Page 7891]]

  Mr. SPECTER. I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the 
amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment, as modified, is as follows:

       On page 1004, between lines 11 and 12, insert the 
     following:

     SEC. 929D. PRIVATE CIVIL ACTION FOR AIDING AND ABETTING.

       Section 20(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 
     U.S.C. 78t(e)) is amended--
       (1) in the subsection heading, by striking ``Prosecution 
     of'' and inserting ``Actions Against'';
       (2) by striking ``For purposes'' and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(1) Actions brought by commission.--For purposes''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(2) Private civil actions.--For purposes of any private 
     civil action implied under this title, any person that 
     knowingly provides substantial assistance to another person 
     in violation of this title, or of any rule or regulation 
     issued under this title, shall be deemed to be in violation 
     of this title to the same extent as the person to whom such 
     assistance is provided. For purposes of this paragraph, a 
     person acts knowingly only if the person has actual knowledge 
     of the improper conduct underlying the violation described in 
     the preceding sentence and the persons role in assisting that 
     conduct.'.

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have offered this amendment on behalf 
of quite a number of Senators--Senator Reed, Senator Kaufman, Senator 
Durbin, Senator Harkin, Senator Leahy, Senator Levin, Senator Menendez, 
Senator Whitehouse, Senator Franken, Senator Feingold, Senator Merkley, 
and myself.
  This amendment provides that the decisions of the Supreme Court of 
the United States limiting claims under the securities acts for aiding 
and abetting will be overturned by this legislation.
  This amendment is very similar to an amendment which was offered in 
the 107th Congress by Senator Shelby, the ranking member of the Banking 
Committee. For many years, the federal law provided a private right of 
action against aiders and abettors.
  As of 1994, every circuit of the federal courts of appeals had 
included civil liability in a private lawsuit under the securities 
laws. In a radical departure in 1994, the Supreme Court held, in 
Central Bank of Denver, that aiders and abettors are not liable in 
private suits.
  The Court's 5-to-4 decision in Stoneridge in 2008 complicated the 
matter even further, where the Supreme Court held that if the defendant 
did not make representations directly to the person buying or selling 
the securities, that the individual was not liable, even if he himself 
had engaged in fraudulent conduct.
  This is a subject I have long been interested in. Back in 2007, I 
wrote to President Bush concerning the failure of the Solicitor 
General's office to file a brief that was requested by the Securities 
and Exchange Commission in the Stoneridge case. The Securities and 
Exchange Commission was very concerned about that. I urged that the 
Solicitor General take action.
  I ask unanimous consent that a copy of this letter to the President 
be printed in the Record at the conclusion of my remarks.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (See exhibit 1.)
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, the absence of civil liability is 
striking in this situation, because there is criminal liability for 
aiding and abetting under the federal criminal code.
  I know of no situation where there is criminal liability for conduct, 
but it does not give rise to a civil claim for relief or a civil cause 
of action. During a hearing on this subject, a very distinguished 
scholar, Professor Coffee of the Columbia Law School, pointed out how 
unusual that was in his experience, much broader than mine, that this 
was anomalous.
  In the case of Refco Securities Litigation, reported at 609 F. Supp. 
2d 304 (S.D.N.Y. 2009), Judge Gerald Lynch made the same point:
  It is perhaps dismaying that participants in a fraudulent scheme who 
may even have committed criminal acts are not answerable in damages to 
the victims of the fraud. . . . There are accomplices and there are 
accomplices: after all, in the criminal context when the Godfather 
orders a hit, he is only an accomplice to murder-one who ``counsels, 
commands, induces or procures,'' but he is nonetheless liable as a 
principal for the commission of the crime. Likewise, some civil 
accomplices are deeply and indispensably implicated in wrongful 
conduct.
  But on the current state of the law, there is no accountability for 
civil damages for aiders and abettors.
  Prof. John Coffee made this point in our hearing:
  Does anyone really believe today that in this post-Madoff world, that 
the SEC, by itself, can adequately deter most secondary participants in 
securities fraud?
  Even when the SEC sues, moreover, its remedial authority is very 
limited. It can neither recover losses for injured investors nor deter 
fraud in the first place.
  A comparative impact of private lawsuits has noted that in the Enron 
case, the private litigants recovered $7.3 billion, and the SEC 
recovered $450 million. In the WorldCom case, private litigants 
recovered $6.85 billion; the SEC recovered only $750 million. In the 
Dynegy case, private litigants recovered $474 million, the SEC $198 
million. In the AOL-Time Warner case, private litigants recovered $3.1 
billion, and the SEC recovered $360 million.
  According to testimony given on my aiding-and-abetting legislation 
last year before the Subcommittee on Crime, the SEC recovered a mere $8 
billion from security law violators since enactment of Sarbanes-Oxley 
in 2002, whereas the private litigants in Enron alone recovered $7.3 
billion. So the impact of the private lawsuits is very important.
  We have seen the extraordinary impact of Wall Street fraud: the 
losses of 6\1/2\ million jobs, the reduction of the gross national 
product enormously. This private right of action is a very important 
part of keeping Wall Street honest with the litigation which it has 
produced.
  There has been a letter filed by a number of entities in opposition 
to the amendment, headed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, raising a 
point that, ``The provision would subject defendants to liability 
whether or not they have any idea that the conduct they are assisting 
is wrongful.''
  Well, that is a gross misstatement of what this bill does. This 
amendment has been very narrowly drawn. It applies only to those who 
knowingly provide substantial assistance to the primary violator.
  The scienter standard is more defendant-protective than the standard 
set forth in Senator Shelby's legislation which he introduced in the 
107th Congress. The scienter standard in the Shelby bill was 
``recklessness,'' not ``knowingly acted upon.'' The ``knowingly'' 
scienter standard in the amendment is identical to the restrictive 
standard in 15 U.S.C. 78(t)(e) governing aiding-and-abetting actions 
brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
  In order to eliminate any conceivable doubt, a modification has been 
added to the amendment as originally filed, specifying: ``For purposes 
of this paragraph, a person acts knowingly only if the person has 
actual knowledge of the improper conduct underlying the violation 
described in the preceding sentence and the person's role in assisting 
that conduct.''
  So, in essence, here we have a very tightly drawn amendment. It had 
been introduced earlier as S. 1551. I thank the distinguished chairman 
of the committee for his accommodation in listing this amendment for 
argument. This is a very important amendment. There are a lot of 
amendments pending. But I do believe that among the matters to be 
considered in this bill, this is one of the most important. You have a 
lot of people very badly damaged by these security fraudulent actions. 
The Securities and Exchange Commission is limited in personnel and 
staff to act on them. These private rights of action have long been a 
source of enormous aid in enforcing the law in antitrust cases and 
Securities Act cases. Private prosecutions are enormously important.
  By way of footnote, this is a subject of a law school comment that I 
wrote

[[Page 7892]]

many years ago at Yale about the background for private action. It is a 
very important supplement to what public officials and public agencies 
can do.
  I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.
                                                      U.S. Senate,


                                   Committee on the Judiciary,

                                   Washington, DC, August 3, 2007.
     The President,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. President: I am writing to express my concern 
     about the Solicitor General's failure to file a brief that 
     was requested by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 
     Stoneridge Investment Partners v. Scientific Atlanta. The 
     outcome of Stoneridge will also determine whether tens of 
     thousands of Enron investors will secure a day in court. 
     Earlier this year, the SEC voted to file an amicus brief in 
     Stoneridge in favor of scheme liability, which is the same 
     position the Commission has previously taken in similar cases 
     in lower courts, including the Enron case. It has been 
     reported that the Solicitor General did not file the brief, 
     based on your views, and that the Solicitor General may 
     actually file an amicus brief arguing the opposite position 
     recommended by the SEC.
       The SEC is an independent agency and its attorneys can 
     represent the agency in trial courts and courts of appeals. 
     The SEC, however, cannot represent itself at the Supreme 
     Court of the United States--it must convince the Solicitor 
     General to represent the SEC's position. Independence, when 
     used to describe an administrative agency, connotes 
     independence from the President and the ability to take 
     positions or engage in actions that do not necessarily 
     reflect the policies and views of the Administration.
       Chairman Cox, in response to questions about the SEC's vote 
     to file an amicus brief in Stoneridge, stated at a 
     Congressional hearing on June 26, 2007, that the ``law has to 
     have some objective meaning. It can't be just a question of 
     how we all feel about it'' and that laws should not change 
     with the change in political composition of the Commission. 
     He explained that he did ``not think that there's anywhere 
     where it could be more important for there to be 
     predictability and clarity in rulemaking than when it comes 
     to our capital markets, because so much is at stake that 
     people have to make big bets on whether or not what they're 
     doing is the right thing to do. . . . I think we do a great 
     disservice when we are anything but clear and predictable, 
     rule-based and law-based.'' I agree with Chairman Cox.
       On the issue of predictability in the law, I note what 
     happened to shareholders who were defrauded by Enron when 
     they brought a lawsuit charging certain Enron executives and 
     directors--along with the company's accountants, law firm and 
     banks--with violation of federal securities laws. The alleged 
     violations included massive insider trading while making 
     false and misleading statements about Enron's financial 
     performance. The shareholders reached a settlement with 
     several financial institutions, but while claims were still 
     pending against a number of additional institutions, in March 
     2007, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted the 
     banks complete immunity from liability. The court 
     acknowledged that the banks' conduct was ``hardly 
     praiseworthy,'' but it ruled that because the banks 
     themselves did not make any false statements about their 
     conduct to the shareholders they could not be held liable, 
     even if they knowingly participated in the scheme to defraud. 
     In an extraordinary admission, the court acknowledged that 
     the ruling runs afoul of ``justice and fair play.'' The 
     ruling also is at odds with the position of the SEC, with its 
     wealth of specialized knowledge on the issues of contention 
     in both the Enron case and Stoneridge, and with rulings of 
     other courts.
       The Solicitor General is entitled to aid the Court in its 
     interpretation of the law, and I applaud his close attention 
     to this critical case. I am concerned, however, that he has 
     been unable to articulate a legal position--either for or 
     against the plaintiffs--that is independent from the 
     Administration's policy preferences. As you have often said, 
     substantive changes to the law should be made through the 
     legislative process, not through the courts.
       Thank you for attention to this matter.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Arlen Specter.

  Mr. SPECTER. I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a 
quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.


       Amendments Nos. 3823, 3932, and 3808 to Amendment No. 3739

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent, if I may, that the 
pending amendments be set aside and that it be in order to call up the 
following amendments and that once reported by number, they be set 
aside:
  Senator Leahy's amendment No. 3823; Senator Durbin's amendment No. 
3932, and Senator Franken's amendment No. 3808.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the amendments by number.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Connecticut [Mr. Dodd] proposes amendments 
     en bloc numbered 3823, 3932, and 3808.

  The amendments are as follows:


                           amendment no. 3823

 (Purpose: To restore the application of the Federal antitrust laws to 
 the business of health insurance to protect competition and consumers)

       At the end of the amendment, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. HEALTH INSURANCE INDUSTRY ANTITRUST ENFORCEMENT 
                   ACT.

       (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Health 
     Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act''.
       (b) Restoring the Application of Antitrust Laws to Health 
     Sector Insurers.--
       (1) Amendment to mccarran-ferguson act.--Section 3 of the 
     Act of March 9, 1945 (15 U.S.C. 1013), commonly known as the 
     McCarran-Ferguson Act, is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(c) Nothing contained in this Act shall modify, impair, 
     or supersede the operation of any of the antitrust laws with 
     respect to the business of health insurance. For purposes of 
     the preceding sentence, the term `antitrust laws' has the 
     meaning given it in subsection (a) of the first section of 
     the Clayton Act, except that such term includes section 5 of 
     the Federal Trade Commission Act to the extent that such 
     section 5 applies to unfair methods of competition.''.
       (2) Related provision.--For purposes of section 5 of the 
     Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45) to the extent 
     such section applies to unfair methods of competition, 
     section 3(c) of the McCarran-Ferguson Act shall apply with 
     respect to the business of health insurance without regard to 
     whether such business is carried on for profit, 
     notwithstanding the definition of ``Corporation'' contained 
     in section 4 of the Federal Trade Commission Act.


                           amendment no. 3932

   (Purpose: To ensure that the fees that small businesses and other 
   entities are charged for accepting debit cards are reasonable and 
proportional to the costs incurred, and to limit payment card networks 
  from imposing anti-competitive restrictions on small businesses and 
               other entities that accept payment cards)

       At the end of subtitle G of title X, add the following:

     SEC. 1077. REASONABLE FEES AND RULES FOR PAYMENT CARD 
                   TRANSACTIONS.

       The Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. 1693 et seq.) 
     is amended--
       (1) by redesignating sections 920 and 921 as sections 921 
     and 922, respectively; and
       (2) by inserting after section 919 the following:

     ``SEC. 920. REASONABLE FEES AND RULES FOR PAYMENT CARD 
                   TRANSACTIONS.

       ``(a) Reasonable Interchange Transaction Fees for 
     Electronic Debit Transactions.--
       ``(1) Regulatory authority.--The Board shall have authority 
     to establish rules, pursuant to section 553 of title 5, 
     United States Code, regarding any interchange transaction fee 
     that an issuer or payment card network may charge with 
     respect to an electronic debit transaction.
       ``(2) Reasonable fees.--The amount of any interchange 
     transaction fee that an issuer or payment card network may 
     charge with respect to an electronic debit transaction shall 
     be reasonable and proportional to the actual cost incurred by 
     the issuer or payment card network with respect to the 
     transaction.
       ``(3) Rulemaking required.--The Board shall issue final 
     rules, not later than 9 months after the date of enactment of 
     the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, to establish 
     standards for assessing whether the amount of any interchange 
     transaction fee described in paragraph (2) is reasonable and 
     proportional to the actual cost incurred by the issuer or 
     payment card network with respect to the transaction.
       ``(4) Considerations.--In issuing rules required by this 
     section, the Board shall--
       ``(A) consider the functional similarity between--
       ``(i) electronic debit transactions; and
       ``(ii) checking transactions that are required within the 
     Federal Reserve bank system to clear at par;
       ``(B) distinguish between--
       ``(i) the actual incremental cost incurred by an issuer or 
     payment card network for the role of the issuer or the 
     payment card network in the authorization, clearance, or 
     settlement of a particular electronic debit transaction, 
     which cost shall be considered under paragraph (2); and
       ``(ii) other costs incurred by an issuer or payment card 
     network which are not specific to a particular electronic 
     debit transaction, which costs shall not be considered under 
     paragraph (2); and
       ``(C) consult, as appropriate, with the Comptroller of the 
     Currency, the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit 
     Insurance

[[Page 7893]]

     Corporation, the Director of the Office of Thrift 
     Supervision, the National Credit Union Administration Board, 
     the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, and 
     the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
       ``(5) Exemption for small issuers.--This subsection shall 
     not apply to issuers that, together with affiliates, have 
     assets of less than $1,000,000,000, and the Board shall 
     exempt such issuers from rules issued under paragraph (3).
       ``(6) Effective date.--Paragraph (2) shall become effective 
     12 months after the date of enactment of the Consumer 
     Financial Protection Act of 2010.
       ``(b) Limitation on Anti-Competitive Payment Card Network 
     Restrictions.--
       ``(1) No restrictions on offering discounts for use of a 
     competing payment card network.--A payment card network shall 
     not, directly or through any agent, processor, or licensed 
     member of the network, by contract, requirement, condition, 
     penalty, or otherwise, inhibit the ability of any person to 
     provide a discount or in-kind incentive for payment through 
     the use of a card or device of another payment card network.
       ``(2) No restrictions on offering discounts for use of a 
     form of payment.--A payment card network shall not, directly 
     or through any agent, processor, or licensed member of the 
     network, by contract, requirement, condition, penalty, or 
     otherwise, inhibit the ability of any person to provide a 
     discount or in-kind incentive for payment by the use of cash, 
     check, debit card, or credit card.
       ``(3) No restrictions on setting transaction minimums or 
     maximums.--A payment card network shall not, directly or 
     through any agent, processor, or licensed member of the 
     network, by contract, requirement, condition, penalty, or 
     otherwise, inhibit the ability of any person to set a minimum 
     or maximum dollar value for the acceptance by that person of 
     any form of payment.
       ``(c) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, the 
     following definitions shall apply:
       ``(1) Debit card.--The term `debit card'--
       ``(A) means any card, or other payment code or device, 
     issued or approved for use through a payment card network to 
     debit an asset account for the purpose of transferring money 
     between accounts or obtaining goods or services, whether 
     authorization is based on signature, PIN, or other means;
       ``(B) includes general use prepaid cards, as that term is 
     defined in section 915(a)(2)(A) (15 U.S.C. 1693l-1(a)(2)(A)); 
     and
       ``(C) does not include paper checks.
       ``(2) Credit card.--The term `credit card' has the same 
     meaning as in section 103 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 
     U.S.C. 1602).
       ``(3) Discount.--The term `discount'--
       ``(A) means a reduction made from the price that customers 
     are informed is the regular price; and
       ``(B) does not include any means of increasing the price 
     that customers are informed is the regular price.
       ``(4) Electronic debit transaction.--The term `electronic 
     debit transaction' means a transaction in which a person uses 
     a debit card to debit an asset account.
       ``(5) Interchange transaction fee.--The term `interchange 
     transaction fee' means any fee established by a payment card 
     network that has been established for the purpose of 
     compensating an issuer or payment card network for its 
     involvement in an electronic debit transaction.
       ``(6) Issuer.--The term `issuer' means any person who 
     issues a debit card, or the agent of such person with respect 
     to such card.
       ``(7) Payment card network.--The term `payment card 
     network' means an entity that directly, or through licensed 
     members, processors, or agents, provides the proprietary 
     services, infrastructure, and software that route information 
     and data to conduct transaction authorization, clearance, and 
     settlement, and that a person uses in order to accept as a 
     form of payment a brand of debit card, credit card or other 
     device that may be used to carry out debit or credit 
     transactions.''.


                           Amendment No. 3808

    (Purpose: To instruct the Securities and Exchange Commission to 
   establish a self-regulatory organization to assign credit rating 
              agencies to provide initial credit ratings)

  (The amendment is printed in the Record of Tuesday, May 4, 2010, 
under ``Text of Amendments.'')
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama.


                Amendment No. 3832 to Amendment No. 3739

(Purpose: To provide an orderly and transparent bankruptcy process for 
    non-bank financial institutions and prohibit bailout authority)

  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I wish to call up amendment No. 3832 and 
ask for its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The assistant bill clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Alabama [Mr. Sessions], for himself, Mr. 
     Bunning, Mr. DeMint, Mr. Ensign, Mr. Brown of Massachusetts, 
     proposes an amendment numbered 3832 to amendment No. 3739.

  Mr. SESSIONS. I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the 
amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (The amendment is printed in the Record of Wednesday, May 5, 2010, 
under ``Text of Amendments.'')
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, they say the proof is in the pudding. 
The proof is an ultimate test of an idea or an evaluation. It literally 
means you can show us a wonderful recipe and tell us about the fine 
ingredients, but we want to know what it tastes like in the end. The 
actual result is what is important. So I think the American people know 
that in the bill we are dealing with today, we are still too involved 
in the maneuvering of the dissolution of companies that fail. We create 
special procedures for larger companies than we do for routine 
companies throughout the country. The pudding tastes bad.
  My colleagues tell us this bill has the right ingredients, but the 
ultimate result, I think, is to provide government-funded bailouts in 
some way or another, through another name, actually now called orderly 
liquidation authority. I understand the provisions are better perhaps 
than they were when the discussions began and are more rigorous in some 
ways. I still feel more needs to be done to create the kind of 
integrity and the consistency and the principled approach to 
dissolution of a failed corporation that good law requires.
  The legislation before us provides the government with vast, sweeping 
regulatory authority. I know a lot of people in the country--and I 
respect my good friend, Senator Dodd. He is such a fabulous Senator and 
so knowledgeable about these areas. But I talked to my car dealers and 
they have to meet with State regulatory loan officers and they have 
always had to deal with State legislation and control and certain 
Federal rules apply. But what this legislation does is, it is one more 
example of an expansive mentality as far as fixing a discrete problem, 
which started out to be fixing Wall Street, too big to fail, and now we 
have a historic alteration of the respect we get for State and local 
government to manage lending matters. We have the Federal Government 
now doing that under this consumer title. I am not sure we have fully 
thought that through. I don't think it is necessary, frankly.
  Some of the regulatory authority that was involved in controlling 
financial institutions that were part of the financial crisis we faced, 
I think, was because this regulatory authority caused or failed to 
prevent the crisis. It may have even made it worse. Instead of ending 
too big to fail, this legislation, I am afraid, institutionalizes it.
  Professor John Taylor, the author of the Taylor rule, which, because 
it was violated, probably helped precipitate this crisis. If his rule 
had been followed carefully by the Federal Reserve, I think we would 
have had a far less serious problem than we had. He is a professor of 
economics at Stanford University. He is well respected. He made this 
point clear in a recent editorial in the Wall Street Journal. This is 
what John B. Taylor, the Taylor rule author, observed:

       The financial crisis of 2008 demonstrates why it is 
     dangerous for the orderly liquidation section of the Dodd 
     bill to institutionalize such a process by giving the 
     government even more discretion and power to take over 
     businesses.

  He goes on to say:

       The proposed liquidation process would have the unintended 
     consequence of increasing the incentive for creditors and 
     other counterparties to run whenever there is a rumor that 
     the government official is thinking about intervening.

  He goes on to describe other reasons why he thinks the language as we 
have it is unwise.
  Peter Wallison, former general counsel to the Treasury Department, 
voiced his strong opposition to the proposed legislation saying:

       Not only does the Dodd bill establish too big to fail as a 
     national policy, but it makes the idea real by creating a 
     system for bailing

[[Page 7894]]

     out large financial companies if they get into trouble. Of 
     course, ``bailing out'' is not the phrase used in the bill; 
     the preferred language there is ``orderly liquidation.''

  So Mr. Wallison makes clear--I will not go on and quote all of his 
remarks, but he makes clear why he believes this is a dangerous 
institutionalization of special privileges for large companies. I think 
the Dodd amendment signals to creditors they will get a better deal if 
they lend to the big regulated firms, and this is what Mr. Wallison 
says:

       They believe they will get a better deal if they lend to 
     the big regulated firms rather than lending to the small 
     competitors. The bill does this by making it possible for 
     creditors to be fully paid when a too-big-to-fail financial 
     firm is liquidated, even though this would not happen in 
     bankruptcy.

  Mr. Wallison hits the nail on the head, I am afraid. Select 
creditors--those with good lobbyists or those otherwise deemed too big 
to fail--will definitely get a better deal under the backroom process 
of orderly liquidation than they would in bankruptcy.
  Let me be clear. The unhealthy government connection to Wall Street 
can only be eliminated, I think, through the legitimate utilization of 
historic bankruptcy process. ``Orderly liquidation,'' as defined here, 
will not achieve the result.
  When the legislation was first introduced, Senator Leahy wrote the 
Judicial Conference of the United States--that is the Chief Justice and 
his Judicial Conference group of judges there--and asked him for their 
views on the legislation. The Judicial Conference responded that the 
bill failed the ultimate test. They said:

       This is a substantial change to bankruptcy law because it 
     would create a new structure within the bankruptcy courts and 
     remove a class of cases from the jurisdiction of the 
     Bankruptcy Code. The legislation, by assigning to the FDIC 
     the responsibility for resolving the affairs of an insolvent 
     firm, appears to provide a substitute for a bankruptcy 
     proceeding.

  That is a significant statement. This is the Supreme Court, the 
Judicial Conference, giving us their insight into this.
  The letter goes on to say:

       This could be especially problematic if creditors have 
     changed position based on rulings in the course of the 
     bankruptcy proceeding. The legislation does not envision--

  Let me continue to quote this:

       The legislation does not envision objection, participation, 
     or input from the bankruptcy creditors whose rights will be 
     affected in the course of appointing the FDIC as a receiver.

  In other words, the normal process by which creditors and others can 
participate, object, cross-examine, is cut short.
  The letter goes on to say:

       Indeed, the legislation proposes to deal with this petition 
     in a sealed manner--

  Not in a public, open manner, where lawyers cross-examine witnesses 
under oath, but in a sealed manner, the Judicial Conference says.
  It goes on to say:

       Only the Secretary and the affected financial firm would be 
     noticed and given the opportunity of a hearing. The financial 
     position of affected creditors may have been changed within 
     the context of the firm's bankruptcy case in such a way that 
     the creditors' rights may have been changed dramatically.

  They go on to say this could raise constitutional questions. They 
said:

       Any resulting due process challenges--

  They are talking about the due process clause of the U.S. 
Constitution--

     would impose a significant burden on the courts to resolve 
     novel issues.

  In addition, they go on to say this:

       We note that petitions under this title involving financial 
     firms would be filed in a single judicial district.

  Delaware.

       The Judicial Conference favors distribution of cases in 
     other courts.

  Well, I think the Judicial Conference is making clear one thing in 
its correspondence. Bankruptcy, with its rules and procedures, not 
orderly liquidation authority, is the best way to approach dissolving a 
financial institution. We are not talking about banks. Banks would be 
still contained within the FDIC. They have a long history of being able 
to resolve banks in financial trouble. But I think--I can only say I 
share the opinion of the Judicial Conference. I think it is shared by a 
number of presidents of the Federal Reserve banks.
  In recent testimony on a panel before the Joint Economic Committee, 
Charles I. Plosser, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of 
Philadelphia, stated the following:

       I believe the most credible way to do this would be to 
     amend the bankruptcy code to deal with nonbank financial 
     firms and bank holding companies. Expanding the bank 
     resolution process established under the FDIC Improvement Act 
     as the current Senate bill does would give regulators and 
     policymakers the opportunity to exercise a great deal of 
     discretion in a liquidation or restructuring to reward some 
     creditors and not others. A bankruptcy proceeding would 
     follow the rule of law and thus would be less susceptible to 
     manipulation by private parties or the political process.

  So that is the opinion of the president of the Federal Reserve Bank 
of Philadelphia. Does anybody think that dissolution of GM and other 
companies and all the things they have gone through was not politically 
manipulated? Anybody who has closely followed it does, and that is one 
of the things that outraged Americans. They are angry that big 
companies got special procedures for their failure to pay their debts, 
where the average small company, mid-sized company, even large company 
in America would be subject to the rigors and the fairness and the 
order of established bankruptcy law.
  So the president of the Federal Reserve of Philadelphia said it would 
be less susceptible to manipulation by private parties for the 
political process. Amen. That is true. You get a bankruptcy judge, he 
has a 14-year term. They are used to handling these cases, and they can 
handle them. Mr. Plosser goes on to say, limiting government choices 
and leaving resolutions to the rule of law and the court system, in my 
view, is the best way to end bailouts--limit unhealthy risk taking and 
extinguish the notion that some institutions are too big to fail. That 
is what the president of a Federal Reserve bank said. I could not agree 
more. That is why I have introduced the Bankruptcy Integrity and 
Accountability Act, which I believe we will be able to vote on 
tomorrow.
  There is no greater legal system than the one we have in America. It 
is a system that is admired not only because it is efficient, in most 
instances, but because it is fundamentally fair. You know when you walk 
into a courtroom that you are going to get the same treatment as other 
parties, whether you are a mom-and-pop organization or big AIG. The 
amendment I have offered would provide that same type of security.
  One issue that has been raised by a number of experts is a lack of 
confidence in the FDIC to adequately handle these kinds of 
dissolutions. I share those concerns. Professor Wallison stated:

       The absence of any expertise in resolving failed nonbank 
     financial institutions anywhere in the Federal Government is 
     one strong reason for relying on bankruptcy for most 
     failures. If there is likely to be expertise anywhere in 
     resolving failed financial institutions, it would be in the 
     bankruptcy courts.

  I agree. Bankruptcy as the first choice for disposing of a failed 
nonbank financial institution would avoid a number of problems. These 
are problems that are associated with creating a government resolution 
authority. Governments are, by nature, political. It would assure that 
the prebankruptcy creditors take losses of some kind, avoiding the 
moral hazard and maintaining market discipline. In other words, if you 
don't feel like and don't have to take a loss by an improvident 
investment, it encourages you to make more risky investments, creating 
danger of more improvident financial activities in the future. The 
rules will be known in advance under bankruptcy. So creditors will be 
aware of their rights as well as the risks.
  Creditors will decide whether they believe a company has prospects to 
repay them, and it would outweigh the risk of throwing good money after 
bad in helping maintain the company in bankruptcy. Bankruptcy judges 
look forward and try to save companies. They stop litigation that can 
shut

[[Page 7895]]

down a company. They give the company a chance to reorganize and 
succeed and pay all their creditors. That is always their goal. But 
good bankruptcy judges know from history that many companies can't be 
saved. The best thing to do is shut them down before they lose anymore 
money and distribute the remaining assets equally and fairly according 
to established rules of priority as part of the bankruptcy process. 
That is what bankruptcy is.
  In the amendment I have offered, we make sure the necessary expertise 
for dissolving these institutions is available. We allow the Federal 
Stability Oversight Council, the proper functional regulator, the 
Federal Reserve, and the Department of Treasury to file legal briefs in 
the court if they need to to make sure their voice is heard concerning 
relevant issues. This would allow the court to gain valuable 
information and insight. We also concentrate Federal bankruptcy 
expertise by limiting venue in the cases to the 12 districts with the 
Federal Reserve Banks. This is something we vetted with professors and 
bankruptcy experts. Harvey Miller, the renowned bankruptcy expert, 
looked at this provision and told us he believes it is properly 
tailored to provide the necessary expertise to address these types of 
cases.
  I believe it is something the Judicial Conference of the United 
States would agree is better than limiting it to just one court--a 
situation they raised as problematic. On substance, I think we can't 
overemphasize how the resolution authority fails the ultimate test.
  Professor David Skeel wrote an opinion piece in the Wall Street 
Journal with Mr. Wallison on April 7 of this year, in which they asked 
this question:

       Which system is more likely to eliminate the moral hazard 
     of too big to fail?

  They concluded that bankruptcy was the answer. They posit:

       In a bankruptcy, as in the Lehman case, the creditors 
     learned when they lend to weak companies, they have to be 
     careful. The Dodd bill would teach the opposite lesson.

  Let me highlight for my colleagues what I believe this amendment does 
and why I think it is necessary.
  First, the amendment protects against systemic risk by eliminating 
the moral hazard that arises when financial companies and their 
investors think the government will bail them out. Under the Dodd 
approach, the approach of this legislation, financial company 
management and shareholders could have an incentive to seek resolution 
authority, thus gaining access to taxpayer bailouts. Under the 
Bankruptcy Integrity and Accountability Act, which I have offered, the 
only option for insolvent companies would be through the bankruptcy 
process, and they can survive bankruptcy. But if they are not able to 
survive it, they should not survive it. That process would be either 
reorganization or liquidation.
  There is a process for that to be established. Under this system, all 
costs of reorganizing or liquidating a company are paid by the private 
sector, by the failing company, and those who chose to do business with 
the failing company.
  Thus, unlike under the Dodd bill, there will be no federally 
administered resolution authority with access to bailout funds, or 
borrowed money from the Treasury, Federal debt guarantees, or any other 
kinds of tool that politicians might access to bail out some 
politically empowered private company, and to avoid the day of 
reckoning that rightly should fall upon companies who can no longer 
operate effectively.
  Under this bill, there will be no Federal Reserve section 13(3) 
authority with which the Fed can pump taxpayer money into firms to 
rescue them from insolvency.
  The second way this amendment would reduce systemic risk is by 
protecting against the threat that derivatives contracts will cause one 
company's failure to cascade through the financial sector like falling 
dominoes. Under the current Bankruptcy Code, derivatives contracts are 
exempt from the automatic stay that prohibits the collection of debts 
outside the bankruptcy court. Virtually all other debts are stayed when 
the bankruptcy process occurs. As a result of this event, derivatives 
counterparties can demand collateral and satisfaction of the debt, and 
it can create a run on a failing companies' assets as more and more 
derivative counterparties demand their collateral. Because of the 
interconnectedness of financial firms and the derivatives holdings, a 
run on the failing firm's assets can cause failure to cascade through 
the financial system as party after party becomes exposed to succeeding 
demands on collateral. This is a problem that has been raised. This 
amendment would stop that danger by allowing debtors, with the consent 
of a new Federal Stability Oversight Council, to invoke the automatic 
bankruptcy stay against derivatives obligations when the facts show 
that the debtor's failure could genuinely trigger cascading systemic 
risk. This would alter bankruptcy law to deal with these large 
financial institutions, where derivatives can play a complicating 
factor, and this would give the kind of discretion I think would help 
avoid that.
  Finally, the Bankruptcy Integrity and Accountability Act would reduce 
systemic risk because a new chapter 14 bankruptcy procedure will apply 
to all nonbank financial institutions regardless of the size. Under the 
act, everyone will get the same protection. Nobody will have access to 
special Washington favors. This, too, protects against systemic risk. 
Under the approach of the Dodd legislation, there will be special rules 
for those companies that are wealthy and powerful enough to be 
determined too big to fail. Those special rules will include a publicly 
funded and government-administered resolution authority that affords 
the financial firms the right to fail without facing under oath their 
creditors and without bearing the costs of the proceedings. Also 
included will be the right to access taxpayer funds for the payment of 
certain private debts of the firm.
  This special system, created by the bill before us, would create 
incentives for smaller companies to consolidate until they, too, are 
too big to fail. As a result, risk would be concentrated even more so 
in a few hands that the failure of one company can threaten to bring 
down the entire financial system. In place of this created system under 
the Dodd legislation, a system that protects large companies more than 
all others, our amendment would create a fair and equal system for the 
failure of all financial institutions, regardless of their size. As a 
result, financial institutions would have no incentives to become 
larger, and thereby increasing the risk that one company's failure will 
cause the failure of the entire financial sector.
  There is one critical aspect of the bankruptcy process that we can't 
overlook and cannot be overstated. When people loan money to or buy 
stock or buy bonds in a corporation, or otherwise provide credit, they 
have an expectation that if that company fails to prosper and is unable 
to pay all the debts the company owes, that the company at least will 
be hauled into bankruptcy court, and they will have an opportunity to 
present their claims and to receive whatever fair proportion of the 
money that is still left in the company as their payment.
  It may be 10 cents on a dollar, or it may be 90 cents. They 
understand that bankruptcy judges have the authority to allow the 
company to continue to operate, to stay or stop people from filing 
lawsuits against the company to collect debts, to allow the company a 
period of time to operate, to evaluate whether they can pay off more 
debtors by continuing to operate than shutting the company down. If a 
bankruptcy court sees the company is so badly in financial crisis that 
it is going to collapse anyway, the court can shut it down immediately 
before they can waste assets and rip off even more people. That is what 
a bankruptcy court does every day.
  The Judicial Conference letter I referred to earlier notes that under 
the resolution process, some other problems might arise. They note 
this:

       The legislation does not envision objection, participation, 
     or input from the bankruptcy creditors (whose rights will be 
     affected) in the course of appointing the FDIC receiver.


[[Page 7896]]


  It does this in a way unlike the classical way that company officials 
have to respond when their companies fail. What happens? The creditors 
all gather. The bankruptcy petition is filed, voluntarily or 
involuntarily, by the creditors. They are hauled in by a Federal 
bankruptcy judge who has a 14-year term and specializes in bankruptcy 
matters. They are required to produce records and documents of the 
financial condition of the company. The CEO is called in to testify 
under oath. The bondholders, the stockholders, the creditors, secured 
and unsecured, the employees, and the workers all get to have lawyers, 
and they examine the witnesses who can be called. They can call their 
own witnesses and, in the result, you create a factual record that 
helps set the groundwork for the orderly priority setting of who is 
entitled to payment of the limited amount of money in the corporation.
  This is what they do every day. This is what ought to happen. 
Executives prefer not to have to do that. They prefer, like AIG, to go 
over there and meet with the Federal Reserve, or with the Secretary of 
the Treasury, and sit down and wheel and deal and get $70 billion. And 
nobody is under oath, that I can see. None of this is done publicly, as 
it is in a bankruptcy proceeding. They get to continue to operate and 
have their fat salaries, when any other company would be out of there 
and would cease to exist.
  This is the problem that upsets the American people, and they are 
right to be upset.
  We do not need to provide special treatment for the people who 
created the financial crisis that has damaged this country for the next 
decade probably, and set off ramifications worldwide. I know a lot of 
this was systemic irresponsibility by a lot of people, but I have to 
say, the failure of these executives to manage their companies 
correctly--there are letters to this. They do not need to be provided a 
sweetheart process by which they can get money from the Treasury and 
keep their companies going and not be subjected to the same 
examination, the same requirement to produce documents and records to 
justify their existence that average corporations do. They need 
bankruptcy.
  I believe America would be better if we do that. I believe our 
economy will be stronger and that there will be more certainty in the 
process. If they fail, they fail. If they loan money to a company that 
fails, they may lose some or all of it. That is just the way it is. It 
happens every day.
  But some people on Wall Street convinced themselves and they 
convinced politicians and government officials that they were too big 
to fail. They were so large and were so important that they could not 
be treated like everybody else; they needed to be bailed out. The 
people who regulated them and the Secretary of the Treasury, a Wall 
Street maven himself, a Goldman Sachs guy, and others, met in secret 
and plotted this thing out and got us to pass legislation in Congress 
that said--my wife corrects me. She said: Quit saying ``got us'' when 
you voted against it. I voted against the legislation. Congress passed 
legislation to allow the Secretary of the Treasury to buy toxic 
mortgages and assets from bad banks that were in trouble--in a state of 
panic, if you want to know the truth.
  What did they do? Ten days later they bought an insurance company, 
AIG. They put $70 billion in it, totally contrary to what we were told 
just a few days before and without the slightest hint of embarrassment.
  The legislation we passed, the $700 billion TARP bailout, was the 
greatest abdication of congressional responsibility in the history of 
this Republic. We have never given one man--the Secretary of the 
Treasury--the power to deal with his friends and have $700 billion to 
deal with. It is an outrage really. That is why people are upset, and 
they have a right to be upset. I am upset.
  All I am saying is, we have a regular process for dissolution of 
companies that get in trouble. If they cannot pay their bills, they 
ought to fail like any other company, and the big guys on Wall Street 
should not be given special treatment. This legislation will end 
bailouts and will put them in the same process that any corporation in 
America would be in if they failed to pay their debts in a responsible 
manner.
  I urge my colleagues to consider the amendment. Remember that 
bankruptcy is a favored process by the Federal Reserve people, that the 
Judicial Conference of the United States Federal courts has raised 
questions about this legislation as it presently exists. I think the 
principled and appropriate way to deal with the dissolution of failed 
companies is through the bankruptcy process. Unlike orderly 
liquidation, bankruptcy passes the ultimate test. I urge my colleagues 
to support the amendment.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, at some point fairly soon, I hope to be able 
to--at the request of the authors of the two amendments--propose two 
amendments I believe will be accepted. In fact, I know they will be 
accepted on a voice vote. There is some language being worked out. That 
will come before we adjourn for the evening.
  We have also laid down--I believe there will be nine amendments 
tomorrow, equally divided between the minority and the majority, 
including the amendment we just heard proposed by my good friend from 
Alabama, Senator Sessions, along with others. It will be a busy day 
tomorrow.
  Today we have done eight amendments, by the time we are finished, 
which is a good day's work. Obviously, more needs to be done. Five of 
them were done by recorded votes and three by voice votes. We hope they 
will be voice-voted.
  I want to take a minute or so, if I may, to express my feelings about 
the Sessions amendment. First of all, I am joined in these sentiments 
by the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Leahy, who opposes 
the Sessions amendment as well. Let me explain why I oppose this 
amendment.
  I say this respectfully of Senator Sessions, who is a good friend. I 
noticed in his remarks he did not cite any bankruptcy lawyers opposed 
to the provisions in the bill. I am not terribly shocked that 
bankruptcy lawyers would be opposed to a provision in the bill short of 
bankruptcy, although the presumption is bankruptcy in titles I and II.
  If my colleagues remember, it was the Shelby-Dodd amendment which we 
voted on a week ago--several days ago--that took care of the concerns 
people had about title I and title II of the bill which deals with the 
resolution mechanisms. Senators Corker and Warner worked very hard on 
those two provisions of the bill, as other members of the committee 
did. I want to briefly describe why those provisions are important and 
why they should remain intact.
  Of course, we voted as a Senate 93 to 5 in favor of the Shelby-Dodd 
amendment, codifying the perfections, as Senator Shelby described them, 
in those two titles.
  I oppose the Sessions amendment to strike the language creating an 
orderly liquidation authority, language, as I said, that Senator Shelby 
and I crafted together in order to end the too-big-to-fail argument 
once and for all. Most nonbank financial firms, including large and 
complex ones, will go through the normal bankruptcy process if they 
fail, and they should. That is the presumption in the bill.
  The new liquidation authority Senator Shelby and I crafted should be 
used very rarely. It is a painful process to go through and would 
certainly not be the avenue of choice given the implications. We have 
put in some very high hurdles to trigger its use, including judicial 
review.
  Moreover, the advance warning systems that we have included in our 
bill, and the tough new standards we impose on large financial 
companies, will put in place speed bumps so these companies slow down 
and become less risky and, therefore, avoid the very issue of 
bankruptcy or resolution. Early on we try to minimize those events from 
occurring.

[[Page 7897]]

  When there is a financial crisis, however, bankruptcy may not be the 
best option. The experience of 2008, especially the bankruptcy of 
Lehman Brothers and its disastrous effects on our financial markets and 
our economy, has taught us we need a workable alternative to bankruptcy 
for the largest, most interconnected financial firms and that the 
alternative could not and should not be a bailout. Given the choices 
now, it is just bankruptcy or bailout. We tried to create an 
alternative under rare circumstances for a resolution mechanism.
  Throughout 2009, the Banking Committee heard testimony from 
administration and other financial regulators, experts, stakeholders, 
and others who all agree the bankruptcy framework is poorly equipped to 
protect the Nation's financial stability if a very large and complex 
and interconnected financial firm goes under.
  Why do we say that? It can be with a large financial firm that is 
interconnected there are many good, solid firms--it may be that a large 
interconnected firm will have an effect on some very solvent, well-run 
firms. Bankruptcy could bring all of these well-run companies down to 
their knees. None of us wants to be part of that. So we need an 
alternative other than just bailing out that firm when confronted with 
that kind of a choice.
  If the only two choices are bankruptcy, which could take a lot of 
firms and businesses that are solid, well run, well managed, producing 
jobs, contributing to our economy--that is the alternative. Those firms 
then would be adversely and, unfortunately, affected through a 
bankruptcy process or bailout. Of course, no one wants to write a check 
for $700 billion again to bail out firms that are failing. The idea of 
a resolution mechanism under rare circumstances is the alternative 
choice which we collectively--Democrats and Republicans--after the long 
work of this committee believed was the alternative in our bill.
  The Sessions amendment fails to recognize the fundamental difference 
between the new liquidation authority and bankruptcy. The new 
liquidation authority is intended to be an emergency exception to 
bankruptcy. The presumption, again, is bankruptcy. That is where we 
begin. But if under these rare circumstances that alternative would do 
more damage to the overall economy, despite our feelings about a 
mismanaged company, we need to have an alternative.
  The new liquidation authority is intended to be an emergency 
exception to bankruptcy when necessary to protect the financial 
stability, the overall stability of the United States, and not to 
protect irresponsible creditors.
  The Sessions amendment, like today's bankruptcy framework, is focused 
on protecting and repaying creditors of a failed financial firm. It 
does not provide the tools we need to protect taxpayers from the 
devastating effects of the next Lehman Brothers. That is why Senator 
Shelby and I sought to create a liquidation process that would provide 
for the orderly wind-down of large, complex financial institutions, 
while still forcing shareholders to be wiped out, culpable management 
to be fired, and creditors to bear losses, in addition to a prohibition 
against those very managers who caused the failure from being involved 
for years afterwards in the financial services sector of our economy.
  That is a rough road--shareholders get wiped out, creditors suffer, 
management gets fired, and they are banned from being involved in 
financial services. That is tough medicine if, in fact, they go the 
resolution route under our bill. But we need to have at least some 
mechanism other than just the two terrible alternatives of bankruptcy, 
that could cause broader financial problems, or a bailout. This is why 
Senator Shelby and I sought to create this liquidation process.
  Any payments under our bill to creditors above liquidation value will 
be clawed back, and large financial companies will be assessed, as 
necessary, to ensure that taxpayers do not lose a penny.
  You may recall the debate we had about prepayment or postpayment. We 
had originally, at the suggestion of my Republican colleagues, a $50 
billion upfront assessment on large institutions. Then there was a 
change of heart by many, and they said: No, you cannot have that out 
there because that looks like you are providing for a resolution 
mechanism rather than bankruptcy; the optics of that do not look good. 
I was never overly committed to that idea. The only reason I included 
it in the further draft of the bill is because I thought it brought 
Republican support to the legislation.
  The irony is, some of the very people who were advocates of it one 
day changed their minds. So we took it out of the bill.
  The thing I wanted to make sure of was that taxpayers would not be 
exposed. The House-passed legislation has $150 billion in a prepayment 
fund. Again, I heard my good friend from Massachusetts, the chairman of 
the House Financial Services Committee, Barney Frank, say he would like 
to take it out as well in light of some of the allegations made about 
the bill. We took that out. I know my colleague from Alabama referenced 
that and may not have been aware that was one of the provisions in the 
Shelby-Dodd amendment, to remove that prepayment fund created in the 
earlier draft of the bill.
  Striking the orderly liquidation authority, as the Sessions amendment 
would, would do just the opposite of what the amendment's sponsors 
intend. It would ensure we face a repeat of the unacceptable choices 
between a disastrous bankruptcy where innocent, solvent, well-run 
companies could be caught in the vortex and drawn down and destroyed in 
the process or writing that big check that Americans are furious over. 
So we created this resolution authority to be used under very rare 
circumstances.
  The Senate, of course, supported our proposal, the Shelby-Dodd 
approach, by a vote of 93 to 5. I urge my colleagues, both Democrats 
and Republicans, to reaffirm their support for ending the too-big-to-
fail concept by rejecting the Sessions amendment.
  I say that respectfully of my colleague of Alabama. He has been a 
longstanding member of the Judiciary Committee. He knows these issues 
well. And I understand his concerns. But I believe as Senator Leahy 
will speak to, either directly or indirectly, this would do great 
damage to this bill and expose us once again to that taxpayer bailout, 
which none of us wants whatsoever. Because if bankruptcy would cause 
greater harm for our economy than the failure of one company, then what 
are we left with if we reject that idea and we are back to the bailout 
scenario? None of us wants to be in that situation ever again.
  I urge, when the vote occurs tomorrow, that we reject the Sessions 
amendment. Stick with what we have written in this bill--which occurred 
over many months, by the way. This was not drafted over a weekend, I 
can tell you that. We have gone back literally months trying to get 
this right and listen to literally hundreds of people who brought their 
expertise and knowledge of this process to the table. It was purely a 
bipartisan effort in our committee, along with others, to craft the 
first two titles of our bill.
  I urge, again, the rejection of the Sessions amendment when it 
occurs.


                     Amendments Nos. 3989 and 3991

  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Durbin and Franken 
amendments be considered withdrawn, and that the Durbin amendment No. 
3989 and the Franken amendment No. 3991 be considered called up in 
their place.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendments are as follows:

   (Purpose: To ensure that the fees that small businesses and other 
   entities are charged for accepting debit cards and reasonable and 
proportional to the costs incurred, and to limit payment card networks 
  from imposing anti-competitive restrictions on small businesses and 
               other entities that accept payment cards)

       At the end of subtitle G of title X, add the following:

     SEC. 1077. REASONABLE FEES AND RULES FOR PAYMENT CARD 
                   TRANSACTIONS.

       The Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. 1693 et seq.) 
     is amended--

[[Page 7898]]

       (1) by redesignating sections 920 and 921 as sections 921 
     and 922, respectively; and
       (2) by inserting after section 919 the following:

     ``SEC. 920. REASONABLE FEES AND RULES FOR PAYMENT CARD 
                   TRANSACTIONS.

       ``(a) Reasonable Interchange Transaction Fees for 
     Electronic Debit Transactions.--
       ``(1) Regulatory authority.--The Board shall have authority 
     to establish rules, pursuant to section 553 of title 5, 
     United States Code, regarding any interchange transaction fee 
     that an issuer or payment card network may charge with 
     respect to an electronic debit transaction.
       ``(2) Reasonable fees.--The amount of any interchange 
     transaction fee that an issuer or payment card network may 
     charge with respect to an electronic debit transaction shall 
     be reasonable and proportional to the actual cost incurred by 
     the issuer or payment card network with respect to the 
     transaction.
       ``(3) Rulemaking required.--The Board shall issue final 
     rules, not later than 9 months after the date of enactment of 
     the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, to establish 
     standards for assessing whether the amount of any interchange 
     transaction fee described in paragraph (2) is reasonable and 
     proportional to the actual cost incurred by the issuer or 
     payment card network with respect to the transaction.
       ``(4) Considerations.--In issuing rules required by this 
     section, the Board shall--
       ``(A) consider the functional similarity between--
       ``(i) electronic debit transactions; and
       ``(ii) checking transactions that are required within the 
     Federal Reserve bank system to clear at par;
       ``(B) distinguish between--
       ``(i) the actual incremental cost incurred by an issuer or 
     payment card network for the role of the issuer or the 
     payment card network in the authorization, clearance, or 
     settlement of a particular electronic debit transaction, 
     which cost shall be considered under paragraph (2); and
       ``(ii) other costs incurred by an issuer or payment card 
     network which are not specific to a particular electronic 
     debit transaction, which costs shall not be considered under 
     paragraph (2); and
       ``(C) consult, as appropriate, with the Comptroller of the 
     Currency, the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit 
     Insurance Corporation, the Director of the Office of Thrift 
     Supervision, the National Credit Union Administration Board, 
     the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, and 
     the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
       ``(5) Exemption for small issuers.--This subsection shall 
     not apply to issuers that, together with affiliates, have 
     assets of less than $10,000,000,000, and the Board shall 
     exempt such issuers from rules issued under paragraph (3).
       ``(6) Effective date.--Paragraph (2) shall become effective 
     12 months after the date of enactment of the Consumer 
     Financial Protection Act of 2010.
       ``(b) Limitation on Anti-competitive Payment Card Network 
     Restrictions.--
       ``(1) No restrictions on offering discounts for use of a 
     competing payment card network.--A payment card network shall 
     not, directly or through any agent, processor, or licensed 
     member of the network, by contract, requirement, condition, 
     penalty, or otherwise, inhibit the ability of any person to 
     provide a discount or in-kind incentive for payment through 
     the use of a card or device of another payment card network.
       ``(2) No restrictions on offering discounts for use of a 
     form of payment.--A payment card network shall not, directly 
     or through any agent, processor, or licensed member of the 
     network, by contract, requirement, condition, penalty, or 
     otherwise, inhibit the ability of any person to provide a 
     discount or in-kind incentive for payment by the use of cash, 
     check, debit card, or credit card.
       ``(3) No restrictions on setting transaction minimums or 
     maximums.--A payment card network shall not, directly or 
     through any agent, processor, or licensed member of the 
     network, by contract, requirement, condition, penalty, or 
     otherwise, inhibit the ability of any person to set a minimum 
     or maximum dollar value for the acceptance by that person of 
     any form of payment.
       ``(c) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, the 
     following definitions shall apply:
       ``(1) Debit card.--The term `debit card'--
       ``(A) means any card, or other payment code or device, 
     issued or approved for use through a payment card network to 
     debit an asset account for the purpose of transferring money 
     between accounts or obtaining goods or services, whether 
     authorization is based on signature, PIN, or other means;
       ``(B) includes general use prepaid cards, as that term is 
     defined in section 915(a)(2)(A) (15 U.S.C. 1693l-1(a)(2)(A)); 
     and
       ``(C) does not include paper checks.
       ``(2) Credit card.--The term `credit card' has the same 
     meaning as in section 103 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 
     U.S.C. 1602).
       ``(3) Discount.--The term `discount'--
       ``(A) means a reduction made from the price that customers 
     are informed is the regular price; and
       ``(B) does not include any means of increasing the price 
     that customers are informed is the regular price.
       ``(4) Electronic debit transaction.--The term `electronic 
     debit transaction' means a transaction in which a person uses 
     a debit card to debit an asset account.
       ``(5) Interchange transaction fee.--The term `interchange 
     transaction fee' means any fee established by a payment card 
     network that has been established for the purpose of 
     compensating an issuer or payment card network for its 
     involvement in an electronic debit transaction.
       ``(6) Issuer.--The term `issuer' means any person who 
     issues a debit card, or the agent of such person with respect 
     to such card.
       ``(7) Payment card network.--The term `payment card 
     network' means an entity that directly, or through licensed 
     members, processors, or agents, provides the proprietary 
     services, infrastructure, and software that route information 
     and data to conduct transaction authorization, clearance, and 
     settlement, and that a person uses in order to accept as a 
     form of payment a brand of debit card, credit card or other 
     device that may be used to carry out debit or credit 
     transactions.''.


                           Amendment No. 3991

    (Purpose: To instruct the Securities and Exchange Commission to 
   establish a self-regulatory organization to assign credit rating 
              agencies to provide initial credit ratings)

  (The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of 
Amendments.'')


               Amendments Nos. 3956 and 3992, as Modified

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now 
resume consideration of the Landrieu amendment No. 3956 and the Crapo 
amendment No. 3992; that the Landrieu amendment be agreed to and the 
motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; that the Crapo amendment, 
No. 3992, be modified with the changes at the desk; that the amendment, 
as modified, be considered and agreed to, and the motion to reconsider 
be made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Amendment No. (3956) was agreed to.
  The amendment (No. 3992), as modified, was agreed to, as follows:

    (Purpose: To provide for credit risk retention requirements for 
                         commercial mortgages)

       On page 1047, strike line 23 and all that follows through 
     ``(E)'' on line 24 and insert the following:
       ``(E) with respect to a commercial mortgage, specify the 
     permissible types, forms, and amounts of risk retention that 
     would meet the requirements of subparagraph (B), such as--
       ``(i) retention of a specified amount or percentage of the 
     total credit risk of the asset;
       ``(ii) retention of the first-loss position by a third-
     party purchaser that specifically negotiates for the purchase 
     of such first-loss position and provides due diligence on all 
     individual assets in the pool before the issuance of the 
     asset-backed securities;
       ``(iii) a determination by a Federal banking agency or the 
     Commission that the underwriting standards and controls for 
     the asset are adequate; and
       ``(iv) provision of adequate representations and warranties 
     and related enforcement mechanisms; and
       ``(F)

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, again, I want to take a moment and express 
my gratitude to my colleagues. I want to thank Senator Landrieu. She 
was involved in a lot of this, so I want to thank her immensely for her 
contribution. She chairs the Small Business Committee of the Senate and 
she and my very good friend from Georgia, Johnny Isakson, crafted a 
very good amendment, which we just adopted. It is going to make our 
whole section dealing with underwriting a very important part of this 
bill, and I thank them for that.
  I want to thank Senator Mike Crapo from Idaho, my colleague on the 
Banking Committee. He made a very constructive suggestion to this part 
of the bill. I want to thank his staff as well and the staff of Senator 
Landrieu, who did a very good job in working through the language this 
afternoon that allowed us to come to this conclusion. They both 
couldn't be here at this particular moment, late in the evening, so I 
am speaking on their behalves, but I thank them both.
  Again, this is exactly what we are trying to achieve in this bill--
which I know is taking a lot of time on the floor of the Senate--with 
the contributions of Republicans and Democrats--people such as Johnny 
Isakson and Mike Crapo, Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, and so many 
others who have

[[Page 7899]]

contributed to this product. We are dealing with a very complex area 
but a critically needed one for our Nation.
  We are getting closer and closer to final passage of this bill. We 
have more amendments to consider, but my hope is that in the next few 
days we can wrap up the remaining amendments and have our opportunity 
to vote--to debate on these matters and then get to the point where we 
can cast our ballots in favor of what I hope will be an overwhelming 
vote in favor of financial reform in this legislation.
  Tomorrow, as I mentioned earlier, there will be some nine amendments, 
at least, that we have set up for debate. I will be looking for time 
agreements on them. For those who may be listening at this late hour in 
their respective offices, I would urge them to work with us on time 
agreements, if they want a decent amount of time, but please do not ask 
for exaggerated amounts of time. There are still many more amendments 
to consider.
  We are going to be here on Friday. We won't have votes on Friday, but 
I will want to get to all these matters. There will be amendments voted 
on tomorrow, and additional amendments before we finish tomorrow 
evening, and then on Friday I will be here to listen to debate, maybe 
lay down a remaining amendment to be considered on Monday when we come 
back.
  My hope is that by Tuesday, no later than Tuesday--at the max maybe 
Wednesday--we could have final passage on this bill. I know there are 
other matters the majority leader wants to handle, and I can't thank 
him enough for providing the kind of window that has allowed this 
Senate to operate without tabling motions. We have only had one. We 
haven't had any second-degree amendments on any amendment so far, and 
no filibusters involved at all on a very major piece of legislation.
  As I said earlier today, all of us at one time or another talk to 
students in our respective States, and they ask us about how the Senate 
functions, and we usually describe exactly what has happened. The 
unfortunate part is that it rarely does happen in this way. We are not 
done yet, so I realize we have not completed the process. But this is 
how this institution was intended to operate. People have a right to 
offer their amendments, to be heard, to debate them, and then to vote 
on critical issues facing our country. I never thought a few weeks ago 
we might actually get to this point where we are engaging in the 
business of the Senate, offering amendments, debating them, trying to 
modify where we can to agree on how best to do this.
  There are 100 of us here trying to craft a piece of legislation that 
affects 300 million of our fellow citizens in this Nation, not to 
mention others beyond our own shores because we are setting rules by 
which we are going to operate. My hope is that these rules will be 
harmonized with others around the world so we can avoid the kind of 
catastrophes occurring in Europe as I speak here, as well as the 
problems that have emerged in the Asian markets and elsewhere. So this 
is more than just an ordinary undertaking.
  Yesterday, in speaking to the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, 
he notified me during one of our debates that the central bankers of 
Europe, because of the availability of technology, were literally 
watching and monitoring the debate here on the floor of the Senate 
about a critical issue as it was occurring. That is how the world has 
changed. Today, the actions we take here not only affect what happens 
in our own country but elsewhere as well. This is a major undertaking, 
and I can't begin to express my gratitude to my fellow colleagues for 
the manner in which they have conducted this debate.
  My thanks to majority leader Harry Reid in particular. Only through 
the majority leader can you create an environment that allows this to 
happen. That is the leadership that Harry Reid has demonstrated over 
and over and over again in his stewardship as the majority leader of 
this body. Again, with all the other things he has to grapple with and 
deal with--many other issues to confront here--this is the kind of 
leadership the American people expect to see, and he is providing it 
for our country.
  Again, I thank as well my colleague from Alabama, Senator Shelby, the 
ranking member, for his work and the staffs' work. Again I thank the 
floor staff and others in their respective offices.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following article be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

           Study: Derivatives Rules Would Cost Banks Billions

       Goldman Sachs could lose up to 41 percent of its earnings 
     if Congress approves tighter regulation of the derivatives 
     market, according to an analysis by Bernstein Research. 
     That's equivalent to wiping away $3.9 billion in Goldman's 
     earnings this year if the stricter regulations were in effect 
     for the entire 12 months, according to a subsequent analysis 
     of the numbers by DealBook using Bernstein's 2010 earnings-
     per-share estimates.
       Other major banks, including Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, 
     JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, would also withstand cuts 
     of billions of dollars in their earnings if the derivatives 
     rules currently being considered by the Senate are put in 
     place.
       Estimating how stricter rules on derivatives would affect 
     the bottom line of banks relies on some big assumptions, so 
     Bernstein's estimates should be taken with some caveats. 
     Nevertheless, the assumptions Bernstein makes in its analysis 
     are probably as close to the mark as any, given the lack of 
     disclosure by the banks on their trading activities.
       For example, banks do not break down their trading revenue 
     by function--so it is hard to find out what percentage of a 
     bank's trading revenue comes from derivatives trading. 
     Bernstein therefore has to estimate that number, fully 
     knowing that it could fluctuate for each bank. It then 
     estimated the percentage of profit that would be lost under 
     the proposed derivatives regulations.
       That required further assumptions, given that the 
     legislation is pending and could be changed at any time. The 
     big wild card is how much of the business would be taken 
     public. If the bids and asks for over-the-counter derivatives 
     transactions are forced into the open, the spreads that the 
     banks make brokering the deals will fall. Estimating how much 
     they will fall is difficult.
       In performing their sensitivity analysis, Bernstein 
     therefore had two major sliding assumptions: the percentage 
     of trading revenue that each bank derives from derivatives 
     trading and the percentage of that revenue that could be at 
     risk of going away if strict derivatives legislation passes. 
     The impact on the bottom line varies greatly, as some banks 
     are more dependent on trading revenue than others.
       Take Goldman Sachs. If the bank derives 30 percent of its 
     trading revenue from derivatives and 50 percent of that 
     amount is at risk of going away, the firm's total earnings 
     would fall by 15 percent. That would be a $1.43 billion hit 
     to the $9.53 billion that Bernstein estimates the bank will 
     earn in 2010. Bernstein's worst-case scenario was if Goldman 
     derived 60 percent of its revenue from derivatives trading, 
     with 70 percent of that revenue at risk. Goldman would then 
     be facing a 41 percent decline in its earnings, equivalent to 
     a $3.9 billion hit to its earnings if calculated using 2010 
     estimates.
       JPMorgan is a distant second. If it derives 30 percent of 
     its trading revenue from derivatives and 50 percent of that 
     revenue is at risk of going away, the firm's earnings would 
     fall by 7 percent. That is equal to an $890 million hit to 
     its 2010 estimated earnings of $12.74 billion. The worst-case 
     scenario, using the same assumptions for Goldman, would cause 
     a 14 percent hit to earnings, equivalent to a $1.78 billion 
     reduction of its 2010 estimated earnings.
       In a conference call with investors this month, Jamie 
     Dimon, JPMorgan's chief executive, estimated that the 
     proposed derivatives regulations could cost the bank several 
     hundred million dollars to $2 billion in lost revenue. Given 
     that the profit margin is high on derivatives trading, 
     Bernstein's estimates seem to be somewhat on the mark.
       Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley could have a 9 percent hit to its 
     earnings if 30 percent of its trading revenue comes from 
     derivatives and 50 percent of that revenue was at risk. 
     Bernstein's worst case shows the bank losing 25 percent of 
     its earnings, or $1.1 billion, based on 2010 estimates.
       Citigroup and Bank of America would not be affected as 
     significantly the other banks, because they derive a smaller 
     proportion of their revenue from trading. Citi would see a 5 
     percent drop in the baseline scenario and a 15 percent drop 
     in the worst-case scenario, equivalent to a $1.7 billion 
     reduction in earnings, according to 2010 estimates.
       Bank of America would take a 4 percent hit in the baseline 
     scenario and an 11 percent hit in the worst-case scenario, 
     equivalent to a $1 billion earnings reduction, according to 
     2010 estimates.

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, the Senate is engaging in a vigorous debate

[[Page 7900]]

over how best to bring corporate accountability to Wall Street. The 
Senate's consideration of this legislation is a significant step toward 
accomplishing that goal, and will ultimately ensure that we do not fall 
victim to those same pitfalls and corporate abuses that led to the 
recent financial disaster.
  As we bring accountability through the Wall Street Reform bill, we 
must preserve the role of the antitrust laws to promote competition and 
transparency in the industry. Our Nation's antitrust laws exist to 
protect consumers, and we must ensure they apply fully to Wall Street. 
There is simply no reason to risk exempting any industry from laws that 
prohibit price fixing and anticompetitive behavior.
  In other sectors, we have seen the problems that result from a lack 
of adequate antitrust oversight. The insurance industry, which enjoys a 
statutory exemption from the antitrust laws, is characterized by high 
levels of market concentration throughout the country. Millions of 
Americans suffer the consequences through unaffordably high health care 
costs, which may not reflect the price that would be set through true 
competition. For the past three Congresses, I have worked to repeal 
this six-decade-old exemption from the Federal antitrust laws. There is 
no justification for it, and I have urged the Senate to take up quickly 
and pass legislation that passed the House with an overwhelming 
bipartisan majority.
  Statutory antitrust exemptions are rare because, as a general rule, 
when the antitrust laws are supplanted, competition, and therefore 
consumers, are harmed. Unfortunately, while I have been working in 
Congress to repeal unwarranted, special interest exemptions, an 
activist Supreme Court has been reading new exemptions into statutes 
where they do not exist. In Credit Suisse v. Billing, the Supreme Court 
created antitrust loopholes in securities law by holding that Congress 
implicitly exempted the antitrust laws. This Court-made exemption took 
away an important tool consumers had to hold Wall Street accountable 
for anticompetitive behavior. It is hard enough to bring back 
competition by repealing explicit exemptions, but now we must be 
attentive to those loopholes Congress never intended, as well.
  In the wake of the Credit Suisse decision, we need to be vigilant 
when we enact comprehensive legislation such as Wall Street reform, to 
ensure there is no ambiguity that could prevent the antitrust laws from 
applying. When courts will read any silence on the part of Congress to 
imply an antitrust exemption, we need to be especially careful in how 
we craft our laws. Hard-working Americans demand this from their 
lawmakers.
  To ensure there is no doubt about the role of the antitrust laws in 
this Wall Street reform bill, I am urging the Senate to include several 
antitrust protections in the Wall Street reform bill that the Senate is 
considering. First, the bill should include a comprehensive antitrust 
savings clause. Second, the bill should maintain Hart-Scott-Rodino 
antitrust merger review for those large financial acquisitions that are 
now subject to comprehensive Federal Reserve approval. Third, we should 
make explicit that the antitrust laws apply to those ``bridge'' 
acquisitions of failed firms that will be subject to an expedited 
emergency review. Finally, we need to preserve adequate competition 
safeguards in the derivatives exchange market.
  These provisions to protect competition and consumers should be 
included in the final version of the Wall Street reform legislation 
that I hope the Senate will soon pass. Collectively, these provisions 
will ensure that antitrust authorities have a vital role in Wall Street 
oversight for years to come. For too long, large corporate interests 
have harmed the financial well-being of hardworking Americans. These 
financial institutions must be regulated, and including these antitrust 
provisions will ensure courts will not misread the intent of Congress 
and infer that the activity of Wall Street is exempted from the laws of 
competition.
  Today, I also renew my call for the Senate to take up and pass my 
amendment to repeal the antitrust exemption for health insurance 
companies. I hope all Senators will join me in supporting that 
amendment.

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