[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 19003-19004]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--S. 1898

  Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I came to the floor last week to ask a 
simple question: Who does this government work for? Does it work only 
for the billionaires and the biggest corporations or does it work for 
all of us?
  I asked that question last week as Congress considered the government 
funding bill--a bill that included a completely unrelated provision 
literally written by Citigroup lobbyists that increased the risk of 
future taxpayer bailouts just so the biggest banks in this country 
could rake in more profits. Sadly, that bill was just the latest 
example of how the government works just fine for those who have 
already made it.
  In the past few years, Federal agencies have entered into a number of 
major settlement agreements with big banks and other large corporations 
after those companies have broken the law. These agencies have touted 
these settlements as being worth millions or in some cases billions of 
dollars. That sounds like a great deal for taxpayers, but often that 
sticker price is much higher than the actual value at the settlement. 
Agencies have often permitted corporations to deduct the cost of the 
settlement from their taxes, which can cut the actual value of the 
payment by more than 30 percent. And instead of requiring corporations 
to actually pay the full settlement amount, agencies often give 
corporations credits toward the settlement amount for taking certain 
actions--actions the corporations would have taken even if the 
settlement had never existed. By structuring the settlements this way, 
agencies can get credit for being tough on corporate wrongdoers even 
when the actual deal paints a much different picture.
  In January I introduced a bill with Senator Coburn to shed more light 
on this kind of backroom dealmaking. This bipartisan bill, the Truth in 
Settlements Act, is pretty simple. It just requires Federal agencies to 
publicly disclose certain basic information about the major settlements 
they enter into with corporations--information such as whether a 
settlement is going to be tax deductible or whether it lets companies 
claim credit for things they are already doing. That is pretty much it.
  The idea behind the bill is straightforward. If the government is 
going to cut deals on behalf of the American people, the American 
people are entitled to know what kind of a deal they are getting. That 
is the only way the public can hold agencies accountable.
  The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved the 
Truth in Settlements Act in July without any objections from any 
Democrats or any Republicans. The CBO found the bill wouldn't cost 
taxpayers a single dime. This is a nonpartisan, commonsense measure 
that simply brings more transparency to critical actions the government 
takes on behalf of the public.
  Accordingly, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the 
consideration of Calendar No. 566, S. 1898; that the committee-reported 
substitute amendment be agreed to; the bill, as amended, be read a 
third time and passed; and the motion to reconsider be considered made 
and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. TOOMEY. Mr. President, on behalf of Senator Cornyn, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I am disappointed but not surprised that 
there is an objection to this request because although there is 
bipartisan support for this bill and only one outside group has raised 
concerns--that group is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a powerful 
lobbying organization that represents the interests of large 
corporations. The chamber's concern about this bill demonstrates just 
how much the interests of these giant corporations that break the law 
conflict with public interests.

[[Page 19004]]

  In its letter opposing the bill, the Chamber wrote that the bill 
``would remove the incentive for investigation targets to settle and 
force the government to expend more resources to prove its assertions 
in court.'' Think about that for a second. The chamber's position is 
that agencies shouldn't disclose basic facts about settlement 
agreements to the public because if the public were aware of those 
facts, they would demand more accountability for corporate wrongdoers.
  The chamber's position boils down to this: Let's keep the details of 
these agreements hidden from view so that corporate wrongdoers don't 
have to worry about any real accountability for their illegal actions. 
That sounds great if you are a big company that breaks the law, but I 
don't think it sounds great to the American people. I think the 
American people are tired of seeing large corporations break the law 
and then negotiate sweetheart deals behind closed doors.
  While we will not be able to pass the Truth in Settlements Act this 
Congress, I will be reintroducing it in the next Congress, and I will 
continue to fight for the public to get access to the details of these 
agreements because we weren't sent here to work for big companies and 
to protect them from accountability when they break the law; we were 
sent here to stand up for everyone.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.

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