Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009

Floor Speech

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Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, this amendment would strike section 626 from the bill. This is a section that gives the Federal Trade Commission authority to expedite rulemaking over mortgage loans that are now overseen by not only the FTC but Federal banking and credit union regulators. This grant of increased authority to the FTC is not appropriate because we already have Federal regulators over both the banking and credit union industries. I think everyone agrees we do not want to see this extended regulatory authority changed. I have been working with our Banking Committee chairman, Senator Dodd, and with Senator Dorgan and Senator Inouye, to see if we can address this.

It is my understanding we have an agreement and Senator Dodd will discuss that agreement and enter into a colloquy for the Record that will establish that we do not want to change the regulatory authority and the jurisdictional structures we now have for our Federal regulators over our depository institutions, and that we will, in a very expedited manner in the next available option for a legislative vehicle, make statutory changes to correct that. In the meantime we will make it clear the intent of this legislation is not to have the FTC engage in rulemaking that would seek to assert jurisdiction over any of the institutions over which it does not now have authority.

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Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I appreciate the fact that there is consensus that section 626 goes too far and that it is not the intention of the chairman of the Banking Committee and the chairman of the Appropriations Committee to provide the Federal Trade Commission authority in its rulemaking over mortgage loans overseen by the Federal banking and credit union regulators. However, if the intention is merely to expedite the FTC rulemaking process over nonbanks then the language should be clear on that account. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

It is important to remember that once this legislation is signed into law, the FTC is directed to initiate rulemaking within 90 days. Rather than agreeing to clarify this issue at a later point, it is my strong preference that the Senate would have deleted this section and agreed to working out compromise language at a later point. That is what my amendment would have accomplished by striking the section.

Per the colloquy of Senators Dodd, Inouye, and Dorgan, I will follow up with the FTC that it is the clear intent of the Senate that the provision does not expand the FTC's regulatory jurisdiction and that the required FTC rulemaking will not attempt to include insured depository institutions. I will also note that there is a bi-partisan agreement that the Senate will shortly take up legislation to clarify the scope of the legislation to that effect. Additionally, in light of the focus by the Federal Reserve Board on mortgage lending, the FTC should be required to consult with the Federal Reserve Board in developing their rule. I would encourage my colleagues to send similar letters to the FTC.

If the initial FTC proposed rule attempts to go beyond this scope, it is my understanding that there is agreement that the Senate would immediately take up legislation and stop that from occurring. It would be a terrible mistake to add another patchwork of conflicting authorities and interpretations of Federal laws for insured depository institutions as it relates to home loans and other types of consumer finance transactions. This type of regulatory uncertainty and complexity will only further complicate the resurrection of our mortgage market, harming consumers who are having a difficult enough time obtaining appropriate mortgage loans.

I intend to closely monitor how the FTC proceeds and work with my colleagues to craft a narrow legislative clarification. If we cannot shortly come to agreement on this front, then I will push for a vote to eliminate this authority in the next appropriate vehicle before the Senate.

With that clarification and explanation, the FTC rulemaking that will be able to proceed under this legislation will not seek to extend to the FDIC depository institutions and credit union regulated institutions, then I--and our agreement that we would on an expeditious basis statutorily seek to correct that and make that clear in the Congressional Record, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be withdrawn.

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