Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009

Floor Speech

FRAUD ENFORCEMENT AND RECOVERY ACT OF 2009 -- (House of Representatives - May 06, 2009)

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Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to support S. 386, the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009.

As the country continues to recover from the current economic crisis, we need to do everything possible to understand all the factors that caused the financial meltdown and ensure that the appropriate laws and resources are in place to prevent a similar crisis in the future. We have also made an unprecedented investment of taxpayer dollars as part of our economic recovery effort, and we must ensure that this investment is spent wisely and efficiently.

We know that lax supervision of the financial industry contributed to the current economic conditions, and we must do everything we can to learn from these mistakes and prevent future economic meltdowns. This bill will help us understand the causes of the economic crisis by establishing a bipartisan commission to study the conditions that triggered the economic collapse. The Commission will also provide Congress with recommendations to prevent future economic problems.

The legislation also includes a clear commitment to fighting waste, fraud and abuse. It strengthens current law and increases funding to hire investigators and prosecutors so law enforcement agencies can effectively combat these issues. It will also help protect taxpayer dollars by amending current law to protect funds expended under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and the economic stimulus package.

The Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 will help the government increase its understanding of the factors that caused the economic collapse, and provide the resources necessary to help prevent this from happening again. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important legislation.

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