Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010--Continued
Floor Speech
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Mr. WICKER. Mr. President, I had not intended to speak tonight, but having heard my friend, the Senator from Minnesota, speak about the problems with the rating agencies, I thought I would rise to say that in very many respects the Senator from Minnesota is correct. It is my understanding that the underlying bill as yet has no provision whatsoever dealing with the rating agencies. I think certainly if that remains, it will be a major flaw in the legislation.
I don't know the details of the amendment the Senator from Minnesota was referring to, but I certainly welcome debate about the rating agencies to make sure they are accurate and to acknowledge so many mistakes that have been made by those agencies in the past. So I wish to commend the Senator for his debate about this issue.
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, will the Senator yield?
Mr. WICKER. Mr. President, I have a couple more points I wish to make, and I don't have much more time. But I am happy to yield to the chairman.
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, title IX of the bill--and I am not suggesting you are going to love every dotted i and crossed t, but in title IX of our bill we do cover rating agencies. Again, this is a complex area, and there are different ideas about how to do this. But the legitimate point made by the Senator from Minnesota about rating agencies is something we share, and in title IX we try to address ways in which we can get far more accountability out of these agencies.
Mr. WICKER. Mr. President, reclaiming my time, I appreciate that. I think the Senator would also concede that there are many in this body and in this building who would make a case that the bill is far from adequate as regards to the rating agencies, and we will have debate about that.
Mr. DODD. I accept that argument, but I would not accept the argument there is nothing in the bill about rating agencies.
Mr. WICKER. I appreciate the Senator's statement. I hope we can strengthen the bill in regards to rating agencies. I also hope we can do this: We have an opportunity in some amendments later on in this debate--perhaps next week or perhaps the week after--to address this question of the GSEs, Fannie and Freddie. I think almost everyone would acknowledge that much of the problem that was caused in 2007 and 2008 stemmed from the GSEs. There has been an effort on the part of Senator Shelby and others over time to rein in and have some important regulations for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I would hope we could have an honest to goodness debate and include this very important aspect of financial reform in this legislation; otherwise, I think we haven't gotten to part of the problem.
Then, I would say also, we are going to have debate over the next few days and perhaps weeks about this all-powerful consumer agency that would be created. Certainly, we need to protect the consumers. But as I understand this legislation which we will be asked to consider and to vote on and have an opportunity to debate, it creates one of the most important--one of the most powerful, all-powerful individuals in the entire Federal Government; someone who would not even have to answer to a board, as head of this all-powerful consumer protection agency. I think the fact that we are hearing more from Main Street rising up in dismay saying the Main Street agencies didn't cause these problems--the car dealers, the orthodontists who might finance payments over time, the medium-sized banks and credit unions--they say: Mr. Senator, we are not part of the problem. Why are we being penalized and brought into the purview of this all-powerful Washington, DC, regulator?
I think the concerns of Main Street can be addressed by the Senate, and we can still pass a bill that will cover the abuses of Wall Street which, after all, is what we are after.
So I wanted to use the remarks of the Senator from Minnesota as a springboard to begin to discuss a number of issues, including Freddie and Fannie, including dealing with too much power in the form of this regulator, as well as dealing with the issue which the Senator brought up of the rating agencies.
I thank the President, and I yield the floor.
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