No More Gambling with Taxpayer Money!

His office said he only has jurisdiction over the judicial piece. I said it was reported that all conferees would vote on the derivatives piece. She said she did not his position, but would pass on my support for 716 to the congressman.

From an email:

I called all of those on the "too early to tell" list. I consistently
mentioned the 3 Fed Chiefs coming out in support of the 716 provision.
Three points below:

1. Berman's office said that he does not have a vote.

2. Nydia Velazquez receptionist told me that I needed to call my own rep.
I always said my name, location, reason for calling very quickly and asked
if they had time to take 3 quick requests. She repeated. I reminded her
that my taxes also go toward the salary of Ms. Velasquez. She hung up on
me.

3. Everyone else was friendly and took message.

The change is coming, so accept it now before it is too late. No more banking backstabbing of the American people. It is OUR money. We are not going to be Indentured Servants any longer. Stand with Senator Lincoln or Stand with the Banks. You will lose with the banks, it is inevitable.

called Rep. Barney Frank's office and introduced myself as Terri Brazil from East Boston, MA . I said I was calling to ask the Rep. to support Senator Lincoln's derivatives language. I then said I would like to know what his position is on this issue. He responded that he didn't know, but asked if I wanted him to transfer me to the Banking Committee. I said "Yes, but please be sure Rep. Frank gets my message." He said he would. The next person to whom I spoke seemed surprised to get my call. I told him why I was calling and that this issue is very important to me, and did he know what Rep. Frank's position. He said he didn't know, but asked me to hold on. When he returned to the telephone, he said the Rep. hasn't yet decided and hasn't yet had a conference on the matter. I again stressed that this issue is big to many people. We need to know for sure that the interests of Wall Street aren't always going to come before the interests of Main Street. He assured me that he would deliver my message.

Thank you for all the good, truly important work you are all doing.

Sincerely,

Terri
East Boston, MA

http://www.anewwayforward.org/blogs/2010/06/10/callfornobailouts/

Lincoln Considers Two-Year Phase-In of Swaps Spinoff

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/06/14/lincoln-considers-two-year-phase-...

Background info on all conferees:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65D4FW20100614

Some intel from staff meetings:

Bobby Rush

· Support CFPA

o But don’t hurt FTC, should retain authority

§ Have rulemaking authority- Should be able to address UDAP

Meek

· Don’t penalize all businesses for using derivatives (end users)

o Military, poor, minorities could be hurt by these

Watt

· Predatory lending language must stay

· CFPA, constituents care about it, not other stuff

o Preserve state roles

Lamar Smith

· Does not like bailout fund

o Our version has no front door or back door bailouts

· Missing Fannie/Freddie

Maloney

· Independent CFPA

· GAO audits of the Fed

Frank Lucas

· Artificial timeline of press

o Derivatives part alone could take months

· If ignore pleas of end users, could hurt jobs/recovery

o Claims 100-120,000 lost jobs from Senate version

o Did not cause collapse, not regulated like they did

Gutierrez

· Effective and independent CFPA

o Independent funding

o Should have oversight over community banks

o No exemption for auto dealers

· Have to include pre-funded resolution fund

o Senate version inferior

Scott Garrett

· Does not like the bill, any of it

· Going to send creditors and investors overseas and gives
large firms advantage over small firms

o Like unfair advantage of Fannie/Freddie

· Too hard/expensive for end users to use derivatives,
demonized derivatives

o Jobs will be lost

· 404b Exemption support for small business (bi-partisan
support in House)

Towns

· Accountability provisions

o Audit of Fed

o Strong whistle blower protections

§ Senate secrecy for whistle blowers, not necessary

§ Prefers House language

· Support for CFPA

o Housing in Fed will have unintended consequences against good government

Hensarling

· Bailout nation like AIG

o “New era of crony capitalism”

· Regulates pay of community banking teller at 20,000?

· Fault of government who strong armed industry into making bad
home loans

· Bill exempts GSEs

· Bill builds a Wall Street bailout mechanism, “if they build
it, they will come”

· Bureaucracy to ban consumer credit products

o From community banks- already has too many compliance costs

Peterson (Chair of House Ag Committee)

· Prefers House language on derivatives

· Revisit businesses uses derivatives to hedge risk (in Senate
language), likes this provision

· Foreign exchange swaps being exempted pushes treasury

· End users did not cause crisis, should maintain House language

o Some merit to pieces of Senate language on mandatory clearances

· Oil speculation provision in House, should be in final bill

Capito

· Calls for end of bailouts (enhanced bankruptcy)

· Calls for courts to oversee resolution fund

· Claims House and Senate bills have bailout funds that
taxpayers have to pay for it

· Lack of reform to Fannie/Freddie

Waters

· CFPA, cites support of Elizabeth Warren

· Derivatives, credit default swaps as crucial

o Lack of transparency and oversight

· Minorities targeted in subprime crisis (office of minority affairs)

*Bachus notes:

I only took notes on his specific critiques:

-It’s Wall Street not Republicans who support bailouts

-Cost of legislation: Section 210 could cost taxpayer potentially
billions of dollars.

-Consumer protection – decisions by government are being substituted
for decisions of individuals.

Our strength is our people not our government.

When we the people are in charge, not the govt. that’s when we’re at our best.

*Chambliss:

-We need to foster and incubate small and medium small businesses and
make sure they have access to capital. Most derivatives trading is not
risky, it’s how businesses in GA hedge risk.

*Kanjorski:

-Critics often cite “bailouts”

-Stabilization of economic system was a rescue not a bailout, brought
us back from the brink.

-See my too big to fail amendment

-Enactment of strong Volcker rule will also help w/too big to fail.

*Leahy:

-Need more transparency and oversight.

-No more to big too fail.

-It’s everyone’s economy.

*Crapo:

-Wide consensus should end bailouts but this legislation does not do
that. Should not create system where have unending federal bailouts.

-This will dramatically expand govt., restrict choices to consumers
(esp. with credit)

-We just received the base text. 300 pages we haven’t seen before

-Largest bailout in America for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac not dealt with here.

We need to tell public what bill they now owe b/c we have not reformed
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

-Consumer protection agency will affect Main Street not Wall Street.

*Harkin:

-Glass-Steagall kept us sound but whiz kids of Wall Street and their
derivative schemes hurt us. Starting in 1999 which the Clinton
administration assisted in.

-We can put the genie back in the bottle.

Derivatives need to be transparent and tightly controlled.

*Corker:

-Bill going to increase cost of govt and cost to Americans.

Going to make us less competitive in the G-20

Has some good provisions but doesn’t address core issues (Loans were
given to people across the country who couldn’t pay them back and
that’s what caused these institutions to collapse, bill doesn’t deal
with underwriting, Fannie and Freddie.)

-Just met w/375 community bankers in TN and not one of them supports this bill.

*Johnson:

-He mostly spoke in favor of bill: esp. in consumer protection agency.
Senate bill good on investor protection, credit rating agencies.

-Senate bill passed but it was too partisan of a vote.

*Reed:

-We are bringing accountability and transparency to marketplace.

-Spoke in favor of AFR priorities.

-We need to adopt Merkley-Levin amendment on proprietary trading

-Congratulated Kanjorski on his work.

-Need to have an effective consumer watchdog – good consumer
protection is good business.

*Royce:

-Arguments made by Fed: if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were not
regulated if they collapsed it would bring down other institutions.

-GSE Act, idea that we need to get everybody into a home. Fannie Mae
and Freddie Mac had to buy a massive amt. of junk in order to fulfill
the mandate.

-No regulatory reform effort is going to be effective if we don’t
address Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but we don’t necessarily need to
eliminate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

-Rep. Sherman said that this bill is little more than TARP on
steroids. (Frank responded that comment was made in response to an
older version of bill and that the R’s were in control of Congress and
that when the D’s were in power they passed the bill Pres. Bush
wanted. He then defended his record on Fannie and Freddie. Subprime
mortgages weren’t originated by Fannie and Freddie…Greenspan refused
to regulate subprime mortgages. 12 years of Republican rule and
nothing was done.)

*Biggert:

-Small businesses will be collateral damage under this bill. Consumer
choice will also be collateral damage under this bill.

*Waters:

-CFPA fixes our patchwork laws for consumers.

-Concerned about student lending.

-Case for Offices –major racial and gender disparities in wealth need
to be addressed.

*Capito:

-End culture of bailouts, where all participants know rules of games.

-No bailouts behind closed doors, needs to be out in open.

-Taxpayers are the ones who ultimately bail people out.

-Also have concern for lack of attn. paid to GSEs. Fannie and Freddie
were at the heart of the crisis.

I am one of his constituents, told the person answering I support Lincoln's language and Cantwell's amendment... The receptionist just took note of it and said thank you. Frankly, I didn't expect much more from Chambliss.

-Eric