Yesterday, the House Financial Services Committee approved an amendment to its regulatory reform bill that would allow federal regulators, in consultation with the Treasury Secretary, to require any firm deemed a threat to the U.S. economy to break up and shrink. The amendment, proposed by Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-PA), was bitterly opposed by the financial services industry, but still passed 38-29 (with three Democrats voting against). Though regulatory reform legislation has been moving in the House for weeks, the Senate only started today, with members of the Senate Banking Committee giving their opening statements regarding Chairman Chris Dodd's (D-CT) reform bill. Republicans, who have already said that they will lend the regulatory reform effort zero support, were unanimously opposed to the bill, particularly the provision to create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA).
But Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) also took a few minutes to criticize the Kanjorski amendment, stating that it was too "European," and that it empowers the government to break apart Coca-Cola and Wal-Mart, the latter because "they don't have a union":
Quote:
The Kanjorski amendment that was dealt with yesterday on the House side was an exercise in European politics where there was some belief that a group of thoughtful people can choose winners and losers in the marketplace that are still doing well, that aren't at risk, and decide how those winners and losers should be structured. [b]Well where does that stop? Is Coca-Cola, should they be broken up under the House bill? Wal-Mart, maybe, because they don't have a union, should be broken up under the House bill? This is undermining the American advantage, especially relative to our European neighbors.
Watch it:
While Wal-Mart's lack of unionization is a shame, Kanjorski's amendment clearly states that it only pertains to financial institutions, which can be broken apart only for threatening the financial system, and only after more stringent capital requirements have proven ineffective in removing the threat:
Scott Valentin, the banking analyst at FBR Capital Markets, told DealBook that he expects the Kanjorski's push will meet its demise in the Senate, as "Wall Street's objections…will win out in the end." Valentin "based his opinions partly on meetings he had with Senate Republican staffers the day before the final language of the bill was released."
http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/ ... kanjorski/
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