Majority Press Releases

June 21, 2010

DODD, BERMAN STATEMENT ON IRAN SANCTIONS CONFERENCE REPORT AGREEMENT

WASHINGTON -- Today Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA), Conference Co-chairs for the bill to strengthen Iran sanctions, announced they had reached an agreement on a draft joint text. The text will now be submitted to other Conferees for review. The bill will equip President Obama with a full range of tools to deal with the threats posed by Iran. It will impose new sanctions on businesses involved in supplying… Continue Reading


June 18, 2010

DEMOCRATS BRAZENLY OPPOSE BETTER CAPITAL STANDARDS

WASHINGTON, DC, Friday, June 18, 2010 -- U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), ranking Republican on the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, today released a statement regarding Senate Democrats' opposition to an amendment related to capital standards that Republicans offered yesterday evening during the financial reform conference committee proceedings. A major contributor to the recent financial crisis was federal financial regulators' lack of diligence, coordination and fores… Continue Reading


June 18, 2010

CHAIRMEN FRANK, DODD ANNOUNCE TUESDAY CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Washington, DC - Today, Chairman Frank and Chairman Dodd announced that the House-Senate Conference will meet at noon on Tuesday, June 22, in Room SD-106, Dirksen Senate Office Building, to consider the following issues: Tuesday, June 22 · Pending offers and Counter-offers from Week One · Consumer Financial Protection-CFPA/CFPB-title 10 of base text · Predatory lending-title 14 of base text · … Continue Reading


June 17, 2010

THE WALL STREET REFORM BILL: CONFERENCE UPDATE

Washington - Today House and Senate conferees again met on the bill to bring accountability to Wall Street. The bill creates a new consumer financial protection watchdog, ends too big to fail bailouts, sets up an early warning system to predict and prevent the next crisis, and brings transparency and accountability to exotic instruments such as derivatives. A list of House and Senate offers and counter offers can be found by clicking here. But it is also important to remember the ma… Continue Reading


June 15, 2010

CHAIRMEN FRANK, DODD ANNOUNCE UPCOMING CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Washington, DC - Today, Chairman Frank and Chairman Dodd announced that the House-Senate Conference will meet on Wednesday, June 16, at 11 a.m. to consider the following titles: Wednesday, June 16 · Title 9, subtitles A, B, F, H, I and J of base text: Investor protection/regulatory improvements · Title 9, subtitles E and G of base text: Executive compensation/corporate governance · Title 11 of base text: … Continue Reading


June 10, 2010

DODD, FRANK ANNOUNCE CONFERENCE SCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY

Washington, DC - Today, Chairman Dodd and Chairman Frank announced the House-Senate Conference will meet on Tuesday, June 15, at 11 a.m. to consider the following titles: · Title 3 of base text: OTS/OCC merger; thrift charter · Title 5 of base text: Insurance · Title 4 of base text: Private Funds · Title 9, subtitle C of base text: credit rating agencies For more information on these titles, click here. ###… Continue Reading


June 10, 2010

DODD STATEMENT ON WALL STREET REFROM

Washington - Today, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd delivered the following statement at the House and Senate conference on the bill to bring accountability to Wall Street. Below is his statement as prepared for delivery: "Thank you Chairman Frank. "And thank you to my fellow conferees for the tremendous work you have done over these many months as we try to tackle the tough questions of how to create a financial regulatory structure that will protect our economy for y… Continue Reading


June 9, 2010

HOUSE-SENATE CONFERENCE ON FINANCIAL REFORM TO BEGIN TOMORROW

Washington, DC - Tomorrow, the House-Senate Conference on the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act will convene to begin its work on the most sweeping reforms to the financial regulatory system since the Great Depression. Conferees will meet tomorrow in an open, public televised meeting to give their opening statements. A more detailed schedule of subsequent meetings will be released at a later date. Due to high demand and limited seating in the committee room, media will be limite… Continue Reading


June 9, 2010

DODD STATEMENT: HEARING ON LIVABLE COMMUNITIES ACT

Dodd Hears from Local Experts on Community Development Aimed at Creating Better Places to Live, Work, and Raise Families WASHINGTON - Today Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) held a hearing with local officials to discuss his Livable Communities Act (S. 1619) to improve the coordination between our housing, community development, transportation, energy, and environmental policies to help create better places to live, work and raise families. The committee heard testim… Continue Reading


May 25, 2010

DODD, BERMAN ON IRAN SANCTIONS CONFERENCE REPORT

WASHINGTON -- Today Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA), co-chairs of the Iran sanctions conference, released the following statement regarding the anticipated timing of final action on an Iran sanctions conference report on H.R. 2194. "The draft United Nations Security Council resolution offered last week by the five permanent members of that body proposes useful additional mandatory sanctions on Iran. Even mo… Continue Reading


May 25, 2010

DODD INTRODUCES EMERGENCY TRANSIT FUNDING AUTHORIZATION BILL

WASHINGTON -- Today Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) along with Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced a bill to authorize emergency funding for transit agencies to help reverse fare increases and service cuts. "While families continue to struggle to make ends meet the last thing we should do is make it… Continue Reading


May 20, 2010

DODD: WALL STREET REFORM PASSES

WASHINGTON - Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) tonight hailed Senate passage of the bill to bring accountability to Wall Street. "With passage of the Wall Street Reform bill we have taken a major step towards creating a sound economic foundation for the American people we represent. This is their victory." "For the first time ever we will have a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to watch out for the average citizen in our country when they are abused by a financ… Continue Reading


May 17, 2010

ANGEL INVESTOR AMENDMENT PASSES

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A bipartisan group of Senators tonight scored a victory that will provide strong protections for investors while promoting small business startups vital to job creation. A bipartisan amendment sponsored by Senators Kit Bond (R-MO) and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and co-sponsored by Senators Mark Warner (D-VA), Scott Brown (R-MA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Mark Begich (D-AK) was adopted by voice vote as part of the financial reform bill being debat… Continue Reading


May 13, 2010

DODD ON EFFORTS TO CARVE OUT AUTO DEALER FINANCING

WASHINGTON - One day after the Senate overwhelmingly approved an amendment to protect military personnel with a new office within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau the Senate is set to vote on an amendment to exempt auto dealers from the Bureau's protections. This week, the Secretary of the Army John McHugh sent Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) a letter expressing strong concerns with such exemptions. "Over the years, many of our Soldiers have fallen victim to pre… Continue Reading


May 13, 2010

SHELBY: MAIN STREET SUPPORTS REPUBLICAN DERIVATIVES ALTERNATIVE

Washington, D.C. - Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) today made the following statement on the floor of the Senate regarding his support for a Republican substitute amendment to the derivatives title of the Democrats' financial reform bill: Statement of Senator Richard Shelby Wednesday, May 12, 2010 "Thank you Mr. President. "A key part of the bill that we are considering is Title VII, which addresses the regulation of the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives markets. While there is s… Continue Reading


May 13, 2010

SHELBY: REAL REFORM MUST INCLUDE FANNIE AND FREDDIE

WASHINGTON, DC. Tuesday, May 11, 2010 - - U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), ranking Republican on the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, today spoke on the Senate floor in strong support of an amendment that he cosponsored with Sens. McCain and Gregg to the financial regulatory reform legislation. The amendment would put in place an orderly transition period to end the conservatorship of both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and eventually require each to operate - without government… Continue Reading


May 12, 2010

DODD ON DERIVATIVES

WASHINGTON - Today, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) fought attempts to weaken derivatives reform measures in the bill to bring accountability to Wall Street. "Derivatives are, essentially, bets - bets placed on the future value of something either as a form of protection against changes in that value, or as a way to make money. Now, there's nothing inherently wrong with derivatives. They can be used responsibly as a way to hedge commercial risks," Dodd said during deba… Continue Reading


May 10, 2010

WATCH THE OCTOBER HEARING ON DARK POOLS, FLASH ORDERS, & HIGH FREQUENCY TRADING

Click here to view testimony and video from the hearing.… Continue Reading


May 6, 2010

SHELBY DELIVERS FLOOR STATEMENT ON CONSUMER PROTECTION AMENDMENT

WASHINGTON, DC Thursday, May 6, 2010- U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL.), today made the following statement on the floor of the U.S. Senate regarding the Republican amendment to the financial reform bill that will strengthen consumer protections without unnecessarily expanding government or burdening Main Street businesses. The text of Senator Shelby's statement is below: "I rise today to discuss the amendment that Senate Republicans are offering to greatly improve consumer financial p… Continue Reading


May 6, 2010

SHELBY: MAIN STREET SUPPORTS REPUBLICAN CONSUMER PROTECTION ALTERNATIVE

WASHINGTON, DC, Thursday, May 06, 2010 - U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), ranking Republican on the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, along with Sens. Corker, Bond, Johanns, and Murkowski, today held a press conference to discuss the Republican alternative to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in the Senate Democrats' financial regulatory reform bill. Shelby's remarks at the press conference are below. Attached are the text of the Republican consumer protection amend… Continue Reading

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