I want to welcome everyone to the second of two hearings on the Financial Regulatory Relief and Economic Efficiency Act of 1997. I appreciate the work of Senators Mack and Bryan, as well as the other ten cosponsors who have worked together to establish a workable, bipartisan regulatory relief bill.

Today, we will receive testimony from the nation's top banking regulators, as well as the industry groups they regulate. While we may differ on the exact provisions of the bill, I hope we can all agree that unnecessary and redundant regulations hinder the performance of the financial industry in the United States. The more we can remove the burdens of regulation on our banking system, the more competitive our banking system becomes.

The Honorable Eugene Ludwig, the Comptroller of the Currency was invited to testify today, but could not appear in person for he had a longstanding prior commitment of which he could not reschedule. I ask unanimous consent that we include the submitted written statement of the Comptroller of the Currency in the record immediately following that of the Under Secretary of Treasury, John Hawke.

I look forward to the testimony today, and hope that, together, we can make a good bill better.

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