Ag Chairs Lincoln &
Peterson welcome new constraints on derivatives By
Jon H. Harsch © Copyright
Agri-Pulse Communications, Inc. Washington,
June 25 – It took an all-nighter and the chairman's iron
discipline. But the House-Senate conference completed work on
financial reform legislation early Friday morning. The compromise
deal includes tough new derivatives regulations which Republicans
repeatedly warned in the overnight debate will devastate the
financial industry. Senate
Agriculture Committee Chair Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) hailed the
conference agreement which for the most part includes her
derivatives provisions – despite weeks of effort on behalf of
financial institutions, the Senate Banking Committee, and the Obama
administration to soften her tough new rules. In the final hours of
debate early Friday morning, House Agriculture Committee Ranking
Member Frank Lucas (R-OK) urged conferees to replace Lincoln's
Section 716 provisions with the far less stringent provisions passed
by the House last year. But House Financial Services Committee Chair
Barney Frank (D-MA), the conference's no-nonsense chair, successfully
made the case that the House-passed package was only more lenient
because when the House acted, the full extent of problems with
derivatives was still not known. Lincoln
commented on the final conference agreement that “This
historic legislation will rein in the reckless Wall Street behavior
that nearly destroyed our economy, hurting Arkansas small businesses
and costing millions of Americans their jobs. These strong reforms
will help families save for college, protect retirees, ensure small
businesses can get loans and create new jobs on Main Street.” She
added that “As Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I was
proud to help craft the bill’s strong derivatives title. This
legislation brings a $600 trillion unregulated derivatives market
into the light of day, ending the days of Wall Street’s backroom
deals and putting this money back on Main Street where it belongs.
These reforms will get banks back to the business of banking, protect
innocent depositors and ensure taxpayers will never again have to
foot the bill for risky Wall Street gambling. I’d
like to commend the conferees for coming together to finalize an
agreement that brings real reform to our nation’s financial
markets, giving the American people the accountability and
transparency they deserve,” Lincoln said. House
Agriculture Committee Chair Collin Peterson (D-MN) was equally
pleased with the conference's work on H.R. 4173, Wall Street Reform &
Consumer Protection Act. “While
everyone had to make some compromises to come to a consensus, I think
that the final outcome of this conference committee will ensure that
Wall Street can no longer put America's economy at risk with
irresponsible, unreasonably risky activities that caused the last
crisis” Peterson said. “This legislation reflects nearly three
years of public debate and a lot of bipartisan work on derivatives
and their effect on the economy. The passage of this conference
report demonstrates that Congress is serious about finally providing
much needed oversight and transparency in the markets for
over-the-counter derivatives and ensuring that they will never again
threaten the stability of our financial system.” The
conference committee resolved differences between the financial
reform bills that were passed by the House and Senate. The House and
Senate must now vote to approve the conference report before it is
sent to President Obama for signature. To return to the News Index page,
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