Richard Shelby actually said...

"Widespread overreliance on ratings meant that the effects of poor quality or inadequately updated ratings could ripple through the markets."

"I think we have to tackle the conflict of interest head-on."

"When I was Chairman of this Committee, we acted to address the problem after the SEC failed to take action on its own."

"How is the decision to leave the NRSRO ratings embedded in the regulatory framework consistent with the goal of not affording regulatory privilege to a large entity?"