Richard Shelby

The regulators have some culpability here.

As I understand the agreement of Basel III Capital Accords, the agreement and the thrust is to increase the amount of capital that large global banks must hold.

We delayed it in the United States with support from Senator Shelby and others, and we appreciate that very much.

Wouldn't it be good policy in a free market economy to basically let the world know and the banks know and businesses know that if they fail they are going to be closed up?

Since the passage, however, S&P, Standard & Poor, has said that it will confer higher credit ratings on the largest banks because it continues to assume that there is still the potential for the Government to provide 'extraordinary…

Chairman Bair's time in office has been marked by the financial crisis and by profound changes in banking law.

This I believe is an appropriate time for this hearing as it comes at the end of Chairman Sheila Bair's 5-year term.

Today, as you said, we will examine the State of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Small and community banks play a unique and vital role in our housing finance market.

I've been told that prostate cancer is the number two killer of men in this country.

The Chinese navy is the fastest growing navy in the world today.

Members of this group--that's your group--are concerned that the U.S. defense policy is sacrificing future security for near-term readiness.

It's a killer, period.

We all support this because this is the right thing to do, connected to our service people, we all benefit.

You speak well for the Sergeants Association. There are a lot of you, but you had a distinguished military record yourself.

I believe this subcommittee has a good record of support for our military through the appropriation, and their families, which we think are very important to the wellbeing and the readiness of our soldiers.

Today, the Committee will examine whether credit unions should be allowed to lend to businesses.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, historically, credit unions have focused on meeting the savings and credit needs of their members, especially people of modest means.

The credit union tax exemption creates an unfair advantage and distorts the market.

Well, that is just common sense for safety and soundness, isn't it?

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) plans to achieve an early intercept capability as part of the phase-adaptive approach are simply not credible.

You have also, properly, placed our financial stability on the table as a fundamental issue of national security.

You have helped to oversee a surge in Afghanistan that, we hope, is turning the tide there, as well.

The economy, as we all know, is in a very fragile state, yet the Dodd-Frank Act has unleashed a flood of new regulations that impose significant costs on businesses.

While I understand the interest in ensuring that enforcement cases proceed quickly--they are very important--delegation of the Commission's powers to the staff should not be undertaken lightly.