Richard Shelby

The nature of today's credit rating industry reflects decades of regulatory missteps rather than market preferences.

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

My last question, and my time is about up, you also propose--your proposal would authorize the Securities and Exchange Commission to delegate reviews of NRSROs to the Public Accounting Oversight Board.

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?

I strongly believe that the credit rating agencies played a pivotal role in the collapse of our financial markets.

Well, why do you want them then if----

I think that is probably an understatement.

It would take a long stretch, wouldn't it, to bring a lot of confidence back into what we feel has been lost with the rating agencies, would it not?

Today, we will consider a legislative proposal by the Administration to revisit the regulation of credit rating agencies.

I hope you won't quit. I think your honesty and your candor here is very important.

We recognize the role of the Treasury to set some policy for financial regulation. But ultimately, it is going to be the Congress up here.

We need a mechanism that can resolve very large financial organizations in a way that is orderly, that protects the rest from any systemic implications, but makes sure that their creditors and shareholders take losses.

This crisis has revealed that our Nation's 'too-big-to-fail' problem is much worse than many thought.

I would think that if you look at the record here of the failure of the regulatory bodies, that all roads seem to lead to the Federal Reserve.

We have yet to implement a sanctions regime that produces the desired result.

Iran is the major funder of most of the Middle East terrorist groups that are a problem for us.

We are very united in our concern and our anger about the Iranian program of nuclear weapons development.

It has represented a daily threat... to its people ever since this revolution took place.

Iran has become 'a central bank for terrorism worldwide.'

Iran continues to make strides in both its nuclear and missile programs, and it is still recognized as the so-called central bank for terrorist financing.

Iran's nuclear ambitions and its sponsorship of terrorism.

Unfortunately, the Administration has 'taken a pass' on comprehensive insurance reform.

But I believe if we enshrine--and that is where we are headed--the 'too-big-to-fail doctrine,' we are going to have problems down the road.

I think we have got ourselves in a real jam in this country when we come up with the doctrine of 'too big to fail' and then we say, gosh, we have got to create a systemic regulator to deal with this.

I think whatever we do, that has got to be separated, has it not, at some level.