Political Quotes

“I rise in support of H.R. 3717. Deposit insurance has served America well for over 65 years. It has maintained public confidence in our banking system throughout times of prosperity and times that were not so good. The bill we reported out of the Committee on Financial Services is designed to maintain and strengthen today's system for tomorrow's consumers so that we can ensure that we have a deposit insurance system that will serve us well throughout the new millennium. I am particularly concerned about our small independent community banks and I believe they will benefit from this legislation. Not everyone agrees with this increase in FDIC. However, the Senate will continue to reconcile some of the differences that have been articulated, but I believe we should vote to pass this bill off the floor. This legislation merges the bank insurance funds and the savings association insurance funds into one deposit insurance fund. It also grants the FDIC increased flexibility to manage the funds, particularly in replacing the hard trigger designated reserve ratio with a range which will permit the FDIC to respond to economic conditions in setting the designated reserve ratio. I am particularly pleased that the legislation includes an amendment that I offered during subcommittee consideration. This amendment represents a small but important change that will implement a law that has been on the books since 1991.”