Chuck Grassley: “it is always a pleasure to listen to the Senator from Minnesota because whether he is right or wrong, he always speaks…”

“it is always a pleasure to listen to the Senator from Minnesota because whether he is right or wrong, he always speaks with a great deal of passion. I want people who have ideas to have passion for those ideas. Senator Wellstone is a person who speaks with a great deal of passion and conviction. I disagree with a lot of the points he has made; otherwise, we would not have this legislation before us. On the other hand, on the subject of concentration, which he brought up, I have some sympathy for what he has said. The solution to the concentration problem is we should get this administration to vigorously enforce the antitrust laws both within the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission. There is a general feeling among people about whether the marketplace is working adequately and, consequently, support the antitrust laws. The antitrust laws are well written and have withstood a period of time, but enforcement is very much an issue. We are not talking about concentration, and we are not talking about enforcement of the antitrust laws when we deal with bankruptcy. We have a very real problem. We have seen a dramatic increase in bankruptcies over the last 6 or 7 years. In 1993, we had 875,202 bankruptcies, and in 1998, it shot up to 1,442,549. We have seen this dramatic increase in the number of bankruptcies during one of the most prosperous times in the history of our country.”