Barney Frank: “This is an example of the Republican majority's taste for legislative exotica. We have a very strange bill that no one…”

“This is an example of the Republican majority's taste for legislative exotica. We have a very strange bill that no one expects to go anywhere. They do expect to make some people happy by pretending that they're going to be making oil here. This is in lieu of real legislation. This is the group that could not have this House pass a transportation bill. The House passed the transportation bill by a legislative maneuver of the kind they used to denounce. It was made part of an overall omnibus package. There was never any chance to amend it, and it came out of a conference committee. This is a group that can't pass an agriculture bill. We face problems in the agricultural area; and because they are so split over what to do, that committee's brought out a bill, and it's not coming forward. They are unable to do the regular legislative business, so we get this. Now, what this says is that no rules that have been promulgated of any significance are going to be going forward. I will not debate the gentleman from Oklahoma about haze. I am no expert about it. But that's the problem. This is not a bill that deals with rules in one area and one area of expertise. It does everything. So let me talk about one area I am familiar with. The gentleman from Oklahoma says we're saying that you need a Federal regulator looking over the shoulders of every American. No, not every American; but I'm close to thinking of every American who runs a large financial institution, yeah.…”