John Joseph Moakley: “I am a bit puzzled by this debate. If I listened correctly to the other side, they are saying that all of the fees in…”

“I am a bit puzzled by this debate. If I listened correctly to the other side, they are saying that all of the fees in this resolution are unwarranted. Now, I guess I would be puzzled that they are saying that with regard to bank examination fees. Are they saying that the depositors who are getting miserable rates of interest and paying exorbitant credit card fees to the bank should also pay for the Federal regulation of the banks, or are they saying there should be no Federal regulation of the banks, like we tried with the savings and loan industry during the Reagan era? There is a fee for the registration of pesticides. Are they saying that the American people, average taxpayers, should pay for the evaluation of and the registration of the safety of pesticides, or are they saying we should have a pesticide industry that is totally unregulated by the Federal Government, creating and applying whatever it wants, wherever it wants, however it wants, and putting it in our water supply? I do not believe even the Republicans want to repeal those fees, nor do they believe average working Americans should pay fees for the profits of the pesticide industry or should pay fees for the profits of the banking industry.”