On the recordFebruary 1, 2012
I thank the Senator from California for clarifying that issue and answering my question. I guess my further question would be, why would we only apply it to Members of Congress and not apply it to members of the executive branch? For example, I would argue that if there are conflict of interest issues or allegations of a sweetheart deal for mortgages that might be revealed by this disclosure, that that would apply equally to, say, Treasury officials--in fact, even more so to Treasury officials or bank regulators--as it would Members of Congress. I wonder if the Senator's intent is to make sure that Members are not getting sweetheart deals on their mortgages--which obviously no Member should be receiving a sweetheart deal on a mortgage--why that same logic would not apply to executive branch officials, particularly since arguably they have far more direct influence and jurisdiction and regulatory authority over financial institutions than do Members of Congress. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.
