Hon. Michael G. Oxley: “this has been a very good debate, and first of all, let me thank members of our committee on both sides of the aisle and…”

“this has been a very good debate, and first of all, let me thank members of our committee on both sides of the aisle and their respective staffs for what I think will turn out to be a historic legislative product that we have been able to put together. The chairman of the subcommittee, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Baker), has done yeoman's work in this area and deserves a great deal of credit. My friend, the gentleman from New York (Mr. LaFalce), as well as his ranking member, Mr. Kanjorski, have also performed admirably. Mr. Speaker, this is a historic moment for a new committee. We have faced issues like anti-money laundering and attended a bill-signing ceremony at the White House just 3 weeks ago. Now we come to this difficult issue, the reinsurance issue, something we did not ask for, something that happened to America after September 11; but this committee stepped up. We were asked by the Speaker to produce legislation, and I am very proud of the product that we put together over a difficult issue, and it is complicated. I am particularly pleased that the substitute that the gentleman from New York (Mr. LaFalce) offered has so much in common with the underlying bill. The post-event assessment and surcharge systems are largely the same. Both bills have a $100 million lower trigger, and the idea to protect the taxpayers is clearly inherent in both pieces of legislation.”