Political Quotes

“I am generally pleased that the passage of this rule will make in order a substitute to H.R. 2990. I nevertheless rise to express some concerns about the rule, as well as to articulate some of my apprehensions about the underlying bill. Regarding the rule itself, the 20 minutes of debate for the substitute should have been longer in considering H.R. 2990. We also have a classic debate here on quantity versus quality. At its core, 2990 seeks to promote competition among nationally recognized credit raters by increasing the quantity of approved agencies. Critics of the present designation system have raised legitimate concerns about competition. I agree with the supporters of 2990 that increasing competition in the credit ratings used for regulatory purposes is a desirable goal. We, however, should not seek to increase quantity of raters by sacrificing the quality of their ratings. In this debate, the issue of quality of ratings is at least equally important as the issue of quantity of raters. We, therefore, should have had an equal amount of time to debate this quantity-quality question on the floor. An equally balanced debate between the substitute and the general debate on the bill would have allowed for a more thorough vetting of these important matters. Now, let me turn to the bill itself. I would like to use the remainder of my time to make some observations.…”