Political Quotes

“I ask consent to engage in a colloquy with Senator Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, regarding important aspects of S. 2520, the FOIA Improvement Act of 2014. While I support the ultimate goal of this legislation, which seeks to increase government transparency, as the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, I am also mindful of the need for government agencies to dutifully and carefully fulfill their oversight responsibilities of our Nation's financial institutions and the health and welfare of our financial systems at-large. Financial regulatory agencies are tasked with ensuring the safety and soundness of the financial system, compliance with Federal consumer financial law, and promoting fair, orderly, and efficient financial markets. A critical component of effective oversight is the ability of a financial regulator to have unfettered access to information from a regulated institution. A financial institution should not have to fear that its regulator will be unable to protect the institution's confidential information from disclosure. Since the passage of the Freedom of Information Act, Congress has recognized the importance of protecting this type of supervisory information as evidenced specifically in 5 U.S.C. Sec. 552(b)(8), commonly referred to as Exemption 8, and more generally in other exemptions. It is my understanding that nothing in S.…”