On the recordMay 23, 2012
I thank Senator Whitehouse and Senator Merkley and everybody else for the very hard work they have done on this monumentally important issue. It is hard for me to think of an issue that is more important. A moment ago Senator Merkley used the word ``precensorship,'' which is an interesting concept. I want to give an example of this. Mr. President, I would ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record an article that appeared in the ``American Banker'' fairly recently. (See exhibit 1.) There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: [From the American Banker, May 23, 2012] Bankers Form SuperPac for `Surgical' Strike at Industry's Enemies (By Barbara A. Rehm) Frustrated by a lack of political power and fed up with blindly donating to politicians who consistently vote against the industry's interests, a handful of leaders are determined to shake things up. They have formed the industry's first SuperPAC--dubbed Friends of Traditional Banking--that is designed to target the industry's enemies and support its friends in Congress. ``It comes back to the old philosophy of walking softly and carrying a big stick,'' says Howard Headlee, the president and chief executive officer of the Utah Bankers Association. ``But we've got no big stick. And we should. We have the capacity to have one, we just aren't organized.'' Think of it as an Emily's List for bankers and their allies.…
