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Uh Oh... 'Wall Street Deregulation Advances As Top Democrat Warns That Vote Could 'Haunt' Congress'
Wall Street Deregulation Advances As Top Democrat Warns That Vote Could 'Haunt' CongressZach Carter - HuffPo
Posted: 03/20/2013 2:34 pm EDT
<snip>
WASHINGTON -- A House Committee approved six new bills to deregulate Wall Street derivatives on Wednesday, advancing legislation that would expand taxpayer support for derivatives and create broad new trading loopholes allowing banks to shirk risk management standards created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank bill.
The House Agriculture Committee passed all six bills with broad bipartisan support, just five days after Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) released a report detailing extensive failures to contain derivatives risks at JPMorgan Chase -- troubles that lead to billions of dollars in losses from a single trade.
The legislation will next be considered by the full House of Representatives.
The most controversial bill to advance Wednesday is explicitly designed to expand taxpayer backing for derivatives. It was the only legislation that lawmakers were required to cast individual votes for or against; the others were all approved by unanimous voice votes. The bill to increase taxpayer support for bank derivatives dealing was approved by a vote of 31 to 14.
Prior to the vote, the top Democrat on the Agricultural Committee, Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), gave a speech warning that the legislation could repeat the deregulation debacles of the 1990s.
"Two of the worst votes I ever made in this place was the Commodity [Futures] Modernization Act of 2000 that exempted all of these swaps from any regulation or any margins," Peterson said. "I didn't know any better. The other vote I made that was really bad is eliminating Glass-Steagall. We should have never done that and I bought into that. You know, if we had Glass-Steagall back, this wouldn't be an issue here ... You're putting taxpayers on the hook. And if you wanna do that, fine. But I mean, you know, when I, when a lot of us were here, we hadn't paid enough attention and this thing blew up on us. At the time we did the Modernization Act, there were $80 billion in swaps, in derivatives. We gave 'em legal certainty, we eliminated the regulation requirements, and it went to $700 trillion and it blew up on us. So just be careful: You can vote any way you want, but this could come back and haunt you."
<snip>
More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/20/wall-street-deregulation-_n_2916795.html
38 replies
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Unfuckingbelievable that they could even be considering this. 
What the Sam HELL do these jackasses think they're doing other than FLOUTING in the faces of the American People just how much they intend to allow Wall Street to financially RAPE this country, its economy and everyone in it into financial oblivion?
To be DE-regulating ANYTHING to do with Wall Street right now is UNCONSCIONABLE.
It would just concentrate more money into the hands of incredibly corrupt billionaires who will use it against us. No just no.
The internal contradictions will destroy it anyway. That was Marx's basic insight. All of the rest came from this insight. The real question is what will replace it. Socialism or barbarism?
Still looking for how they voted on that one bill...
Wall Street Wins Under Swap-Rule Changes Moving in House
By Silla Brush - Bloomberg
Mar 20, 2013 1:07 PM PT
Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-19/wall-street-may-win-swap-rule-reprieve-in-u-s-house-legislation.html
The bills are the culmination of the committee's oversight efforts of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as it writes rules for Dodd-Frank. All but one of the bills advanced on a voice vote. The committee approved H.R. 992, the Swaps Regulatory Improvement Act, by a vote of 31-14. The bill is sponsored by Reps. Jim Himes, D-Conn., Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y., Randy Hultgren, R-Ill., and Richard Hudson, R-N.C.
Peterson strongly opposed the Swaps Regulatory Improvement Act, which he said would put more taxpayer dollars at risk. The bill amends provisions in Section 716 of the Dodd-Frank Act relating to federally-backed subsidiaries for swaps entities.
As described by Practical Law Company, Section 716 is referred to as the Pushout Rule, but is primarily a ban on federal assistance to certain banking institutions. Section 716 enables certain banks to remain eligible for federal assistance if they push derivatives activities out of their federally insured subsidiaries into separately capitalized affiliates. H.R. 992 would allow banks to deal derivatives out of their federally insured subsidiary.
Peterson strongly opposed the Swaps Regulatory Improvement Act, which he said would put more taxpayer dollars at risk. The bill amends provisions in Section 716 of the Dodd-Frank Act relating to federally-backed subsidiaries for swaps entities.
As described by Practical Law Company, Section 716 is referred to as the Pushout Rule, but is primarily a ban on federal assistance to certain banking institutions. Section 716 enables certain banks to remain eligible for federal assistance if they push derivatives activities out of their federally insured subsidiaries into separately capitalized affiliates. H.R. 992 would allow banks to deal derivatives out of their federally insured subsidiary.
Link: http://www.agri-pulse.com/Dodd-Frank-reform-bills-move-out-of-House-Agriculture-Committee-03202013.asp
The most troubling bill and its sponsors(.pdf file): http://agriculture.house.gov/sites/republicans.agriculture.house.gov/files/pdf/legislation/HR992.pdf
The group of bills and their sponsors (.pdf file): http://www.agri-pulse.com/uploaded/Approved-DF.pdf
The LITTLE investors, not so much 
