Senate Proceeding 10-01-08 on Oct 1st, 2008 :: 3:39:57 to 3:51:14
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3:32:54 to 3:39:57( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Charles Schumer

3:39:32 to 3:39:57( Edit History Discussion )

Charles Schumer: and i would hope we would get strong bipartisan support here tonight. i would hope we would get strong bipartisan support in the house and then we will move on to make the regulatory changes so that

3:39:57 to 3:40:08( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: this never happens again. i yield become the reminder of my time. mr. domenici: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from new mexico. mr. domenici: madam president, first i want to

3:39:57 to 3:51:14( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Pete Domenici

3:40:08 to 3:40:22( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: quickly -- and i do this quickly only because i have -- don't have very much time. but i want to quickly thank a few peevment it's obvious the people that have worked extra hard and done such a marvelous

3:40:22 to 3:40:34( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: job have been thaingtd -- thank ed but i have been involved in negotiations many times like this and the last time i did one of these i was chairman of the budget committee and we had the savings and loan

3:40:34 to 3:40:47( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: bailout and i remember it well and it's worth mentioning for a moment because senator dodd will remember. just as our secretary of the treasury is telling us that if this works right we could in fact

3:40:47 to 3:41:01( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: make money instead of losing money, so whenever we talk about $700 billion as if it was being -- as if it were being lost, as if give to somebody and they could run away with it, when we did the savings

3:41:01 to 3:41:13( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: and loan bailout, we were told, when you pay for all these assets and take them in, they may bring you as much money as you spent and lo and behold it took a few years but the treasury made money

3:41:13 to 3:41:25( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: on that last bailout that we had to put together. i predict that the money that will be lost on this one will be much less than the $700 billion. as a matter of fact, if things work right, the taxpayer

3:41:25 to 3:41:37( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: could get reimbursed and in fact some money could get paid down on the national debt. i start with that. but having said that i want to thank those who spent extra amounts of time, energy, and

3:41:37 to 3:41:49( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: did a great job, starting with the chairman of the committee, senator dodd. i don't think we ought to be partisan. i heard some democrats talk about only democrats that have been active in this. it wasn't

3:41:49 to 3:42:00( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: you, senator dodd. but you know that on your side you were busy. on our side we had a rather marvelous negotiator named judd gregg and i believe we want to thank him unequivocally for his work. he

3:42:00 to 3:42:13( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: surely has done a yeoman's job with us, the republican snorks explaining what y'all were doing. from that, there are numbers of people that i will just put in the record and say thanks to all of you. i have

3:42:13 to 3:42:27( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: a done a terrific job. and i will say, our job -- our job here in the next few hours is to pass a bill in the united states senate and send it to the house and challenge them to vote for it, because

3:42:27 to 3:42:42( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: it is -- it is past time but it is absolutely obvious that we must put confidence back into the credit system of the united states. we must put confidence bac into the credit system of the united

3:42:42 to 3:42:56( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: states. that means that this rather fantastic credit system, which has gone awry, without any doubt, and gone awry because it has been manipulated, abused, but nonetheless it is still the greatest delivery

3:42:56 to 3:43:12( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: system that the world has ever seen in terms of delivering money where money has to be -- where money is needed. and it is now rocking. i a like in the 10th round of a big heavyight bout and it is about

3:43:12 to 3:43:24( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: to be knocked out. and we have to do something to make sure that doesn't happen. i'm very pleased that the secretary of the treasury, in spite of whatever faults had been enumerated here on the floor,

3:43:24 to 3:43:35( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: and he claims some faults himself; he talks about not being an eloquent speaker. i imagine he hears senator dodd or he hears some other senator and he goes back and does his work and he wonders why the

3:43:35 to 3:43:50( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: good lord made him so that he can't talk as well as them. but he knows a lot. and for those that don't think he should have been in this job, they're mistaken. he has come up with solutions to

3:43:50 to 3:44:02( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: this point and now he has told us how to solve the problem of the credit system being filled with toxic assets, toxic assets have been explained enough here for me not to have to do it over again.

3:44:02 to 3:44:14( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: but essentially for the most part they are mortgage-backed securityies that are no good, and they were no good from the beginning. no good meaning they were not going to be -- the person that bought the

3:44:14 to 3:44:26( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: house and gave the mortgage could not have made the payments from the very beginning. they were given an opportunity to buy and sign the promissory notes with people having full knowledge that they

3:44:26 to 3:44:41( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: weren't earning enough and they were a credit risk and they should not have had these mortgages. now, there's so many of them issued over the past 10 to 12 years that they permeate the system, and

3:44:41 to 3:44:56( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: when they get there in sufficient numbers, they clog the system. much like cars on a freeway speeding at 65 miles an hour and having a crash. it is across all six lanes. all the cars are stopped until

3:44:56 to 3:45:10( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: you move the broken-down, crumpled up camplets you move them off and then things run again. so we must move them off and let the part of the american financial system that is great, let the liquidity,

3:45:10 to 3:45:26( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: let it run, run its course so it is available where money should be available under the american free enterprise capital system. and we're hopeful that secretary paulson in analyzing this and in

3:45:26 to 3:45:39( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: analyzing that the way to get that wreckage out of the way was to create this $700 billion entity that could go out there and use that money to buy up this salvage, hold it in the name of the people

3:45:39 to 3:45:51( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: of our country, and then, believe it or not, sell it so that they might make money off of it. that's perhaps why secretary paulson came to us with athe four pieces of paper and saying, this is what

3:45:51 to 3:46:06( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: we ought to do, because he 00 clearly understand that while it's complicated, it is very simple. while it takes many pages balls of the way we do legislation, four pages explains it in his language,

3:46:06 to 3:46:19( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: as he would need the language to do his job. in any event, the current situation in the united states has created a situation where the financial and credit markets are blocked up. no matter how you say

3:46:19 to 3:46:33( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: it -- either say it with toxic assets, say it with salvage from a car wreck, call it what you may -- you must get the toxic assets out of the way. and that's what this fund is going to do. and i,

3:46:33 to 3:46:53( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: for one, had a difficult time at the beginning understanding why we should do this, and i actually was very kind of upset and mad at the same time that we were in this situation at this particular

3:46:53 to 3:47:06( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: time in our economic history. when we've had such modern -- modernism has been imposed on the financial system in great gobs. it is terrifically -- terrifically efficient and modern, filled with all kinds of technological

3:47:06 to 3:47:18( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: breakthroughs that make the system work and here we were nonetheless loading a system with promissory notes and mortgages that from the very beginning were not going to make it. thousands upon thousands

3:47:18 to 3:47:32( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: of them being packaged up and put a bow on them, make them look like securities that were valuable and shipping them out and getting them through the market. what we're being asked for here tonight

3:47:32 to 3:47:46( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: is to vote aye for a bill that proposed the proposed rescue mission that secretary paulson in behalf of the president has put together and submitted to us. we made it tbhert that we made sure that it

3:47:46 to 3:47:57( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: has oversight and we made sure that the other things that our people were complaining about were taken care of, and we have taken care of those, and it is a better bill in that regard. and then we were

3:47:57 to 3:48:12( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: shocked the other night when the united states house voted "no" on the bill. and it's come back to the senate, and here our people have thought it through -- and i hope the united states house leaders

3:48:12 to 3:48:24( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: have paid attention and listened -- and as i look down at my friend, senator gore, i would say i'm hopeful and certainly almost positive that he and others have talked to the leadership on the house side

3:48:24 to 3:48:36( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: about what we're going to do tonight and what we hope they will do when they get the results of our vote. and i think i'm safe in predicting the enthusiasm around here is to vote this out, and it'll

3:48:36 to 3:48:47( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: pass overwellcomingly, in my opinion. now, nobody is happy, and nonetheless, we're going to get it done. this is one of the most difficult situations to explain to the american people that i've

3:48:47 to 3:49:01( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: ever been involved in. this afternoon, senator dodd, i was on a little tv show and the announcer sa to me,, senator domenici, i want to ask you a question that i was asked today. i said, you mean

3:49:01 to 3:49:14( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: this day today? yes, an hour ago. well, what was the question, i said. he said, a listener got on and said, i have $2 50,000 and i'd rather lose it than to see our banking system socialized. why

3:49:14 to 3:49:28( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: aren't you saying that, she said to the announcer -- why aren't you condemning the social disaiftion our banking system? and of course it was my turn to answer, and i said, my oh, my is it hard

3:49:28 to 3:49:42( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: to explain to people. first of all, the secretary is only given two years to accomplish this entire job, two years. in two years i think you could hardly socialize a system as big as the united

3:49:42 to 3:49:53( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: states banking and finance system. you're in and out and hope it works. so i believe many people in this country are paying attention and trying to understand it, but we're all having difficulty communicating.

3:49:53 to 3:50:09( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: i hope when we are finished tonight, we'll be able to explain it better to our people and before we are finished, some of the fear and trepidation that members of the house have about voting for

3:50:09 to 3:50:22( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: this can be dissuade and can leave the scene and we can vote with confidence for the country, for the right thing and make sure that our finance system is given a chance to come out from under this

3:50:22 to 3:50:32( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: absolutely perilous load that has been thrust upon it. plenty of time after that to assess blame. i would caution that if you read anything about it, either side ought to be careful about call ing

3:50:32 to 3:50:44( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: the -- laying blame on the other side. i look to the democrats and say, be careful us a try to blame president bush and republicans exclusively for this. the presiding officer: the senator has used

3:50:44 to 3:51:00( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: 10 minutes. mr. domenici: to the republicans, the same thing. there's going to be both sides involved in doing this when we finish. i'm sorry i went over a minute. i yield the floor and i thank the snare

3:51:00 to 3:51:14( Edit History Discussion )

Pete Domenici: -- and i thank the senate for listening. the presiding officer: the senator new jersey. mr. menendez: madam president, i am as angry as any new jerseyan, as any american about the economic situation

3:51:14 to 3:51:28( Edit History Discussion )

Robert Menendez: we have been put in. but the truth is, for those who are honest with themselves, they know that we're in an economic crisis and doing nothing is not an option. if we don't get credit flowing again,

3:51:14 to 3:55:46( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Robert Menendez