Bruce Braley

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, America can become the world leader in the new clean energy economy. But to ensure our economic recovery is sustainable for years to come, we intend to pass comprehensive clean energy legislation that will create millions of new American jobs that can't be shipped overseas; reduce our dependence on foreign oil; increase production of cleaner, renewable energy sources; crack down on heavy polluters who have damaged our air and water quality; and give American entrepreneurs and innovators the tools they need to stay competitive in this global economy. The Energy and Commerce Committee is currently considering draft legislation called the American Clean Energy and Security Act, or ACES. The legislation will reform our country's energy policies by limiting the amount of pollutants industries can emit into the atmosphere and by investing in a clean energy economy that will lead to new jobs, new businesses, and less dependence on foreign oil. This act will invest in American jobs that can't be shipped overseas. Whether it's the ingenuity and innovation to create new technologies or the manufacturing that builds windmills, we will create millions of jobs here at home and make America the world leader in the 21st-century clean energy economy.

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my good friend Jim Young on his recent retirement as an Iowa Director for the National Education Association (NEA). Jim has dedicated his life to the education of children and the representation of teachers. Jim has been teaching in Cedar Falls, Iowa, for 25 years at the elementary school level. Jim has been actively involved at all levels of the National Education Association. He has held virtually every leadership position at the local level serving as president, vice president, treasurer and building representative. Jim has also chaired several different association committees including Governmental Relations, Communications and American Education Week. In 2003, Jim began his first 3-year term as a member of the board of directors for the NEA. As an NEA director, Jim advocated for issues affecting Iowa teachers at the national level of the NEA. Jim served two terms as an NEA director and retires from the position this year as it is term limited to two terms. I'm happy to report that Jim will begin his 26th year of teaching this fall. He will be teaching 4th grade at Helen Hansen Elementary School in Cedar Falls. I congratulate him on all of his success and wish him the best in all of his future endeavors.

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. Madam Speaker, I was not present for votes on Monday, May 4, 2009, due to health reasons. If I was present I would have voted: ``yea'' on rollcall 229, H. Res. 230--Reocgnizing the historical significance of the Mexican holiday of Cinco de Mayo and ``yea'' on rollcall 230, H. Con. Res. 111--Recognizing the 61st anniversary of the independence of the State of Israel.

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the courage and resolve of Maddeson Elizabeth Billmeyer. Maddeson went to the hospital after falling on the ice this past winter. During her hospital visit, a tumor was detected and diagnosed. This fall was a blessing in disguise, as it allowed for her to be diagnosed sooner rather than later. Maddeson was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma which has only about 150 cases reported each year. This rare cancer has spread to both lungs. The cancer will be treated with 6 sessions of chemotherapy, followed by surgery to remove the tumor and any remaining cancer. Maddeson will then continue with chemotherapy for a minimum of 42 weeks. Maddeson is only 6 years old and is in the process of dealing with a terrible disease. Maddeson and her family have a difficult road ahead of them and they need community support. The Billmeyer family needs emotional, educational, and practical support from their family and friends. I want to use this unfortunate circumstance as an opportunity to promote childhood cancer awareness, and the need for childhood cancer education. Ours thoughts and prayers are with Maddeson Billmeyer and her family.

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. Madam Speaker, I rise to congratulate the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council #10 from Davenport, Iowa on their 50th anniversary. LULAC Council #10 was established in 1959 to support the strong, multi-generational Latino community that has thrived in Davenport and broader Quad Cities area since the early 1900s. The Council #10 founders' goals were to advance the economic conditions, educational attainment, political participation, housing, health and civil rights of Latino families and workers. At that time it was not uncommon for local businesses to discriminate against Latino workers, and many Latino children were falling behind in school because their English skills were not adequate. Despite these challenges the Latino population made great strides in the Quad Cities community while preserving their culture and values. Since its inception, LULAC Council #10 has worked with local school districts to create bilingual education opportunities and English as a Second Language programs. These programs have been so successful that they are now used to help the growing Vietnamese student population in Davenport. Council #10 maintains a local scholarship program to give Latino students opportunities to continue their education. The club hosts a senior meal program, organizes multiple festivals celebrating Latino cultures, and works tirelessly with local unions and employers to avert discrimination in the workplace. Madam Speaker, LULAC Council #10 has a proud history and its members have made great contributions to Davenport and our country. I congratulate Council #10 on their 50th anniversary.

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my good friend Mildred ``Midge'' Slater on her recent retirement as a Representative for the Communications Workers of America (CWA). Midge has spent the last 30 plus years in the social justice and labor movements. After spending time in the Pittsburgh and upstate New York areas, Midge settled in Iowa and forged a commitment to fighting for civil rights, women's rights and worker's rights. Midge became active in the CWA, serving in many capacities including Chief Steward, Vice President and President. She went on to serve many years as a CWA International Representative fostering and mentoring many into the fight for social and economic justice while forming strong bonds with those she came to know. I'm happy to report that despite being retired she still remains active in CWA as she continues to go to the Iowa Capital advocating for others. She has also taken on the task of organizing other retirees to continue to advocate for others. Midge continues to be active on her church board and serves on many other boards across the state, including the Iowa Federation of Labor, the AFL-CIO and the Iowa Citizens Action Network. I congratulate her on all of her success and wish her the best in all of her future endeavors.

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. I thank my friend for those profound and insightful comments. And I just want to respond to one of the comments you made before I yield to my friend from Ohio. You talked about how important it is to the populist values and middle class values to be open and candid with the American people. And I think that's one of the things about the President's budget proposal and the proposal we're voting on here that is lost in all of this chatter you hear on cable TV and on talk radio; is that, for the first 2 years that the three of us served in the House, all of these costs associated with the war in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, were put into supplemental appropriations bills that were outside the normal budget process, and they were enormously expensive. And yet they were never part of the total numbers associated with President Bush's budget proposal to Congress. And the American people were being misled to believe that the budget numbers in the President's budget were an accurate reflection of their tax burden to support those ongoing efforts. In fact, I introduced an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill that went even beyond that and said, we need to be truthful in disclosing to the American people the true cost of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. And all of us had prior professional experiences where we dealt with people who would place a long-term economic calculation on someone's loss of life, what their cost was for restitution, if you're prosecuting someone for committing a crime for the injury they caused to somebody. And you can hire economists that take the life expectancy of an individual, what their medical needs are going to be, especially if you consider the signature injuries in Iraq, which are post- traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and amputations. And yet, we were getting nothing from the Department of Defense and the Bush administration about those defined, long-term costs that we owe to the veterans of this country who sacrificed honorably to protect and defend us. And yet, that is a huge component of the cost of the war that we have been prosecuting. So I think you made an excellent point about what's really in this budget message is we're going to be honest with you; we're in a difficult time economically, but it's time for the American people to hear the plain truth about what it costs to run this government and put us back on a positive track. And I thank you for that. And with that, I'm going to yield to my good friend from Ohio, Betty Sutton, who's been a strong advocate for middle class values, for populist messages and for the working trade group. And I would like you to share with us some of the reasons why you decided to join the Populist Caucus, and where you see this adventure going in the future.

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. Well, I think you've made some excellent points. You know, one of the things that happens every day to every Member of Congress is we have constituents from our districts who come out and visit us. Many times these constituents will say to me, ``Congressman, what can we do to help you deal with this important issue that we have come here, all the way to Washington, D.C., to share with you?'' My answer is always the same: ``By helping put a human face on the public policies we are setting, you give me the best arguments to make on why this policy is worthwhile.'' I think you made a very good point when you talked about the fact that we have 25 members of our Populist Caucus now, and I think every one of us grew up in a middle class home, and every one of us has our own, unique life story that explains why these values are so important to us. I just want to share a story from my own family experience. When I was 2 years old, my father was working at a grain elevator in my small Iowa town, Brooklyn--a small town of 1,500 people, a little farming community. There were four kids in my family at the time, and my mom had left her teaching career to raise a family. My father was taking a lid up to the top of this grain bin, and he was about 30-35 feet in the air when he fell and shattered his leg. It changed his life. He was fortunate there was a safety net in place to help take care of our family needs because, without it, we would not have survived as a family, but he had to completely change his career and do something else with his life. Without affordable health care, people placed in that situation fall between the cracks. The statistics show us that more and more bankruptcies every year are due to the fact that middle class families can no longer afford to pay their medical bills or their insurance premiums. Then, as a result of that injury, my mother ended up going back to school to get her 4-year teaching degree because she had had a 2-year teaching certificate. She drove 26,000 miles. Without that education she was able to get, she would not have been able to have been a valuable breadwinner for our family during that period of time. When we were much younger, many of us worked from an early age to help pay for our college educations, and we had the benefit of very low interest, federally insured student loans and work study programs. We know, because this is based on pure economic theory and analysis, that the more educational opportunities you have, the higher your standard of living is going to be over your lifetime. There is a direct relationship. So all of these things that are up here are reflected in our own life histories and in the people whom we represent, and that is why they are so important to us. So I am going to yield back to my friend from New York so he can talk a little bit about his life experiences, the people he represents and about some of these individual values that bring us here tonight.

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. I thank the gentleman for those important observations, and it brought to mind some of the issues that we have been talking about in our Populist Caucus meetings. And one of the things that we frequently talk about is the whole issue of corporate accountability. And one of the things that has come to light in recent years is how corporations have gone away from an employment philosophy that many of us, when we entered the workforce, were very proud of. And that was there was a sense that if you come and work for a company, there will be job security. In fact, employers marketed this. When they tried to hire employees, they would show the number of long-term employees who had worked for them, and they said, ``If you come and work for us, you're going to have these types of benefits. We will take care of you. When you complete your employment career with us, you're going to have a retirement savings build-up that's going to allow you to enjoy your life and be a proper reflection as a reward for the sacrifice you have made to help us and make us a profitable company.'' And in the last 20 years, we have seen that whole concept of job security disappear from the workforce. And it is a rare employer now that rewards longevity and even promotes that concept. And we see a lot of transfer among employment as people move from job to job. And if you ask most employers in the workforce, employees in the workforce today, what their understanding of their job security was, they would say there is none. So one of the things that we've talked about tonight is how the policies that you implement are reflected in the values that American consumers have, that American homeowners have, that American employers have, and that's why one of the things we need to do a better job of in this Congress is acknowledging the people who do it right and who are responsible corporate citizens and use that as a motivation to get others to aspire to behave like them. And a good example of that came out last week during our food safety hearings in the Energy and Commerce Committee. And we heard a lot about the peanut butter hazard coming out of the Georgia peanut butter plant. And one of the things that came out in those hearings is that some companies were using an independent inspection group that was giving them certifications that their product was not contaminated even though they had tests that showed it was contaminated. I happened to be fortunate enough to have a company, Nestle Corporation, that has a plant in my district in Waverly, Iowa. And when Nestle was faced with that very same choice, they decided to send one of their own independent auditors there to give them the straight scoop on what was going on in that plant. And their auditor came back and said, ``We should not be a part of this deal,'' and they refused to participate. So one of the things we're trying to do by promoting these middle class values is get back to a point where people are responsible to each other, both as employees and employers, and to create that type of environment where they both benefit from the increased productivity that my friend from New York was talking about earlier. And with that, I am going to yield back to my friend from New York, and I would like to talk a little bit about some of the things that we have been dealing with recently in terms of corporate accountability. Obviously, the whole issue with AIG has been a paramount issue, but it's much deeper than just AIG and the way it conducted its affairs. It's part of this whole culture that we have seen on Wall Street that does not reflect the values on Main Street that most of us grew up with.

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I'm excited to be here tonight to talk about the Populist Caucus and to spend some time with members of that caucus talking about issues that are important to the people of America. One of the things that I think is important to talk about is why we decided to start this caucus and what it is going to do. So it is important for people to understand that populism is not a bunch of people walking around with pitchforks. It is people who care about middle-class economic values and how those values are translated into public policy that is set here in Congress and at the White House. And to give a brief history lesson, this is not the first Populist Caucus that has ever been organized in Congress. In fact, the very first Populist Caucus that we have been able to identify was formed in February of 1983. And I think it is striking because of some of the members who were part of that first Populist Caucus. Most of these members were Midwest Democrats. They included my Senator from Iowa who was a representative at the time, Tom Harkin. It also included Berkley Bedell, an entrepreneur from Spirit Lake, Iowa, my friend Lane Evans from Rock Island, Illinois, former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle, former Vice President Al Gore, Senator Byron Dorgan from North Dakota, our good friend Jim Oberstar from Minnesota, who is Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and the current Governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson. Now, one of the things that drew these members together, back in 1983, was an economic crisis that was having a profound impact in farm country out in the Midwest. And the first Chair of the Populist Caucus was Tom Harkin. And the caucus was organized to fight for economic goals like fairer tax structures, lower interest rates and cheaper energy, because we were experiencing an energy crisis in 1983. And one of the first things that that Populist Caucus did was ask constituents from their districts to mail them their gas receipts to show the rising price of gas and how it was affecting their ability to take care of their families. Even though the new Populist Caucus is organized on a very broad coalition, with members from all over the country, with representatives of the Blue Dogs, the New Democrats, and the Progressive Caucus, with members from the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Asian Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, we wanted to bring a laser beam focus to the types of economic issues that affect middle class Americans and people struggling to get into the middle class. And one of the reasons we chose to do that is because we know that this country has been strongest when it is focused on promoting values through public policy that are going to protect and expand the middle class. And that's why we were very excited when we formed the caucus this year. I'm going to be introducing some of my friends tonight who are members of the caucus, including some of the vice chairs. But let's talk about why now is the time and now is the place for this caucus. We know that the middle class is the economic engine that drives America's growth. We know that when policies in Washington reflect middle class values, it does more to expand economic opportunity throughout this country. And we know that when there are gross disparities in income between the middle class and the upper class, which we've seen played out over and over in this current economic crisis, it creates conflict that divides us as a country, rather than bring us together. And so what we're going to be talking about tonight is some of the values that we think are critical for the American people to be focused on in this economic crisis, values that our members reflect every day back in their district, values that their constituents live every day back in their districts. And one of the things that I want to do is talk briefly about how we take this philosophy of strengthening and expanding the middle class, and translate it into action. One of the first things we did as a caucus was talk about what our founding principles were going to be. And again, we wanted to go back to these shared values that reflect the entire diversity of our Democratic Caucus and how that is translated into the people we represent in diverse districts all over America. And some common themes kept coming back to us, and those themes are, good jobs, middle class tax cuts, affordable health care, quality education, fair trade agreements, and consumer protection and corporate accountability. Now, we've heard a lot lately about corporate accountability. We're going to be spending some time talking tonight about how corporate accountability isn't just a restriction on how corporations operate, but it's part of their fundamental compact they make with the American people to be responsible stewards of their investors' assets and to provide value to all Americans, not just to their shareholders, in the way they conduct their business, the way they hold themselves out, and the way they lived responsibly under the protections and legal opportunities that they are allowed to operate under in each State of the United States. So I'm going to start now by introducing one of the vice chairs of the caucus, my good friend from the State of New York, and his name is Mike Arcuri. And Mike is going to talk a little bit about what motivated him to be one of the founding members of the Populist Caucus, and where he sees this caucus moving in the future as we focus with a laser beam on these economic values to help our constituents.

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. Thank you, my friend. Also, I just want to point out how the description you just provided us is a perfect example of why having good jobs is a core populist, middle class value. Think back to the way things were. Some of our friends in the preceding hour were talking about Franklin Delano Roosevelt and about how his policies drove us towards, as they described it, socialism. Think about it: Before Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a college education was a rare thing for anyone in this country to have, and it was not until World War II when men and women from all over this country, but primarily from middle class families, met together and served their country with honor and distinction in the Pacific theater, in the European theater, in Africa, and in Asia. It was a great melting pot experience, introducing people from different regions, people who never thought they had anything in common but who learned they really did have a lot of common values. When they came home, we did something remarkable, an incredible populist piece of legislation. It was called the GI Bill. And we saw an explosion in admissions to colleges all across the country. And the GI Bill wasn't just an educational bill, it was also a home-buying program, because low-interest loans were provided to veterans, and it exploded, the homeownership and the house building market in this country. It put people to work, it created something called suburbs, which now are a prevalent thing in every district in this country. But those are examples of what we're talking about here, which is how the Federal Government reflecting populist values can be a motivating factor in driving economic policy in a positive way that benefits all Americans. And I want to come back and talk about some of these other issues.

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. Absolutely.

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. That is a perfect example of the human drama that every one of us has as part of our life experience that is a reflection of these values. And now I want to introduce one of our other new Members of Congress, a rising star from the Old Dominion of Virginia, Tom Perriello. And Tom is going to talk about some of the reasons that motivated him to join the Populist Caucus and some of these core values that are reflected in the people that he represents in Virginia. And with that, I will yield to my friend from Virginia.

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. I think you have raised a very important point, and that is the populist values do not reflect that more regulation should be just burying people in red tape, because I don't know anybody on either side of the aisle who thinks that burying people in mindless paperwork and keeping people occupied processing paper is effective regulation. But there is a big difference between that and completely giving up the regulatory field, as we did with the credit default swaps when we had a chance to place them under some type of regulatory oversight in 2000 and failed to do it. And that led to a $55-63 trillion problem that nobody can get a handle on now. So we have learned some lessons, and part of our responsibility to the American public is to apply these values in effective, meaningful, minimal oversight that accomplishes the results that we want to see happen. I want to yield now to my friend from Virginia because he was the one who had the brilliant idea to add this corporate accountability value to our Populus Caucus themes. And I would like you to talk a little bit about why this is such an important value and how it reflects on the middle class and their ability to go ahead and to have a productive and meaningful life.

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. Just a personal observation, this is one of the things that drives me crazy about how our policy shifts back and forth, depending upon a boom or bust economy. But I have a very clear memory of buying my second house. It was probably about 1992, and I had bought my first house in 1984. I had completely renovated it myself with my wife. We sold it for a small profit and moved to another neighborhood where we bought a house that was less expensive than the one we were selling, and this is right after the savings and loan debacle that led to a tightening of credit restrictions in the lending market. I will never forget when I was applying for this loan, the bank officer said, you have to fill out an affidavit explaining to us why you're buying a home that's less expensive than the one you're selling. And I thought to myself, what is wrong with this picture? Because growing up in a small Iowa town, with parents who grew up in the Depression, I was always taught that you don't spend beyond your means; you're supposed to be out there trying to be good stewards of what you have and share it with other people. And yet you're having to justify making a responsible purchasing decision. We've gone from that era to one where you're getting zero percent interest, no money down, take as much as you want, and I think one of the things we want to see is we want to come back to some commonsense lending values and commonsense purchasing values, and these values are a two-way street. Let's be honest. We want to promote responsible decision-making across the board, and that's why I think that your point was so on target. And I yield back.

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. I want to thank you for making an important connection between a couple of the middle class values that we've been talking about all night, and that is, corporate accountability and how it affects fair trade. And one of the things that we know is that there are still some lingering so-called free trade agreements that have been negotiated by the Bush administration that are still on the table and are going to be considered in some way, shape or form in the future. And one of the trade agreements that's still outstanding is President Bush's Panama Free Trade Agreement, and this is where we get into some of these values issues on corporate accountability because the GAO recently did a study identifying Panama as one of eight countries, and the only current country and prospective trading partner, that was listed on all of the major tax haven watchdog lists. In fact, Panama has been a key target of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development for resisting international norms in combating tax evasion and money laundering. And now to tie this all into one big bow, we've learned that AIG, arrogance, incompetence, greed, has sued the U.S. Government demanding more than $306 million in taxes it paid, twice the amount of what it paid in the now infamous executive bonuses. Here is what AIG is claiming. AIG is claiming it overpaid taxes related to the activities of its AIG-linked Panamanian corporation, Star International Company, which is chartered in the tax haven of Panama. And if President Bush's Panama Free Trade Agreement is ratified, AIG's largest shareholder, which is this derivative in Panama and other offshore companies, would have expansive new rights to challenge U.S. tax laws. In fact, there are currently 350,000 foreign firms that are registered in Panama where there are zero to low regulations and taxing restrictions. So we know that, if this treaty is ratified, these policies will inhibit the ability to protect the American people, crack down on money laundering and tax cheating and shady financial deals. So one of the things that we've learned is that there is linkage between the important concept of corporate accountability, fair trade policies, and I want to yield to my friend from New York to talk a little bit about how those issues combine and how they affect the people that he represents in upstate New York.

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. I thank you, and before I yield to my friend from Virginia for a closing comment, I just want to point out that the Populist Caucus is not anti-trade. We are not protectionist, but we want American companies and American employees and American consumers to be on a level playing field with their competitors. And when you have trade agreements that don't have the same level of commitment to enforceability, then you don't have a level playing field, and that's why fair trade agreements are important to protect all interests in the United States. And with that, I want to yield back to my young friend from Virginia for some closing comments and want to thank him for the important contributions and voice he has added to our caucus.

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. I thank my friend for yielding. And I want to remind my friend from Kentucky that I actually had the privilege of following him immediately during that hearing and questioning the CEOs of AIG. And I have to tell you it was one of the more shocking examples of corporate greed that I've ever heard in my lifetime, and I have lived 51 years in this country. But I think one of the things that we've talked about is the reality that we as taxpayers now own approximately 80 percent of this company because of the investment that we have made. So my recommendation to Treasury Secretary Geithner and President Obama is that we rename AIG to properly reflect and offer a lasting lesson to the American people of what happened here. I am going to recommend we rename this company ``Arrogance Inspires Greed'' because that is exactly what we learned on October 7, 2008, when we had a hearing in the Oversight Committee and got to the bottom of this problem. So let's have a short history lesson of exactly what led this company into the crisis that brought it to the American Government for help. We learned that the principal actor responsible for the demise of AIG was an employee named Joseph Cassano, and Mr. Cassano operated the London office of AIG, its Financial Products division, which was primarily the unit that sold credit default swaps that helped bring down AIG. If you go back to the Presidential election, you may recall that CNN was running a feature during this time that had the 10 top villains responsible for the collapse of our financial system. The number one culprit that they identified was Joseph Cassano. Here's why. Mr. Cassano, who was president of this division, was paid $280 million in cash during the last 8 years of his employment, far more than the CEOs of AIG made. The bulk of his money came from, guess what, a bonus program. In fact, for every dollar that his unit made, Mr. Cassano and the executives who worked with him got 30 cents on the dollar, and this was a unit that was trading in trillions of dollars of credit default swaps. To make matters worse, on February 28, 2008, AIG posted record losses of $5.3 billion. And the main reason for those losses was that Mr. Cassano's division had lost $11 billion. So what did AIG do? Well, as a responsible corporate citizen, it fired Mr. Cassano. And the very next day it gave him a severance agreement that Mr. Yarmuth talked about, paying him $1 million a month and allowing him to keep that $34 million in uninvested bonuses. So he was paid essentially, to do nothing, $1 million a month. So when we had this hearing in October of 2008, 6 months later, and these corporate CEOs who were in charge of the company during the period of time when he was receiving those payments were called to account for the conduct of this company, these are the questions and answers that I got. The first CEO was Mr. Willumstad. ``Mr. Willumstad, let me start with you. As CEO of AIG, you had authority, until September 17, 2008, to cancel Mr. Cassano's consulting agreement for cause, but you never did that, did you?'' And his answer, ``No.'' Second CEO, Mr. Sullivan. ``As CEO for AIG during the period from March 11, 2008, when this severance agreement was signed between AIG and Mr. Cassano, through June 15, 2008, you had authority to cancel Mr. Cassano's consulting agreement for cause, but you never took that action, did you?'' His answer, ``That is correct.'' Think about that. The one person identified as the principal culprit for the financial collapse of this country and the global economy continued to receive $1 million a month after driving this truck off the cliff. It was shocking then, it's more shocking now, because the losses continued to mount. And what the American people are demanding right now is justice by superior firepower, and we in the House and our colleagues in the Senate and the White House and the Treasury Department have to provide that firepower because the American people are demanding it, and they deserve nothing less. But there were a lot of things that came up during that hearing, and one of them we talked about was this philosophy that less regulation is always better. Well, one of the things that came out during this hearing, and which 60 Minutes covered in two excellent stories, was that this giant credit default swap market, which at the time was estimated to be between 63 and $75 trillion, 90 percent of it was the same thing as what you and I would consider gambling. So back in 2000, when they had a chance to get a handle on this and provide some type of governmental oversight, what happened? Well, they could have classified it as insurance and made it subject to insurance regulation in all 50 States, but they decided not to. Then they could have decided, well, this is gambling. Let's make it subject to gaming regulations in all 50 States. They decided not to. Well, it's kind of like a security. Maybe we should make this part of the Securities and Exchange Commission. They didn't because of this push against any form of regulation. So now, in 2009, we are sitting here with no effective oversight at the State or Federal level of this enormous credit default swap market. That has to change, and it's part of the ongoing regulatory reform we are pushing in the 111th Congress. We have to do it, and we have to be smart about how we do it so we don't find ourselves in this position again. I just want to emphasize justice by superior firepower. Congress has the responsibility to act.

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. I recall we had a lot of discussions about that as part of the ongoing debate about how to provide effective regulation to the broad scope of financial services, but I am fairly confident that no action was taken because of a lot of different reasons. But I think you have brought up a great point, one that came up at this hearing we had back on October 7. When I was in law school from 1980 to 1983, the insurance industry and the financial services sector was completely different than it is today. One of the things that came out of the hearing was AIG's insurance business was very successful, which is why, even though they lost $11 billion in their London office, they only had a loss of $5.3 billion, because of the offsets from their insurance business. But back in those days, most insurance companies were mutual companies. Their sole responsibility was to their policyholders. And then we saw a lot of blurring of lines between various types of financial services providers. Why is that important? Well, in this case it's important because insurance companies, going way back to the McCarran-Ferguson Act, have had an exemption from antitrust oversight by the Federal Government. And yet when you see companies that formerly limited their involvement to providing insurance products branching out into other types of financial services and vice versa, you get a lot of confusion. And then the big push, as my friend from Louisville mentioned, is returning profits to shareholders, not providing a conservative return on investments to protect policyholders. So what happened is as continued de-emphasis on regulation was part of the Federal approach to all of these products, we had things going on that were completely beyond the control of the average investor. In fact, these CEOs testified during the hearing that their understanding of credit default swaps was, in fact, quite limited, which is a shocking thing when you think of how deeply this company that they were shepherding was involved in this one high-risk financial investment tool.

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. Would my friend yield for a followup?

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. We have all sat here during this financial crisis and have heard over and over again from Treasury ``this company is too big to fail.'' And I'd like to propose right now on the floor of the House of Representatives, the people's House, an exception to that rule, which is there are some companies that are too arrogant to save. Here's an example of what I'm talking about. I'm going to quote to you--and I quoted this during the hearing on October 7. This is from a September 28, 2008, article of the New York Times. This was a comment made by the same Joseph Cassano who headed AIG's London office and who brought about this $11 billion first quarter loss that took them over the cliff. Here's what he said when asked to respond to this financial crisis. He said, ``It is hard for us,'' AIG, ``without being flippant, to even see a scenario within any kind of realm of reason that would see us losing $1 in these circumstances.'' One dollar. Then, apparently his math skills are somewhat lacking because he obviously earned a heck of a lot more than $1--$280 million over an 8- year period. That just shows the level of arrogance that these financial prognosticators have. I'd like to throw this question over to my friend from Memphis. I remember when the Fed was trying to have discussions about what type of financial oversight was appropriate for these new financial devices called mortgage-backed securities and credit-default swaps. Then-Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan was a firm believer in ``just let the market regulate itself.'' In fact, that is what his recommendation was on credit-default swaps. So then we saw this market grow to a $100 trillion-plus market with no Federal or State oversight. I guess we should be shocked that anyone would be surprised that we would find ourselves in this predicament.

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. That would be my friend Mr. Klein.

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. Will my friend yield for a followup comment, and then I want to yield back to Mr. Yarmuth on this point that I think is an important complement, with an e, to the regulation piece, and that is the whistleblower protection. Because one of the things that Mr. Yarmuth and I had a key role in was passing out of our Oversight Committee the Whistleblower Enhancement Bill of 2007. It was an enormously overwhelmingly bipartisan bill. It passed on the floor of this House with over 330 votes which, as all of us can tell, if you're not naming a post office, that is doing pretty good down here. Unfortunately, it ran into obstacles in the Senate and did not get to the President's desk in the 110th Congress. And then Congressman Chris Van Hollen, who's a Democrat, and Congressman Todd Platts from Pennsylvania, who's a Republican, had the brilliant idea when we were putting together some of this financial recovery legislation in the stimulus bill, let's put the whistleblower bill back in. We're putting a lot of money into the economy. We want to provide protection to Federal employees to report instances of waste, fraud, and abuse. And it passed overwhelmingly here and it went to the Senate. One Senator decided that that was not appropriate, and it came out of the bill. I think the American taxpayers are fed up with the lack of accountability. They want people to be protected when they have the courage to put their lives and their careers on the line and stand up for American taxpayers. That is why we had a press conference last week to reintroduce the bill as a standalone bill. I hope we quickly get it over to the Senate and I hope this time the Senate understands that the American people are outraged. They want us to be on their side to protect their hard- earned dollars. I think this is a critical component we need to push. With that, I will yield to Mr. Yarmuth.

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. Well, the concluding remarks I just want to offer to the American people are, AIG is now a symbol of Arrogance Inspires Greed. That should be the lasting hallmark of this sad chapter in our Nation's history. The other thing is, the American people expect us in Congress to provide justice with superior firepower. We have got a lot of intellectual firepower on both sides of the aisle, a lot of bright, creative people who have had diverse world experiences. And to my colleague's reference about cleaning up, I spent a lot of time doing janitorial work putting my way through college and law school. I have got to tell you, I am excited to be here at this important moment in our Nation's history. We need bright, creative people with critical thinking skills, and together we will solve this problem.

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 119, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''