Christopher Dodd

Mr. DODD

Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 3218, introduced earlier today.

Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements relating to the bill be placed in the Record.

Mr. DODD

Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. DODD

Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I wish to review very briefly before we close out this evening and head back to our respective States for the Independence Day recess sort of where we are on the housing issue which has dominated a good part of the debate over the last week or so in the Senate. I wish to begin by thanking the majority leader and the minority leader for the ability to raise a number of issues which have been debated and discussed over the last week or so regarding the effort to get this housing crisis back on track. I have said this so often, for those who have had to listen to it, it would be redundant, but for those who are hearing it the first time: The heart of the economic crisis is the housing crisis, and for anyone who doubts it, the heart of the housing crisis is the foreclosure crisis. We now have roughly 8,500 foreclosures a day occurring in the United States. This is no longer a question that has merely affected the subprime lending market. It has now spread to the prime market area as well. It is affecting student loans, municipal finance, commercial financing. It has had a tremendous impact on global markets as well. As we all today recognize, we live in a world where major economic conditions affect not only those of us who live here but elsewhere as well. So when we return a week or so from tonight, we will be back on this housing bill along with other measures but certainly the housing bill. It is with a deep sense of regret that I speak this evening about the disappointment I feel over the inability to conclude this matter. It would not have taken this Chamber much more than 2 or 3 hours to consider all of the amendments that were being offered by Democrats and Republicans to this housing measure. But for the actions of one or two Members who refused to allow us to go to the debate--not even considering amendments we would have disagreed with, it is very disappointing to me when you consider that we are now leaving for another 8 or 10 days. I will remind my colleagues and those who may be interested in this that every day we are not in session, and every day we fail to act on this measure, somewhere between 8,000 and 9,000 homes, not to mention the individuals affected by it, will be filing for foreclosure. So as we leave tomorrow and head back to our respective States across the country, some 8,000 to 9,000 people will be put at great jeopardy for their long-term economic security and potentially losing their homes. As we go off and spend our time next week, whether we are spending our time with our families or engaging in activities with our constituents, on every day we are not here, another 8,000 to 9,000 people will find their long-term financial security at further risk because we could not convince a couple of Members to allow us to debate the issues of housing and what we might do. Let me also point out that it is only a handful of people. Two days ago when we considered the motion to proceed to this matter, the vote was 83 to 9. For every vote we have had on this housing measure over the last week, the lowest number of votes we have had in favor of our proposals was 77. So it is disappointing with that kind of a majority, which rarely occurs on any issue let alone one as potentially controversial as the housing issue, because we have had overwhelming support to move forward. Yet I find myself this evening as we conclude our debates on all of these matters unable to conclude this issue because of one or two Members who refuse to allow us to even get to this issue at all. Let me read, if I can, a headline from the business section of the Washington Post this morning: ``Delinquencies Rise at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.'' Now let me read the headline from Monday's section of USA Today: ``New Faces Join Ranks of Nation's Homeless: Renters, Middle Class Hit Hard by Rising Foreclosures.'' The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 would address both of these very serious concerns, and more. Our bill establishes a strong, new, world class regulator to make sure the housing GSEs are well regulated and financially sound. Our legislation provides for a voluntary new program that could help anywhere from 400,000 to 500,000 distressed homeowners avoid foreclosure. The legislation has proven time and time again to enjoy strong, bipartisan support, and we have made enormous progress over the last number of months. We have worked very hard, Senator Shelby and I, my Republican colleague from Alabama, the ranking Republican on the committee, and 19 of the 21 members of that committee--only 2 dissenters out of the 21 members--to put together this package. We worked through a number of amendments, accepting some, defeating others. In fact, last night the bill passed on the overall Dodd-Shelby proposal 79 to 16. Yet because of a technicality involving procedural hurdles that will not let us get to final passage, this measure is now being held up by one or two Senators because they want yet another vote on a completely unrelated matter. Let me review very briefly, if I can, for my colleagues before we go into recess exactly what it is we are working so hard to achieve. It has a number of key elements, all of which have been supported by strong bipartisan votes in either the Banking Committee or the full Senate. First, the HOPE for Homeowners Act. I have said over and over again, this bill, HOPE for Homeowners, is not guaranteed to produce the results we want, but what it does do is make it possible for both lenders and borrowers to reach an agreement whereby borrowers can stay in their homes with mortgages they can afford. The lenders are going to reduce their earnings--there is no question about that--but it is not going to be zero. So there is an advantage for the lender to be involved in this voluntary program. Speculators are not allowed to participate. It is only owner occupied residences. It is a temporary program. It is a purely voluntary one, but it is one that has been tried. It was actually tried many years ago, back in the 1920s and the 1930s when we had the Great Depression in this country, and the Federal Government actually purchased distressed mortgages. We are not doing anything like that. We are actually insuring these mortgages, allowing these people who are running the risk of losing their homes to stay in those homes, and thus bring us to a floor, if you will--a bottom--of this housing market, this mortgage market that would allow capital to begin to flow again. It is a very important proposal. I must tell my colleagues that we have listened to countless witnesses in over 50 hearings over the last year and a half of the Banking Committee. Witnesses have come from the entire breadth of the political spectrum and all of them have concluded that this idea is worthy of a try. So while I cannot stand here this evening and promise miraculous results, it is our best judgment--this is our best effort--of what we can do in this body to offer some relief at this moment. The second proposal that is part of this bill is the GSE reform, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These are important sources of liquidity in the residential mortgage market. They have provided a great source of relief during this time. Our bill reforms these institutions in such a way that we have a strong regulator requiring certain capital requirements and the like. It has been tried for the last 6 years to achieve what we have in this bill. It has failed in every other attempt. This final proposal, which we crafted over the last number of weeks, enjoys broad-based bipartisan support. The third feature of this bill, which has received less attention than the two points I have made, may be the provision which has more lasting implications than anything else we have done. The homeowners bill is a temporary one. It dies in 2 or 3 years; it will go out of existence. But the affordable housing provisions of the bill are permanent. We will generate revenues that will make it possible for people to have rental housing in the future that they could not even begin to imagine under present circumstances. That is a very important part of the bill as well. We include, as a result of the work of the Finance Committee, under the leadership of Senators Max Baucus and Chuck Grassley, of Iowa, mortgage revenue bonds, relief for first-time home buyers, tax credits that would allow them to purchase foreclosed properties or others. We have provisions dealing with counseling services, which are very important as people try to work out arrangements with lenders to stay in their homes. It has been called the most broad-sweeping housing legislation in more than a generation. All because of one or two Senators, I was unable to complete that bill this evening. As a result of the leadership of Harry Reid, our majority leader, we will be back on this bill when we return Monday, July 7. We will have a cloture vote that day and then move, 48 hours later or so, to a second cloture motion, which should allow us to come to a final conclusion on the bill. I am deeply saddened that, as we go into this Independence Day recess, we were not able to complete action on this proposal. I say to the American people, as we leave for 10 days, we have done something that will offer you some hope, some sense of optimism, some sense of confidence that your Senate, your Congress was not unmindful of your concerns and worries. Nothing provides greater stability to a family, to a neighborhood, to a community than home ownership. It is one of the great dreams of most American families to be able to have their own home, to watch equity increase in those homes, to be able to provide a stable environment for your family and children. Yet we see with the ever-increasing foreclosure crisis in the country, as I mentioned, some 8,400 foreclosures every day in the country--that dream, that hope is evaporating for too many American families. So this bill would have provided real relief. Unfortunately, we could not get to it. I would be remiss if I didn't mention at the same time, of course, we are simultaneously or are about to provide economic relief to 17 telecom companies who were engaged in activities that were highly questionable in the vacuuming up of private information of millions of Americans and their families, private telephone conversations, e-mails, faxes, and the like. That is part of the so-called Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. While I have deep concern about those who would do us great harm, I am deeply disturbed that that issue seems to be taking greater priority than this home ownership issue, Medicare relief, and the families across the country. I wish to conclude my remarks this evening, as we prepare to leave this city and return to our respective States, by saying that at a time when we could have done something meaningful for an awful lot of people, to offer them some hope, some renewed sense of confidence and optimism, we missed that opportunity. I didn't want the evening to end without expressing my disappointment. Simultaneously, I offer a note of optimism. When we come back 10 days from now, this will be a priority item. The majority leader, to his credit, talked about this eloquently and often over the last several days. He is committed that this issue will be a priority item when we return. As such, we will eventually conclude passage of this bill, and we will work with the House of Representatives to adopt a compromise measure and be able to offer some hope that people can remain in their homes--at least many will--with the hope that they can stay there, raise their families, and that we can once again see capital begin to flow in critical areas of investment in this country. I am grateful to the Presiding Officer and to others who are here to hear these concluding remarks. Again, I felt it was important to identify exactly what the situation was as we concluded our business this evening. With that, I yield the floor.

Mr. DODD

Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 833, S. 2565.

Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee substitute amendment be agreed to, the bill as amended be read the third time, and passed, the amendment to the title be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. DODD

Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 765, H.R. 3986.

Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee substitute amendment be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read the third time and passed, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. DODD

Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 828, H.R. 802.

Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee substitute amendment be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements related to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. DODD

Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H. Con. Res. 379, which was received from the House.

Mr. DODD

Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 604, submitted earlier today.

Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements related to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. DODD

Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 605, submitted earlier today.

Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. DODD

Mr. DODD. Mr. President, let me say before I read this last section, I commend the majority leader. He has had a very trying week. The floor staff and others have done a remarkable job in getting us to this point. I wouldn't want this evening to pass without noting they do not get the recognition they often deserve, but this institution functions because there are a lot of people whose names are never known who make this happen. It is important, as we begin this Independence Day break, that we recognize the remarkable people who function and work every single day in the Senate, the majority leader's staff, and others who have had to weave through this morass of procedural objections that have allowed us to reach the point we have. We are going to come back in 10 days. I mentioned the housing bill, but also the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is a source of significant controversy. While I have serious objections to it, and appreciate the opportunity I will have to strike section 2 of that bill dealing with retroactive immunity, I want the record to reflect the deep appreciation I have for the majority leader--I know others do as well--for the way in which he and his office have allowed us to achieve the results we have up to this point.

Mr. DODD

Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 9:45 a.m. tomorrow, Friday, June 27; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate proceed to a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each; I further ask that the cloture vote on the motion to concur with respect to H.R. 3221 occur at 5:30 p.m. Monday, July 7, and that the postcloture time count as if the vote had occurred at 5 p.m.

Mr. DODD

Mr. DODD. Mr. President, there will be no rollcall votes tomorrow. The next vote will occur at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, July 7.

Mr. DODD

Mr. DODD. If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent the Senate stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mr. DODD

Mr. DODD. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. DODD. Madam President, I see my good friend from West Virginia on the floor. While I have some disagreement with him on the effort he has made on the FISA bill, I commend my friend from West Virginia. He has the thankless task of heading up the Intelligence Committee, which is a difficult job. I wish to acknowledge that and recognize that. My respect for him and the work he is doing and trying to do on this issue is something I respect immensely. Unfortunately, we don't agree on one aspect--at least one aspect--of this bill, but that in no way diminishes my respect for the effort he has made to try to produce as good a bill as he can under the circumstances. You only have to try and manage a bill around here to understand how difficult that can be, as someone who is engaged right now in this housing proposal. Senator Shelby and I have spent weeks putting together a bill that has enjoyed almost unanimous support in our committee--19 to 2--coming out of the Banking Committee. We had the vote of 83 to 9 the other day on a cloture motion to deal with a proposal we put together covering everything from mortgage revenue bonds and tax incentives for people to buy foreclosed properties, not to mention the GSE--the government sponsored enterprises--reform, an affordable housing program in perpetuity to assist rental housing opportunities in the Nation, as well as the HOPE for Homeowners Act to deal with the foreclosure crisis. Here we are now approaching the late afternoon of Wednesday. We had the cloture vote yesterday morning, about 30 hours ago. We have yet to have one amendment I can deal with because one Senator is insisting that his bill be paramount, that we disregard the efforts we have made to listen to ideas, to take additional suggestions that have come from other Members to incorporate as part of this bill. Senator Kohl of Wisconsin has a very good proposal which we have worked out. Senator Sununu has made a proposal as well and we have been able to modify it and work with him to be a part of it. Senator Isakson has made a proposal we are working on to deal with a date in this bill that could make a difference. Senator Bond has a proposal we are working on dealing with disclosures. Senator Kohl and Senator Nelson are working on a proposal dealing with 401(k)s. All of these ideas have to be held in abeyance because one Senator won't even let us consider these matters on the floor, to bring them up and to deal with them. It is awfully difficult to understand, when you consider that between 8,000 and 9,000 people every day are filing for foreclosure in this country. This is the center of our economic problems in the Nation. The Wall Street Journal reported today in a banner headline that consumer confidence in this Nation is at the lowest point it has been since the late 1980s, early 1990s. A report yesterday actually takes it back to 1967. We are also told that home values are declining by the hour in this country. The Case-Schiller Index indicates that home values may decline by as much as 30 percent over the next 2 or 3 years. This is affecting student loans, it is affecting municipal finance, and it is affecting commercial borrowing. We are literally in a stall with the economy growing worse and the level of optimism and confidence of the American people declining at a rapid rate. There is nothing more important we could do before adjourning for the next week to go home for Independence Day than to deal with this bill. We could literally complete this housing bill in about an hour. That is about all it would take to consider the amendments we can agree to, to adopt the ones we have, and then move this bill off this floor, out of this Chamber to the point that I think the House may accept what we have done, and send the bill to the President for his signature. What better message to send to those who are facing potential foreclosure, of losing their most important and valuable asset that the overwhelming majority of Americans will ever have, not just in financial terms, but in the context of having a home for their families. This is something most Americans wish for their children, wish for their grandchildren, wish to have themselves, that idea of a home where you grow up and live. The fact that between 8,000 and 9,000 people--not on a weekly basis, not on a monthly basis, but every single day--every day we are home next week, every day we are gone from here, remind yourselves that another 9,000 people are beginning to file foreclosure and losing their homes. Neighborhoods collapse, values in these neighborhoods go down, and we see the continued suffering that goes on in our country, all because I can't even bring up and allow consideration of some amendments on this bill. We have been at this now since January, trying to put this together and here we are in late June and still unable to get even consideration of amendments or to vote on some we may disagree with. There are many others of our colleagues here who have some ideas. I failed to mention Senator Voinovich. We have proposals from Senator Levin and Senator Stabenow involving important projects in their State, not to mention Massachusetts as well. There are a number of other things included in this legislation providing the kind of support for those who are out there, including counseling to people going through foreclosure or who could go through foreclosure. All of these elements could make a difference; the community development block grants to mayors, county supervisors, and Governors that could provide some targeted help in neighborhoods that have foreclosed properties. We learn from screaming headlines on a daily basis--you need not hear my voice; just listen to what is going on in almost every State in the country. Now the States of California and Nevada are particularly hard- pressed, as well as Arizona, Florida, Michigan, and Ohio are seeing these numbers at record levels. The State of Nevada, in fact, I think, on a per capita basis has the worst foreclosure rate in the country, what that State is going through and the people are suffering from in that jurisdiction, with 10, I am told, centers around the State trying to help people hang on to their homes if they can. Here we have a proposal that would provide that kind of relief, a system that would allow for workouts where people could have a new mortgage they could afford to pay, as well as paying into the program at some cost, and the lenders taking, of course, a significant cut in what they would otherwise be getting. But it would allow us to keep people in their homes. So in those States that are feeling this particularly, I want them to know there are those of us here--and they ought to know the majority leader of this body, Senator Harry Reid, has been on the forefront of trying to get this bill up, trying to allow us to vote on it to get the job done. I wish to thank him for that, as the chairman of the Banking Committee, to have a majority leader who understands this priority is at the top of our list. I am deeply grateful to him for making it possible for us to get as far as we have. But to know we are down here with a few remaining hours before we will be leaving for a week or 10 days; knowing that in that period of time, unnecessarily, in my view, more Americans may end up paying that awful price, watching their home value decline, watching them possibly lose their homes; that idea of being able to build that equity and provide for your children's education, to contribute to your retirement, to deal with an unexpected illness in the family where that equity could make a difference, all of that is eroding because we can't get off the dime because we have a colleague who wants to insist that his proposal be paramount, that we drop everything else and deal with that bill. I say that respectfully. I have been here 27 years and this happens periodically. But at this moment, at this time, facing the worst crisis in housing since the Great Depression, this is not the kind of reaction we ought to be getting. I am going to come here periodically as long as we are here to talk about this. I will make unanimous consent requests, or the leader will, to try and let us move on this. When objection is heard, then that Senator ought to have the courage, in my view, to stand up and express that objection on why we can't deal with this housing bill. Even if you disagree with the bill, allow us to vote. Allow your colleagues to offer their amendments. They need to explain to the American people why it is that after all of this effort, with an 83-to-9 vote yesterday, that Democrats and Republicans want to do something about housing, but we can't get a bill up and can't consider these outstanding amendments. I apologize to my colleagues for this, but they ought to know what is going on and why it is. Members have asked me: Why aren't we voting? Why can't we bring up these matters? The reason is because I need unanimous consent to do so and one Senator can object, and because they object, none of these other amendments, Republican or Democratic amendments, can be considered or modified, even, in this context. So that is why we are here and where we are. If people are wondering why, after this long time, despite the efforts of bringing people together, we are not managing to get this bill done, that is the reason. My hope is that common sense and reasonableness may prevail in the coming hour or so that will allow us to get to this. But if we are unable to do so, then that is the reason. With that, I yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum.

Mr. DODD. Madam President, before our colleague leaves the Chamber, I commend him for his statement. I had a chance to listen to part of it before coming to the floor of the Senate. This is a long-held view of my colleague when it comes to civil liberties and the rule of law. I commend him for remaining consistent in that insistence. He is absolutely correct that this is not a choice between security or liberty. In fact, I argue, as he has, that when we begin to retreat on the rule of law, we become less secure as a people. We have learned that lesson painfully throughout history. This is the time for us to be vigilant, both in terms of our security and also when it comes to our rights. This is an issue that ought not divide people based on our determination to deal with terrorism or those who wish to do great harm to our country but to recognize that historically, when we have been motivated by fear and have failed to stand up for basic rights, we have made horrendous mistakes. When we have stood up for our rights as well as insisting on our security, we have done our job as a generation, as previous ones have as well. This is one of those moments history will look back upon. Why did we say that 17 phone companies that relied on a letter and not much more than that decided for over 5 years to invade the privacy of millions of Americans and would still be doing it today but for a whistleblower who revealed the program? Why did they not seek the FISA Court, as 18,748 other cases that been submitted and only 5 examples when they were turned down seeking a warrant since 1978? Why in this case did the Bush administration decide to avoid that normal process and go with a simple letter, without any legal justification I can determine, and get that kind of reaction? Why should we not know that? Why should not the American people know that? What happened here? That is what the Senator is insisting upon. We will not know the answers to those questions if we, as a legislative body, by a simple vote here, declare that the courts have no business examining the legality of this action. We will avoid that responsibility by casting a vote to keep this immunity process in place. I will be joining him. In fact, I will be offering the amendment to strike the immunity provisions, to do our job when it comes to dealing with FISA, to modernizing it, but not to grant immunity to 17 phone companies. Quest, to their great credit, when they were given that letter, said: We need more legal justification. They did not engage in this program. Not all phone companies did. But the ones that did bear the responsibility to determine whether what they did was legal. We will never know the answer to that if the Senator from Oregon and I do not prevail on our amendment. I commend him immensely for his statement.

Mr. DODD

Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, June 25, 2008, at 9:30 a.m.

Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, June 25, 2008, at 2:30 p.m.

Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, June 25, 2008, at 10 a.m.