June 17, 2009

DODD STATEMENT ON OBAMA ADMINISTRATION’S PLAN TO MODERNIZE FINANCIAL REGULATION AND SUPERVISION

WASHINGTON – Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, today released the following statement after President Obama unveiled his plan to modernize financial regulation and supervision:
 
“The proposal President Obama laid out today sets the stage for what will be a historic undertaking – building the foundation for a safer, stronger financial system.  Consumer protection must be at the center of this effort, and I applaud the President for making an independent consumer financial protection agency one of the pillars of his proposal. 
 
“This is an enormous undertaking, and I am glad we have President Obama and his team to lead the effort.  There is still a lot of work ahead of us, but we are headed in the right direction.  I look forward to continuing to work with President Obama and my colleagues to enact comprehensive reforms that will restore public confidence in our financial system and put America on the road to recovery.”
 
This year the Banking Committee has convened 15 hearings to examine different elements of our current financial regulatory structure and how best to improve each one.  Overall, the committee has held more than 50 hearings on the financial and housing crisis since Senator Dodd became chair in 2007.  This work and other hearings the Committee will hold in the coming weeks and months will inform their efforts to craft legislation to modernize the American financial regulatory system.
 
 
 
 
The Senate Banking Committee Has Held 15 Hearings On Regulatory Modernization This Year And Is Continuing To Examine Reforms Alongside The White House 
 
·         Madoff Investment Securities Fraud: Regulatory and Oversight Concerns and the Need for Reform, January 27
·         Modernizing the U.S. Financial Regulatory System, February 4
·         Modernizing Consumer Protection in the Financial Regulatory System: Strengthening Credit Card Protections, February 12 
·         Consumer Protections in Financial Services: Past Problems, Future Solutions, March 3
·         American International Group: Examining what went wrong, government intervention, and implications for future regulation, March 5
·         Enhancing Investor Protection and the Regulation of Securities Markets, March 10
·         Perspectives on Modernizing Insurance Regulation, March 17
·         Lessons Learned in Risk Management Oversight at Federal Financial Regulators, March 18*
·         Modernizing Bank Supervision and Regulation, March 19 
·         Current Issues in Deposit Insurance, March 19*
·         Modernizing Bank Supervision and Regulation, Part II, March 24
·         Enhancing Investor Protection and the Regulation of Securities Markets – Part II, March 26
·         Lessons from the New Deal, March 31*
·         Regulating and Resolving Institutions Considered ‘Too Big to Fail,’ May 6
·         Strengthening the S.E.C.’s Vital Enforcement Responsibilities, May 7*
·         The Administration’s Proposal to Modernize the Financial Regulatory System, June 18, scheduled
·         Over-the-Counter Derivatives: Modernizing Oversight to Increase Transparency and Reduce Risks, June 22, scheduled*
*subcommittee hearing