Senate Bill S-190, Introduced 1/26/2005 To Prevent Financial Problems (biased, accuse, Obama)

[dugdogmaster]

William H. Gross - How Main Street Will Profit

[rightofcenter]

Originally Posted by Thunderstorm Patriot

What is so disturbing to me is the lack of understanding of both history and how our government works displayed by many folks here. S.190 was introduced in the 109th Congress. During the first six years of the Bush administration the Democrats routinely blocked legislation from coming to the floor for votes by using the filibuster. At one point there was a highly publicized showdown between the parties over the refusal to allow Bush appointed judges from getting a floor vote for confirmation. The rules of the Senate also apply to committees. In other words it is possible for a bill to be filibustered in committee as well as on the senate floor itself.

S.190 is one of the bills that was filibustered by the Democrats in committee in 2005. That means that it needed 60% support to get out of committee for a floor vote. During the 109th Congress the members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs were:


Democrats:
• Paul S. Sarbanes (Md.), Ranking Member
• Christopher Dodd (Conn.)
• Tim Johnson (S.D.)
• Jack Reed (R.I.)
• Chuck Schumer (N.Y.)
• Evan Bayh (Ind.)
• Thomas R. Carper (Del.)
• Debbie Stabenow (Mich.)
• Robert Menendez (N.J.)


Republicans:
• Richard Shelby (Ala.), Chairman
• Robert Bennett (Utah)
• Wayne Allard (Colo.)
• Mike Enzi (Wyo.)
• Chuck Hagel (Neb.)
• Rick Santorum (Pa.)
• Jim Bunning (Ky.)
• Mike Crapo (Idaho)
• John E. Sununu (N.H.)
• Elizabeth Dole (N.C.)
• Mel Martinez (Fla.)


As you can see there are 20 members on the committee. There were eleven Republicans and nine Democrats at the time. Since the vote was strictly along party lines they could not generate the 12 votes required for the bill to pass out of committee. One of the Democrats would have had to break ranks and none did.

Well this is according to one of the bill's sponsors

Here is the actual

* On July 31, 2003, Sununu joined Senators Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) in introducing legislation to strengthen and improve the oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This bill (S. 1508) passed the Senate Banking Committee in April 2004.

* On January 26, 2005, Sununu, Hagel, and Dole re-introduced legislation (S. 190) to improve oversight of GSE’s. A bill incorporating many provisions of the Sununu, Hagel, Dole legislation passed the Committee by a vote of 11 – 9 on July 28, 2005.

* On April 12, 2007, Sununu, Hagel, Dole, and Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) re-introduced legislation (S. 1100) to improve oversight of GSE’s. The major reforms in their bill were included in final legislation passed the Senate on July 26, 2008 and was signed into law on July 30, 2008.
SUNUNU STATEMENT ON UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER OF FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC | Politicker NH

[WillysB]

The following timeline comes from the commentary section at the link

1) S.190 is introduced in January, 2005.
2) HR 1461, the House counterpart, was introduced in April.
3) After hearings, both bills were voted out of their respective committees in July.
4) After that, S.190 vanishes. I can't find any record of it ever being discussed on the Senate floor.
5) HR 1461 is passed in the House in October. It secures about 330 votes, but that's with almost all of the Republican votes, and about half of the Democrats.
6) HR 1461 is received in the Senate, and referred to the Banking committee.
7) HR 1461 is never heard from again. No committee meetings were ever held.

So, yes, it is true that Democrats voted against S.190 in committee. However, the implication that they were responsible for defeating it is incorrect. As near as I can tell, the Seante leadership, which was Republican in 2005, killed the bill through parliamentary neglect. The GOP gets zero credit on this one.

You're talking about S. 190, the Senate version of HR 1461. It was sponsored by Hagel and co-sponsored by McCain, Sununu and Dole.

It was killed in committee by a party-line vote, all Democrats opposed. Even though Republicans were the majority, it did not make it out of committee because the GOP did not have the 2/3rds required to break a Democratic filibuster in the Senate.

The Democrats get to wear this badge of shame, though there are a few more to be passed out yet.

[momonkey]

John McCain’s Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Warnings - MAY 2006 «

MAY 26,2006

I join as a cosponsor of the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, S. 190 (broken link),to underscore my support for quick passage of GSE regulatory reform legislation. If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole.
I urge my colleagues to support swift action on this GSE reform legislation.



Yea, OK, not really sure what Sen. McCain was sayin', don't understand what he's trying to get at there, it's a little ambiguous

[sanrene]

He was sounding the alarm 3 years ago. The administration cited the warnings way back in 2003.

The dems blocked it every time.

[MovingForward]

How can the dems block a bill that never makes it out of committee? Furthermore, it's my understanding that McCain was not a co-sponsor of that bill.

[padcrasher]

You keep spreading this lie.

The GOP controlled both Houses of Congress in 2003. They would not let the bill out of comittee. The Dems offerred their own regulations without the GOP corporate pork

But for the GOP, corporate pork is more important than regulating their own wealthy supporters.

[momonkey]

Did you bother to read the date?

[momonkey]

Blocking and never allowing it out of committe is the same thing.

Who do you think the speaker is?

[brokerdave]

Originally Posted by MovingForward

FACTS:

1) Republicans held the majority in Congress when this bill was introduced.

it got buried by democrats.

2)The bill was an attempt to privatize regulatory agencies. Hence, Democratic resistance to it. Hence, even Republicans voting against it.

neg. privatizing it, give sit greater regulation and controls the size and cash flow.

3) The bill did nothing to address fraud and tighten oversight. Hence, Democratic resistance to it. Hence, even Republicans voting against it.

Text from the bill itself:

"Excludes the Federal Home Loan Banks from certain securities reporting requirements."

Nice try, though.

Great post OP. brings out the truth once again.
.