In Opposition to H.R. 2779 and H.R. 2682

Floor Speech

Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to discuss two bills that this Chamber passed earlier this week, H.R. 2779, a bill to exempt inter-affiliate swaps from certain regulatory requirements put in place by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and H.R. 2682, the Business Risk Mitigation and Price Stabilization Act.

The stated intent of these bills seems simple enough--to make supposedly necessary exemptions and clarifications to the Dodd-Frank Act. However, Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition of over 250 unions, consumer groups, think-tanks, and others have raised some serious concerns about the negative consequences these changes could have on the implementation of the law, and also question whether these changes are even necessary.

Certainly it is appropriate for Congress to revisit laws that have been passed, and to conduct oversight of the work of regulators. However, Congress has asked the Commodities Futures Trading Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission to do a complicated job monitoring a big and complex market.

How big and how complex? According to The Economist, the world's gross domestic product totals approximately $65 trillion. The total value of the global trade in derivatives is estimated to be 10 times larger than that--over $600 billion. Warren Buffett has even stated that derivatives are ``financial weapons of mass destruction, carrying dangers that, while now latent, are potentially lethal.'' Unfortunately, as the spectacular collapse of AIG made clear, we know that he was right.

The Dodd-Frank Act was passed to reign in the abuses that caused the financial crisis, and to establish clear rules of the road to help prevent another crisis from ever happening. I believe, as Americans for Financial Reform point out, that the law provides regulators with the flexibility to address the issues that H.R. 2779 and H.R. 2682 seek to address without changing the statute. We need to let them get on with the job they've been asked to do.

Therefore, I opposed passage of these measures.

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