SENATOR COLLINS' STATEMENT ON WALL STREET REFORM LEGISLATION

U.S. Senator Susan Collins announced today that she will support the revised financial reform conference report after Senate and House conferees reconvened to eliminate $19 billion in new taxes. The final conference report contains several provisions that were authored by Senator Collins, including core provisions from a regulatory reform bill she introduced last year. Senator Collins released this statement on the financial regulatory reform conference agreement:

"It is imperative that Congress act to address the root causes of the financial crisis that has hurt small businesses and cost so many workers their jobs. There must be more transparency and effective oversight to prevent the kinds of risky Wall Street practices that triggered our nation's most serious financial crisis in decades.

"The Banking Committee Chairman, Senator Chris Dodd, stayed in close touch with me throughout the conference negotiations. During a meeting with him earlier this week, I expressed my opposition to the $19 billion in new taxes that were inserted at the last minute during conference proceedings. I appreciate that Chairman Dodd and conferees reconvened to eliminate these taxes.

"I am particularly pleased that my amendment to strengthen the capital requirements for large financial institutions was retained. It is critical that large institutions be required to have adequate capital to prevent future taxpayer bailouts and to tackle the ‘too big to fail' problem. This provision was strongly endorsed by FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair, who said that my amendment to the financial regulatory reform bill "serves as the most concrete and meaningful legislative proposal" to "improve the quality of capital at U.S. banking organizations. Contrary to the argument that your amendment would reduce credit availability," Bair wrote in a letter to me, "it will actually encourage renewed lending by placing the banking system on a sounder footing...."

"I am also pleased that at my insistence, negotiators did not burden small businesses that extend credit to their customers like furniture stores, dentists, and auto dealers, with new regulations when they played no role in the excesses and abuses that led to the recession. Similarly, I am pleased that the conferees rejected an ‘aiding and abetting' provision that would have unfairly penalized a multitude of businesses. This provision would have benefited trial lawyers at the expense of businesses and jobs.

"A core provision of the bill creates an independent Financial Stability Council to serve as a systemic-risk monitor, similar to legislation I introduced last year. This Council will help close dangerous regulatory gaps in our system for overseeing financial markets.

"While the bill is not what I would have written and contains some provisions that I oppose, on balance I believe that it will lead to stronger financial institutions, curb the abuses that led to the near collapse of our financial markets, and improve financial oversight by creating a council of regulators to identify products, practices, and financial institutions that pose a systemic risk to our economy."

"Based on my initial review of the final version of the conference report, I am inclined to support it."