Mark R. Warner
U.S. Senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia
As a member of the Senate Banking Committee, Senator Warner is involved in efforts to reform the financial industry's regulatory framework. He believes a failure in regulation contributed to last year's economic crisis and the collapse of leading players in the financial industry. Recently, Senator Warner has focused on preventing systemic risk through the creation of an independent council that would monitor institutions before they become "too big to fail." He also has introduced bipartisan legislation that would provide a responsible, predictable exit strategy from the government's ownership role in several TARP-recipient companies, including AIG, Citigroup, and General Motors.
Senator Warner's Progress:
- Throughout 2009 and early 2010, Senator Warner teamed up with Tennessee Republican Senator Bob Corker to work-out a bipartisan proposal to address the notion of "too big to fail" and end taxpayer-financed bailouts of Wall Street firms. Their proposal was included in Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd's financial regulatory reform draft legislation, which was introduced in March 2010.
- In November 2009, Senator Warner introduced legislation to create an independent agency to monitor systemic risk. He published an op-ed in the Washington Post in June 2009 outlining the details of the council.
- In July 2009, Senator Warner introduced the Resolution Reform Act of 2009, bipartisan legislation with Tennessee Senator Bob Corker that would allow the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to takeover and "wind down" banks owned by larger financial firms known as bank holding companies.
- In June 2009, Senator Warner introduced the TARP Recipient Ownership Trust Act of 2009, another piece of bipartisan legislation with Tennessee Senator Bob Corker to maximize returns on taxpayer investments into institutions that have received government assistance.
Recent News on Financial Reform
Here is what Senator Warner has been doing recently regarding financial reform:
September 2010
- 09/08/10 -Taking "wonky" questions at JMUSenator Warner started the day off talking business with business and finance majors at James Madison University's Forbes Center for the Arts.
August 2010
- 08/05/10 -Boosting U.S. manufacturingIn the past decade or more, the United States has produced more financial engineers than industrial engineers, and our nation's lack of a coherent manufacturing strategy is threatening our ability to compete.
July 2010
- 07/21/10 -Protecting consumers and promoting growthSenator Warner joined President Obama and other Congressional leaders today at the bill signing ceremony for historic financial regulatory reform legislation he helped craft as a member of the Senate Banking Committee. The new law, which comes almost two years after the almost-collapse of the nation’s financial system, has been described as the most ambitious overhaul of financial regulation in a generation.
- 07/15/10 -Success on Wall Street ReformSenator Warner joined a majority of his colleagues today in adopting Wall Street reform legislation that sets new rules of the road for the financial industry. Warner, a member of the Banking Committee, has spent more than a year specifically working on the issues of ending “too big to fail” and making sure taxpayers never again have to bail-out a failing financial company.
- 07/14/10 -Helping small business access creditSenator Warner joined Small Business Administration chief Karen Mills and Senate Small Business Committee chair Sen. Mary Landrieu at a Capitol Hill news conference today to promote his initiative to help small businesses grow and put more Virginians back to work.
June 2010
- 06/21/10 -A plan to help small businesses recoverSenator Warner hosted a roundtable discussion with small business owners and bankers on Friday at Richmond's Consolidated Bank & Trust to discuss his specific ideas to help small businesses get access to credit.
May 2010
- 05/20/10 -Important step toward transparency, accountability for Wall StreetSenator Warner, who serves on the Banking Committee and was a leading architect of significant parts of the Wall Street reform legislation, issued the following statement after tonight's bipartisan 59-to-39 vote to adopt the legislation.
- 05/20/10 -"Maybe it's just right for the American people"Senator Warner appeared on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" this morning to discuss Wall Street reform legislation as well as just-released news on an unexpected uptick in new unemployment claims.
- 05/19/10 -Ensuring startups get access to creditSenator Warner joined a bipartisan group of Senators earlier this week to successfully add a key amendment in the Wall Street reform legislation to protect the ability of "angel investors" to support small business startups that will be vital to job creation.
- 05/07/10 -Praising efforts to unfreeze credit marketsSenator Warner praised the Obama administration today for sending Congress a proposal to create a $30 billion support program to unfreeze credit for the nation's small businesses.