Mark R. Warner
U.S. Senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia
Financial Reform
As a member of the Senate Banking Committee, Senator Warner is involved in efforts to oversee the financial services, banking, and housing industries. He is engaged in hearings, meetings, and legislative efforts to maintain effective regulation and financial stability while fostering economic recovery.
Senator Warner's Progress:
- Senator Warner led a letter with 52 other Senators to the banking regulators. The letter expressed concerns that the proposed rules on Basel III regulatory capital ratios, capital adequacy and transition provisions did not take into account considerations for different business models or size of institution.
- Senator Warner introduced S. 2223 on March 22, 2012 with Senators Crapo, Toomey, Hagan, Carper and Corker. The bill intends to provide certainty about when the Volcker rule will be enforced. The language clarified that the Volcker Rule will be fully implemented two years after the agencies issue their final rules, rather than two years after Dodd-Frank was signed into law.
- In 2011, Senator Warner was appointed chair of the Banking Committee's Subcommittee on Security and International Trade and Finance, which oversees exports and foreign trade and international economic policy. Senator Warner has held subcommittee hearings during 2011-2012 addressing:
- The European Debt and Financial Crisis
- The G20 and Global Economic and Financial Risks
- Stakeholder Perspectives on Reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank of the United States
- Reviewing the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue
- Senator Warner, in September 2010, advocated that banking and credit union regulators take a balanced regulatory approach to small business lending as the economic recovery gained momentum. He sent a letter with 10 other Senators advocating that regulators provide guidance to supervisory staff regarding loan portfolios and small business loan workouts due to reduced cash flows and collateral values following the crisis.
- Throughout 2009 and early 2010, Senator Warner teamed up with Tennessee Republican Senator Bob Corker to work-out a bipartisan proposal to end the notion of "too big to fail" and to put in place tools that will allow regulators to identify and liquidate large financial companies which could be dangerous to financial stability if they were to default. Their proposal was included in Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd's financial regulatory reform draft legislation, which was introduced in March 2010.
- Senator Warner introduced legislation to create an independent council to monitor systemic risk. He published an op-ed in the Washington Post in June 2009 outlining the details of the council.
- 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.
- 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:
April 2014
- 04/29/14 -Statement of U.S. Sen. Warner on Housing Finance Reform Markup“This broad, bipartisan reform proposal reflects more than 18 months of solid work, and has been examined during a dozen public hearings by the Banking Committee. It’s a complicated bill that impacts 20% of our economy, and the continued government conservatorship of Fannie and Freddie is not a responsible option."
- 04/29/14 -Statement of U.S. Sen. Warner on Housing Finance Reform Markup“This broad, bipartisan reform proposal reflects more than 18 months of solid work, and has been examined during a dozen public hearings by the Banking Committee. It’s a complicated bill that impacts 20% of our economy, and the continued government conservatorship of Fannie and Freddie is not a responsible option."
- 04/23/14 -The ads attacking bipartisan housing reforms are wrong. Here's why.The 60-Plus Association came out today with another misleading and factually inaccurate ad targeting bipartisan housing finance reforms. This second ad is just as erroneous as the first, which the nonpartisan site FactCheck.org said stretched the truth to “absurd lengths” to attack the bipartisan Housing Finance Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act.
- 04/21/14 -On the Road: Fredericksburg, Richmond and NorfolkSenator Warner traveled across Virginia last week for events in Fredericksburg, Richmond, and Norfolk.
March 2014
- 03/12/14 -CNBC; Bipartisan Approach to Housing ReformSenator Warner joined CNBC earlier today to talk about the need for a bipartisan and commonsense approach to reforming our housing financial system.
February 2014
- 02/04/14 -Senator Warner chairs a hearing on protecting consumer dataFollowing massive security breaches that hit retailers like Target and Neiman Marcus, Senator Warner says the need has never been greater for data security legislation. The Senator chaired a Senate Banking subcommittee hearing yesterday on the recent credit and debit card security breaches impacting major retailers and millions of American consumers.
November 2013
- 11/19/13 -Sen. Warner Opening Remarks on Virtual Currencies at Banking Cmte. HearingSenator Mark Warner's opening remarks at the Senate Banking Committee hearing on virtual currencies.
October 2013
- 10/12/13 -Sen. Mark Warner floor speech on shutdown, debt limit“Irresponsible – and not the way to govern.” That’s how U.S. Senator Mark Warner described the paralysis in Congress that’s left the government shutdown and furloughed thousands of federal workers without pay for a second week. And in a floor speech in the Senate on Tuesday, Senator Warner said to even suggest that it’s no big deal for the United States to default on its debts is “stunning.”
- 10/11/13 -Sen. Warner on the shutdown's impactSen. Warner has heard from a Virginia contractor with 5,500 employees, built over 25 years, who faces bankruptcy in a matter of weeks due to the government shutdown. This is causing havoc in the economy.
July 2013
- 07/30/13 -Sen. Warner Presses SEC Chair Mary Jo White on Equity Crowdfunding RegulationsIn a Senate Banking Committee Hearing today, Sen. Warner pressed SEC Chair Mary Jo White to introduce regulations for crowdfunding, a tool that allows entrepreneurs and small businesses to raise capital over the internet.
