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    Gwen Moore

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Moore: My vote is not for sale

 

By Gwen Moore


I am writing to respond to the June 16 article "Bank stance stings Moore" by Daniel Bice (June 17).

I believe the article grossly mischaracterizes my recent votes on financial service issues and my motivation for those votes. The article fails to make any thoughtful attempt to understand or evaluate the bills and so, unfortunately, only serves to further confuse the debate surrounding financial reform.

I am delighted that Bice raised the issue of poverty in Milwaukee in the article. As a single mother who was on welfare and fought to make ends meet, I am very personally and painfully aware of the poverty level in my district. I have a long history as a vocal advocate and champion on issues surrounding poverty and the needs of the hardworking families of Milwaukee.

The article focuses primarily on H.R. 1256, the Swap Jurisdiction Certainty Act. Stripped of the rhetoric, the bill simply directs the two regulators responsible for issuing rules related to the global derivatives markets, the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, to issue consistent cross-border derivatives rules.

Recently, the SEC and CFTC have each issued separate rules that are in conflict with each other. On June 13, Democrat CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton addressed global derivative rules and said, "the best way to make financial regulations work efficiently and effectively is to harmonize them —globally. Harmonized rules would allow global firms to compete on pricing and quality, not upon advantages related to regulatory arbitrage." The bill was considered in the House Financial Services Committee in early May and passed the committee on a 48-11 vote, with more than 60% of the Democrats on the committee voting for the bill.

The other bill that I supported, and was lead Democratic cosponsor of, H.R. 742, was a technical fix to global derivatives regulation. The bill struck a Dodd-Frank requirement imposed on foreign regulators. However, by doing so, the bill ensures the proper functioning of a unified global swap trade data repository, which greatly enhances oversight of global derivatives markets. The bill was supported by the SEC and the majority of the CFTC commissioners. It passed the House of Representatives 420-2. The article also paints this uncontroversial bill with the "gutting Dodd-Frank" brush.

Reasonable people may debate the substance of the bill and come to different conclusions, but I resent that the article (inaccurately) created the perception that I was motivated by fundraising, especially without providing any context or thoughtful consideration of the substance of the bills. Anyone who has followed my career knows that my vote is not for sale.

 

To view this article online, please click here.