A day after calling for a suspension of food, toy and pet food imports from China, Senator Chris Dodd sent a letter to President Bush urging him to protect the health and safety of American families by temporarily suspending these imports until the Chinese Government can ensure an adequate inspection procedure has been implemented.

Senator Chris Dodd, D-Conn., Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, today reacted to the Administration’s decision to reject the recommendations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and instead file an amicus brief with the Supreme Court on behalf of companies involved in the case of Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC v. Scientific-Atlanta, Inc., et al. 

“People all across America are hurting because of serious and on-going problems in our housing markets.  The Administration can’t continue to close their eyes to the scope of the problem and hope it goes away.  This problem isn’t ‘contained’ as the Administration contends.  The President needs to immediately reconsider his ill-advised position that he won’t even consider the possibility of easing GSE credit caps, provided it is done in a safe and sound manner by regulators, until there is statutory reform.  I believe that both can be done and the Administration shouldn’t use that as an excuse for doing nothing.”

“The Administration’s response to the continued turmoil in the mortgage market is wholly unsatisfactory.  Today’s news that the mess in the subprime lending market has spilled over into European markets is further evidence that this crisis has yet to be contained, as some, including Treasury Secretary Paulson, have suggested.  The Federal Reserve, by injecting some liquidity into our markets, has taken, at best, a modest step towards helping to ease the tightening of credit that not only affects our nation’s economy but also impairs the ability of subprime borrowers who seek to salvage their homes through loan refinancing and modifications but cannot do so due to the lack of available credit on fair and affordable terms.  But in addition to today’s action by the Fed, more can, and should, be done.  It may be appropriate for the Administration to ease the temporary regulatory cap on Fannie and Freddie's mortgage portfolio in a manner consistent with safe and sound practices in order to infuse more liquidity into our markets.  The President said today that legislative reform of the GSE’s should occur before he will consider lifting their portfolio cap.  However, there is no reason why such reform is a necessary precondition to a modification of the cap that is done in a safe and sound manner.  Congress should also pass legislation to modernize the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) as an additional refinance option for those in need.  In addition, I encourage lenders, servicers, and other mortgage market participants to redouble or undertake efforts to reduce foreclosures by refinancing mortgages on terms affordable to borrowers.  Many such participants are already doing so pursuant to voluntary principles agreed to at the Homeownership Summit that I convened in May.  I encourage others to follow suit and subscribe to these principles.”

“The continuing bad news in the mortgage markets ultimately means greater distress for families all across our nation.  It highlights, once again, that regulators were too slow to react to subprime and other lending practices that were clearly unsustainable, particularly higher-risk adjustable mortgages that were underwritten with the full knowledge that borrowers could not afford the payments after interest rates started to rise.  The regulators simply did not meet their responsibilities either to protect homeowners or to adequately oversee the safety and soundness of the system.  The troubling news today should underscore in no uncertain fashion how important it is for the Federal Reserve to move expeditiously to put out strong new regulations under their existing authority to provide substantive protections, particularly to vulnerable borrowers while creating a clear standard so that mortgage lenders can get back into the market with confidence.”

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Responding to a looming crisis that jeopardizes the prosperity and quality of life of all Americans,  Senators Chris Dodd, D-Conn., Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, and Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., today introduced a measure to revitalize, repair, and replace America’s aging and crumbling roads, bridges, transit systems, and water treatment facilities.  Two dramatic headlines in recent weeks have highlighted the escalating problem.  Two weeks ago, an 83-year-old steam pipe burst in midtown Manhattan, releasing asbestos laden particles and causing widespread damage.  Media reports have also recently questioned whether contaminated drinking water near Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, may have exposed families in the area to high levels of dangerous chemicals.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, along with ranking Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) today announced that the Committee passed S. 1677, the Currency Reform and Financial Markets Act of 2007.  The legislation, which was introduced by Dodd and Shelby on June 21, is intended to level the playing field for American workers and businesses. 

“While it took a ten-year battle in Congress, millions of hard-working men and women will finally get a raise today. Over the next two years, the minimum wage will be raised from $5.15 per hour to $7.25 per hour, and workers will see their paychecks go up, starting today. Today’s increase is the first since 1997—ten years in which the cost of living has steadily risen as the minimum wage has stagnated, leaving millions of Americans further and further behind. But today’s increase will make a real difference in their lives: For a worker making minimum wage, it means an extra $4,400 each year. That’s $4,400 more to put towards rent, groceries, utilities, childcare, health insurance, or tuition.   This increase puts real dollars and cents in the hands of hardworking Americans.  It was far too long in coming—but every American deserves a fair wage and a safe workplace.”

“We are pleased that federal banking regulators have reached a consensus on implementing the Basel II Capital Accords.  The successful implementation of Basel II is vital to ensuring that the U.S. banking system is adequately capitalized and that U.S. financial services firms remain competitive in the global economy.  As we stated in our letter to banking regulators on Tuesday, we believed that it was imperative that all four federal banking regulators support the final Basel II regulations.  We commend banking regulators for reaching a unanimous agreement and appreciate their stated commitment to achieve consensus throughout implementation.  We remain committed to continuing our oversight of Basel II during the implementation period to ensure the safety and soundness of the U.S. banking system.”

The Committee will please come to order. Today the Committee is again pleased to welcome testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on the outlook for the nation’s economy, the Fed’s conduct of monetary policy and the status of important consumer protection regulations that are under the Federal Reserve’s jurisdiction. Mr. Chairman, welcome.