CARES Act Funding (Cong. Rec., Dec. 1, 2020)
Summary
A page of the Congressional Record, Senate, dated December 1, 2020, at page S7124, under the heading CARES Act Funding. The page begins with the end of a roll call in which the yeas are 56 and the nays are 37 and the motion is agreed to. The clerk reports the nomination of Kyle Hauptman of Maine to be a Member of the National Credit Union Administration Board for a term expiring August 2, 2025, and Mr. Cotton speaks in support, praising his former top aide's work on money laundering, consumer fraud and the CARES Act and his service as a liaison to Arkansas credit unions. Later remarks say the Treasury Secretary and the Chairman of the Fed deserve congratulations for setting up CARES Act facilities and congratulate the Attorney General on an appointment.
Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used
Cite this document
“CARES Act Funding (Cong. Rec., Dec. 1, 2020).”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-12-01-crec-2020-12-01-pt1-pgs7124-3-2d705d059a/
, SHA-256 38d3ab9e9db612321a529967a978804b5442d5dee3b005ba3c5aadca71ea122d.Full text
S7124 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE December 1, 2020
NAYS—37 excellent use as my top aide. He has for the institutions Kyle will be regulating.
Baldwin Feinstein Peters provided invaluable counsel and shep- But I think you’ll agree that he’ll continue
Bennet Gillibrand Reed herded legislation through Congress on to be fair, professional and serious about his
Blumenthal Heinrich Rosen work.
Booker Hirono
topics as wide-ranging as money laun-
Schumer I can tell you I very much do agree
Brown Kaine Smith dering, consumer fraud, and blockchain
Cantwell Klobuchar Stabenow technology. In fact, I have high hopes with every word of that letter and
Cardin Leahy Tester that an anti-money laundering bill on similar letters we have received about
Carper Manchin Udall Kyle and his work on behalf of Arkan-
Casey Markey which Kyle and I worked for months,
Van Hollen sans.
Coons Menendez
Warren
the ILLICIT CASH Act, will pass this
Cortez Masto Merkley Congress before the year is through. Washington can sometimes be a con-
Wyden
Duckworth Murphy
That is not all Kyle has accom- fusing place, so Kyle’s assistance keep-
Durbin Murray
plished. As a top committee aide, he ing Arkansans in the loop has been a
NOT VOTING—7 has worked diligently to plan hearings great blessing to many of the people we
Harris McSally Whitehouse and broker compromises with other serve. I remember the countless emails
Inhofe Sanders from small business owners praising
Loeffler Schatz
Senators’ staff. As anyone who knows
Kyle can attest, he is a friendly and Kyle for his help in understanding and
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this fast-talking guy, always ready with a receiving assistance through the
vote, the yeas are 56, the nays are 37. joke and a smile, and his congeniality CARES Act in March, April, and May,
The motion is agreed to. has helped smooth over many partisan at the height of the danger and the un-
f spats so that the business of the Amer- certainty about the coronavirus pan-
EXECUTIVE CALENDAR ican people can move forward. demic.
As important, Kyle has served as a That was all Kyle, and I am confident
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The valuable liaison between me and credit he will bring the same customer serv-
clerk will report the nomination. unions in Arkansas and the sur- ice mentality to his work at the NCUA.
The legislative clerk read the nomi- rounding States. Though most credit That is because Kyle, like the credit
nation of Kyle Hauptman, of Maine, to unions in Arkansas are very small, unions he will regulate, is driven by a
be a Member of the National Credit with maybe millions of dollars under sense of mission: to help his fellow
Union Administration Board for a term management—not billions of dollars— Americans achieve their financial
expiring August 2, 2025. what our credit unions lack in size goals and the American dream. That
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- dream is based on freedom.
they make up for in their mission.
ator from Arkansas. Alongside his hero, the great apostle
They exist not for profit but to serve
NOMINATION OF KYLE HAUPTMAN
their members by keeping their money of opportunity, Jack Kemp, Kyle
Mr. COTTON. Madam President, the safe and providing credit at reasonable knows ‘‘there are no limits to what
Senate has just voted to conclude de- rates of return. free men and women and free enter-
bate on the nomination of Kyle So while our credit unions may not prise in a free society can accomplish
Hauptman to be on the Board of the always manage vast fortunes, they do when [men and women] are free to fol-
National Credit Union Administration, manage vast dreams. They safeguard low their dream.’’
and we will soon vote to confirm Mr. the savings and extend opportunity to Credit unions allow millions of
Hauptman to the administration. a customer base in Arkansas that looks Americans to follow their dreams. So
This is a very happy moment, of an awful lot like the rest of America— while I am sad to say farewell to Kyle
course, for Kyle and his family and the senior citizens who have used the same as a trusted aide, I will take consola-
country. For me, I have to confess it is banks for decades, for instance, or tion in the fact that he is going to
something of a bittersweet moment. young families building a foundation serve our fellow Americans in the
That is because Kyle is not only a for a better life. cause of freedom, and I know that he
nominee to a Federal Board. Mind you, Kyle is very well acquainted with will serve them well. Thank you, Kyle,
he is my trusted economic adviser; he these credit unions from his work for and Godspeed.
is the staff director for me on the Eco- me in the Banking Committee, but you I yield the floor.
nomic Policy Subcommittee of the don’t have to take my word for it. Just I suggest the absence of a quorum.
Senate Banking Committee; and he is a listen to the Arkansas Credit Union The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
good friend. Association, which submitted a letter clerk will call the roll.
So while I voted to confirm Kyle with in support of Kyle’s nomination. I will The legislative clerk proceeded to
enthusiasm, my enthusiasm is mixed quote from it here at length. This is call the roll.
with sadness to see a close and trusted from the group’s executive director: Mr. TOOMEY. Madam President, I
aide go. But my loss will be America’s On behalf of the Arkansas Credit Union As- ask unanimous consent that the order
gain. The NCUA, American taxpayers, sociation, I’ll say that we probably feel the for the quorum call be rescinded.
and millions of people who rely on same way you do—that he’ll be difficult to The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
credit unions will be well served by replace yet the NCUA is lucky to have him. objection, it is so ordered.
Kyle, who brings to the job a collegial I’ve gone to Washington for a couple dec- CARES ACT FUNDING
ades now on behalf of Arkansas credit
spirit and rare knowledge of financial Mr. TOOMEY. Madam President, I
unions, most of which are very small, rural
markets. institutions. Our largest credit union has rise this afternoon because while we
Kyle’s expertise comes from years of just over $1 billion in assets, which would be were away for our Thanksgiving break,
work for the bipartisan SEC Advisory considered small even by community-bank there were some very important devel-
Committee and on Wall Street itself, standards. The rest are much smaller, where opments on an important piece of leg-
where he focused on the very same you can count on one hand the number of islation that we passed earlier this
money markets where credit unions ob- ATMs they have. While advocating for these year, the CARES Act. Specifically,
tain their financing. Lest anyone think community-based lenders, I’ve encountered a what I am referring to is the decision
lot of Congressional staffers. Kyle is the best
that Kyle doesn’t understand what that was made by the Treasury Sec-
I’ve dealt with.
struggling American families can face, Given his background at large, inter- retary, Secretary Mnuchin, to not ex-
as an analyst on the Asia desk at Leh- national finance firms, you might think Kyle tend the 13(3) lending facilities that we
man Brothers, Kyle lost his job and his wouldn’t understand the needs of our mem- dramatically expanded in the CARES
savings during the financial crisis, bers, who are mostly low- or moderate-in- Act.
which means he has a deep and gut- come families. Yet it’s quite the opposite: he By way of reminder, let me summa-
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
level understanding about how deci- has gone above and beyond to listen, respond rize these facilities. When the economy
sions made by bankers and bureaucrats quickly and empathize with our concerns. first began to close down back in
His knowledge of financial markets is an
at the top can have serious con- asset, not a liability.
March-April, one of the things that
sequences for everyone else. I’m aware that NCUA board members started to happen was a collapse of our
Kyle has put this knowledge of the aren’t like Senate staffers; I’ll no longer be credit markets. I will get into that in
banking system and its implications to a constituent but rather someone working a little bit.
VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Dec 02, 2020 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 4637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A01DE6.004 S01DEPT1
December 1, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S7125
In response to that, we in Congress You don’t have to take my word for to start paying that cash back. Accord-
passed the CARES Act, which, among it. A very well-stated summary of what ing to various surveys of businesses
other things, appropriated just under was happening comes from Kent across America, unmet demand for
half a trillion dollars—$500 billion—for Hiteshew, who was the Deputy Assist- credit among creditworthy borrowers
the Treasury to use to capitalize spe- ant Director for Financial Stability at is almost nonexistent. In other words,
cial purpose vehicles, which would be the Federal Reserve. He was a senior as to the creditworthy corporate bor-
set up as entities from which the Fed- executive at the Federal Reserve, who, rowers—businesses large and small in
eral Reserve would lend money, buy se- in his testimony before the congres- America—if their credit is strong, they
curities, and provide liquidity to the sional oversight committee, had this to are able to access the facilities they
marketplace. Those facilities were say: need, the credit they need. That is ex-
scheduled to end by the end of the The conditions that prevailed during actly what we had hoped would happen
year. March were unprecedented—far worse than by virtue of setting up these facilities.
In keeping with the written statute during the onset of the financial crisis in Despite that, some have said that we
and certainly the intent of Congress, late 2008 or even in the days after 9/11, when can’t end these facilities that are
Secretary Mnuchin announced that the municipal market was briefly closed. In- called the 13(3) facilities because that
terest rates soared . . . mutual fund inves- is a section of existing law under which
these programs will, in fact, end as
tors pulled over $41 billion of assets out of
they are supposed to. I commend him the Fed is authorized to conduct these
the market in less than three weeks, and
for making the right decision, and I market functioning deteriorated to the point activities. People have suggested: Well,
commend Chairman Powell for agree- that buyers and sellers had difficulty deter- you can’t end these because the mar-
ing to a subsequent request from the mining prices. Ultimately, this meant that kets depend on them for their normal,
Treasury Secretary to return the un- state and local governments were effectively smooth functioning. The markets now
used money. unable to borrow, with most new issues can- depend on these facilities. That was
As it happened, the program, the con- celed for lack of investor demand. what we were told as a reason the
cept, worked so well that the mere an- That was the problem that Congress Treasury had to extend these, presum-
nouncement and the mere creation of was seeking to address—a complete ably indefinitely, but, in fact, what we
the capability on the part of the Fed to freezing up of our capital markets, the saw proved that the naysayers were
provide this liquidity was enough to re- inability to borrow or lend. That is the completely wrong.
store functioning capital markets. lifeblood of business, which is the In fact, it was on November 19 that
It was an extraordinary amount of source of employment in this country. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin an-
trust that we put in both Treasury Sec- If we had not done anything at that nounced that he would not be extend-
retary Mnuchin and Chairman Powell, moment, who knows how many more ing these programs. How did these fi-
giving them extremely powerful, un- millions of Americans would have lost nancial markets respond? With a yawn.
precedented emergency and temporary their jobs or how many more millions There were no adverse developments
tools. I commend them both for work- of businesses would have gone under. whatsoever. They continued their
ing together with those tools, for The economic devastation would have smooth, liquid functioning because, by
achieving the intended purpose, and for been very, very hard to imagine had we November 19—in fact, many months
putting them away once the purpose not done anything. Fortunately, we did prior to November 19—the markets had
had been achieved. do something. recovered on their own. They were
Some of our Democratic colleagues Congress decided that this problem functioning on their own. They were no
have been extremely critical of this de- could be fixed by providing enough li- longer in need of this fallback facility
cision on the part of Secretary quidity until the crisis had passed. We that we had created. Yet we did need it
Mnuchin not to extend these programs. would make sure that operations of back in March. Equity markets have
I want to address some of the argu- this liquidity exercise would extend no hit all-time record highs. Municipal
ments and why Secretary Mnuchin, in later than through the end of 2020, and debt and corporate debt volume is very
fact, did exactly the right thing. that is what we did in the CARES Act. high, and yields are low. The market is
Let’s go back and take a hard look at Just last week, every Republican mem- functioning very, very smoothly. Clear-
what we were facing in March of 2020. ber of the Senate Committee on Bank- ly, those of us who were advocating for
Unprecedented turmoil in the credit ing, Housing, and Urban Affairs sent a actually following the law and ending
markets were threatening the ability letter to Secretary Mnuchin and Sec- these programs were right in that the
of virtually every business, State, and retary Powell that reaffirmed that this markets were not actually depending
municipality in America to obtain was Congress’s intent—a short-term, on them anymore.
credit—a real threat to the financial temporary facility to restore func- Other people have said: You
plumbing, so to speak, of our entire tioning private markets. shouldn’t end the 13(3) facilities for
economy. Credit markets were on the I am pleased to report that these other reasons, one of which was, Who
verge of shutting down. There was a emergency facilities absolutely knows what risks may be out there or
mass flight of investors out of any kind achieved the intended purpose—again, what bad things might be on the hori-
of financial instrument and into cash. the purpose to stabilize our credit mar- zon for our economy that would cause
People were trying to sell everything kets, restore the normal flow of credit us to want to have these facilities?
they had. Prices were dropping in a to borrowers, and allow private capital That is a very bad reason for giving in-
free fall. In many instances, there was to continue to resume funding our definite lending authority to the Fed
no buyer; there was no price at which economy. It worked even better than to make direct loans to businesses in
one could sell an investment. Of we had hoped. Markets didn’t just im- America.
course, that meant that a borrower prove, and we didn’t just see liquidity First of all, there has never been a
couldn’t sell a bond or couldn’t issue a return; we saw record volumes of new day in the history of the Republic that
commercial paper. This was the freeze- debt issuance, new investor interest, you couldn’t imagine some bad thing
up in our financial markets that we municipal bonds, investment grade cor- that could possibly happen on the hori-
were right on the verge of, and we were porate bonds, high-yield corporate zon. That is no reason to create a tax-
very desperately afraid that, if this bonds—volumes that were off the chart payer-sponsored backstop for all finan-
happened—if our financial markets in response to these facilities. The cial activity—none whatsoever. Sure, a
came to a grinding halt and you could credit spreads at which these instru- bad thing could happen. Nobody knows.
neither borrow nor lend either in the ments were issued were very tight, and If it does, there is an answer. If such a
capital markets or in the private lend- interest rates were near a record low. disaster were to occur in the future and
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
ing markets of banks—then that would On the banking side, regional banks our financial markets were in danger
almost assuredly accelerate the down- reported that their commercial bor- once again of freezing up, then the Fed
ward spiral of our economy and could rowers drew down lines of credit so and Treasury should come back to Con-
even lead to a severe depression that that they had the cash they would need gress and ask for whatever authority
could last, potentially, a very long to get through a very difficult period. they think is appropriate for those cir-
time. In fact, many of them have been able cumstances. Based on what we did in
VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:03 Dec 02, 2020 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 4637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G01DE6.018 S01DEPT1
S7126 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE December 1, 2020
March, Congress is quite likely to re- made it possible for our economy to American people, will finally learn
spond by granting the tools necessary begin a record recovery from a very, what the facts are and not have them
to deal with whatever hypothetical cri- very deep trough that we hit in the filtered through the media, which, un-
sis may emerge down the road. late spring of last year. fortunately, has taken on some of the
Others of our friends say: You can’t We all know that we are not at the partisan polarization that is reflective
get rid of these facilities, and you can’t end goal in that we are not back to full of our larger society in a way that, I
terminate these facilities because employment yet. We have, as I said be- think, has prevented the facts from
there are industries that are failing in fore, many companies that are in deep being fully known.
America. Let me be clear. It is true trouble and many that have gone out Inspector General Horowitz, at the
that there are industries that are in a of business altogether. We have a lot of Department of Justice, has done a
world of hurt. We know what they are. problems, and we need to deal with great service in his investigations, but
The travel industry—much of the tour- them, but we do know this recovery the Durham investigation is, perhaps,
ism and hospitality, which is generally has been occurring at a faster pace the single most important investiga-
the hotels and restaurants—and a lot of than anyone projected. Most econo- tion being conducted and one that, I
the entertainment venues have been mists, including at the Fed, thought hope, when it is concluded, will once
devastated like we have never seen that we would be lucky if the unem- again help to restore public confidence
them before. That is a true fact. ployment rate dipped below 10 percent in those great American institutions
I think you can make a strong argu- by the end of this year, but it was at 6.9 known as the Department of Justice
ment that Congress ought to do some- percent at the end of October. We have and the FBI.
thing to respond to the circumstances a long way to go before we get back to CORONAVIRUS
that these folks find themselves in the barely above 3 percent unemploy- Earlier this afternoon, the majority
through no fault of their own, but they ment rate that we were enjoying before leader shared some good news in our
are in the situation they are in be- this pandemic hit, and by all means, we ongoing effort to deliver an additional
cause, in many cases, their Governors need to stay at it until we get there, coronavirus relief package to the
closed their States. In other cases, it is but we won’t do that by turning the American people before we adjourn for
because people are just prudently con- Fed into the allocator of credit based the Christmas holidays.
cerned about being in a crowded set- on political demands. That would be a Following discussions with Secretary
ting. So there is a problem there— very, very bad idea. It would lead to Mnuchin and the White House Chief of
there is a challenge—and we may very worse economic outcomes and all kinds Staff, there now seems to be a general
well decide we want to address it. Yet of distortions, and it would erode the agreement on a path forward that
having the Federal Reserve lending independence of the Fed. could gain bipartisan support in Con-
money to fundamentally insolvent As I say, I congratulate and com-
gress and earn the signature of the
companies is not the role of these fa- mend the Treasury Secretary for mak-
President.
cilities. It never was. It is not con- ing the right decision and the Chair-
templated in the underlying 13(3) stat- man of the Federal Reserve for return- People sometimes forget, we are an
ute, and it is not in the CARES Act. ing the unspent money. These pro- important part of the process, but the
That is not what this program, what grams have been remarkably success- person who signs legislation or would
these facilities were meant to address. ful. They have served their purpose. choose to veto it is an important part-
Let’s be clear about what the advo- Their purpose is now behind us, and we ner in that legislative process as well.
cates for continuing these 13(3) facili- need to continue the policies that will So the fact that President Trump has
ties are really all about. What is going allow us to have the economic recovery indicated he would sign such a bill is
on here with regard to these pro- we need without these programs con- encouraging.
grams—this massive, massive amount tinuing. The majority leader is in the process
of money that is at the discretion of I yield the floor. of drafting this new language, which
the Fed and the Treasury to lend—is The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- could finally break the gridlock which
they want to use political pressure on ator from Texas. has put us in such a precarious position
the Fed and the Treasury to lend these APPOINTMENT OF SPECIAL COUNSEL in terms of delivering the relief to the
facilities to favored political constitu- Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, just American people that they need, both
encies at terms they find appealing or as I came to the floor, I saw an an- from a public health and an economic
attractive depending on their cir- nouncement by the Attorney General standpoint. This may finally put us on
cumstances. This is exactly the oppo- of the United States that he was ap- a path to passing another relief bill be-
site of what a central bank should be pointing U.S. Attorney Durham as a fore the end of this year.
doing—capitulating to political pres- special counsel under the same provi- We know we are going to have to do
sure to lend to preferred constituents sions under which Robert Mueller was it, but we should not make the Amer-
at whatever terms the politics dictate. appointed as a special counsel. While, ican people endure additional pain and
That could not be anything further ordinarily, I am no fan of special coun- anxiety and hardship as a result of po-
from the role the central bank ought to sel appointments, I think this one is litical dysfunction by kicking it over
be playing. important for a very simple reason. into the new administration.
To my colleagues who are advocating With the election of a new adminis- For months on end, my constituents
that we do exactly that with these 13(3) tration and the peaceful transfer of in Texas and the American people have
facilities, I couldn’t disagree more. If power anticipated on January 20, it is waited as political dysfunction has
we want to be in the business of pick- important to the country that the Dur- stood in the way of progress on COVID–
ing industries or sectors and sub- ham investigation—wherever it may 19 relief. With case counts climbing in
sidizing them or giving them money or lead—be concluded in a nonpolitical Texas and across the country, the need
treating them in some unusual way, we and nonpartisan fashion and that, with for action cannot be overstated.
can have that discussion, but that is whatever is disclosed about the efforts It is clear that Republicans, both in
fiscal policy. That is a decision that, made at the FBI under the direction of the Congress and the White House, are
ultimately, needs to be made by the po- Mr. Comey—under his leadership—and prepared to make a deal, and I hope our
litically accountable branches of gov- the actions of his subordinates at the colleagues across the aisle can bring
ernment—the Congress and the Presi- FBI, it is important to the country and themselves to stop blocking relief and
dent—not by the central bank, which is to the ongoing reputation of the De- to do the same.
supposed to be independent and apo- partment of Justice and the Federal (Mr. CASSIDY assumed the Chair.)
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
litical. Bureau of Investigation that the facts And as I see the Presiding Officer
The fact is that I think we deserve be known and not be swept under the take his seat, I am reminded, too, there
congratulations. Even more so, I think rug. is an additional bipartisan bill, intro-
the Treasury Secretary and the Chair- So I congratulate the Attorney Gen- duced by a group of Senators, including
man of the Fed deserve congratulations eral for making that appointment, the Presiding Officer, that I think pro-
for setting up the facilities that have which ensures that the public, the vide some other shape and contours to
VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Dec 02, 2020 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 4637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G01DE6.024 S01DEPT1
File and source
- File
- CREC_crec-2020-12-01_crec-2020-12-01-pt1-pgs7124-3.pdf
- Size
- 222,959 bytes
- SHA-256
- 38d3ab9e9db612321a529967a978804b5442d5dee3b005ba3c5aadca71ea122d
- Original
- www.govinfo.gov