By Joe Palazzolo
We in the legal news business left President Obama?s State of the Union Address feeling hungry. But not starved. Below are a few?excerpts?that may be of interest to LB nation.
On insider-trading?legislation and?nominations:
We?ve talked tonight about the deficit of trust between?Main Street and Wall Street. But the divide between this city and the rest of the country is at least as bad ? and it seems to get worse every year.
Some of this has to do with the corrosive influence of money in politics. So together, let?s take some steps to fix that. Send me a bill that bans insider trading by Members of Congress, and I will sign it tomorrow. Let?s limit any elected official from owning stocks in industries they impact. Let?s make sure people who bundle campaign contributions for Congress can?t lobby Congress, and vice versa ? an idea that has bipartisan support, at least outside of Washington.
Some of what?s broken has to do with the way Congress does its business these days. A simple majority is no longer enough to get anything ? even routine business ? passed through the Senate. Neither party has been blameless in these tactics. Now both parties should put an end to it. For starters, I ask the Senate to pass a rule that all judicial and public service nominations receive a simple up or down vote within 90 days.
On trade enforcement:
Tonight, I?m announcing the creation of a Trade Enforcement Unit that will be charged with investigating unfair trade practices in countries like China. There will be more inspections to prevent counterfeit or unsafe goods from crossing our borders. And this Congress should make sure that no foreign company has an advantage over American manufacturing when it comes to accessing finance or new markets like Russia. Our workers are the most productive on Earth, and if the playing field is level, I promise you ? America will always win.
On a new financial crimes unit and stepping up penalties for fraud:
If you?re a big bank or financial institution, you are no longer allowed to make risky bets with your customers? deposits. You?re required to write out a ?living will? that details exactly how you?ll pay the bills if you fail ? because the rest of us aren?t bailing you out ever again. And if you?re a mortgage lender or a payday lender or a credit card company, the days of signing people up for products they can?t afford with confusing forms and deceptive practices are over. Today, American consumers finally have a watchdog in?Richard Cordray with one job: To look out for them.
We will also establish a Financial Crimes Unit of highly trained investigators to crack down on large-scale fraud and protect people?s investments. Some financial firms violate major anti-fraud laws because there?s no real penalty for being a repeat offender. That?s bad for consumers, and it?s bad for the vast majority of bankers and financial service professionals who do the right thing. So pass legislation that makes the penalties for fraud count.
And tonight, I am asking my Attorney General to create a special unit of federal prosecutors and leading state attorneys general to expand our investigations into the abusive lending and packaging of risky mortgages that led to the housing crisis. This new unit will hold accountable those who broke the law, speed assistance to homeowners, and help turn the page on an era of recklessness that hurt so many Americans.
Dow Jones has more on the joint unit of federal and state investigators. It will be led by the SEC?s enforcement director, Robert Khuzami, and Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, head of the Justice Department?s Criminal Division. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will lead the effort from the state level.
An interesting wrinkle: State and federal officials say they are close to reaching a settlement with the nation?s largest banks worth as much as $25 billion to settle foreclosure-handling abuses. But it remains unclear what effect the appointment of?Schneiderman, who has been critical of the talks, will have on that process.
Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2012/01/25/sotu-legal-highlights/
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