U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, today issued the following statement regarding Senate passage of the conference report accompanying the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010:

“Nothing in this 2,300 page bill deals with the primary catalyst of the market instability in our economy – the bailout behemoths Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  This bill simply ignores the devastating impact these two entities continue to have not only on our capital markets, but also our nation’s deficit – demanding over $145 billion dollars in taxpayer assistance with no end in sight.

“Having participated in the conference committee, I unfortunately witnessed first-hand the complete disregard for addressing the real issues at hand.  This legislation will in fact enable regulators to impose restrictions on businesses that had nothing to do with creating the financial crisis. These types of entities were clearly not the cause of the economic crisis, and yet, they will now be subject to the same regulations as the large financial institutions on Wall Street.

“I have found that Republicans and Democrats generally agree that there needs to be greater market transparency, more derivatives clearing, and compliance with a whole host of business conduct and efficient market operation regulations.  I wholeheartedly support efforts to make the swaps market more transparent.  This bill will provide that much needed transparency, but unfortunately, the overreaching nature of this legislation goes far beyond evaluating the market place and policing it for abuse.  I cannot support the vast regulatory intrusion and costs that our businesses and consumers will face once this becomes law.

“Republicans have been painted as the ‘party of Wall Street’ and against reform, and I want folks to know this is disingenuous.  I believe that there is a need to respond to what went wrong in our financial system and I support doing so in a responsible way that will continue to allow Main Street businesses to manage their risk appropriately, hold those responsible for this mess accountable and not create huge new government bureaucracies.  Unfortunately, this legislation falls far short of those goals.”