I hope you are enjoying a wonderful holiday season.
As we gather with family and friends this Christmas amid an array of challenges facing our nation and world, it is important that we not forget that we live in the greatest country on Earth and have so much to be thankful for.
Despite the issues before us, for decades, America has been a beacon of light to countries around the world.
From our free enterprise system, to our cherished personal liberties, to the strength we have shown in past fights against evil, American values and U.S. leadership have made the world a better place.
There are many hard decisions ahead, but I believe that if the United States provides the leadership that has defined our great nation, we can help create a more safe and secure world for generations to come.
I am grateful for the tremendous privilege of representing you in the United States Senate.
As we start a new year, I promise to wake up each day prepared to work hard and tackle our nation’s toughest issues.
Elizabeth and I wish you and your family a very merry Christmas, and I look forward to serving you in the Senate in 2016.
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Chattanooga Terror Attack Victims to Receive Purple Hearts
Senator Corker last week applauded the announcement by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus that the Department of the Navy will award the Purple Heart to the four Marines and one Sailor killed and the Marine injured during the July 16 terrorist attack in Chattanooga. The decision followed an announcement by the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that the killer was inspired by a foreign terror organization.
“The men we lost - and those who were wounded - on July 16 in the deadly terror attack in Chattanooga exemplify the very best that America has to offer, and I am pleased to learn they will be awarded the Purple Heart,” said Corker. “Our commander-in-chief has classified the heartbreaking events that took place that day as an act of terror, and I have been pressing the FBI to provide answers to both the families of the fallen and our community. I appreciate the efforts of all involved as they work tirelessly to piece together this puzzle so we can better protect ourselves in the future. The threat of terrorism is not just something we see across our shores anymore; it’s here in our homeland; it hit my hometown; and we must continue to show resolve in the fight against this evil.”
Providing Permanent Tax Relief for American Families and Businesses
Senator Corker released the following statement on passage of legislation to provide permanent tax relief to American families and businesses and also fund the government through fiscal year 2016.
"Left to my own accord this bill would look much different, but it does put to bed a number of issues that have been left unaddressed for a number of years and provides permanent tax relief to American families and businesses,” said Corker.
Protecting Taxpayers Through Housing Finance Reform
On Friday, a provision of Senator Corker’s Jumpstart GSE Reform Act became law when the president signed the fiscal year 2016 “omnibus” appropriations bill. In advance of a vote on the legislation, Senator Corker applauded inclusion of the provision in a speech on the Senate floor and encouraged his colleagues to prioritize housing finance reform in the new year.
Click here or on the image above to watch the video.
“As we continue consideration of the ‘omnibus’, I rise today to applaud the inclusion of language I coauthored with Senator Mark Warner that will ensure the fate of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – entities Congress created – will be determined by Congress and make crystal clear that this body does not support efforts to return to the failed model of private gains and public losses,” said Corker. “And as we wrap up our legislative business of 2015, I also am here to remind my colleagues that there is much work to be done in the new year to finally address the last unfinished business of the 2008 financial crisis.”
The provision, which would spur substantive and structural housing finance reform, would prohibit for at least two years the sale of Treasury-owned senior preferred shares in government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac without congressional approval. The appropriations bill also expresses the sense of Congress that it “should pass and the President should sign into law legislation determining the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and that notwithstanding the expiration of subsection (b), the Secretary should not sell, transfer, relinquish, liquidate, divest, or otherwise dispose of any outstanding shares of senior preferred stock acquired pursuant to the Senior Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement until such legislation is enacted.”
In 2008, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were taken into government conservatorship and given a $188 billion capital injection from taxpayers to stay afloat. As a result of the bailout, the U.S. Department of Treasury purchased senior preferred stock in the GSEs and was given sole discretion to sell or otherwise dispose of those shares.
There is broad bipartisan, bicameral consensus that the status of the GSEs prior to conservatorship was a failure and that the best way to prevent another bailout and protect taxpayers is through comprehensive housing finance reform. Furthermore, the Obama administration has made clear that they continue to believe comprehensive housing finance reform is the only effective way forward and have publicly rebuked calls by some activist groups to recapitalize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and release them from conservatorship.
Funding for End Modern Slavery Initiative Included in Omnibus
Funding for Senator Corker’s bold, bipartisan initiative to end modern slavery was included in the fiscal year 2016 “omnibus” appropriations bill. The End Modern Slavery Initiative will create a powerful effort in concert with the private sector and foreign governments to help eliminate modern slavery around the globe.
“With this important funding for The End Modern Slavery Initiative, we can begin a vigorous effort to end slavery worldwide, which currently affects more than 27 million people, especially women and children,” said Corker. “I’ve seen firsthand the terrible conditions and impacts of slavery, and I am proud that we are another step closer to establishing what will be a transformational initiative that will change the lives of many around the world.”
“This effort would not be possible if not for the numerous organizations and faith-based institutions that have helped raise awareness about the devastating conditions of slavery and human trafficking that exists in more than 167 countries, including our very own,” added Corker.
Click here for more information on The End Modern Slavery Initiative.
Failure to Impose Consequences for Iran’s Ballistic Missile Violations Sets Dangerous Precedent
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At the first oversight hearing on expected implementation of the Iran nuclear agreement, Senator Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, warned that the Obama administration’s failure to impose consequences for Iran’s violation of an international ban on ballistic missile testing sets a dangerous precedent for enforcement of the nuclear deal. The hearing featured testimony from Obama administration officials with the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Energy who are responsible for implementation of the nuclear agreement.
“One area that we all agree on is the need to be tough on any destabilizing or illegal action by Iran. With that view in mind, I think the agreement is off to a really terrible start,” said Corker. “Failure to impose any consequences on Iran for its violations of U.N. Security Council Resolutions and other destabilizing actions sets a dangerous precedent before implementation of the nuclear agreement, when sanctions are lifted and the leverage shifts to Iran.”
The Obama administration and a report provided to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) have both confirmed Iran’s October 10 ballistic missile test violated UNSC Resolution 1929.
Senator Corker detailed a number of Iran’s hostile acts since the nuclear deal was reached including the conviction of captive Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, cyber-attacks against the State Department, defiance of a U.N. travel ban when Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander Qasem Soleimani visited Russia, export of weapons to Syria and Yemen, violations of the ballistic missile testing ban, and attempts to cover up military dimensions of their nuclear program, which was confirmed by an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report.
“I realize not all of those issues are covered by the Iran agreement, but they all relate to our relationship with Iran,” said Corker. “And it’s very evident that they are taking a very different tack I think than many administration officials thought would be the case after the agreement was agreed to.”
For complete footage and witness testimony from the hearing click here.
Tennesseans Visit Washington
Senator Corker hosted Tennesseans at last week’s “Tennessee Tuesday,” a regular breakfast held on Capitol Hill every week the Senate is in session for visitors from the Volunteer State. For more information, click here.
Federal Housing Finance Agency Releases 2016 Scorecard
Senator Corker, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, released the following statement regarding the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) 2016 Scorecard, which outlines the agency’s priorities for government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
“I applaud Director Watt and the FHFA for their sustained commitment to de-risk mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” said Corker. “Specifically, I am pleased to see the FHFA’s continued focus on broadening the credit risk transfer program, with an emphasis on building out front-end transactions. While the timeline for the development of the Common Securitization Platform has been slow, I also am pleased to see specific targets outlined in the scorecard.”
Under the direction of the FHFA, both GSEs continue to reduce their retained portfolios and transfer credit risk away from the taxpayers to the private sector. To date, the enterprises have transferred credit risk on loans with over $667 billion of unpaid principal balance. In a letter to Director Watt earlier this year, Corker raised concerns about the development of the Common Securitization Platform (CSP) and urged the agency to adopt changes to ensure the CSP is accessible to not only the GSEs, but also private sector participants at some point in the future.
“Congress still must act to protect taxpayers by reforming our nation’s housing finance system, which was made clear this week with inclusion in the omnibus of my ‘Jumpstart’ provision with Senator Warner to prohibit for at least two years the misguided idea of ‘recap and release’,” added Corker. “In the meantime, I am pleased that the agency continues to move toward the system we envisioned with Corker-Warner and away from the current system that leaves the American people on the hook for a future bailout.”
Legislation first introduced by Corker and Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) in June 2013, the Housing Finance Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act (S.1217), passed the Senate Banking Committee in May 2014 by a vote of 13 to 9. The bill would strengthen America’s housing finance system by replacing government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with a privately capitalized system that preserves market liquidity and protects taxpayers from future economic downturns.
