Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined Squawk Box on CNBC this morning to discuss ethics issues surrounding Sarah Bloom Raskin, nominee to be Vice Chairman for Supervision and a Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Fair Access to Banking Act, his bill to prevent discrimination by banks and financial service providers against constitutionally-protected industries and law-abiding businesses. Excerpts and the full video are below.
On the Senate Banking Executive Session Boycott
“I think the easy way to move things forward would be to take the Sarah Bloom Raskin nomination, which is a very important one because it’s a 10-year appointment to supervisor, and set that aside. We could move on the other Fed nominations. We’d be happy to vote on all of those. Not that we would vote for all of them, but we’d be able to have a vote on them. What we did by not attending the business meeting when the markup will take place is we denied the Democrats a quorum. That’s one of the rules that in a 50-50 the minority has. If the chairman would just separate it out, we could move forward.”
“We’re doing Democrats a big favor. All we’re asking for are further answers to really important questions about Sarah Bloom Raskin.”
On Sarah Bloom Raskin’s Revolving Door Ethics Issue
“We’re denying them the opportunity to even have a vote on Sarah Bloom Raskin over the ethical cloud that hangs over her head. Frankly, I don’t know why they want the baggage that comes from an insufficient or rushed judgment to confirm her. This issue is very, very serious. This revolving door issue where the Kansas City Federal Reserve changed the decision on offering a master account to her fintech company that she joined after being a Fed Governor and a Treasury official. That’s a serious question that has yet to be answered properly. When it was finally answered by the Kansas City Fed, they said they reversed their decision for two reasons. One of them is that the Colorado Division of Banking redefined what a bank is. And of course, as you know, because you all reported this yesterday, the Colorado Division of Banking denies that. They call it a misrepresentation. So we’re really doing the Administration a favor by delaying her confirmation.”
“Well, there’s one of the problems that Kansas City Fed has not provided the documentation as to why they reversed their decision and gave the fintech company, Reserve Trust, this very coveted master account at the Federal Reserve. When they do that, it doesn’t mean that they’re going to change a bunch of minds. I actually think the scandal that you guys reported that the Fed’s decision and the rationale do not match up with the Colorado Division of Banking. I think that’s more of a cloud. I’m not really sure that every Democrat could support that. Remember, [Senator] Elizabeth Warren comes into most Banking Committee meetings where there’s a nominee in front of us and spends five minutes berating them if they’ve ever worked with cooperation in their life or if they ever plan to work for a company again in their lives. She’s been the number one opponent of revolving doors and this one speaks big time because we have actual evidence that you need $1.5 million off of a stock trade after lobbying the Kansas City Fed for preferential treatment.”
On Federal Reserve Nominees
“[Sarah Bloom Raskin] has been very clear. She wants to reallocate capital away from legal commerce, especially the fossil industry. And by the way, so is Lael Brainard. Lael Brainard’s rhetoric hasn’t been quite as harsh, but her position has been. So those are reasons to vote no.”
On the Fair Access to Banking Act
I introduced the Fair Access to Banking Act. I think if you’re an FDIC-insured bank, if your backstop is the taxpayers in this country and you categorically exclude entire industries of legal commerce, that is wrong. You shouldn’t be allowed to do it. That said, I think on a case-by-case basis, the assessment of risk is obviously an important part of banking. I think banks ought to have some leeway to do that, but the risk assessment should not categorically exclude entire industries.”
“Mike Lindell and My Pillow is a specific borrower, a specific business, not an entire industry. What if they said, we’re not going to fund any pillow company because we’re against pillows. That’s what I’m talking about.”
“There’s a big difference between the pornography industry and providing enough energy to grow an economy and secure a nation.”
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