Originally posted at Writeindependent.org on November 21, 2011
Gramm Leach Bliley – Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 – banking deregulation – housing crisis – 2008 – economy – recession – depression
I became very interested in the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 (aka the Federal Home Loan Bank System Modernization Act of 1999 or the Gramm—Leach—Bliley Act) when I learned that it was responsible for the final dismantling of the Glass Steagall Act. The Glass Steagall Act, passed in 1933 had been protecting our economy from wild shifts (boom and bust fluctuations) since the Depression.
The purpose of the Financial Services act of 1999 was supposedly “To enhance competition in the financial services industry by providing a prudential framework for the affiliation of banks, securities firms, and other financial service providers, and for other purposes.”
Opponents of the bill warned that it would cause the banks to be in a conflict of interest relationship with securities and insurance institutions. They also predicted that the banks would take on more risk than they could possibly cover, and that they would have a “too big to fail” outcome; which, as we now know, forced the government to back them when the chips fell.
Interestingly, the bill also safeguarded the investors’ and preparers records, ostensibly “to protect clients’ nonpublic personal information” but also making it impossible to point a finger at the people who stood out as the main winners in the gambling scheme of insuring subprime mortgages against default.
The bill was authored by Sen. Phil Gramm (R, Texas), Rep. Jim Leach (R, Iowa), and Rep. Thomas J. Bliley, Jr. (R, Virginia) and cosponsored by:
Rep Bachus, Spencer [R-AL-6]
Rep Baker, Richard H. [R-LA-6]
Rep Castle, Michael N. [R-DE]
Rep Cook, Merrill [R-UT-2]
Rep Kelly, Sue W. [R-NY-19]
Rep King, Peter T. [R-NY-3]
Rep LaTourette, Steven C. [R-OH-19]
Rep Lazio, Rick [R-NY-2]
Rep Maloney, James H. [D-CT-5]
Rep McCollum, Bill [R-FL-8]
Rep Ney, Robert W. [R-OH-18]
Rep Roukema, Marge [R-NJ-5]
The following Representatives voted in favor of the Financial Services Act in the 106th Congress: (Democrats in italics).
| Ackerman Aderholt Allen Andrews Armey Bachus Baird Baker Baldacci Ballenger Barcia Barr Barrett (NE) Bartlett Bass Bateman Becerra Bentsen Bereuter Berkley Berman Berry Biggert Bilbray Bilirakis Bishop Blagojevich Bliley Blumenauer Blunt Boehlert Boehner Bonior Bono Borski Boswell Boucher Boyd Brown (FL) Bryant Burr Burton Buyer Callahan Calvert Camp Canady Cannon Cardin Carson Castle Chabot Chambliss Clayton Clement Clyburn Coble Collins Cook Cooksey Cox Cramer Crane Crowley Cubin Cunningham Danner Davis (FL) Davis (IL) Davis (VA) Deal DeLay DeMint Deutsch Diaz-Balart Dickey Dicks Dixon Doggett Dooley Doolittle Doyle Dreier Duncan Dunn Ehlers |
Ehrlich Emerson Engel English Etheridge Everett Ewing Fletcher Foley Forbes Ford Fowler Franks (NJ) Frelinghuysen Frost Gallegly Ganske Gekas Gephardt Gibbons Gilchrest Gillmor Gilman Gonzalez Goode Goodlatte Goodling Gordon Goss Graham Green (WI) Greenwood Gutierrez Gutknecht Hall (OH) Hall (TX) Hansen Hastert Hastings (FL) Hastings (WA) Hayes Hayworth Herger Hill (IN) Hill (MT) Hilleary Hinojosa Hobson Hoeffel Holden Holt Hooley Horn Hostettler Houghton Hoyer Hulshof Hunter Hutchinson Hyde Isakson Istook Jackson-Lee (TX) Jefferson Jenkins John Johnson (CT) Johnson, E. B. Johnson, Sam Jones (NC) Jones (OH) Kanjorski Kasich Kelly Kennedy Kildee Kilpatrick Kind (WI) King (NY) Kingston Klink Knollenberg Kolbe Kuykendall LaFalce Largent |
Larson Latham LaTourette Lazio Leach Levin Lewis (CA) Lewis (KY) Linder LoBiondo Lowey Lucas (KY) Lucas (OK) Maloney (CT) Maloney (NY) Manzullo Mascara Matsui McCarthy (NY) McCollum McCrery McGovern McHugh McInnis McIntosh McIntyre McKeon McNulty Meek (FL) Meeks (NY) Menendez Metcalf Millender-McDonald Miller (FL) Miller, Gary Minge Moakley Mollohan Moore Moran (VA) Morella Murtha Myrick Napolitano Neal Nethercutt Ney Northup Norwood Nussle Oberstar Ose Owens Oxley Packard Pallone Pascrell Pastor Pease Peterson (PA) Petri Pickering Pickett Pitts Pombo Pomeroy Porter Portman Price (NC) Pryce (OH) Quinn Radanovich Rahall Ramstad Rangel Regula Reyes Reynolds Riley Roemer Rogan Rogers Rohrabacher Ros-Lehtinen Rothman Roukema |
Royce Rush Ryan (WI) Ryun (KS) Sabo Salmon Sanchez Sandlin Sanford Sawyer Saxton Scarborough Schaffer Scott Sensenbrenner Sessions Shadegg Shaw Shays Sherman Sherwood Shimkus Shows Shuster Simpson Sisisky Skeen Skelton Slaughter Smith (MI) Smith (NJ) Smith (TX) Smith (WA) Snyder Souder Spence Spratt Stabenow Stearns Strickland Stump Sununu Sweeney Talent Tanner Tauscher Tauzin Taylor (NC) Terry Thomas Thompson (CA) Thompson (MS) Thune Tiahrt Toomey Towns Traficant Udall (CO) Udall (NM) Upton Velazquez Vento Visclosky Vitter Walden Walsh Wamp Watkins Watt (NC) Watts (OK) Weiner Weldon (FL) Weldon (PA) Weller Wexler Weygand Whitfield Wicker Wilson Wise Wolf Wu Wynn Young (AK) Young (FL)
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Senators: (votes on Senate Bill S.900, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act) May 6, 1999
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YEAs —54 |
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| Abraham (R-MI) Allard (R-CO) Ashcroft (R-MO) Bennett (R-UT) Bond (R-MO) Brownback (R-KS) Bunning (R-KY) Burns (R-MT) Campbell (R-CO) Chafee, J. (R-RI) Cochran (R-MS) Collins (R-ME) Coverdell (R-GA) Craig (R-ID) Crapo (R-ID) DeWine (R-OH) Domenici (R-NM) Enzi (R-WY) |
Frist (R-TN) Gorton (R-WA) Gramm (R-TX) Grams (R-MN) Grassley (R-IA) Gregg (R-NH) Hagel (R-NE) Hatch (R-UT) Helms (R-NC) Hollings (D-SC) Hutchinson (R-AR) Hutchison (R-TX) Jeffords (R-VT) Kyl (R-AZ) Lott (R-MS) Lugar (R-IN) Mack (R-FL) McCain (R-AZ) |
McConnell (R-KY) Murkowski (R-AK) Nickles (R-OK) Roberts (R-KS) Roth (R-DE) Santorum (R-PA) Sessions (R-AL) Shelby (R-AL) Smith (R-NH) Smith (R-OR) Snowe (R-ME) Specter (R-PA) Stevens (R-AK) Thomas (R-WY) Thompson (R-TN) Thurmond (R-SC) Voinovich (R-OH) Warner (R-VA) |
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NAYs —44 |
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| Akaka (D-HI) Baucus (D-MT) Bayh (D-IN) Biden (D-DE) Bingaman (D-NM) Boxer (D-CA) Breaux (D-LA) Bryan (D-NV) Byrd (D-WV) Cleland (D-GA) Conrad (D-ND) Daschle (D-SD) Dodd (D-CT) Dorgan (D-ND) Durbin (D-IL) |
Edwards (D-NC) Feingold (D-WI) Feinstein (D-CA) Graham (D-FL) Harkin (D-IA) Inouye (D-HI) Johnson (D-SD) Kennedy (D-MA) Kerrey (D-NE) Kerry (D-MA) Kohl (D-WI) Landrieu (D-LA) Lautenberg (D-NJ) Leahy (D-VT) Levin (D-MI) |
Lieberman (D-CT) Lincoln (D-AR) Mikulski (D-MD) Moynihan (D-NY) Murray (D-WA) Reed (D-RI) Reid (D-NV) Robb (D-VA) Rockefeller (D-WV) Sarbanes (D-MD) Schumer (D-NY) Torricelli (D-NJ) Wellstone (D-MN) Wyden (D-OR) |
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Present – 1 |
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| Fitzgerald (R-IL) | ||
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Not Voting – 1 |
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| Inhofe (R-OK) | ||