Van Hollen Statement on Passage of the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009
Washington,
May 6, 2009 -
Today, Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) issued the following statement on House passage of the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009:
“With House passage of the bipartisan Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 today, we have helped the government increase its understanding of the factors that caused the economic collapse and provide the resources necessary to help prevent this from happening again.
“We know that lax supervision of the financial industry contributed to the current economic conditions, and we must do everything we can to learn from these mistakes and prevent future economic meltdowns. This bill will help us understand the causes of the economic crisis by establishing a bipartisan commission to study the conditions that triggered the economic collapse. The Commission will also provide Congress with recommendations to prevent future economic problems.
“The legislation includes a clear commitment to fighting waste, fraud and abuse. It strengthens current law and increases funding to hire investigators and prosecutors so law enforcement agencies can effectively combat these issues. It will also help protect taxpayer dollars by amending current law to protect funds expended under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and the economic stimulus package.
“We are on the path to recovery from the current economic crisis, but we need to do everything possible to understand all the factors that caused the financial meltdown and ensure that the appropriate laws and resources are in place to prevent a similar crisis in the future. We must also protect the unprecedented investment of taxpayer dollars made as part of our economic recovery effort, and ensure that this investment is spent wisely and efficiently. The Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 gives us the tools to take these important steps.”
Congressman Chris Van Hollen
