S10748 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE November 20, 2008 

(C) by striking subparagraph (F); and 

(2) in subsection (g)— 

(A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘ELECTION

TO TRADE EXCLUDED AND EXEMPT COMMODITIES’’ and inserting ‘‘EXCLUDED SECURITIES’’; 

and 

(B) in paragraph (1)— 

(i) by striking ‘‘excluded or exempt commodities other than’’ and inserting ‘‘commodities other than an agricultural commodity enumerated in section 1a(4) or’’; and 

(ii) by striking ‘‘, 2(d), or 2(g) of this Act, 

or exempt under section 2(h) of this Act’’. 

(g) Section 5b of the Commodity Exchange 

Act (7 U.S.C. 7a–1) is amended— 

(1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘section 

2(a)(1)(C)(i), 2(c), 2(d), 2(f), or 2(g) of this Act 

or title IV of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, or exempted under 

section 2(h) or 4(c) of this Act’’ and inserting 

‘‘subsection (a)(1)(C)(i), (c), or (d) of section 2 

or title IV of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 (Public Law 106–554; 114 

Stat. 2763A457)’’; and 

(2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘section 

2(c), 2(d), 2(f), or 2(g) of this Act or title IV 

of the Commodity Futures Modernization 

Act of 2000, or exempted under section 2(h) or 

4(c) of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 

(c) or (d) of section 2 or title IV of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 

(Public Law 106–554; 114 Stat. 2763A457)’’. 

(h) Section 5c of the Commodity Exchange 

Act (7 U.S.C. 7a–2) is amended— 

(1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘and 

section 2(h)(7) with respect to significant 

price discovery contracts,’’; 

(2) in subsection (b)— 

(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘, derivatives transaction execution facility, or electronic trading facility with respect to a significant price discovery contract’’ and inserting ‘‘or derivatives transaction execution 

facility’’; and 

(B) in paragraphs (2) and (3), by striking ‘‘, 

derivatives transaction execution facility, or 

electronic trading facility’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘or derivatives transaction execution facility’’; and 

(3) in subsection (d)(1), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘or 

2(h)(7)(C) with respect to a significant price 

discovery contract traded or executed on an 

electronic trading facility,’’. 

(i) Section 5e of the Commodity Exchange 

Act (7 U.S.C. 7b) is amended by striking ‘‘or 

revocation of the right of an electronic trading facility to rely on the exemption set 

forth in section 2(h)(3) with respect to a significant price discovery contract,’’. 

(j) Section 5f(b)(1) of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 7b–1(b)(1)) is amended in 

the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by 

striking ‘‘section 5f’’ and inserting ‘‘this section’’. 

(k) Section 6(b) of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 8(b)) is amended— 

(1) in the first sentence— 

(A) by striking ‘‘or to revoke the right of 

an electronic trading facility to rely on the 

exemption set forth in section 2(h)(3) with 

respect to a significant price discovery contract,’’; and 

(B) by striking ‘‘or electronic trading facility’’; and 

(2) in the second sentence, in the matter 

preceding the proviso, by striking ‘‘or electronic trading facility’’. 

(l) Section 12(e) of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 16(e)) is amended by 

striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following: 

‘‘(2) EFFECT.—This Act supersedes and preempts the application of any State or local 

law that prohibits or regulates gaming or 

the operation of bucket shops (other than 

antifraud provisions of general applicability) 

in the case of an agreement, contract, or 

transaction that is excluded from this Act 

under— 

‘‘(A) subsection (c) or (d) of section 2; or 

‘‘(B) title IV of the Commodity Futures 

Modernization Act of 2000 (Public Law 106– 

554; 114 Stat. 2763A457).’’. 

(m) Section 15(b) of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 19(b)) is amended by 

striking ‘‘4(c) or’’. 

(n) Section 22(b)(1)(A) of the Commodity 

Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 25(b)(1)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘by section 2(h)(7) or sections 

5 through 5c’’ and inserting ‘‘under sections 

5 through 5c’’. 

(o) Section 13106(b)(1) of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2 

note; Public Law 110–246) is amended by 

striking ‘‘section 1a(32)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 1a’’. 

By Mr. LEVIN (for himself, Mr. 

BOND, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. 

VOINOVICH, Mr. BROWN, Mr. 

SPECTER, and Mr. CASEY): 

S. 3715. A bill to provide for emergency bridge loan assistance to automobile manufacturers and component 

suppliers; to the Committee on Appropriations. 

Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce with my colleagues the Auto Industry Emergency Bridge Loan Act. 

This legislation is the product of a 

bipartisan effort to provide bridge 

loans of up to $25 billion to the auto industry. Auto industries around the 

world, including China and Europe, are 

requesting loans from their governments because of the dramatic decline 

of the global economy and the drastic 

reduction in car purchases and the 

availability of credit. 

Our proposition is not only bipartisan. It is a hybrid proposal combining 

provisions from many sources. 

We incorporate Leader REID’S provisions on strong taxpayer protections, 

including stock warrants for the government, provisions restricting executive compensation, including bonuses 

and golden parachutes, and provisions 

requiring long term plans for financial 

viability. Suppliers are also made eligible for the loans. 

The language of Chairman BARNEY

FRANK, of the House Financial Services 

Committee, was heavily utilized including retention of Section 136’s environmental standards, such as 25 percent improvement in fuel economy and 

Tier II emissions standards. His oversight board membership approach is 

also included. 

The White House opposed the use of 

any of the $700 billion, already-appropriated stabilization fund, and the Majority Leader said yesterday that there 

were not enough votes in the Senate to 

pass an amendment using those funds. 

We cannot allow the issue of which 

source of already appropriated funds 

will be used for the essential purpose of 

preventing the economy from sliding 

into a depression, which is a real possibility if one or more of the domestic 

auto companies goes under, given the 

impact of the auto industry on millions 

of jobs, on suppliers that are in most of 

our States and on all of our communities which have Big 3 auto dealers. 

So we agreed that the only alternative which can prevent those disastrous results is for the funding stream 

for the loans to come from the socalled Section 136 appropriation that 

we provided earlier this year in the 

consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations 

Act, 2009. However, the structure of 

Section 136 is preserved in permanent 

law for the balance of its appropriation 

not utilized for loans, and the environmental standards of section 136, including strengthened fuel economy and 

emissions standards, are preserved. 

Also, loan repayments will be used to 

replenish Section 136, along with any 

proceeds from the sale of company 

stock owned by the government. 

Under our proposal, this emergency 

bridge loan program would be administered by the Secretary of Commerce. 

The time for Congress to act on this 

pressing issue is growing short. People 

in communities across this country are 

anxiously watching to see what we are 

going to do. They are sick with worry. 

Not acting on a solution will provoke 

anger and frustration in hundreds of 

communities which supply components 

or have auto dealers. This is a Main 

Street issue—a direct jobs issue for 

millions of families. 

I know there is frustration with the 

past actions of the U.S. auto companies. Some blame them for the quality 

problems of the 1970s, or for paying 

their executives and their workers too 

much, or for not moving aggressively 

enough to produce advanced technology, fuel efficient cars. But we can’t 

throw millions of jobs, a vital segment 

of our industrial base and our economy 

overboard just because of this frustration. 

President Bush, President-elect 

Obama, and the leadership and probably a majority of the Congress all 

agree that we needed to provide bridge 

loans to support the U.S. auto industry, and I am pleased that the leadership of the Congress has said that we 

will address this issue beginning December 8. 

The stakes for our future economic 

security and well-being are enormous. 

One way or another, we must provide 

the bridge loans for the domestic auto 

industry—for the sake of millions of 

workers and their future and to keep 

our economy from being pushed into a 

depression. 

I want to thank the cosponsors of 

this legislation, Senator BOND, Senator 

STABENOW, Senator VOINOVICH, Senator 

BROWN, Senator SPECTER and Senator 

CASEY for their assistance in preparing 

this bipartisan legislation, and I urge 

my colleagues to join us in supporting 

it. 

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed 

in the RECORD. 

There being no objection, the text of 

the bill was ordered to be printed in 

the RECORD, as follows: 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with SENATE
November 20, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S10749 

S. 3715 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in 

Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Auto Industry Emergency Bridge Loan Act’’. 

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

In this Act: 

(1) AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURER OR COMPONENT SUPPLIER.—The term ‘‘automobile manufacturer or component supplier’’ means an 

automobile manufacturer or component supplier or any successor thereto. 

(2) GOLDEN PARACHUTE PAYMENT.—The 

term ‘‘golden parachute payment’’ means 

any payment to a senior executive officer for 

departure from a company for any reason. 

(3) FINANCIAL VIABILITY.—The term ‘‘financial viability’’ means, using generally acceptable accounting principles, that there is 

a reasonable prospect that the applicant will 

be able to make payments of principal and 

interest on the loan as and when such payments become due under the terms of the 

loan documents, and that the applicant has a 

net present value that is positive. 

(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

means the Secretary of Commerce. 

(5) SENIOR EXECUTIVE OFFICER.—The term 

‘‘senior executive officer’’ means an individual who is 1 of the top 5 most highly paid 

executives of a public company, whose compensation is required to be disclosed pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 

and any regulations issued thereunder, and 

nonpublic company counterparts. 

SEC. 3. AUTO INDUSTRY EMERGENCY BRIDGE 

LOAN PROGRAM. 

On or before March 31, 2009, the Secretary 

shall make loans from funds provided under 

this section to automobile manufacturers or 

component suppliers that have— 

(1) operations in the United States, the 

failure of which would have a systemic adverse effect on the overall United States 

economy or a significant loss of United 

States jobs, as determined by the Secretary; 

(2) operated a manufacturing facility for 

the purposes of producing automobiles or 

automobile components in the United States 

throughout the 20-year period ending on the 

date of the enactment of this Act; and 

(3) submitted a complete application for a 

loan under this section pursuant to section 

4(a), which has been determined eligible 

under section 4(b). 

SEC. 4. PLAN TO ENSURE FINANCIAL VIABILITY 

OF BORROWER. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—At the time of application for a loan under this Act, an automobile 

manufacturer or component supplier shall 

submit to the Secretary a detailed plan that 

describes how the requested Government 

funds— 

(1) would be utilized to ensure the financial 

viability of the manufacturer or supplier; 

and 

(2) would stimulate automobile production 

in the United States; and 

(3) would improve the capacity of the manufacturer or supplier to pursue the timely 

and aggressive production of energy-efficient 

advanced technology vehicles. 

(b) PLAN CONTENTS.—A plan submitted 

under this section shall detail cost control 

measures and performance goals and milestones. 

SEC. 5. APPLICATIONS, ELIGIBILITY AND DISBURSEMENTS. 

(a) APPLICATIONS.—On and after the date 

that is 3 days after the date of the enactment 

of this Act, the Secretary shall accept applications for loans under this Act. 

(b) DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—Not 

later than 15 days after the date on which 

the Secretary receives a complete application for a loan under subsection (a), the Secretary shall, after consultation with other 

Executive Branch officials, determine whether— 

(1) the applicant meets the requirements 

described in sections 3 and 4; 

(2) the disbursement of funds and the successful implementation of the required plan 

would ensure the financial viability of the 

applicant; and 

(3) the applicant is therefore eligible to receive a loan under this Act. 

(c) DISBURSEMENT.—The Secretary shall 

begin disbursement of the proceeds of a loan 

under this Act to an eligible applicant not 

later than 7 days after the date on which the 

Secretary receives a disbursal request from 

the applicant. 

(d) WARRANTS AND DEBT INSTRUMENTS.— 

The Secretary may not make a loan under 

this Act unless the Secretary receives from 

the automobile manufacturer or component 

supplier a warrant or senior debt instrument 

from the manufacturer made in accordance 

with the requirements for a warrant or senior debt instrument by a financial institution under section 113(d) of the Emergency 

Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (division 

A of Public Law 110–343). 

SEC. 6. REPLENISHMENT OF ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY VEHICLE MANUFACTURING 

INCENTIVE PROGRAM. 

(a) EQUITY SALES.— 

(1) SALES AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary may 

sell, exercise, or surrender any equity instrument received under this Act. 

(2) TURNAROUND PROFITS TO RESTORE ADVANCED VEHICLES MANUFACTURING INCENTIVE

PROGRAM.—Proceeds received from a sale, exercise, or surrender under paragraph (1) may 

be credited to the appropriate Government 

financing account made available to fulfill 

the advanced technology vehicle manufacturing incentive purpose under section 136 of 

the Energy Independence and Security Act of 

2007 (Public Law 110–140; 42 U.S.C. 17013) until 

the amount loaned under this Act has been 

repaid. 

(3) REDUCTION OF PUBLIC DEBT.—Proceeds 

received from a sale, exercise, or surrender 

under paragraph (1) that takes place after 

the amount loaned under this Act has been 

repaid in accordance with paragraph (2) may 

be used to reduce the public debt. 

(b) REPAID LOAN FUNDS.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—Loan amounts repaid 

under this Act may be credited to the appropriate Government financing account made 

available to fulfill the advanced technology 

vehicle manufacturing incentive purpose of 

section 136 of the Energy Independence and 

Security Act of 2007 until the amount loaned 

under this Act is repaid. 

(2) REDUCTION OF PUBLIC DEBT.—Loan 

amounts repaid under this Act after the 

amount loaned under this Act has been repaid may be used to reduce the public debt. 

SEC. 7. LIMITS ON EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION. 

(a) STANDARDS REQUIRED.—The Secretary 

shall require any recipient of a loan under 

this Act to meet appropriate standards for 

executive compensation and corporate governance. 

(b) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.—The standards established under subsection (a) shall 

include the following: 

(1) Limits on compensation that exclude 

incentives for senior executive officers of a 

recipient of a loan under this Act to take unnecessary and excessive risks that threaten 

the value of such recipient during the period 

that the loan is outstanding. 

(2) A provision for the recovery by such recipient of any bonus or incentive compensation paid to a senior executive officer based 

on statements of earnings, gains, or other 

criteria that are later found to be materially 

inaccurate. 

(3) A prohibition on such recipient making 

any golden parachute payment to a senior 

executive officer during the period that the 

loan under this Act is outstanding. 

(4) A prohibition on such recipient paying 

or accruing any bonus or incentive compensation during the period that the loan 

under this Act is outstanding to any executive whose annual base compensation exceeds $250,000 (which amount shall be adjusted by the Secretary for inflation). 

(5) A prohibition on any compensation plan 

that could encourage manipulation of the reported earnings of the recipient to enhance 

compensation of any of its employees. 

SEC. 8. PROHIBITION ON THE USE OF LOAN PROCEEDS FOR LOBBYING ACTIVITIES. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—A recipient of a loan 

under this Act may not use such funds for 

any lobbying expenditures or political contributions. 

(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

(1) LOBBYING EXPENDITURES.—The term 

‘‘lobbying expenditures’’ has the meaning 

given the term in section 4911(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

(2) POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS.—The term 

‘‘political contribution’’ means any contribution on behalf of a political candidate 

or to a separate segregated fund described in 

section 316(b)(2)(C) of the Federal Election 

Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 441b(b)(2)(C)). 

SEC. 9. PROHIBITION ON PAYMENT OF DIVIDENDS. 

No common stock dividends may be paid 

by any recipient of a loan under this Act for 

the duration of the loan. 

SEC. 10. AUTO INDUSTRY EMERGENCY BRIDGE 

LOAN OVERSIGHT BOARD. 

(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established 

the Auto Industry Emergency Bridge Loan 

Oversight Board (in this section referred to 

as the ‘‘Board’’), which shall be responsible 

for reviewing and providing advice concerning the exercise of authority under this 

Act, including— 

(1) the progress of the applicant in meeting 

the performance goals and milestones under 

its financial viability plan required under 

section 4; 

(2) recommending changes, as necessary 

and appropriate, to the Secretary in meeting 

the goals and milestones under the financial 

viability plan, and senior management and 

board of directors to the automobile manufacturers and component suppliers assisted 

under this Act; and 

(3) reporting any suspected fraud, misrepresentation, or malfeasance to the Inspector General of the Department of Commerce 

or the Attorney General of the United 

States, consistent with section 535(b) of title 

28, United States Code. 

(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Board shall be comprised of— 

(1) the Secretary of Commerce; 

(2) the Secretary of Energy; 

(3) the Secretary of Transportation; 

(4) the Secretary of the Treasury; 

(5) the Secretary of Labor; and 

(6) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. 

(c) CHAIRPERSON.—The chairperson of the 

Board shall be the Secretary of Commerce. 

(d) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet— 

(1) not later than 14 days after the first disbursement of funds provided under this Act; 

and 

(2) not less frequently than monthly thereafter. 

(e) REPORTS.—The Board shall report to 

the appropriate committees of Congress, not 

less frequently than quarterly, on the matters described under this section. 

(f) OVERSIGHT OF TRANSACTIONS AND FINANCIAL CONDITION.— 

(1) DUTY TO INFORM.—During the period in 

which any loan extended under this Act remains outstanding, the recipient of such 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with SENATE
S10750 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE November 20, 2008 

loan shall promptly inform the Secretary 

and the Board of— 

(A) any asset sale, investment, or commitment for any asset sale or investment proposed to be entered into by such recipient 

that has a value in excess of $25,000,000; and 

(B) any other material change in the financial condition of such recipient. 

(2) AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY.—During 

the period in which any loan extended under 

this Act remains outstanding, the Secretary, 

in consultation with the Board, may— 

(A) promptly review any asset sale or investment described in paragraph (1) or any 

commitment for such asset sale or investment; and 

(B) direct the recipient of the loan that it 

should not consummate such proposed sale 

or investment or commitment for such sale 

or investment. 

(3) REGULATIONS.—The Board may establish, by regulation, procedures for conducting any review under this subsection. 

(g) TERMINATION.—The Board, and its authority under this section, shall terminate 

not later than 6 months after the date on 

which the last loan amounts under this section are repaid. 

SEC. 11. PRIORITIZATION OF LOAN ALLOCATIONS. 

In allocating loan amounts under this Act, 

the Secretary shall consider the magnitude 

of the impact of the manufacturing operations of the applicant in the United States 

on the overall economy of the United States 

and other segments of the automobile industry, including the impact on levels of employment, domestic manufacturing of automobiles and automobile components, and 

automobile dealerships. 

SEC. 12. RATE OF INTEREST. 

The annual rate of interest for a loan 

under this Act shall be— 

(a) 5 percent during the 5-year period beginning on the date on which the Secretary 

disburses the loan; and 

(b) 9 percent after the end of the period described in paragraph (1). 

SEC. 13. NO PREPAYMENT PENALTY. 

A loan made under this Act shall be 

prepayable without penalty at any time. 

SEC. 14. DISCHARGE. 

A discharge under title 11, United States 

Code, shall not discharge the borrower from 

any debt for funds authorized to be disbursed 

under this Act. 

SEC. 15. FEES. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

charge and collect fees for disbursements 

under this Act in amounts that the Secretary determines are sufficient to cover applicable administrative expenses. 

(b) AVAILABILITY.—Fees collected under 

this section— 

(1) shall be deposited by the Secretary into 

the Treasury of the United States; 

(2) shall be used by the Secretary to pay 

administrative expenses of making awards 

and loans under this Act; and 

(3) shall remain available until expended, 

without further appropriation. 

SEC. 16. JUDICIAL REVIEW AND RELATED MATTERS. 

(a) STANDARDS.—Actions by the Secretary 

pursuant to the authority of this Act shall 

be subject to chapter 7 of title 5, United 

States Code, including that such final actions shall be held unlawful and set aside if 

found to be arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of 

discretion, or not in accordance with law. 

(b) LIMITATIONS ON EQUITABLE RELIEF.— 

(1) INJUNCTION.—No injunction or other 

form of equitable relief shall be issued 

against the Secretary for actions pursuant 

to this Act, other than to remedy a violation 

of the Constitution. 

(2) TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER.—Any 

request for a temporary restraining order 

against the Secretary for actions pursuant 

to this Act shall be considered and granted 

or denied by the court within 3 days of the 

date of the request. 

(3) PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION.—Any request 

for a preliminary injunction against the Secretary for actions pursuant to this Act shall 

be considered and granted or denied by the 

court on an expedited basis consistent with 

the provisions of rule 65(b)(3) of the Federal 

Rules of Civil Procedure, or any successor to 

such rule. 

(4) PERMANENT INJUNCTION.—Any request 

for a permanent injunction against the Secretary for actions pursuant to this Act shall 

be considered and granted or denied by the 

court on an expedited basis. Whenever possible, the court shall consolidate trial on the 

merits with any hearing on a request for a 

preliminary injunction, consistent with the 

provisions of rule 65(a)(2) of the Federal 

Rules of Civil Procedure, or any successor to 

such rule. 

(5) LIMITATION ON ACTIONS BY PARTICIPATING

COMPANIES.—No action or claims may be 

brought against the Secretary by any person 

that divests its assets with respect to its participation in a program under this Act, except as provided in paragraph (1), other than 

as expressly provided in a written contract 

with the Secretary. 

(6) STAYS.—Any injunction or other form 

of equitable relief issued against the Secretary for actions pursuant to this Act shall 

be automatically stayed. The stay shall be 

lifted, unless the Secretary seeks a stay from 

a higher court within 3 calendar days after 

the date on which the relief is issued. 

(c) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Any exercise of the 

authority of the Secretary pursuant to this 

section shall not impair the claims or defenses that would otherwise apply with respect to persons other than the Secretary. 

SEC. 17. FUNDING. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—The $7,500,000,000 appropriated for fiscal year 2009 for direct loans 

under section 129 of the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing 

Appropriations Act, 2009 (division A of Public Law 110–329) is rescinded. 

(b) APPROPRIATIONS.—There is appropriated 

to the Secretary of Commerce $7,500,000,000 

to the ‘‘Department of Commerce – Emergency Bridge Loan Program Account’’ for 

the cost of direct loans authorized under this 

Act, which shall remain available until expended. Commitments for direct loans using 

such amount shall not exceed $25,000,000,000 

in total loan principal. The cost of such direct loans, including the cost of modifying 

such loans, shall be calculated in accordance 

with section 502 of the Congressional Budget 

Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 661a). 

(c) TRANSFERS FOR DIRECT LOANS.—Following the receipt of a notice from the Secretary of Energy certifying the approval of a 

loan under the program authorized under 

section 136 of the Energy Independence and 

Security Act of 2007 (Public Law 110–140; 42 

U.S.C. 17013), the Secretary may transfer 

amounts made available under this Act to 

the Secretary of Energy, in an amount sufficient for the cost of the direct loans if such 

transfer would not cause the Secretary to exceed the total appropriation and total commitment level authorized under subsection 

(b). Any amounts so transferred shall be 

available to the Secretary of Energy without 

fiscal year limitation and subject to the 

terms and conditions described in section 129 

of the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 

2009. 

(d) USE OF REMAINING AMOUNTS.—Amounts 

appropriated under subsection (b) which remain available after March 31, 2009, shall be 

transferred to the Secretary of Energy and 

shall be used to carry out section 136 of the 

Energy Independence and Security Act of 

2007, subject to the terms and conditions described in section 129 of the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing 

Appropriations Act, 2009. 

SEC. 18. COORDINATION WITH OTHER LAWS REGARDING PROMOTION OF ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY VEHICLE 

MANUFACTURING. 

Nothing in the Act may be construed as altering, affecting, or superseding the provisions of section 136 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, relating to the 

technology requirements for energy efficient 

vehicles. 

By Mrs. MCCASKILL (for herself, 

Mr. GRASSLEY, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. 

LIEBERMAN, and Mr. BUNNING): 

S. 3716. A bill to amend the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 

2008 (Public Law 110–343) to provide the 

Special Inspector General with additional personnel, audit, and investigation authorities; to the Committee on 

Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. 

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, 

seven weeks ago Congress faced an extremely difficult decision of whether or 

not to pass an unprecedented $700 billion economic stabilization bill to help 

our Nation’s economy and financial 

markets. The Emergency Economic 

Stabilization Act, the Act, passed by 

Congress and signed into law by the 

President, was designed to provide new, 

expanded authority to the Department 

of the Treasury to take immediate action to stabilize our financial markets 

by purchasing troubled assets through 

a program called the Troubled Asset 

Relief Program or TARP. This new authority was designed to stop the continued declines in the financial services industry and the credit markets. 

Like many of the thousands of constituents from Iowa I’ve heard from, I 

shared their concerns that the stabilization plan put hundreds of billions 

of taxpayer dollars at risk. During the 

debate on this legislation I made it 

clear that I would only support this 

package if it included significant 

checks on the spending through various oversight mechanisms. I wanted to 

make sure the legislation wasn’t a 

blank check for Government bureaucrats to spend taxpayer dollars with 

impunity. I’m glad that Congress listened to my concerns and I’m glad that 

specific oversight reforms I recommended were included in the final 

package. For instance, the creation of 

a Special Inspector General for the 

Troubled Assets Relief Program (Inspector General) was something I 

worked to include in the final legislation to ensure that an independent 

watchdog would be looking out for taxpayer funds allocated to the TARP. 

The legislation also has a number of 

additional oversight provisions such as 

the creation of a Financial Stability 

Oversight Board that is responsible for 

reviewing the exercise of the program 

to ensure the Treasury is operating as 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with SENATE