Franken’s credit rating amendment pulls in GOP support
Sen. Al Franken has picked up two Republican cosponsors for his amendment to fix the credit rating industry. Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) are backing the bill, saying it would create an important barrier against conflicts of interest in the industry. The amendment is being considered as part of a financial reform package being debated in the Senate.
Franken’s amendment picked up the support of Grassley on Tuesday.
“If the credit rating agencies are going to make a contribution to market integrity, then they can’t be compromised,” he said in a statement. “This amendment creates a firewall so that a rating agency can be selected independent of an issuer. It goes after conflicts of interest between rating agencies and issuers, and that’s a very important area where due diligence was missing leading up to the financial crisis of 2008.”
Grassley joins Wicker, who last week praised Franken for introducing the amendment and signed on as a cosponsor.
http://minnesotaindependent.com/58841/franken-credit-rating-amendment-pulls-in-gop-support
Magnolia Tribune
