WEBVTT - Majority Whip Tom Emmer Talks FDIC Report, Crypto

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.

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<v Speaker 2>FDIC chair Martin Gruenberg says he's stepping down after findings

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<v Speaker 2>of a toxic work environment put the regulator at the

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<v Speaker 2>center of a heated political fight that today led the

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<v Speaker 2>Democratic chair of the Senate Banking Committee, Shared Brown to

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<v Speaker 2>call for his resignation, and in a statement, Greenberg said,

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<v Speaker 2>in part, in light of recent events, I am prepared

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<v Speaker 2>to step down for my responsibilities once a successor is confirmed.

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<v Speaker 2>Joining us now for reaction is Congressman Tom Emmer. He

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<v Speaker 2>is the House Majority whip and a member of the

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<v Speaker 2>House Financial Services Committee. He is joining us live from

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<v Speaker 2>Capitol Hill. Congressman, thank you so much for joining here

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<v Speaker 2>at Bloomberg. Obviously, a number of members of both the

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<v Speaker 2>House and the Senate had called for this to happen,

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<v Speaker 2>now that he says he will indeed step down once

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<v Speaker 2>a successor is confirmed.

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<v Speaker 1>Who should that successor be.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, let's before we even get there, classic Marty Gruenberg. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 3>I'm going to step down, but not until Marty Greenberg

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<v Speaker 3>should leave the building now. He should have resigned weeks ago,

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<v Speaker 3>perhaps years ago, based on the hundreds of pages of

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<v Speaker 3>a report that showed this toxic work environment with sexual

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<v Speaker 3>harassment and all kinds of awful things with the employees.

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<v Speaker 3>And yet here he goes again, Hey, I'm going to resign.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm prepared to do that, but not until we have

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<v Speaker 3>a successor. Well, guess what, Kaylee, We've got six months left,

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<v Speaker 3>roughly six or seven months left.

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<v Speaker 4>Marty Greenberg.

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<v Speaker 3>Grienberg needs to go yesterday, So he should resign and

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<v Speaker 3>get out of there. I'm sure there are other capable people,

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<v Speaker 3>by the way, that are there that can pick up

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<v Speaker 3>the pieces and continue to run the FDI see in

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<v Speaker 3>a much better fashion than mister Grienberg did.

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<v Speaker 5>We spoke last week, Congressman with Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa,

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<v Speaker 5>who's up with legislation along with her colleague from New York,

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<v Speaker 5>Hereston Jilibrand, to essentially take away taxpayer funded pens from

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<v Speaker 5>sex criminals, people who are found guilty of sexual harassment

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<v Speaker 5>or so forth. Do you think that mister Groomberg should

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<v Speaker 5>lose his pension as well as his job.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, I'm not going to go there, because you do

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<v Speaker 3>have a court of law, you do have people that

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<v Speaker 3>are allowed to confront their accusers. The report is pretty damning, though,

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<v Speaker 3>I will say, Joe, and I think before I'm going

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<v Speaker 3>to take that step, you referred to.

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<v Speaker 4>Sexual harassment.

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<v Speaker 3>No, I think that bill applies to if you have

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<v Speaker 3>been criminally charged and convicted. That's a different animal. But

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<v Speaker 3>at this point that hasn't happened. He needs to resign, Joe.

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<v Speaker 3>He needed to go long ago, and he should be

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<v Speaker 3>stepping out now.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, Congressman, I guess we'll see what the future of

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<v Speaker 2>that bill is in the Senate. Meantime, there are a

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<v Speaker 2>few bills that have our attention in the House this

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<v Speaker 2>week that will be coming up for a vote related

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<v Speaker 2>to crypto, one of them being your bill that focuses

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<v Speaker 2>on cbdc's Central Bank Digital currencies. Other the Fit for

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<v Speaker 2>the twenty first Century Act, which is the Market Structure

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<v Speaker 2>Bill delineating what is the regulatory authority that the CFTC

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<v Speaker 2>should have versus the SEC. Congressman, I know this is

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<v Speaker 2>legislation you've been pushing, but it is also your job

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<v Speaker 2>to count the votes. Are both of these bills going

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<v Speaker 2>to pass on the House floor, Yes, they are, and

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<v Speaker 2>you have confliments that the Senate will pass them.

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<v Speaker 1>In return.

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<v Speaker 4>Well, I'm going to leave that to the Senate.

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<v Speaker 3>We have some champions over there who understand that we

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<v Speaker 3>are in the digital age, that it's time to bring

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<v Speaker 3>our financial system into the twenty first century. What the

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<v Speaker 3>FIT Bill is, it's referred to the Market Structure Bill

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<v Speaker 3>does is essentially start to lay out those ground rules,

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<v Speaker 3>the playing fields, so that people who innovate in the

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<v Speaker 3>digital space, people who are creating the next great Internet,

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<v Speaker 3>are able to do that here in this country. Up

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<v Speaker 3>till now, there has been no clarity, and frankly I

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<v Speaker 3>wasn't in favor of it to begin with until he

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<v Speaker 3>added My Securities Clarity Act, which literally allows a centralized

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<v Speaker 3>program to decentralize over time and then be treated differently.

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<v Speaker 3>So it's really important that we have this in place

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<v Speaker 3>in order to keep these innovators and entrepreneurs right here

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<v Speaker 3>in this country.

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<v Speaker 5>Well, it's interesting, Congressman, because we keep hearing the store

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<v Speaker 5>is closed. Now that we've gotten through the most recent

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<v Speaker 5>bout of legislation dealing with Ukraine, funding, Israel and so forth,

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<v Speaker 5>I guess could see some messaging bills go through, maybe

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<v Speaker 5>an extension of the Farm Bill, But I wonder if

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<v Speaker 5>you're working on something bigger in your head. The idea

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<v Speaker 5>that we're going to see a vote on stable coin.

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<v Speaker 5>Could we see a combined bill like what was being

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<v Speaker 5>discussed with the FAA, for instance, where stable coins, safe

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<v Speaker 5>banking executive clawbacks are all put into one vehicle to

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<v Speaker 5>garner more support throughout the body.

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<v Speaker 3>That might be something towards the end of the year, Joe,

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<v Speaker 3>But I think right now you're talking about just two

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<v Speaker 3>very specific pieces of legislation. One is creating a framework

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<v Speaker 3>so that entrepreneurs and the innovators, those who want to

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<v Speaker 3>invest in great projects do it right here in this country,

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<v Speaker 3>so we don't ever experience this issue that we had

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<v Speaker 3>with someone who's outside of the reach of the United

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<v Speaker 3>States oversight. And then we've also got a central bank

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<v Speaker 3>Digital Currency bill on the floor, which literally says the

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<v Speaker 3>federal government could create one, but they're going to have

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<v Speaker 3>to get authorization from Congress, and it's going to have

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<v Speaker 3>to emulate cash, which simply means that any digital currency

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<v Speaker 3>issued by the government must be open, permissionless, and private.

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<v Speaker 3>It can't be used like the Chinese or using the

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<v Speaker 3>digital yuan, which is basically a surveillance tool where they're

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<v Speaker 3>building social scores on their citizens based on their purchases

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<v Speaker 3>and their behavior.

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<v Speaker 4>We can't have that in this country. That's Unamerican.

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<v Speaker 3>We need a digital currency that actually is consistent with

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<v Speaker 3>American values.

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<v Speaker 2>Although Congressman, we have heard repeatedly from the FED Chair

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<v Speaker 2>J Powell, who has reiterated time and again that there

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<v Speaker 2>are nowhere close to actually launching or thinking about launching

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<v Speaker 2>a central bank digital currency in the US. Something though,

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<v Speaker 2>that is much closer, of course, is the upcoming election.

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<v Speaker 2>And former President Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, was actually

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<v Speaker 2>in your home state of Minnesota this past weekend, and

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<v Speaker 2>he suggested he might be able to win there.

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<v Speaker 1>Just take a listen if you will.

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<v Speaker 4>Hello, Minnesota, this is a great state. We're going to

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<v Speaker 4>win this state nineteen fifty two. Can you imagine. I

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<v Speaker 4>thought we wanted in twenty sixteen. I thought we wanted.

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<v Speaker 4>I know we wanted in twenty twenty.

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<v Speaker 2>So, Congressman, he didn't win in Minnesota in twenty twenty.

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<v Speaker 2>He lost by seven points to Joe Biden. But it's

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<v Speaker 2>your state. Could it actually be read this time around

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<v Speaker 2>a lot?

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<v Speaker 4>Oh?

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<v Speaker 3>Absolutely? I mean President Trump is leading across the country.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm afraid that his political adversaries, well I'm not afraid.

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<v Speaker 3>I know that they have overreached on this, the persecution

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<v Speaker 3>of Donald Trump.

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<v Speaker 4>You've got regular Americans.

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<v Speaker 3>Who are not partisan watching this, and it's not a

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<v Speaker 3>matter of where they like someone or dislike someone. They

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<v Speaker 3>know fairness and when they see someone not being treated fairly,

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<v Speaker 3>look at the result. He just continues to climb in

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<v Speaker 3>the polls and in my home state, but it was

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<v Speaker 3>Hillary Clinton. Back in twenty sixteen, Donald Trump came within

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<v Speaker 3>less than two points, about a point and a half

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<v Speaker 3>of beating Hillary Clinton in Minnesota, a place where a

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<v Speaker 3>Republican presidential candidate has not won since nineteen seventy two.

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<v Speaker 3>And right now, Kaylee, the polls that we know of

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<v Speaker 3>show this basically as a statistical tie, a dead heat,

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<v Speaker 3>and since the polls I've looked at typically over sampled Democrats,

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<v Speaker 3>it's very possible that he is leading right now in Minnesota.

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<v Speaker 3>But we have a long way to go and there's

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<v Speaker 3>a lot of work yet to do.

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<v Speaker 5>Well, he paid a visit to your state, Congressman, when

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<v Speaker 5>are you going to make tracks to New York to

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<v Speaker 5>visit the former president at the courthouse.

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<v Speaker 3>Oh, listen, I support what's going on in terms of

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<v Speaker 3>people who are supportive of the president like I am.

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<v Speaker 3>But it's just a matter of logistics, that's all it is.

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<v Speaker 3>Time I'm with you guys tonight because I'm in Washington, DC.

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<v Speaker 2>Fair enough, although the Speaker himself was able to make

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<v Speaker 2>a trip last week, Congressman, you wanted the speaker's job

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<v Speaker 2>yourself before Mike Johnson got it.

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<v Speaker 1>Are you still lying that in the future.

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<v Speaker 4>Actually, I didn't want it.

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<v Speaker 3>That's why I didn't put my name in until it

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<v Speaker 3>looked like everybody that wanted it was no longer going

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<v Speaker 3>to be a viable candidate. As it turns out, we

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<v Speaker 3>got a great speaker. He's doing a wonderful job, and

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<v Speaker 3>you guys are right, he did manage to make that

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<v Speaker 3>trek up to New York. But keep in mind, I'm

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<v Speaker 3>the whip. My job is to make sure people are

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<v Speaker 3>attending session, that they are here so they can vote.

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<v Speaker 3>And let's just say that we've had to do some

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<v Speaker 3>gymnastics to make sure that with people coming and going,

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<v Speaker 3>whether it be to New York or somewhere else. So

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<v Speaker 3>I gotta set the example.

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<v Speaker 5>I've thought about this, Congressman. What you must go through

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<v Speaker 5>as a whip, I mean is to what extent is

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<v Speaker 5>the House calendar at the mercy of what's going on

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<v Speaker 5>in Lower Manhattan.

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<v Speaker 3>Oh no, that's not the issue. Our calendar is working.

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<v Speaker 3>But when you're voting and you're giving people times, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>you can't count on the trains running on time, you

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<v Speaker 3>can't count on the flights running on time. You don't

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<v Speaker 3>know what the traffic's going to be like. And this

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<v Speaker 3>isn't just about Manhattan. This is about all over the country.

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<v Speaker 4>You know.

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<v Speaker 3>I have members who come from the West Coast that

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<v Speaker 3>they try to leave on the day of votes and

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<v Speaker 3>guess what mechanical problems, whatever the issue might be, and

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<v Speaker 3>you have to deal with it. Our colleagues on the

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<v Speaker 3>other side of the aisle have the exact same problem

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<v Speaker 3>we do.

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<v Speaker 5>Yeah, that was a big chance, Congressman. It's good to

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<v Speaker 5>have you back, and I hope you win tonight. Tom Emmer,

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<v Speaker 5>the Republican from Minnesota, we thank you for being with

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<v Speaker 5>us here on Bloomberg