S.Amdt. 3977

SA 3977. Mr. LEVIN (for himself, Mr. Coburn, and Mr. Kaufman) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 3217, to promote the financial stability of the United States by improving accountability and transparency in the financial system, to end “too big to fail”, to protect the American taxpayer by ending bailouts, to protect consumers from abusive financial services practices, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end, add the following:

SEC. 1211. COOLING OFF PERIOD.

Section 207 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(m) One-year Restriction on Federal Financial Regulators.--

“(1) In general.--In addition to the restrictions set forth in subsections (a) and (b), any person who--

“(A) was an officer or employee (including any special Government employee) of a covered Federal agency;

“(B) served 2 or more months during the final 12 months of the employment of the person with the covered Federal agency participating personally and substantially on behalf of the covered Federal agency in the regulation or oversight of, or in an enforcement action against, a particular financial institution or holding company; and

“(C) within 1 year after the completion date of the service or employment of the person with the covered Federal agency, knowingly accepts compensation as an employee, officer, director, or consultant from--

“(i) the financial institution described in subparagraph (B), any holding company that controls the financial institution, or any other company that controls the financial institution; or

“(ii) the holding company described in subparagraph (B), or any other financial institution that is controlled by such holding company, shall be punished as provided in section 216 of this title.

“(2) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection--

“(A) the term ‘covered Federal agency' means the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, each Federal Reserve Bank, the National Credit Union Administration, the Financial Stability Oversight Council, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board;

“(B) the term ‘financial institution' means any business or holding company that is registered with or regulated by a covered Federal agency, including any foreign financial institution or holding company that has a physical location in any State and is registered with or regulated by a covered Federal agency; and

“(C) the term ‘consultant' means a person who works personally and substantially on matters for, or on behalf of, a financial institution or holding company.

“(3) Regulations.--

“(A) In general.--Each covered Federal agency may prescribe rules or guidance to administer and carry out this section, including to define the scope of persons referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2)(C), and the financial institutions and holding companies referred to in paragraph (2)(B).

“(B) Consultation.--A covered Federal agency may consult with other covered Federal agencies for the purpose of ensuring that the rules and guidance issued by the agencies under subparagraph (A) are, to the extent possible, consistent, comparable, and practicable, taking into account any differences in the regulatory and oversight programs used by the covered Federal agencies for the supervision of financial institutions and holding companies.

“(4) Waiver.--A Federal agency may grant a waiver, on a case by case basis, of the restriction imposed by this subsection to any officer or employee (including any special Government employee) of the covered Federal agency, if the head of the covered Federal agency, or the chairman of its board of directors, certifies in writing that granting the waiver would not impair the integrity of the regulatory and oversight efforts of the covered Federal agency.

“(5) Penalties.--In addition to any other administrative, civil, or criminal remedy or penalty that may otherwise apply, whenever a Federal agency determines that a person subject to paragraph (1) has become associated, in the manner described in paragraph (1)(C), with a financial institution, holding company, or other company in violation of this section, the agency shall impose upon such person one or more of the following penalties:

“(A) Industry-wide prohibition order.--The Federal agency may, subject to notice and an administrative hearing, issue an order--

“(i) to remove such person from office or to prohibit such person from further participation in the conduct of the affairs of the financial institution, holding company, or other company for a period of up to 5 years; and

“(ii) to prohibit any further participation by such person, in any manner, in the conduct of the affairs of any financial institution or holding company subject to regulation or oversight by the agency for a period of up to 5 years.

“(B) Civil monetary penalty.--The Federal agency may, in an administrative proceeding or civil action in an appropriate United States district court, impose upon such person a civil monetary penalty of not more than $250,000. In lieu of an action by the Federal agency under this subparagraph, the Attorney General of the United States may bring a civil action under this subparagraph in the appropriate United States district court.”.