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Too Big to Jail?

In an inexcusable move last week, the U.S. Department of Justice decided to forego any criminal prosecution of HSBC officials who willfully violated federal laws by allowing drug lords and terrorists to launder nearly a billion dollars in the United States and by failing to monitor billions more. Instead of criminal prosecutions, the Justice Department entered into a deferred prosecution agreement that allows the bank to simply pay a $1.92 billion fine, improve internal anti-money laundering controls, and submit to additional oversight from outside. The Justice Department has not prosecuted any employees of HSBC—no executives, no directors, no anti-money laundering compliance staff members, no one. By allowing these individuals to walk away without any real punishment, the department is declaring that crime actually does pay. It’s now just a cost of doing business for these big banks. I wrote to the Attorney General expressing my shock and disappointment with the department’s actions. In my letter I wrote that, “What I have seen... Read more

Myths About 2001/2003 Tax Relief

Higher taxes hurt private-sector job creation and inhibit the economic growth needed to help pay down the deficit. Ongoing negotiations to avoid going over the fiscal cliff need to tackle America’s spending problem. The President’s laser-like focus on taxes is misguided since increased taxes alone will barely make a dent in our mounting debt. In a floor statement last week, I debunked myths about the tax relief enacted in 2001 and 2003 that was extended with bipartisan support in 2010... Read more

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Getting Generic Drugs to the Shelves Faster

Recently the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that will determine if brand-name drug companies can continue to pay generic prescription drug companies to keep their products off the market. I’m particularly interested in this case because of legislation I’ve introduced with Senator Herb Kohl of Wisconsin that would deter these “pay-for-delay” settlements when brand name drug companies settle patent disputes by agreeing to pay generic drug manufacturers in exchange for the promise of delaying the release of the generic version of a drug into the market. These agreements hurt consumers who don’t have access to affordable medications, and they hurt taxpayers who pay for prescription drugs for federal health care programs. That’s because these deals keep the price of prescription drugs high and reduce consumer choice. The Congressional... Read more