00:00Mr. President, I rise today to remind this body that 42 days ago, it was confirmed that
00:08Martin Gruenberg fueled a toxic workplace culture at the FDIC, yet he is still collecting
00:16a taxpayer-funded salary.
00:19On his first day in office, President Biden said, and I quote, I'm not joking when I say
00:27this.
00:28If you're ever working with me and I hear you treat another with disrespect, I promise
00:32you I will fire you on the spot, end quote.
00:39So that begs the question, did the president forget his pledge or is he just ignoring it?
00:46Well, President Biden, it's time to put up or shut up.
00:53At Chairman Gruenberg's FDIC, employees stalked one another.
01:01They sent coworkers unwanted sexual photos of themselves and others.
01:09They made gross, lewd, and downright sexist comments designed to belittle, intimidate,
01:17and sexualize their female coworkers.
01:23As the FDIC's own handpicked investigator stated, quote, for far too many employees
01:31and for far too long, the FDIC has failed to provide a workplace safe from sexual harassment,
01:42discrimination, and other interpersonal misconduct.
01:49Mr. President, the FDIC needs to clean up the raunchy 90s frat house Gruenberg has allowed
01:57to fester, and there's no better place to start than at the top.
02:08Gruenberg has proven he lacks the skills, the judgment, and temperament to lead the
02:15FDIC.
02:17How can someone who can't regulate the behavior of the agency be trusted to regulate the banking
02:25industry?
02:27He can't, and that has been proven.
02:33Public reports say Gruenberg personally looked the other way when it came to sexism, harassment,
02:40and racial discrimination.
02:44Investigators determined Gruenberg himself had a reputation of, quote, losing his temper
02:49and interacting with staff in a demeaning and inappropriate way, end quote.
02:57They also claim Gruenberg was either unable or unwilling to recognize his failures, except
03:06when the writing was on the wall.
03:08I am aware Gruenberg has agreed to resign, but only after the Senate confirms a replacement.
03:18By his own admission, Gruenberg must resign, not tomorrow, not next week, but today.
03:27But we all know why he's refusing to just quit today.
03:31If and when the FDIC chairmanship becomes vacant, the vice chair, who is currently a
03:41Republican, assumes the chairmanship.
03:48Now President Biden has nominated someone to backfill Gruenberg, and I look forward
03:53to reviewing her record and her credentials.
03:57But we all know it will take significant time for her to go through the confirmation
04:02process and face a vote here in the Senate.
04:07Let us be crystal clear about what's happening.
04:13President Biden is letting a dirtbag run the FDIC for who knows how long because he cares
04:21more about politics than protecting women in the workplace.
04:29Mr. President, integrity means doing the right thing when no one is looking.
04:35At this turbulent time, the FDIC deserves a leader who acts with integrity, and Gruenberg's
04:43conduct doesn't fit the bill.
04:46Simply put, the time has come to turn the page on Martin Gruenberg.
04:51President Biden should put his money where his mouth is and fire him.
04:56But since Biden doesn't seem to remember his own pledge, it is the responsibility of the
05:02Senate to remind him of it.
05:05And for that reason, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the
05:12Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Resolution 742, which is at the desk.
05:19I further ask that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the
05:25motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action
05:31or debate.
05:32Is there objection?
05:35Senator from Michigan.
05:36Reserving the right to object, Mr. President.
05:38First, I want to agree with my friend from Iowa.
05:42There's no question we need a new FDIC chair.
05:46We don't need a bunch of pot shots on the president, using this for political purposes.
05:52We need a new FDIC chair.
05:55And the good news is that the president has already sent the Senate a nomination for a
06:01new chair.
06:03So first of all, this resolution isn't necessary, and it's not going to do anything to improve
06:07the culture of the FDIC.
06:09I wish it would, but it won't.
06:11The reality is that the Banking and Housing Committee is moving quickly to consider and
06:16report out the nomination.
06:19Additionally, I should just note the resolution has some factual inaccuracies that misrepresent
06:25the findings of the third party report.
06:28But the most important thing is that the Senate should be focused on providing new leadership
06:35that can implement the recommendations of the third party report and begin the much
06:41needed overhaul of the FDIC.
06:45I could not agree more.
06:47We need to work together, you know, put the pot shots and partisanship aside.
06:51It's not about attacking the president.
06:52It's about getting this person out of there to be able to have new leadership come in.
06:58That's what's happening.
06:59That person has been nominated.
07:01The Banking and Housing Committee are moving forward, and that's where we need to be focused.
07:08Anything else is just wasting time.
07:11So with that, I object.
07:14Objection is heard.
07:15Mr. President.
07:16Senator Vermeil.
07:17Well, Mr. President, the women of the FDIC do deserve more than a fly-by-night confirmation.
07:25This needs to be carefully considered.
07:28Simply put, this position at this time is too important.
07:32And we are talking about an agency that for literally decades has been plagued by some
07:38of the most toxic working conditions that any of us have ever seen.
07:44So we know that President Joe Biden has nominated Commissioner Romero to replace a scumbag.
07:50We know that.
07:52But it doesn't mean that her nomination shouldn't be carefully scrutinized.
07:56So we do hope that we can put some time and consideration into the nomination.
08:02But I would say that getting rid of Martin Bruenberg today would state to the employees
08:11of the FDIC that the president takes these allegations seriously and that he does want
08:19to prevent sexual harassment and hopefully setting the stage for future leaders within
08:25the FDIC.
08:27Because right now, those employees do not feel that they have been heard.
08:31And by allowing Martin Bruenberg to continue in the position, it's just furthering, furthering
08:37the way they feel.
08:39And they feel very little at this time.
08:43Sexual harassment has no place in this workplace or any workplace.
08:50The president needs to send a strong message to the FDIC that it will not be tolerated.
08:56Thank you, Mr. President.
Comments