Donald Riegle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Donald Riegle
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| Chair of the Senate Banking Committee | |
| In office January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1995 |
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| Preceded by | William Proxmire |
| Succeeded by | Al D'Amato |
| United States Senator from Michigan |
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| In office December 30, 1976 – January 3, 1995 |
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| Preceded by | Philip Hart |
| Succeeded by | Spencer Abraham |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 7th district |
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| In office January 3, 1967 – December 30, 1976 |
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| Preceded by | John C. Mackie |
| Succeeded by | Dale Kildee |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Donald Wayne Riegle Jr.
February 4, 1938 Flint, Michigan, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic (1973–present) Republican (before 1973) |
| Spouse |
Lori Hansen
(m. 1978) |
| Children | 5 |
| Parent | Donald W. Riegle Sr. (father) |
| Education | Mott Community College Western Michigan University University of Michigan–Flint (BA) Michigan State University (MBA) Harvard University |
Donald Wayne Riegle Jr. (/ˈriːɡəl/ REE-gəl; born February 4, 1938) is an American politician, author, and businessman from Michigan. He served for five terms as a Representative and for three terms as a Senator in the U.S. Congress.
Early life and family
He attended Flint Junior College (now Mott Community College) and Western Michigan University, graduated with a B.A in business administration and economics from the University of Michigan-Flint in 1960, and received an M.B.A. in finance from Michigan State University in 1961.
Political life
In 1966, Richard Nixon persuaded Riegle to return to Michigan to run for Congress. Riegle was then 28 years old and considered to be a moderate Republican. Nixon attended an early campaign fundraiser, and talked up Riegle's prospects to reporters.
Riegle defeated incumbent Democratic U.S. Representative John C. Mackie, to be elected from Michigan's 7th congressional district to the 90th Congress. Mackie was one of the Michigan Five Fluke Freshmen who lost their seats after a single term.
In his first action as Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Riegle led the efforts to reform the savings and loan industry, which resulted in the Financial Institutions Recovery, Reform, and Enforcement Act of 1989 ("FIRREA").
In 1973, Riegle changed party affiliation to become a Democrat over differences with the Nixon-Agnew Administration regarding the Vietnam War and the "Southern strategy".[] He was re-elected as a Democrat to the 94th Congress. He did not run for reelection to the House in 1976, but announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate to succeed retiring Senator Philip Hart and defeated Michigan Secretary of State Richard H. Austin and fellow Congressman James G. O'Hara in the Democratic primary. He defeated Republican Congressman Marvin L. Esch in the general election.
In 1973 Riegle was one of the co-sponsors of H.R. 8163, a bill to prevent discrimination on the basis of sex or marital status in the granting of credit, also known as the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Sponsored by Congresswoman Bella Abzug, the Equal Credit Opportunity was passed by the House and the Senate in 1974 and was signed into law by President Gerald Ford on October 28, 1974.
On December 30, 1976, before the new term began, Riegle resigned from the House and was appointed by the Governor to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Senator Hart for the term ending January 3, 1977. He was reelected to the Senate in 1982 and again in 1988, this time with the largest Democratic vote in the history of the state. Riegle did not seek re-election in 1994.
He served as chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, 1989–1995. .....
Banking Committee Chairman
In the area of banking reform, Chairman Riegle led the efforts to enact the "Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 ("FDICIA"), which preserved the ability of the FDIC to protect depositors and reformed the way banks are run and regulated. FDICIA also restricted the "too big to fail policy", strengthened regulation of foreign banks in the U.S., and improved disclosure requirements for banks to consumers.
Chairman Riegle also led the effort to create a system of community development banks. The "Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994" established the Community Development financial institutions Fund to seed and support financial institutions dedicated to supporting community development. The legislation also provided increased consumer protections for high rate home equity loans, contained measures to increase credit availability to small businesses, streamline the regulation of depository institutions, and reform the National Flood Insurance Program.
The "Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994" eliminated restrictions on interstate banking by permitting bank holding companies to acquire banks in any state, permitted banks to merge across state lines unless states opt-out, and reduced the competitive advantages that foreign banks had in the U.S. market over U.S. banks.
In 1994, Riegle led an investigation of the illnesses being experienced by veterans of the Gulf War, using the jurisdiction of the Senate Banking Committee over "dual use" exports—materials and technology that could be converted to military use. The resulting investigative report to the Senate detailed at least three occasions on which U. S. military forces came into contact with chemical warfare agents that may have led to the development of Gulf War syndrome and that at least some of those biological agents (weapons of mass destruction) had been provided to Saddam Hussein by the US. Commonly referred to as the Riegle Report to the U.S. Senate, the report called for further government investigation and recourse for war veterans suffering from Gulf War syndrome.
In his first action as Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Riegle led the efforts to reform the savings and loan industry, which resulted in the Financial Institutions Recovery, Reform, and Enforcement Act of 1989 ("FIRREA").[3] The toughest financial reform bill in 50 years, FIRREA ended the abuses and reformed the savings and loan industry. FIRREA put controls on state-chartered thrifts, stopped excessive risk taking by savings and loans, limited brokered deposits, banned junk bond investments, and set new capital requirements for savings and loans.
Later life
Riegle endorsed Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in both 2016 and 2020.
See also
- List of American politicians who switched parties in office
- List of United States representatives who switched parties
