On Thursday, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) delivered remarks on the oversight and accountability of the Federal Reserves and FDIC during a Senate Banking Committee hearing.
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to the witnesses for being here today.
00:03 There's no greater responsibility that we have as public servants to make sure that
00:09 we represent the interests of the American people and that we do it well, that we do
00:12 with character and with integrity.
00:14 No greater responsibility.
00:16 That responsibility starts here and now in addressing what your employees, Chairman Grunberg,
00:23 have as a hostile, abusive, and unprofessional workplace.
00:30 And Chairman Brown, I think we actually need a single hearing solely focused on the concerns
00:38 that the employees of the FDIC has with the leadership of Chairman Grunberg.
00:44 Because the men and women of the FDIC working to safeguard our financial security deserve
00:53 a healthy workplace.
00:56 They deserve to be heard, to be seen.
01:01 They deserve a safe and equitable workplace.
01:05 But most of all, they deserve to be treated with respect.
01:12 We've all seen the 200 plus pages of the special report.
01:16 We all saw yesterday morning's grilling across the Capitol.
01:20 And Marty, you've heard me say this to you directly.
01:24 You should resign.
01:28 Your employees do not have confidence in you.
01:34 And this is not a single incident.
01:37 This spans over a decade plus of your leadership at the FDIC.
01:44 So I don't need to go into your failures and the complete lack of management while you've
01:50 been at the FDIC.
01:52 I want to talk about the people, your employees, and what they have done and what they have
02:00 had to go through.
02:05 How can you justify allowing supervisors to refer to disabled veterans as Captain McNasty?
02:20 We're talking about a veteran who lost part of his leg in service to our country.
02:33 And to work in a hostile work environment where he is referred to as Captain McNasty
02:45 is just not just wrong, but disgusting.
02:51 To think about the chilling reports that say employees and supervisors were permitted to
03:02 mock the fact that this employee used a wheelchair.
03:09 What kind of environment and culture?
03:14 And how long does it have to go on before it becomes commonplace to make fun, goad veterans
03:27 who serve this nation at great personal expense?
03:34 Or when an employee reported that for a period of three years, a senior examiner would sexualize
03:43 her every time he could.
03:48 And he behaved similarly with other colleagues and bank employees, including asking to see
03:55 photos of their daughters and whether or not those daughters were single.
04:03 But it's not just your management team.
04:06 You yourself set the example when you were absolutely irate and attacked your employee.
04:14 Or another FDIC employee stating that they had a meeting with you and it was awful and
04:22 felt very personal, that employees are made to cry as if it's some badge of honor making
04:28 your employees cry.
04:30 And people after person after person wanting to quit.
04:39 Others described your conduct as embarrassing and inappropriate.
04:43 One person said they'll likely be demoted.
04:46 And if this is what it takes, they're out.
04:51 Something I learned from running my own business is that if you don't take care of your employees,
04:58 they can't take care of the customer.
05:02 And the customers of the FDIC, they're the American people.
05:07 Mr. Greenberg, during your hearing yesterday, you stated that it doesn't matter if you believe
05:14 that you can change the FDIC's culture.
05:18 Only matters if the employees believe that you can change the FDIC culture.
05:25 They don't.
05:27 Whistleblower after whistleblower.
05:31 Employee after employee have drawn the same conclusion.
05:37 I would like to submit for the record a statement, Mr. Chairman, I'd like to submit for the record
05:42 a statement from a collection of FDIC whistleblowers expressing their lack of confidence in Mr.
05:48 Greenberg's ability to change the toxicity of the agency and their doubt that he is the
05:53 right man for the job.
05:55 Without objection.
05:56 Leadership carries with it the responsibility of stewardship.
06:01 Your sheep are lost and your fields riddled with weeds.
06:07 In 2021, President Biden warned his staff, if you're ever working with me and I hear
06:13 you treat another with disrespect, I promise I will fire you on the spot.
06:19 And he did.
06:20 He fired the Inspector General Martin Dickman of the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board for
06:26 evidence that he created a toxic work environment and engaged in abusive treatment, including
06:32 using crude and inappropriate language like slurs and belittling employees.
06:37 I know I'm out of time.
06:39 And the FDIC and their special report described you as harsh, aggressive and interacting with
06:47 your staff in a demeaning and inappropriate manner, having a temper and causing employees
06:53 to feel disrespected, disparaged and verbally attacked.
06:59 I can only conclude with one question.
07:04 What makes you so different than the Inspector General?
07:09 Is it politics?
07:11 Is it the fact that you are a necessary and easy vote for the Biden administration's economic
07:20 policy agenda?
07:22 I think the answer is yes.
07:24 Thanks, Senator Scott.
07:27 Thanks for your remarks.
07:28 I think we can agree that no public employee