Heller’s stance on Glass-Steagall? A mystery

Back in 2012, U.S. Sen. Dean Heller said something interesting.

He was running against then-Rep. Shelley Berkley, who had voted (along with most lawmakers) for a bill that repealed parts of the Glass-Steagall Act. That’s the Depression-era law that limited the investment activities of commercial banks. Critics argue the repeal, signed by then-President Bill Clinton, played a key role in causing the Great Recession.

Heller, a self-described small-government, reasonable-regulation, pro-competition Republican, publicly backed Glass-Steagall.

"I want to move to going back to Glass-Steagall," Heller said, in an interview with the Review-Journal editorial board.

It’s possible Heller didn’t really believe what he said. It’s possible he said it for momentary political advantage. (Berkley had voted to loosen banking regulations and, after the inevitable crisis, voted to bail out those same banks. Heller and his team saw the obvious political advantage in those facts.)

But he did say it.

After narrowly winning the 2012 election, Heller was appointed to the Senate’s Banking Committee. He was also a member of the Subcommittee on Economic Policy and the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection. If ever there was a perch from which to move to going back to Glass-Steagall, that was it.

But he never did. I asked Heller’s office about it in 2013, but his office ignored my inquiries.

Later in 2013, Heller said in a letter to a constituent who’d asked about Glass-Steagall that "responsible policies do not leave taxpayers exposed to permanent bailouts." His then-spokeswoman said Heller was working on the issue. But there was no move to going back to Glass-Steagall.

Now, however, there is.

Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren has introduced the 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act. It’s co-sponsored by Republican John McCain, R-Ariz., Democrat Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and independent Angus King of Maine. The bill would restore traditional Glass-Steagall limits over five years.

It’s definitely a move to going back to Glass-Steagall.

Does Heller support it?

Who really knows?

When I first asked Heller’s office whether the senator supports the bill, I received this paragraph in reply.

"Senator Heller’s position has stayed the same – it was a mistake to repeal Glass-Steagall and to bailout [sic] Wall Street banks. Over half a decade has passed since the great recession began, and financial regulators still have not finished all of their new rules and only recently enacted the Volcker rule to limit trading practices by banks. We do not know what the effects of all these new regulations will have, for better or worse, on Nevadans and our economy. Senator Heller will continue to fight for realistic reforms to address Washington’s culture of ‘too big to fail,’" said Heller spokeswoman Michawn Rich.

Since this answer didn’t address the question, I asked again. And again. I only got a nonanswer and another recitation of the above statement in reply.

So does Heller really "want to move to going back to Glass-Steagall," as he said in 2012?

Who really knows?

But based on the fact that he hasn’t done anything as a Banking Committee member to revive Glass-Steagall restrictions, it would appear the answer is no.

Now a bill to do what Heller said he wanted to do in 2012 is on the Senate agenda. But instead of supporting it (or saying why he does not), Heller’s office dodges the question.

Perhaps Heller was simply posturing in 2012 during a tight election. Or maybe he really does believe in regulations that will protect the public from the next big bailout.

Where does Dean Heller really stand on Glass-Steagall?

Who really knows?

Steve Sebelius is a Review-Journal political columnist. Follow him on Twitter (@SteveSebelius) or reach him at 702-387-5276 or SSebelius@reviewjournal.com.