Landing at PSI
35
Georgia, who traded the chair and ranking positions on PSI three times. Like their predecessors, they worked closely together. They took turns initiating investigations, resulting in both majority and minority-led hearings and reports. Their inquiries included examinations of money laundering, pension fraud, offshore banking and tax evasion, commodity investment and illegal currency frauds, defense procurement problems, insurance fraud, student loan abuses, health care fraud, and corruption in professional boxing.34 Among other accomplishments, their work spurred passage of the Money Laundering Control Act of 1986, the first statute in the world to make money laundering a crime. In addition, during his tenure as PSI chair in the 1980s, Senator Roth strengthened the bipartisan nature of the subcommittee’s rules, elevating the role of the minority in setting the subcommittee’s agenda. For example, new rules explicitly gave the minority unilateral authority to initiate its own preliminary inquiries. They also provided that an official PSI investigation— whether majority or minority led—had to be approved by both the majority and minority parties to proceed.35 Those rule changes further cemented the bipartisan nature of PSI investigations. In 1997, Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, became the first woman to chair PSI, holding that post for four years until 2001. Senator John Glenn was her initial ranking member followed by Senator Levin in 1999. During her tenure, Senator Collins turned the PSI spotlight on matters affecting Americans in their day-to-day lives, conducting investigations into such matters as mortgage fraud, phony credentials obtained through the Internet, deceptive sweepstakes promotions, day-trading of securities, securities fraud on the Internet, and fraudulent schemes that crossed international borders.36 Senator Collins had already led PSI for two years when Senator Levin became the subcommittee’s ranking Democrat. In 2001, they would trade the subcommittee’s chair and ranking positions as their respective parties traded majority status in the Senate. Like their predecessors, Senators Collins and Levin would establish a strong working partnership and become a powerful investigative team.
Confronting Mice and Flies But that was in the future. In January 1999, at the start of the 106th Congress when Senator Levin took his initial leadership post on PSI, the first order of business for Linda and me was to pick up stakes and move to PSI’s offices. For me, it was a culture shock.
