On the recordMay 20, 2010
I rise today to talk about why cloture should not be invoked on this so-called financial reform bill. The events that transpired in the fall of 2008 and into 2009 are times that no one wants to repeat. That time was marked with extreme market volatility; credit all but drying up; a housing crisis we are still struggling to overcome; and taxpayers bailing out Wall Street. History books will undoubtedly look at that period with a magnifying glass. Hearings were held, testimony was heard--all in an attempt to identify what went wrong and what Congress could do to fix the broken parts of our system. I began this multiyear process with a resolve to the American people to fix the system. It is our job to protect taxpayers from ever again being on the hook for reckless and risky Wall Street players. Unfortunately, this final bill is anything but reform. Instead, this bill pays little regard to its massive government expansion or host of unintended consequences. In addition, it ignores some of the major causes of the last crisis. Proponents simply say reforming Fannie and Freddie will have to wait for another day. And in a twist of irony, it turns out that supporters of this bill are the Wall Street giants themselves such as Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. Yet, proponents of the bill are attempting to paint those opposed to the bill as attempting to protect Wall Street. The American people are not buying it.
