Political Quotes

“Mr. President, we mark today the first anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. This law was Congress's earnest attempt to answer a vital question: How do we avoid a repeat of the financial catastrophe from which we are still struggling to recover? I would like to describe the findings of our Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations report on the origins of the financial crisis, and how those findings informed my thinking and that of some of our colleagues about how to address Wall Street reform and design effective legislation. Then I would like to talk about a specific provision in the Dodd-Frank Act that my colleague, Jeff Merkley, and I--as well as Senator Reed and others--fought hard to include in Dodd-Frank, and why I believe that provision has the potential to remedy key failings of our financial system that helped contribute to the financial crisis. And then a few minutes on how, at the law's 1 year anniversary, we are fighting a second battle, just as important as the first, on how to implement Dodd-Frank. Many of my colleagues, and particularly Republican colleagues subscribe to the view that banks and the market know best.…”