On the recordApril 26, 2010
I rise today to speak about the critically important legislation before the Senate, the bill to reform Wall Street and end the excesses that sent our economy into a tailspin. Having made the tough choice to fend off a collapse of our economic system, we must now look back and decide what actions are required to hold Wall Street accountable and put consumers back in control of their finances. This Congress has taken decisive action to stem the bleeding, actions that were not always comfortable, but were necessary. And our economy is starting to heal. Yet we remain at a seminal moment in history. One tenth of our population remains unemployed, the threat of home foreclosure haunts far too many families, and American seniors are scrambling to replenish what were once considered their retirement accounts. The fault for this economic decline, however, does not lie at the feet of the working class nor reflect the steady strength of American ingenuity. Instead, the Wall Street bailout, and the threat of global economic depression that necessitated it, was thrust upon us by those who put short-term self-interest above the economic security of a nation. It is an unpleasant fact to admit. But the current financial system all too often rewards greed and recklessness, fans speculative trading, and has fostered shady dealings that are so complicated that only those Wall Street firms that stand to benefit can comprehend them.
