Political Quotes

“as we struggle to restore growth and hope to our economy, we must continue to repair the weaknesses in our legal and regulatory system weaknesses that contributed to the crisis we face today. A lot of what has happened to our economy was the result of greed and incompetence. But too much of it can be traced to fraud, insider deals, and other acts that are illegal, and to actions that should be illegal. That is why I am joining today with Senator Leahy and Senator Grassley to introduce the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009. As we survey the damage to every aspect of our economy from manufacturing to retail, from construction to services we can trace the origins of this disaster to the real estate market and the financing that drove a bubble that finally burst. We now know that behind the explosion in housing values, and the explosion in the secondary market for mortgages, were misrepresentations, false reporting, insider deals, and other forms of fraud. Many of these actions clearly broke existing financial regulations and consumer protection laws. Others took place in so-called 'shadow' financial markets that are outside of our existing laws. The legislation we are introducing today will provide the Justice Department with the resources it needs to prosecute the crimes that played a part in precipitating the crisis we are now facing.”