Political Quotes

“Mr. President, probably tomorrow morning, we will consider this conference report, which is historic in its impact on America. It is the conference report of the Banking Committees of the House and Senate, which were charged with the responsibility to reform the financial laws in America, to make certain that our country never faces again what we faced a short time ago under President Bush. We can remember that at the end of the President's term, when the economy started to go into a tailspin. I remember it very well because there was a special meeting called in October of 2008 of the leaders of the House and Senate--Democratic and Republican--to meet with the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, and the Treasury Secretary, Mr. Paulson, to discuss a matter of great urgency. Those types of meetings are rare around here, and everyone was a little nervous as we entered the room that is a few feet away from the Senate Chamber. These two leaders of our economy came forward and told us that we were facing the collapse of major businesses in America. Specifically, they pointed to the collapse of AIG. It was an insurance company--the largest in our country. Unfortunately, they had engaged in some practices where it had promised as an insurance policy that it would back up commercial transactions. If they fail, AIG, the insurance company, would come in and make the parties whole. They overextended themselves.…”