Political Quotes

“I had the privilege of serving the people of Maine as a financial regulator for 5 years about 20 years ago. This is an issue about which I care deeply and am committed to helping forge a solution to, so that never again can the problems and the excesses of Wall Street have such dire consequences for Main Street. Increasing capital requirements as firms grow provides a disincentive to their becoming too big to fail in the first place, and ensures an adequate capital cushion in difficult economic times. Our amendment directs the regulators to establish capital standards that take size and risk into account. Our amendment strengthens the economic foundation of large financial firms, increases oversight and accountability, and helps prevent the excesses that contributed to a deep recession that has cost millions of Americans their jobs. Let me conclude by thanking the chairman of the Banking Committee and the ranking member of the Banking Committee and members such as the Presiding Officer and Senator Corker and Senator Gregg for their work on this very complex issue. More than a year ago I introduced a financial regulatory reform bill. I had the pleasure of discussing the bill with the chairman of the Banking Committee, and I am pleased with much of what is in his bill at this point in the debate. I hope we can continue to make further changes, such as the amendment I have proposed with Senator Shaheen, but I do want to salute the members of the Banking Committee.…”